Tackle and Guns, one of the Shooting Industries leading trade publication, secret shopped our store in Dorchester during May and awarded us Star Shop with a fantastic 99/100.

Scoring a very impressive 10/10 in all categories, bar ‘Family Friendly’, where we dropped a single point due to a low step down into the Gunroom which could pose an issue if you had a pushchair, which of course would be remedied with anyone of our staff happy to lend a hand.

The verdict read; “Every now and again, something special happens. This is the shop that others should benchmark. You could spend £250 to £250,000 and the staff would make you feel just as important. Almost faultless.”

Why not come in and see for yourself!

Here’s the full list of reviewed categories:

First Impression? 10/10

Class. This shop oozes quality. There’s plenty of shop front and a couple of ways to get into it; every single window is great. I parked on the street 50 metres away but there are a couple of dedicated spaces just opposite.

 

Step Inside? 10/10

As you open the door, the feeling of quality reaches out and hits you in the face. The plentiful windows help the shop look well stocked, but not overcrowded. There’s quite a lot of stuff to look through and, even if there were products not quite perfectly arranged in the racks (trousers) they still look fine.

 

Stay Clean? 10/10

Just about as good as it gets without employing forensic cleaning.

 

Show it off? 10/10

Fabulous – vertical racks filled with polished gleaming guns, mannequins in the shop windows showing off clothing, even the counter tops were classy. Labelling was, as expected, discreet, understated without losing any of the essential information, clear and concise with no messing about searching for prices.

 

Help me? 10/10

There are plenty of staff. As I walked in, there was a chap servicing a gun in the side room, who immediately greeted me. I was then greeted by another member of staff; quiet, assured, efficiency is how best to describe the ambience.

 

Know your stuff? 10/10

There was nothing that I could ask that would trouble the assistant and, even if it did, there were other members of staff on hand to help. The young chap who looked after me fielded every question.

 

Pushy or pleasant? 10/10

Nothing about this shop makes you feel pushed or coerced. Despite the obvious luxury of some of the products (and some of the guns) I never felt overwhelmed or out of my depth. I was made to feel the most important person in the shop.

 

Do I need this? 10/10

Taken alongside the category above, I was given all the information I needed to ensure that I was centre of the retail experience. I was helped towards a buying decision that was right for me.

 

Family Friendly? 9/10

Well, this is about a nit-picky as you can get, there is a low step down to the “gun room” proper, which may cause an issue with a pushchair. A slope here would have created a perfect score. Saying that, I imagine if you ran an NHS-style bed race through the shop, the staff would help you down the step.

 

What’s happening and where? 10/10

Another faultless performance here. I got all the information I needed, in verbal as well as printed form.

 

Verdict

Every now and again, something special happens. This is the shop that others should visit as a benchmark. You could spend £250 or £250,000 and the staff would make you feel just as important. Almost faultless.

 

Total 99/100