In the market for a compact laser printer, I did my research, chose an HP model and found Amazon was the cheapest. Just as I was about to hit buy, I remembered that Amazon don't seem to pay any UK tax. As someone who does pay quite a lot of tax this annoys me. So I decided I would instead visit the beleaguered high street and buy my printer from Dixons. Turns out there's a reason the high street is struggling.
So I walk into Dixons. They have the printer I want on display. "Do you have these in stock" I ask the man. After a little too much time spent tapping on the computer (surely it would have been quicker to look) computer said "no". "When will you have more?" I ask, "Well we get deliveries every day, so we might have one tomorrow" came the reply.
This product is one click away, without me leaving my desk. I don't expect a physical shop to have the same stock levels as the Amazon warehouse, nor can they realistically compete on price. But where they can better Amazon is in service. Have some sample printers from this unit, knowledgeable staff, and when its out of stock be able to tell the customer when you'll have more, maybe offer to take a deposit to reserve one and call the customer when it arrives.
I was standing there, wanting to spend money and no effort was made to take it from me.
The printer has now been ordered from Amazon.
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