Prominent UK Bookseller Shamed!
It has been placed equal bottom in a list of 100 of the country’s biggest high street chains, matching the poor customer rating of Currysdigital.
The rankings were collected by the consumer group Which? following an online survey of more than 14,000 people in February and March.
Participants scored the stores on 15 factors including price, service, store experience and product quality.
WH Smith, which has a proud tradition dating back to 1792, and Currysdigital both scored 49 per cent.
Shoppers are urged to boycott WH Smith, Currysdigital and the other stores at the bottom of its league table, which include JJB sports, PC World and the DIY chain Focus.
A spokesman for the consumer group said: ‘… is urging customers to stamp out bad service. If enough people vote with their feet, shops will have to take notice.’
Critics say that WH Smith is a shadow of its former self, with drastic cost cutting leaving many of the stores dowdy, dirty and disorganised.
At one time, working for the chain was one of the prime jobs in retail, but today the number of staff has been cut.
WH Smith was once the biggest seller of books, magazines and music, but critics say that after being squeezed by the supermarkets and online retailers it appears to have lost its identity.
Historically, the firm did not sell cigarettes in its high street stores.
But tobacco is now a major source of revenue and the chain is also thought to be the biggest seller of pornographic magazines in the country.
Today, customers will find they are accosted by high pressure energy firm salesmen after WH Smith bosses agreed to allow firms such as nPower to tout for business on their premises.
Retail researcher, Sarah Dennis, said: ‘Its days of being the place to shop for books appears to be over for many.
‘One of our contributors said simply, “It’s not as good as it used to be”. That seems to be the general feeling.
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