hmv

running a shop should not be hard to do right, it may be tough to make lots of money and be successful, but doing the basics of retail should not be hard.
at this point i have to say i admire all the retailers i know, if only for the fact that they have to deal with the general public on a daily basis. in the main the retailers i know seem to be able to run decent successful shops. mostly they are all small to medium independent operations.

so i have no idea that when you become a large, prominent national chain it all goes to hell in a hand basket.

i won’t go on about sainsbury, my local is a store so bad i am sure it is one of the rings of hell that dante never got round to writing about, even now he is struggling to find where they have hidden the quorn slices (oh yeah in the meat cabinet… the first place a veggie would look…)

no this is confined to hmv. hmv is one of the largest record and dvd chains in the country, famous for having lots of sales throughout the year.
the start of the year one is the biggie. amongst the perennial favourites of titles that are always on sale (godfather boxset, magnificent seven boxset, dune dvd, armageddon dvd etc etc) there are the occasional gems. (no i don’t bother to look in the cds to see what is on sale – like the dvds there are the same old same old titles and never anything that appeals).

hmv have a lovely website that allows you to see what they have on sale and plan your purchases.
i don’t want to buy from them on-line as it means i have another online account, and the temptation to check it out to buy from it would be too great. the plan is simple: check the website. decide on a few items. go to store. hunt them down. buy them. be a happy bunny.
fucking simple.

website checked. two goodies found. two goodies wanted. yes nypd blue series 3 and series for £17.99 each. bargain.
trip to store: no nypd dvds found. disappointment.
oh well come back another day.
ask a friend to check out the stratford store during her lunch break (cheers lesley). no luck.
back to hmv at the trocadero. still no sign of the dvds. i ask an assistant. oh she says we have them but they are full price and they are in the stockroom.
(now here is a pat tip for budding retailers – if you don’t display it, you can’t sell it.)
no worries i think to myself i will check out hmv at oxford circus – they are bound to have them there.
get a call (cheers paul) they are available in the croydon hmv at £24.99 each. still cheap, but £7 dearer than the website.
no i will check oxford street.

i get there. sale stuff piled so high that a 3 day eventer would have trouble getting over them. mmm not in that pile, or that pile, nor the pile over there…. fuck getting annoyed now.
oh look there they are. one copy of each boxset at £24.99 each. not what i wanted to see.

so i go and see another assistant. he gives me the story about bits and clicks versus bricks and mortar (thanks i needed that explained to me). but he could see that was holding no water with me so added in the “oh well we might get them from somewhere else and so have to pay more for them in the store than we do online”. hey i am sure it made sense to him.

just to clarify. the two nypd blue boxsets appear to be the only ones that are not priced as they are on the website, and they are from a major company.

but to be on the safe side he goes and checks. he confirms the prices.

so my simple plan lays tattered on the floor around me.

i decide to complain.
hmv’s site has a little email facility which allows you to do just that. i give it my best shot a balanced mix of sarcasm and fact. i go to send it. bugger me sideways it is too long. have to edit it. finally get it so i can send it.
it goes off.
the answer comes back: oh we are not the same company as hmv stores we trade under different terms and a different model (someone has been to business school!). the email continues it clearly states that the prices might be different between the online store and the shops.

and it is true it does indeed say that: if you go looking for it.

now my dander is up. they are perfectly right in what they say, except that although they maybe two companies they are branded to appear to be exactly the same. even more so during the sale period: same logos, some product and virtually everything at the same price (well except for what i want).

they can have their different business models, they can have their differential pricing, and they can be as many different companies as they like, but why not, for the sake of clarity make that abundantly clear on the website. other places do – oh look this is a web deal, only available if you order online. you see it often.

but not hmv.

at best i tolerated hmv because i could get the occasional treat there.
now i hate them.
now fopp will get what little money i can afford to spend.

rant over.