[blink]

I hope I'm in the correct section here?
Yesterday I was in Glasgow and went into the Jessops store.
I asked a sales assistant if he could answer a few questions about lenses.
'I'm with Nikon', turned his back and walked away.
Two sales assistants were chatting in one corner, so I approached and asked the first the same question,
'Sorry, can't help you, you will have to speak to him,' pointing.
While I waited a telephone was ringing off the wall. When I looked over a girl sales assistant made a face of total exasperation.
When the sales person came over and asked how he could help, I asked him about the quality difference of the 55-300 Pentax lens and the Sigma 70-300, and their size as I couldn't see any on display. Unfortunately he didn't know about quality, and had never been asked about the Pentax, but showed me the Tamron equivalent. So I asked him where this fitted in quality wise. Was it selling well compared to the others.
I was advised to bring my camera in and try it, but when I explained it was Pentax and if they could supply one with the correct fitting he shrugged, and walked over to the computer, and started looking up to see if they did in fact do the lenses I had mentioned.
The computer was running very slow, so he got no where.
Inside the shop most of the dslr's were being played with on those annoying wire restraints, yet staff members never approached anyone.
I find it appalling that a company saved from extinction by Peter Jones has staff and management that have either not been trained or just don't care.
There were opportunities to actually sell stuff but no one seemed to have the first idea how to go about it.
The tethered dslr's stop you fully handling the cameras and it would be more appropriate if they had some sort of range built into the store where you could demonstrate the advantages of cameras, by focusing and then letting the customer have a go. Explain the simplicity first and then the more complex functions if they wished to go further down that route.
It would also help if they got rid of these kids and employed some older generation people with interest in cameras to show the next generation how to handle them.
Finding a store that actually stocks Pentax is pretty difficult, but the retail outlooks don't take advantage of this.
They don't know their market. Full Stop.
Most Pentax users will be older, and it's a sales plus if you can buy a body and use existing lenses that you may have.
I have to say on this outing I don't give Jessops much chance of survival on the high street. They need to become more user friendly, and professional, and contacting any senior management to express concern is virtually impossible.

[LensBeginner]

I was going to say "unbelievable", but sadly this is the state of affairs pretty much everywhere at retailers, bar Japan maybe...
I don't think it's a generational thing... I know young fellows who shoot Pentax and senior photographers who shoot CaNikon...

[Rimfiredude]

I usually find it the same wherever I am shopping.

[Giklab]

It would also help if they got rid of these kids and employed some older generation people with interest in cameras to show the next generation how to handle them.

No offense, but age really has nothing to do with interest in photography or knowledge about equipment.

[Steve.Ledger]

Actually, I find that age to a large degree does affect attitude and certainly knowledge. Younger people seem to know it all these days.
Here in Australia in my experience, customer experience is going down the drain. No wonder many of us prefer buying online.

[mike.hiran]

I was going to say "unbelievable", but sadly this is the state of affairs pretty much everywhere at retailers, bar Japan maybe...
I don't think it's a generational thing... I know young fellows who shoot Pentax and senior photographers who shoot CaNikon...

Fortunately, we have Camera World in Portland (I guess the Salt Lake City branch has a lot of Pentax too) and their sales people are actually well informed and very helpful. Full line up of Limited's, DA*, and Q series. They even have the 645D and 645Z in stock! Even better still, nothing was tethered, though you had to ask the sales person to touch stuff.
A friend lives up in Washington and asked the salesperson if they have a web presence - he said their web design is pretty bad, but if they ship to a state that doesn't have a Camera World, they don't assess tax!!!
I was impressed enough that I took a picture

[JohnX]

Try phoning SRS in Watford. Brilliant Pentax retailer - 01923 226602.

[Kerrowdown]

contacting any senior management to express concern is virtually impossible

A sad tale for sure, perhaps a wee note to Peter Jones himself wouldn't go amiss, I'm sure he be interested to hear how is investment isn't working for him.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Sad to hear that Jessops has sunk back into the bad habits that put it out of business in the first place: couldn't-care-less staff and a box-shifting mentality.

I'm lucky enough to have an excellent little branch of London Camera Exchange near me in Plymouth. The staff are mostly young, but they're a helpful and knowledgeable bunch who seem to really know their stuff. I've also got the excellent Mifsuds in Brixham where my parents live, so I often buy things there when I'm visiting the old folks.

As far as possible, I'm always willing to pay a bit more to try to support my local bricks-and-mortar camera shops. I hate it when the price difference is so huge that I don't feel I've got any option other than to buy online.