Jackie Danicki

I had some meetings in the Covent Garden area today, so took the opportunity to spend a bunch of money on stuff I didn’t need. (Actually, that’s not strictly true; I could have spent more, and there is an argument to be had about the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want,’ but that’s another post for another time.)

First, I hopped out of my cab outside the Adidas Originals Store in Earlham Street and rushed in to buy exactly what I knew I was after: a baby blue pair of vintage Gazelles. I was in and out in less than ten minutes, but the people working there were very friendly and efficient. I walked out very happy indeed, wearing my new Gazelles.

But then I started doubting whether or not my new shoes matched my outfit, so went into the Timberland shop in Long Acre to see if they had any which might look better. I got a pair of leather slip-ons…just in time for it to start belting down with rain again. The guys working there - I think the manager was called Ian - were brilliant. Two of them came and started rubbing protective wax into my new shoes, giving me tips on how to do it myself and how often, and were just so helpful and pleasant that I almost wondered if I’d wandered out of London and into a much friendlier city.

It really is quite sad that the usual state of customer service in this place is so pathetic that mere decency and competency become rather striking points of differentiation.

Filed under: Life