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Mark lewis

Your post was the best i have read ina long time. Wana be responsible for our blog lolol

Mark lewis

on the money with that post ...

I agree.

Spot on.

There is truth to Mark's post but his comments apply to every magic shop, so it doesn't really explain Davenport's being such a shockingly bad example.

I love shopping at International. Love it. A point not focussed on yet is when comparing these two shops customer service, those that prefer International, the majority, are favoring the service of a shop where the demonstrator is Jerry Sadowitz! I mean seriously, how hard is it to be more polite, helpful and restrained than Jerry Sadowitz!?.

Once in International I Actually heard the man conclude a somewhat dramatic conversation with the phrase "Get the f*£k out of my shop you yankee c*&t", yet i would still rather be served by Jerry than by that gangly kid at Davenports that has a permanent look of bored superiority on his face, releases a tiny little sigh before not quite answering every question or just utterly ignoring you.

I got good service there once only, when Betty Davenport walked into the room and suddenly there was a bit of urgency and efficiency in the room so they do know how they are supposed to behave.

I won't set foot in there again whle that kid works there.

Go to International, efficient, often entertaining, well stocked. You get a cup of tea offered most times and Jerry's reputation keeps out the teen penguin crowd who don't want to me made to cry in public.

The only thing to remember is when Jerry sells you a card trick it AIN'T as easy as he makes it look .

Unfortunately, Jerry is rarely often seen at International anymore. Granted, when you do see him, your in for a demo of amazing card magic.

I was in Davenports over the summer holidays (I dont live in the UK, I come to visit my Dad there), and there was a really nice man at the counter there. He helped me with everything, and even asked me about my magic history. I was there to buy like a new TT and a new set of loops, and so on. They didnt have the loops which quite annoyed me. They are always out of stock..... And my friend was there about two hours before I was, and he said that the staff was terrible, and he also did not get half the stuff he wanted to get.....I remember going there for the first time when I was about 13...the staff was really nice, and I bought the Invisible Zone..hehe.

This from July 31st.

NorthernYorker wrote:.
Anyway, i was at the shop today and they are well aware of this thread both management and staff. I suppose it's just about waiting now that the problem's been identified to see if the staff are willing to put in a bit of extra effort. On the point that the workers want people 'out as quickly as possible' i was informed today that the Davenports are so keen NOT to have people leave the shop feeling neglected that they are considering opening an area adjoined to the shop where magicians are welcome to come and stay and discuss their hobby with fellow magicians - in the hope that this would build up some feeling of community.

Although 3 months may not be enough time to give them to sort out the extra area, I wonder if people have noticed a change in attitude or not?
Not having been there for several months, prefering to go to International Magic, I would be interested to know if things have improved.
If they have, some credit is due for taking note of threads such as this one. If not, I know not to bother going there next time I'm in London.

Any help or comments on this anyone?

Read my previous post. I was there on the summer holidays, and they were nice. But my friend was there two hours before me, and he said that they werent nice. But they still dont have much stuff in stock.

I was down in London a few weeks ago and headed to Davenports and International.

Davenports was staffed by two young kids - late teens or very early 20's - I stood at the counter for a good few minutes while they threw cards around (poorly) and chatted amongst themselves. When I finally got some attention it seemed a real chore for them to get the things I wanted, then at the end, when he asked if I wanted a bag to put the purchases in, he just put the empty bag on the counter next to the items and wandered away!

Very poor.

International wasn't much better. There were two older guys. One was demoing stuff for a customer, so I spoke to the other. He seemed far more interested in the demo, and kept walking away before I could finish my question, getting more and more snappy in his reply with each question I asked.

The guy who was doing the demo seemed nice, he said thanks as I left the shop even though he was busy, but his helper left a lot to be desired.

I don't really care if people in shops are super friendly, I'm just a customer, not a friend, but I don't expect them to go out of their way to be obnoxious either.

I'd travelled from Newcastle to visit the magic shops of London, but I wish I'd saved my train fair and spent it in Magic Box in town, though I couldn't get in the place yesterday for people buying bloody Halloween costumes!

These reports are horrendous. In Toronto you are assured of good and I would even say superlative service at the magic shops here. I have often said that Toronto magicians do not know how lucky they are. Two well stocked BIG magic shops here with personal attention from the owners and the staff are on the ball and friendly.

The dealers here are well aware of the threat from the internet to Brick and Mortar shops and they pull out all the stops to combat it. Prices are much cheaper online so the shops cannot afford to let up for a second on customer service.

Times have changed and I am afraid the days of the grumpy magic dealer and inattentive assistants are over. If the shops in London don't pull up their socks and stop relying on past reputation they will go under within 5 years if not sooner if they don't sharpen up. I seriously mean that. The shops cannot compete on price so they sure as hell better compete on personal service. Once that is gone the shop will be gone soon after.

Complacency is a very dangerous thing.

I agree that the staff in Davenports can be inattentive and that they hardly have anything in stock but International Magic is an absolute dive. The guy who runs the place once yelled at me for not buying a book he recommended and accused me of wasting his time, maybe he just doesn't like scousers? Another time i went in to buy 13 steps but they had none on the shelf. The guy goes upstairs and brings down what quite clearly was his copy he had lying about, old, dog eared and not wrapped in cellophane and still tries to charge me full price! unbelievable! I have never set foot in there since.

mark lewis wrote:The dealers here are well aware of the threat from the internet to Brick and Mortar shops and they pull out all the stops to combat it. Prices are much cheaper online so the shops cannot afford to let up for a second on customer service.

Times have changed and I am afraid the days of the grumpy magic dealer and inattentive assistants are over. If the shops in London don't pull up their socks and stop relying on past reputation they will go under within 5 years if not sooner if they don't sharpen up. I seriously mean that. The shops cannot compete on price so they sure as hell better compete on personal service. Once that is gone the shop will be gone soon after.

It's very seldom I agree so completely with Mr. Lewis.

For me customer service is ALWAYS the most important thing. I believe in rewarding good work and will shop somewhere with higher prices - if they treat me like they value my business - over bargain shopping and getting treated like garbage any day.

I've never shopped at either of the London stores, but this post has been going on since July (and customers have said they've pointed it out) yet the behavior remains? ...

mark lewis wrote:Complacency is a very dangerous thing.

...Indeed...

Mage Tyler wrote:I've never shopped at either of the London stores, but this post has been going on since July (and customers have said they've pointed it out) yet the behavior remains? ...

I don't think they care, to be honest. Otherwise they would have taken steps to improve their service by now. Only time will tell whether their nonchalance was the right decision, but somehow I doubt it. They certainly have an air of arrogance about them.

Uncompetitive pricing
Consistent lack of stock
Very poor customer service

It's not looking good from where I'm standing, which is a real shame.

They are going to get some competition soon from Canada if I have anything to do with it. For some time I have been trying to persuade The Browser's Den in Toronto to advertise in Abra. I have told them that the British dealers will not be able to compete price wise because there are two Canadian dollars to every pound. You can get here for dollars what you will pay in Pounds in the UK. Sure there is postage charges and possibly customs duties (not on books though-I don't think) but it will still be worth it.

Mail from Canada to the UK is incredibly fast. 3 or 4 days only. Have a look at this website and divide the dollar prices in two. You will then get the price in pounds. www.browsersden.com

If you order anything tell them that Mark Lewis sent you. Not everyone lives in London or in a town where there is a magic shop so you are going to have to order by mail anyway from somebody. It seems that British dealers are c*** (not the best) by what I am reading here. Try Canada and report back here on the results.

I am actually doing this to help the London dealers. They need a bit of competition to make them sharpen up it seems. If people have to get their stuff from Canada it proves there is something wrong somewhere.

Whenever I have tried to order something from the UK I get terrible service and the runaround from various incompetent dealers that I will not name.

I now remember why I left.

To ad a note of balance, it's perhaps just those two London Dealers who are operating at less than full efficiency? Suppliers such as Worldmagic, Alakazam, Card Collection House of Magic, JB Magic and MagicBox have good bricks and mortar shops where the service is excellent. Keen, helpful and, although obviously keen to sell stuff, not pushy or overbearing - certainly not insulting. There may be many more B&M shops of similar good repute so perhaps those with experience of them could chip in with comments?