The death of the high street.

[Red 4]

egor110 said:

snuffy said:

Red 4 said:

It surprises me that they have managed to get to this stage in life.

Thousands of years ago they would not have lived very long because they would have been eaten by a lion or stood on by a mammoth or something because they were too stupid to run out of the way. Sadly now, that does not happen anymore.

They managed to come out and vote for brexit though so youngsters weren’t quite so clever there were you .

Mammoths and lions voted for Brexit ?

Fair enough. Probably get more sense out of a Mammoth (long since extinct) than your average till hogger.

[Carrot]

Red 4 said:

Carrot said:

Oh the "payment surprise" bunch never fail to amuse me

I am usually there, card in hand ready to swipe / contact on the reader as the last item is going in the bag on the rare occasion I am forced to go mixing with morons. Ensures I can get out as quickly as possible.

The vast majority of the thick as mince "payment surprise" lot are, ime, at least middle aged.

It surprises me that they have managed to get to this stage in life.

If they are so fking dense you would have thought they would forget other stuff - like forgetting to breathe.

I've been forced to return to my Xmas shopping.

Help. Somebody please help. They are out in force again today. It's like the zombie apocalypse. Is it OK if I shoot these fkers in the head ?

Yes - It will be doing everyone a favour by saving the world some oxygen that they would otherwise thieve.

[crankedup]

Visited our local Debenhams today looking to purchase a cocktail set and glasses. All they had was two ocktail shakers, both the same. No glasses or cocktail paraphernalia at all. Very disappointing, looked in a couple of alternative large retailers with no luck at all. Ordered online and delivery tomorrow. I would much rather purchase in the High St but the stock choice is poor to say the least.

[crankedup]

Carrot said:

Red 4 said:

Carrot said:

Oh the "payment surprise" bunch never fail to amuse me

I am usually there, card in hand ready to swipe / contact on the reader as the last item is going in the bag on the rare occasion I am forced to go mixing with morons. Ensures I can get out as quickly as possible.

The vast majority of the thick as mince "payment surprise" lot are, ime, at least middle aged.

It surprises me that they have managed to get to this stage in life.

If they are so fking dense you would have thought they would forget other stuff - like forgetting to breathe.

I've been forced to return to my Xmas shopping.

Help. Somebody please help. They are out in force again today. It's like the zombie apocalypse. Is it OK if I shoot these fkers in the head ?

Yes - It will be doing everyone a favour by saving the world some oxygen that they would otherwise thieve.

Your own parents included?

[Carrot]

crankedup said:

Carrot said:

Red 4 said:

Carrot said:

Oh the "payment surprise" bunch never fail to amuse me

I am usually there, card in hand ready to swipe / contact on the reader as the last item is going in the bag on the rare occasion I am forced to go mixing with morons. Ensures I can get out as quickly as possible.

The vast majority of the thick as mince "payment surprise" lot are, ime, at least middle aged.

It surprises me that they have managed to get to this stage in life.

If they are so fking dense you would have thought they would forget other stuff - like forgetting to breathe.

I've been forced to return to my Xmas shopping.

Help. Somebody please help. They are out in force again today. It's like the zombie apocalypse. Is it OK if I shoot these fkers in the head ?

Yes - It will be doing everyone a favour by saving the world some oxygen that they would otherwise thieve.

Your own parents included?

Of course not, they are sensible and intelligent enough to shop online and avoid the blithering masses. How about yours?

[cardigankid]

Carrot said:

Red 4 said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

Carrot said:

Hardly a recluse, I have many hobbies, interests and group meets. I just don't see the point in "going shopping" and milling about with retards.

I get that you don't like "going shopping", and that's fine. But I think it is rather out of order to call those who do "retards".

I don't.

I ran the gauntlet yesterday for some Xmas shopping.

Shop 1 - Busy. Long queue at the tills. All stood there in their own little world.
Come time to pay they can't find their purse/ debit/ credit card.
Yeah, you've only been stood there for 10 minutes fking daydreaming you fking morons.
Did you think payment was optional ?

Shop 2 - Card shop. Necessary to spend time in the narrow aisles with other shoppers.
Some smell. Some stand next to you constantly sniffing. Some are rude and try to push past/ stand in front of you. One attacked me with her mobility scooter.

Bank - Some fking gimp wanting to discuss football with the teller. Queue was out the door. Nobody gives a st - if you want to talk football then go down the pub with your mates.
wker.

Car park - Carnage. Elderly drivers and people who still think they are in the shops and have zero awareness of anything happening around them don't mix.

Yup. Retards. And lots of them.

Oh the "payment surprise" bunch never fail to amuse me

I am usually there, card in hand ready to swipe / contact on the reader as the last item is going in the bag on the rare occasion I am forced to go mixing with morons. Ensures I can get out as quickly as possible.

The problem above is a direct effect of a lack of professionalism by the retailer, and why Aldi for example have been able to eat the likes of Morrison’s lunch. Somehow the person the till at Asda/ Tesco/ Sainsbury/ Morrison thinks service = being your customers best mate, knowing what team he supports or where her daughter went on holiday. Look what happens in an Aldi. Customers are whizzed past the tills faster than they can pack the stuff away, ergo the queues go fast. Staff doing what they are supposed to do not standing about gossiping, which is the real British disease.

[Red 4]

crankedup said:

Visited our local Debenhams today looking to purchase a cocktail set and glasses. All they had was two ocktail shakers, both the same. No glasses or cocktail paraphernalia at all. Very disappointing, looked in a couple of alternative large retailers with no luck at all. Ordered online and delivery tomorrow. I would much rather purchase in the High St but the stock choice is poor to say the least.

Debenhams is OK if you like/ need a perfume counter.

Other than that it is overpriced, unfashionable tat.

Anyhoo, another thing that boils my piss.

Why do people take their entire family food shopping ? I'm talking about Mum and Dad plus a mob of 5 or 6 unruly kids who wander aimlessly around the narrow aisles getting in everybody's way or form a cordon around the frozen food that the Metropolitan Police TSG would be proud of.

Parents are either nonchalant wkers or screaming and shouting wkers.
There is no middle ground. Ever.

Leave your spawn at home.
It's fking obvious they don't want to be there.
Or better still, use contraception.

Pricks.

Edited by Red 4 on Wednesday 19th December 23:41

[Bullett]

I don't even go food shopping with the wife, that will end in divorce. She goes to the supermarket spends £60 and then is no proper food.

I went xmas shopping yesterday.
Now, I wouldn't say it was dead but for the week before xmas I got got parked with ease and there was space on the pavements. The shops were clearly overstaffed as a few places there were several milling around and I've never seen that in a shoe shop.
Lots of sale signs up.
None of the department stores had what I wanted including John Lewis who advertise and sell the brand online. So I ordered it online for cheaper (and delivered). One place gave me duff info on compatibility.
It looked desperate.

I'll report back later in the week as I have to take my 7yo out shopping for her brother on Sat morning.

[JagLover]

Red 4 said:

Debenhams is OK if you like/ need a perfume counter.

Other than that it is overpriced, unfashionable tat.

Anyhoo, another thing that boils my piss.

Why do people take their entire family food shopping ? I'm talking about Mum and Dad plus a mob of 5 or 6 unruly kids who wander aimlessly around the narrow aisles getting in everybody's way or form a cordon around the frozen food that the Metropolitan Police TSG would be proud of.

Parents are either nonchalant wkers or screaming and shouting wkers.
There is no middle ground. Ever.

Leave your spawn at home.
It's fking obvious they don't want to be there.
Or better still, use contraception.

Pricks.

If you get to a supermarket at 7am on a Saturday morning they are virtually empty. Just wake up the same time as you would for work, how much do you need that lie in?

[HOGEPH]

I capitulated yesterday and went to Aldi near Weymouth, Took the long way round via country lanes and avoided all main roads. Relatively pain free, (but still no Black Forest mince pies in stock!) and that's the last time I'll venture near any shop until after Christmas.

Anything else will be via the internet until further notice.

[wisbech]

Just to add that it isn’t just a UK thing. Here in Singapore, parking no issue as no one drives to shop anyway, store opening times are office worker friendly, and still retail is suffering (as opposed to F&B)

Anecdotally - we do most shopping online, including dry groceries, and then wet markets for fresh food. Why schlep to a supermarket to buy bog roll vs get it delivered?

[crankedup]

Carrot said:

crankedup said:

Carrot said:

Red 4 said:

Carrot said:

Oh the "payment surprise" bunch never fail to amuse me

I am usually there, card in hand ready to swipe / contact on the reader as the last item is going in the bag on the rare occasion I am forced to go mixing with morons. Ensures I can get out as quickly as possible.

The vast majority of the thick as mince "payment surprise" lot are, ime, at least middle aged.

It surprises me that they have managed to get to this stage in life.

If they are so fking dense you would have thought they would forget other stuff - like forgetting to breathe.

I've been forced to return to my Xmas shopping.

Help. Somebody please help. They are out in force again today. It's like the zombie apocalypse. Is it OK if I shoot these fkers in the head ?

Yes - It will be doing everyone a favour by saving the world some oxygen that they would otherwise thieve.

Your own parents included?

Of course not, they are sensible and intelligent enough to shop online and avoid the blithering masses. How about yours?

Yup, my parents would certainly have shopped online but preferred to take a social trip once a week to the local shops. They loved winding up the impatient by fumbling around at the tills, usually involved dropping some coins and then searching everywhere

[sparkythecat]

crankedup said:

Visited our local Debenhams today looking to purchase a cocktail set and glasses. All they had was two ocktail shakers, both the same. No glasses or cocktail paraphernalia at all. Very disappointing, looked in a couple of alternative large retailers with no luck at all. Ordered online and delivery tomorrow. I would much rather purchase in the High St but the stock choice is poor to say the least.

Shops can't afford to hold too much slow moving stock. A cocktail set isn't something the average person buys regularly if at all. It's probably at best a once in a lifetime purchase. Logic would suggest that the best place for it is
In a specialist Vintners emporium.

[crankedup]

sparkythecat said:

crankedup said:

Visited our local Debenhams today looking to purchase a cocktail set and glasses. All they had was two ocktail shakers, both the same. No glasses or cocktail paraphernalia at all. Very disappointing, looked in a couple of alternative large retailers with no luck at all. Ordered online and delivery tomorrow. I would much rather purchase in the High St but the stock choice is poor to say the least.

Shops can't afford to hold too much slow moving stock. A cocktail set isn't something the average person buys regularly if at all. It's probably at best a once in a lifetime purchase. Logic would suggest that the best place for it is
In a specialist Vintners emporium.

Yup, that makes sense, ended up at amazon of course for delivery today.

[andy43]

Yet again, PH comes through.
You’ve just invented my new favourite game : Payment Surprise.
I shall be combining it with Lost Wallet Pat Down and Indecisive Plastic Bag Purchase for the festive season.
Right, where’s me Xmas shopping jumper...

[skwdenyer]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Perhaps not all that surprising, given how many out-of-town-centre units have been built over the last few decades.

[miniman]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Couldn't agree more - but as you say, decades of work to achieve it.

My closest town is Chippenham - you could raze 60% of it to the ground, and still retain 90% of the worthwhile shopping opportunities.

[Dakkon]

Red 4 said:

crankedup said:

Visited our local Debenhams today looking to purchase a cocktail set and glasses. All they had was two ocktail shakers, both the same. No glasses or cocktail paraphernalia at all. Very disappointing, looked in a couple of alternative large retailers with no luck at all. Ordered online and delivery tomorrow. I would much rather purchase in the High St but the stock choice is poor to say the least.

Debenhams is OK if you like/ need a perfume counter.

Other than that it is overpriced, unfashionable tat.

Anyhoo, another thing that boils my piss.

Why do people take their entire family food shopping ? I'm talking about Mum and Dad plus a mob of 5 or 6 unruly kids who wander aimlessly around the narrow aisles getting in everybody's way or form a cordon around the frozen food that the Metropolitan Police TSG would be proud of.

Parents are either nonchalant wkers or screaming and shouting wkers.
There is no middle ground. Ever.

Leave your spawn at home.
It's fking obvious they don't want to be there.
Or better still, use contraception.

Pricks.

Edited by Red 4 on Wednesday 19th December 23:41

It's a shame your mum said no to anal all those years ago.....

[skwdenyer]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Indeed. But it would be faster to close all the out-of-town stores and let market forces push everybody back into the town centres

[monkfish1]

skwdenyer said:

Indeed. But it would be faster to close all the out-of-town stores and let market forces push everybody back into the town centres

Would take a lot more than that to get me back to the town centre. The council do everything possible to stop me going. Doubt that will change.

Retail shopping is dead. Stop trying to save it.