Ten From Ten – I Wish Shopping There Was Forbidden
Originally posted on 7th October 2006, after a particularly annoying shopping expedition. This post probably wouldn't be making its second appearance except that it suddenly became topical again while I was reviewing material for inclusion in the Ten From Ten. A visit to the shop in question for the first time in months led to the discovery that nothing's changed, and the level of 'service' remains as low as ever.
I hate Forbidden Planet. Not the film, obviously, but the ’sci-fi and fantasy superstore’ or however they’re styling themselves these days. Shopping there is a thoroughly unpleasant experience, made more so by the recognition that as they’ve cornered quite a large part of their selected market, if you need to be able to walk into a shop and have a reasonable chance of leaving with what you wanted, FP is your best bet. (And I should stress that it’s the London shop I’m talking about here. Apart from New York I’ve never been to another branch, and they could all be fantasy shopper heaven for all I know.)
Today, for reasons that are exactly of the ‘need X in a hurry’ variety, I went in, and while I was waiting for a staff member to appear and lower himself to help me give them my money, I found myself next to a man and his son who were complaining. They seemed to want to exchange something, but the main complaint was that the father, who made the repeated point that he’d been going to FP since 1990, felt that the staff had been rude and aggressive.
To which I can only ask, in all seriousness - how can you have been going there since 1990 and only now realised that the staff at Forbidden Planet are rude and aggressive?
I’ve always assumed it’s part of the job description.