Okay, forgive me for a little bit of stereotyping, but this is really said with tongue in cheek. For those who know me, I hate stereotyping and labelling or categorising of people of any kind. However, I’ve had this said to me on many occasions. Men don’t do shopping, they don’t have the patience or staying power to go around the shops and do it properly.
Hmm, now I’ve got that out of my system, I will automatically disagree with it. True, many men may have a different or alternative method of shopping, but I know that if I had my sight, I would be a browser and keen tourer of the shops.
Being blind does at times have its frustrations when shopping; especially for things like clothes, shoes and household items. For one, you are dependent on the assistance available in shops; which can vary in quality and in fact availability. Secondly, if help is gained then there is the issue of describing items, determining whether something is right or the colour or style suits. Yep, shopping can, as I’m sure many of you will agree, be quite a risky business.
Therefore, visiting the trinity shopping centre in Leeds came as a bit of a revelation to me. As for most shopping centres, you really need to take pot luck at getting assistance in the various retail outlets. Customer services within the Trinity centre provide a really good service of helping you to and through the shops that you want to visit. This takes quite a lot of strain out of wondering what kind of help you will get in each shop and whether you will end up in the right department or section. The only down side is that customer services are based on the top floor towards the back of the centre itself, but Trinity Leeds do provide a great and accessible service.
Are there any other shopping centres within the UK that do this? Please let us know. Also, it will be interesting to hear your own shopping experiences; whether good, bad or indifferent.