Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

RIP the Argos catalogue

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #51
    There used to be a green stamps shop here.

    My recollection is that some of the dishes and or silverware my parents still have came from Green Stamps.

    Comment


      #52
      I temped at Argos Christmas '94, in the downstairs warehouse bit. I quickly learnt that the first three digits of the item number were the important bit, so you'd happily snatch any that began 203 (pillows), but ignore the ones that began 610 (furniture). Unfortunately I told my trick to my colleague girlfriend, and she shared it with her mates, until everyone did it. It all culminated in the point where an incredibly scary lady who had been made to wait 2 hours for her wardrobe jumped over the counter, ran down the escalator, and appeared in our safe haven. After that, they got a manager to hand out the order slips.

      Apart from that, there was a colleague who used to write "saucy" messages to his girlfriend on the Etch-a-Sketches when his girlfriend was working at the top. Would have worked better if she's told him when she was going to take her break...

      Comment


        #53
        All your stories are gold, Pebble, but that last one made me laugh out loud.

        Comment


          #54
          Grattan’s and Kay’s catalogues for us in the 70s- not only in Germany but also Elgin, as ‘big shops’ were too far away ( only ever went to Aberdeen once, on a Xmas shopping coach trip, memorable for the fact my Mum’s younger workmate hailed her as “Moira, ya cunt!” ). The other advantage was paying it off pennies a week.
          Embassy coupons acquired us a white speckled Formica shelf unit I have attached to the wall in the garage. I saw another one in a junk shop and had to have it so now have a matching pair, one more nicotine stained than the other.
          As for Argos, when I was between phones I bought one of their ?4.95 burners but haven’t been in since. Ms F gets large eBay purchases delivered there, though.

          Norwich striker Onel Hernandez will be gutted- his favourite shop.

          Comment


            #55
            I worked for the Freemans catalogue for a couple of years in the mid-2000s. (In the head office, as opposed to going door-to-door.) It was pretty much the end times for the London head office, on the Clapham Road in Stockwell, which closed not long after I left.

            I went on to join a company owned by Woolworths just before they went pop, and most recently worked for Sainsbury's and thus Argos, after that merger took place.

            Eventually I noticed the pattern of doom and went freelance, so as to protect UK retail.

            Comment


              #56
              Originally posted by Auntie Beryl View Post
              I worked for the Freemans catalogue for a couple of years in the mid-2000s. (In the head office, as opposed to going door-to-door.) It was pretty much the end times for the London head office, on the Clapham Road in Stockwell, which closed not long after I left.

              I went on to join a company owned by Woolworths just before they went pop, and most recently worked for Sainsbury's and thus Argos, after that merger took place.

              Eventually I noticed the pattern of doom and went freelance, so as to protect UK retail.
              Can we persuade you to obtain a job in the Tory party?

              Comment


                #57
                Originally posted by Auntie Beryl View Post
                I worked for the Freemans catalogue for a couple of years in the mid-2000s. (In the head office, as opposed to going door-to-door.) It was pretty much the end times for the London head office, on the Clapham Road in Stockwell, which closed not long after I left.

                I went on to join a company owned by Woolworths just before they went pop, and most recently worked for Sainsbury's and thus Argos, after that merger took place.

                Eventually I noticed the pattern of doom and went freelance, so as to protect UK retail.
                And, indirectly I'm sure, the whole of UK retail is currently fucked.

                Comment


                  #58
                  Originally posted by Auntie Beryl View Post
                  Eventually I noticed the pattern of doom and went freelance, so as to protect UK retail.
                  So... how's that worked out so far AB?!

                  Comment


                    #59
                    Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                    Which one was that VA? All the ones I've been to recently have touchscreens where you pay for items. We usually reserve stuff then enter the code on the touchscreen.

                    (Are you sure it was this spring?)
                    Er, well I thought so. Ferry Road, for the record. If I remember rightly (which I might not) it was the last time I went to the shops immediately before lockdown, so I was whizzing around from one place to the next and thus I was straight in and out. If I went over to the catalogues I guess I didn't pay enough/any attention to the screens.
                    I also might be conflating it with an earlier trip as I can't actually imagine why I'd have looked in that day – after all, it's not like you can do a quick grab from the shelves in Argos, by definition.

                    Comment


                      #60
                      Well, you can, but it's called breaking the law...

                      Comment


                        #61
                        Originally posted by Felicity, I guess so View Post
                        Norwich striker Onel Hernandez will be gutted- his favourite shop.
                        Indeed, as discussed on this BBC website article at the start of last year:
                        Onel Hernandez declares love for Argos to delight of fans


                        I hope he's kept this catalogue, it'll be a collector's item soon:
                        https://twitter.com/Argos_Online/status/1087375448496054272

                        Comment


                          #62
                          Originally posted by pebblethefish View Post
                          Well, you can, but it's called breaking the law...
                          Unlike that fearsome lady, I'm not in the habit of vaulting the counter and invading the stockroom though.

                          Comment


                            #63
                            Originally posted by Various Artist View Post
                            So... how's that worked out so far AB?!
                            Not too bad, thanks! Surviving at least.

                            What I do now is more about the product itself than selling it. So a downturn in retail isn't ideal. I'm one remove further away, at least.

                            Comment


                              #64
                              Originally posted by lambers View Post

                              Can we persuade you to obtain a job in the Tory party?
                              Heh, not a chance!

                              Comment


                                #65
                                Oh go on mate, take one for the team and all that

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X