Review: Waterstone’s
- Based on: 531 Reviews
Become a Secret Shopper
This is your chance to report on the state of customer service in the UK.
I’m waging war on poor service in Great Britain, and your reports from the frontline are essential in delivering feedback straight to brands.
Simply choose a shop from the list of Britain’s biggest retailers below, give it your star rating out of 5, and deliver your verdict with a short sharp comment.
LATEST REVIEWS
-
Dreams
Bought a 1700 mattress from Dreams in Knightsbridge. My delivery was cancelled without my knowledge because I subsequently changed the size. I have queued for hours on the phone listening to irritatin... -
Pets at Home
Jackie 11th January 2011 Otford/Sevenoaks They have a 'special offer' selling 3 male rabbits for £35. Male rabbits will fight and kill each other. How irresposible to encourage a sale of 3 male... -
Pets at Home
Jackie 11th January 2011 Otford/Sevenoaks They are have a 'special offer' selling 3 male rabbits for £35. Male rabbits will fight and kill each other. How irresposible to encourage a sale of 3 ... -
Pets at Home
Went to Blackheath Pets at Home today and they could not have been more helpful, I actually came out thinking WOW a store that gives good service!I come from a retail background and very rarely these ... -
Zara
Poor delivery, faulty goods twice, poor refund service. They couldn't care less. I will NEVER buy on line from them ever again, after nearly 4 weeks still not resolved. Had two faulty garments in t...
Any views or opinions are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Mary Portas or any company associated with her.
Any questions, comments or feedback on this section of the site should be made in writing to: webmaster@maryportas.com
If you are a retailer and would like more information please click here.
If you have seen a comment which you belive contravenes our guidelines, please click here.
staff ignored me at the till whilst i was paying and chatted to each other instead
The service in Gower Street is usually pretty good. They have a huge range of books. I have spend hours just browsing books or in the coffee shop in the basement.
The problem has been that they have been undercut by Amazon for over 10 years now. And with ebooks taking off the local book shop is under threat. Sad but true.
I went to uxbridge waterstones ,but the store i want to speak about is paperchase a small store inside waterstones in uxbridge chimes shopping center.The lady that served me was so polite and showed me all the new ranges all ranges that were fun and i have to say the best customer service i had in a long time ,kam was her name ,howerver the waterstones staff were looking so depressed i was about to waik out when paperchase approched me and i am so glad the lady did i will be shoppng there again
Cheltenham – a girl with long dark curly hair helped me on my visit and recommended me three brilliant books for my holiday. She was really lovely and showed a genuine interest! Will definitely be back!
St Andrews – great service from really knowledgeable and friendly staff. The boy who looks after the crime books is always happy to recommend new authors to me.
Waterstones Dundee 07/07/11
I love this branch, the staff are extremely helpful & friendly. I found the book I needed straight away (the store is always laid out well) and was served promptly with a smile and a pleasant manner by Russel.
reading, broad street road
went there for autobiography of sydneysheldon. couldnt find it, staff helped me and booked it from me in nottingham branch and said it’ll arrive in 2 weeks. went back after month for book, and same staff member replied oh sorry seems your order has been lost, so re-ordered it and again waited for 3 weeks.went back to reading branch and this time they said its no more available we’re waiting for new publishing order in the end i fed up and got my money back.unsattisfied
Wakefield – helpful, chearful staff but leave you alone if you want.
Leicester Shires – Atrocious. Ordered a book 6 months ago, only to return each week and be told it’s not arrived (paid on ordering). After 4 months I was told I had to wait for the next publication, only to be told after a further 2 months it was no longer being published. I had to keep chasing when I was told they would keep me updated, APALLING. Would give negative stars if possible – never returning to them again. Staff couldn’t explain what had happened with the ordering system at all.
Lincoln High Street.
Whenever i’ve spoken to the staff and bought a book they have always been polite and friendly.
Ordered books online for my son’s birthday, paid extra for next day delivery, it’s a week later my son’s birthday has passed and still no books. Very poor service, I will not be using them online again.
Horsham store has fab service and fab staff. Always get what I want.
Being a ‘bookaholic’, I’m always in bookshops. I’m particularly impressed with the staff at Waterstones in Chippenham, in Wiltshire, whom I find are always friendly and extremely helpful. They will often go out their way to help you find that allusive book, or offer alternative suggestions. It’s good to see that good old fashioned customer service is still alive and well in Chippenham, which makes for a pleasurable shopping experience, which is sadly missing elsewhere.
I have visited several Waterstones stores and I always find the staff freindly and very helpful. They always have an excellent knowledge of books and are always willing to help me. I always go to waterstones even though there are cheaper books retailers on the high street.
I always purchase my books from the waterstones on high street birmingham city centre each time I go in there I receive the highest customer service especially from the staff on the first floor
Waterstones in Bath is fabulous. I spend most of my shopping experiences in this beautiful store. The staff that kindly serve me are just gert lush. And the shop really couldn’t have picked finer people. The books in this store are at the highest quality with a brilliant price. I would never go to somewhere like WHSmith again. Until you have experienced the waterstones way of shopping you shall never understand the true love and passion I have for this store. Thanks again to everyone at bath.
BSE. The staff are very helpful but the amount of stock they have is disappointing. I’ve been in there numerous occasions and have had to order because they never have the book I want. Thumbs down waterstones.
I really used to love going into Waterstone’s but for some reason in the last few weeks, previously nice, friendly, helpful staff have been very off-hand, unfriendly and unhelpful. I can take a hint, so in future I will be shopping for books on Amazon.
If anyone from Waterstone’s head office actually bothers to read this, they might like to think of the effect their staff can have on loyal customers and the concomittant lost business. Politeness doesn’t cost anything and matters to some of us!
ignored me and was to bust chatting to each other
Looking for an e-reader at Silverlink 21st April.
My mum is in her 60s and has bad arthritis and can no longer hold a book comfortably. The guy at the counter could not have been of more help. He talked about all the different models they had on show, explaining the differences between them. He let mum ‘have a go’ and at no point made her feel rushed or pressurised. Excellent service that resulted in a sale for him and a very happy Waterstones customer. Brilliant.
Poor Customer Service, Bluewater, 25 March
Had Ordered a Book, was told be in 7 days, nearly month later, still no book, I had to call because i heard no word from them.
They said would be a week after, one week later still no book. Expected better…..
Bury St Edmunds, The Arc. A young girl who worked there walked past me at least 3 times whilst I was standing there for over 20 minutes looking for a particular book and she didn’t offer any help like other waterstones do. The store was generally tidyish but the staff weren’t welcoming and need to smile more.
Lincoln – Great store!! Both of them! Would be great if they had a larger variety of academic literature, literary criticism etc and bring back journals!! But staff are always helpful
Waterstones Canterbury Rose Lane,
I would give a 4 for. Previously Ottaker’s now Waterstones number two branch, one floor remains unused but this is a big but too modern Waterstones branch but it does have a Costa concession.
Always busy, when I could not find a book I was looking for the member of staff looked for it on the computer system and found the book for me, in fact both.
Really very good service
Unfortunately, for some reason I cannot say the same of the other Waterstones branch
I was in Nottingham branch and waited at the till in the children’s section, as I could not find a book I had searched for. Whilst one assistant was handling a telephone enquiry, the second one behind the till just carried on with her task. It was as if she was thinking ‘I’m not on the till so I don’t need to serve…’ yet there I stood. Had to wait for the phone call to end, then got served, and they still couldn’t help me with my search. Bad service. I will not use them unless desperate.
Fleet Street/Fetter Lane branch. This small shop has excellent, knowledgable staff. I went it to browse and pick up a specific book and I walked out with 4! This was mostly due to the staff member being incredibly helpful, taking time out to ask what I liked and offering suitable suggestions, not pushy at all. It is a very well-kept shop and would go there again if in the area.
Milton Keynes (Midsummer Place) Waterstone’s is a real pleasure to visit. Plenty of easy chairs, plenty of choice and no fuss shopping. No disaproving looks for simply browsing and using it as an upmarket library.
Kingston-on-Thames, excellent servuce despite the fact that I was looking for something which only wouls have cost £2.99
Very disappointed – last post did not make it so here we go…Visited one of the Huddersfield branches, member of staff very irritating, pounced as soon as I entered, witnessed a member of staff been told off on the shopfloor -in my mind not very professional. Shop was messy, range was poor and I have awarded 1 star as 0 is not an option.
Chesterfield store is great. Friendly helpful staff who make you feel welcome but don’t fuss around you unless you need help.
Shame the head office hasn’t even bothered to reply to these great reviews, hopefully they have at least taken the time to inform their own staff how much they are valued by customers. I was going to give less stars because of this but I don’t see why your staff should suffer for your lack of response or interest in customers taking the time to write these. Pathetic.
Visited Huddersfield branch, immediately pounced upon by what turned out to be a very irritating member of staff. Book choice somewhat limited and the store was messy. One can only hope that what I saw in this store is not repeated in other stores. I am awarding 1 star as 0 is not an option. Very very disappointed.
kings lynn branch, always very good service taking time to help me choose a childs book for a present and have gone the extra mile finding and ordering books based on my sketchy describtions, always with a smile.
Various stores. Piccadilly, Trafalgar Sq, Nottingham, Weston super Mare and more.
Every Waterstones I enter is impeccable. Staff have a seemingly limitless knowledge of the latest and best books on their shelves, and are always willing to offer a recommendation where appropriate.
Even when looking for obscure titles, either they already stock it, or are happy to order in a copy to suit my needs.
Genuinely some of the best service around.
Aberdeen Waterstones.
Went upstairs with family including a buggy to feed the young one and all the seats were taking in the cafe and none spare and the customer service was appaling nobody helped!
I would give most Waterstone’s staff 5 stars for service when they are at the till. What I do find irritating at SOME stores is that you can be “mugged” as you walk in the door with “Can I help you?” or as soon as you move towards a section that interests you. I find this as annoying as the tailor who attacks you in “Suit you, sir?” style on the door mat with the brass tip of his tape-measure.
Otherwise, pretty good service.
You always find the staff behind the till points. Seems to be the same everywhere, Truro, Bath and Bristol, so if you do have a question you know where to find them, however once you do get their attention they are helpful. The book ordering service did take longer than expected, might not be their fault. You are left to your own devices until you approach them.
Generally a great service. However as they shut the store with the best company wide customer service (Chelmsford The Meadows) it would seem Waterstone’s aren’t too committed to maintaining they’re number 1 slot.
Waterstone’s Online
Order two books on the 5th March. One book out of stock so delivery of the available book was delayed for 7 days [Waterstone's policy]. The book that was in stock on the 5th March was despatched on Monday 14th and arrived today, 18th March. The book that was out of stock I cancelled. Waterstone’s online service is very disappointing, having noen of the qualities that makes their in store shopping experience so fabulous. Waterstone’s need to improve their online business.
Charing Cross 17th March 9.30am
I had forgotten how good Waterstones are, to be honest. Popped in just to waste some time before a meeting but then decided to make a small purchase (£1.45). The man on the till was polite and helpful – pointing out that I had enough credit on my waterstones card to cover the cost (something I was completely unaware tbh). What a pleasant experience – I will certainly start buying books there again!!
Long wait for lifts one of which is invariably outof service.
Maddening frequent switch of book departments and/or floors
Stairs only to travel dept on mezzanine floor thus impossible for older or more infirm customers to access.
Hogging of seating by mainly young persons not there to buy (have observed a few recently) thus no space for the genuine potential buyer.
On the plus side: young enthusiastic staff reminscent of Majestic’s staff but without the depth of knowledge of their product
Love the Nuneaton store. Staff are friendly and helpful (they recently helped be find the book I wanted when all I could do was describe the cover!) The layout is good, the store is clean and tidy, and the fixtures at the front of the shop are always full of tempting things. Great.
Liverpool One, Saturday. Lovely lay out, especially the childrens’ area. Staff are very hit & miss, in terms of knowledge rather than service. Let down by poor stock availablity.
Asked if i wanted help ‘finding a book’, listened to my interests and ‘asked’ if i wanted a recommendation .Helpful notes beneath certain books e.g book of the month and brief description of plot and why the reader liked it.Bury St Edmunds, Feb half term 2011.
Called in at the Liverpool Bold Street store today & had a lovely experience. (I know it’s not part of the review, but the staff in the Costa Coffee on the 1st floor are always superb) & there are two assistants in the Waterstone’s store who are worth their weight in gold – they are two of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet, always friendly, welcoming, happy to give advice on new releases, personal recommendations & nothing is ever too much trouble, I can’t praise them too highly!!!
Ashford Store.. county square
Always really helpful, friendly and knowledgeable..will always offer to order something if out of stock… a pleasure to shop here!
Morpeth
i really love shopping at this store the staff are always really friendly and go out of their way to help you. There is a good selection of books and the ordering service is really good and efficient.
Waterstones in Canterbury- Last week buying a book as a gift- The staff are friendly and always are able to lead me to the exact book I need. The staff that work there are realy good at there job
2/03/2011
The sales assistants in the shoppers were all standing around chatting and not very enthusiastic about there work. I over heard them commenting on a fussy customer and I was put off to ask for help. Store tidy Customer service disgraceful
Good sevice but seing as they are in bad financial trouble closing stores recently I fail to see how having more staff than customers makes any business sence.
Birmingham City Centre – Waterstones has always been an absolute pleasure to shop in. The store is always quiet (ie, no music piped through speakers), spacious and easy to find what you want. The staff are always clearly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about books. If you cant find what you want, a member of staff will always look for it on the system, or even trawl the shelves with you! They are always polite and apologise for the wait even if you only had one person in front of you! A pleasure.