I am not a fashion blogger and I have no intention of becoming one. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to shop though.

After some pretty dismal shopping expeditions before Christmas I’ve decided to vent my spleen over a couple of things that really, really annoy me about shops on the high street.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect to be fawned over the minute I walk through the door of any shop. What I do expect is for staff to adhere to some basic rules on the shop floor.

A major bugbear of mine is to see two retail assistants having a conversation while standing on opposite ends of the shop floor. Their screeching does not add to my shopping experience.

I also don’t like it when till staff happily chat away while serving customers. Yes this sounds harsh but as they chat I, the customer, gets ignored and I really don’t appreciate it.

I see this so many times and it never fails to annoy me. In high street stores I’m not expecting staff to dance attendance around me – frankly I don’t shop in stores that are expensive enough to warrant that. But what’s wrong with a little professionalism? Staff giving a good impression while their at work and directing their attention to whichever customer they’re dealing with?

I’m sure I’m going to be considered unreasonable for this post but I’ve seen it time and again. I’ve had Tesco staff bitching about their rotas while serving me, New Look managers shouting at staff to take breaks. Staff leaning on clothes rails while they chat while customers hover trying to pass them. I cannot stand it when asking a member of staff for a different size only to be given the automatic reply, “it’s all out”.

Of course not everywhere is like this. Primark, bizarrely enough, seems to have sharp, professional staff who don’t stand about. I was bowled over in Simply Be the other day. I wandered in with half an idea for a Christmas frock. A lovely lady came up to me, asked what I was looking for, what occasion, what knee-length and even if I was happy showing my upper arms.  A few minutes later she came up with a clutch of dresses and hung around the dressing room fetching me different size if I needed them. I couldn’t find a dress I liked but I was charmed by the service I got. All with a smile and all as if she genuinely wanted to find me something to wear.

Of course this isn’t the level of service I expect in somewhere like Dorothy Perkins or New Look but I thoroughly enjoyed that particular shopping experience. It would be lovely if other stores started trying to up their game.