Tag Archives: Customer service

Strange Things in Self-Service

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Leigh Sparks

My twitter timeline has been populated recently by photos of retailers doing, for me, some strange things with self-service tills.  These tills have popped up everywhere over the last decade and not always to universal acclaim.  B&Q and WH Smith … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go, Clothing, Consumers, Customer Service, Employment practices, Experiential, Functional Retailing, Marks and Spencer, Retail Change, Sainsbury, Self-checkout, Self-Scanning, Self-Service, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Buttercup Dairy Company

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

One of the most enjoyable things about social media is the ease of connectivity to people, their work and interesting (well, to me) things.  It really is so much more simpler and easier than decades ago. A good example of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Buttercup Dairy Company, Corporate History, Creative Places, Edinburgh, Food Retailing, Grocery, Heritage, Historic Shops, History, Retail Change, Retail History, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopfronts, Signage, Town Centres, Uncategorized, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feargal Quinn 1936-2019

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

On the 25th April, it was announced that Feargal Quinn the legendary Irish retail businessman, founder of Superquinn, had passed away.   The President of Ireland said There have been many tributes and obituaries to him in the days that have … Continue reading →

Posted in Alumni, Consumer Lifestyle, Customer engagement, Customer Service, Food Retailing, Ireland, Retail leadership, Retailers, Retailing, Supermarket, Superquinn, Uncategorized, University of Stirling | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Herkku Food Market Delicatessen – Helsinki

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

Visiting Helsinki for a couple of days (see blog here) allowed me also to experience a guided visit to the S-Group’s Herkku Food Market Delicatessen in the basement of the Stockmann Department Store.  Stockmann is an institution in Finland, being … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer Lifestyle, Cooperatives, Customer Service, Delicatessen, Deposit Return Scheme, Finland, Food, Food and Beverage, Food Retailing, Format, Herkku, Merchandising, Restaurants, Retailers, Retailing, Service Quality, Town Centre Living, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowships 2017

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

In the summer of 1989 I spent eight weeks travelling around the United States and Canada looking at the customer service practices of North American retailers.  I visited numerous retailers, large and small, and interviewed countless owners, managers, directors and … Continue reading →

Posted in Basketball, Churchill Fellow, Customer Service, Retailing, USA, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Easy, it Ain’t

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Leigh Sparks

What with the announcement by a number of retailers that they are re-considering the tone of voice and announcements made by their self service checkouts and others who are removing such non-human (inhuman?) equipment, it has not been a good … Continue reading →

Posted in Automation, Communications, Customer Service, Easyjet, Personal, Retail Failure, Self-Scanning, Self-Service, Service Quality, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Waitrose – mining a rich seam of service?

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Leigh Sparks

I moved to Stirling around the time of the miner’s strike against the Thatcher government. On one of the main roundabouts into Stirling’s town centre stood the Stirling Miner’s Welfare Club. A couple of years ago it was pulled down … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer Change, Customer Service, Food Retailing, Retailers, Waitrose | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment