The Range, Reading — Local services in Reading

I'm a wheelchair user and visit your reading store fairly frequently. The store is absolutely shambles, particularly in regards to the upstairs area, toy area and the new Halloween section downstairs. There is constantly items on the ground, baskets in the way , Isles blocked or not wide enough for a wheelchair user and it's completely inaccessible. The lift in store has a very steep ramp leading into it which is very difficult to navigate while also having to pull the door open. When reading the lift report posted on the outside of the lift it states the lift platform is coming away and that this needs to be addressed. The report was completed 2022/3 and this has yet to be fixed, adding an additional obstacle for a disabled person. Upstairs is full of pallets and items blocking pathways including bird seed, baskets of wool and toys strewn all over the floor. I have reported the inaccessibility of the store to members of staff three times and each time I was told it would be looked into and addressed but never has been. I truly wish I could access and enjoy this store as it has good stock and the art section is a wide range of crafts. However this is ruined for me by the lack of consideration for a disabled person .I truly challenge any senior member of staff or management to get into one of the instore wheelchairs that are provided by the range and attempt to navigate the store by themselves as not all wheelchair users have or require a carer. It would be interesting to see what issues the management face when put in this position and how quickly these could be rectified if it was truthfully thought about.

I have contacted the store again today and will update the...

Be careful on the prices. I went into the Reading branch to buy a number of items including batteries that were advertise at £2.49. After a que half way around the store (which is normal considering these times), I paid thinking it was a little on the high side so I checked my receipt and noticed that they had charged £4.99 for the batteries. I said to the cashier this was incorrect. She called cover a younger manager, I took her to the display and showed her the pricing that clearly stated £2.49. She ripped this off the display and said it was incorrectly price and that it was store policy not to sell these to me at the displayed price and therefore to get a full refund. The queue for refunds was very long so I asked to take a photo so I could come back later. She didn't allow me to take a photo or wanted to write a note on the receipt to say we had this conversation. BY LAW, you are entitled to the lowest advertised, posted or quoted price offered by the store. I stated this and they still refused breaking this law in offering to honour this price. I was with several people that saw this price was incorrect and heard the conversation with the manager, but for the sake of £2.49 it just wasn't worth the journey back or to spend time in another long que. The display was half filled, therefore how many more people were over charged and how many other prices are incorrect. I'm writing this to say to BE CAREFUL what prices you are paying, especially coming into the Christmas period. One thing is for sure, the whole experience from the till operator to the manager was unprofessional. I know they are cheap, but if this is a way they do business, then I will not be shopping at The...

I drove 45 minutes to the Reading branch to grab my click and collect order after receiving an email saying it was ready to collect.

The member of staff at the till didn't even scan the QR code, assumed she knew what i was there to collect and said, I think the system made an error and showed your item as being in stock but really isn't, and walked off saying she was going to look for it!

She returned 10 minutes later with a garden bench!!!! I ordered a parasol!!

This member of staff was walking around socialising with customers as I waited for her to locate this parasol!! SO UNPROFESSIONAL!

A manager, i believe, noticed what was going on and my frustration and offered to help so she actually took 30 seconds to read the email on my phone and look at a picture of the parasol and then went and brought it for me!

Such a simple transaction but because of no customer service skills (listening/communicating/ professionalism) I wasted a whole 20 minutes waiting!

There also weren't enough staff at the tills to serve the ever growing queue of people (who were watching the circus at the help desk) on a Saturday morning!

I will definitely avoid going to this branch again! I only used them because the item i wanted was out of stock in my local!

Management suggestion - train staff in communication skills (especially listening); hire more staff on the weekend; reduce customer waiting times for click and collect orders by keeping the items behind the counter! My experience turned into "click; wait; stress; wait and...