Next door to the Post Office stands Argos, with its ugly frontage and ugly, soviet era attitude to customer service. They pretend its the future. It isn't. Its a poor company to work for and an inhuman place to shop. You can't look at the goods, you have to look in the catalogue. Write a number onto a stock-checker if you want to know if they are in the store.
You then have write down a number on a piece of paper, using a bookie's biro and queue up, walking past a cardboard sign that pretends to predict down to the minute how long you will have to wait for your goods even before you or the people in line in front of you have placed an order. The sign in Walthamstow High Street generally says 6 minutes.
At the till, you can pay in various ways. The way Argos would really like would be for you to use one of their credit cards. At a time when annual inflation is running at around 2%, Argos charge a whopping 27.9% interest on their cards. The come-on includes an offer to let people pay nothing for 9 months if they buy goods that over two hundred and ninety-five pounds with one of these cards. Don't do it. Paying interest at these rates on a debt will be grim indeed. If money is tight, join a credit union or get advice from the CAB.
The goods come after a further wait in front of a counter, clutching a number and staring at a screen. There is only one reason to shop at Argos - because it is cheap if you don't buy on credit. Some of the deals in the sales are excellent.
(You may also wish to see this post from a fellow blogger on what you have to have an eye out for at some branches of Argos. [24 August 2008])