Sports Direct

Sports Direct

Whilst conducting research on London’s Oxford Street, one of the shops I came across was ‘Sports Direct’. Even before you step into the shop, you can tell it’s going to be more ‘fend for yourself’ over brilliant customer service.
Upon entering the store, there is a small section upstairs for copious amounts of trainers and footwear. One lonely staff member was busying herself by ‘tidying’ the endless amounts of shoes – to no avail, I may add – with not so much as a smile or any kind of welcome from her.

Heading downstairs in the imposing lifts, you are greeted with a jumble sale of clothes and sports equipment, combined with a general feeling of claustrophobia. On trying to find a simple pair of running shorts, I managed to find everything but! The store was extremely hard to navigate; in any other store, I would happily ask for assistance but not at Sports Direct – seeing as I couldn’t find anyone to ask except a rather bored-looking security guard.

Following this negative experience, I was interested in hearing what others thought of the store. As I suspected, the response was not flattering.

On asking questions such as “Did staff greet you” and “Did they ask you if you had found everything you were looking for”, it was a resounding “No” – likewise, when asked “Were staff friendly” and “Was the store easy to navigate”, it appears everyone else had the same problem with not being able to find anyone for assistance, as well as finding the store itself extremely hard to navigate.

Don’t get me wrong; I realise Sports Direct is never going to be a plush department store and it does offer great value on products - when you can find them - but I do think they need to employ a system whereby the store is easier to navigate and staff on the shop floor are easily detectable at all times to offer assistance. After all, if people can’t find what they are looking for they will go elsewhere – I know I certainly did.