Shopping in Northern Ireland

Not strictly bargain related, but a comment I feel is worth mentioning when discussing shopping in Northern Ireland: the helpfulness and politeness of the staff. I know this should really be standard behaviour retail, but from my experience it would be more common to find retail staff in Dublin who are rude, dismissive and unhelpful.

I can tell you how rude sales assistants are.
I went into evens clothes shop in Dublin yesterday looking for a pair of boots,Anyway the first girl was okish.
But this other assistant was so bloody rude i could of hit her over the head with the boots :rolleyes:,She was very stroppy because she had to go and get these boots and because i didn't want them as they were uncomfortable she huffed and puffed,So i won't be going there again.

JDxtra wrote: »

Not strictly bargain related, but a comment I feel is worth mentioning when discussing shopping in Northern Ireland: the helpfulness and politeness of the staff. I know this should really be standard behaviour retail, but from my experience it would be more common to find retail staff in Dublin who are rude, dismissive and unhelpful.

To be totally honest, I think the reason the staff in DUBLIN are rude is that most of them dont even speak English and dont want a "have a nice day attitude"--they just want you to pay and leave....and please dont say Im racist as you only have to go in to any shop on O Connell st to see what I mean.

positron wrote: »

The last mile or so to Newry roundabout is one lane today with roadworks or something - some 5 mile tail back around 11am.

We were nearly involved in a multi car pile up as this tail back just came out of nowhere!

We took the turnoff onto the old Newry - Dublin road, saved us about 40 mins, after the roundabout we took a left hand turn off and came round the back of the town. Ended up parking on a road parallel to the Buttercrane Centre.

Total travel time from Finglas to being parked in Newry - 1 hr 10 mins. We left at about 8.30 this morning.

Can't confirm this but my brother heard off a person at work yesterday that ASDA in Strabane had to be closed for a period yesterday because they had too many customers in the store.
Never heard of anything that bad but honestly not surprised, the place is mobbed with southern reg cars, queuing for a a trolley etc. anytime you go in

I wonder if the headline - 'Irish people queing to get out of the Country' - will make the government/retail bosses/other vested interests sit up and do something.

Good to see people voting with their feet. Apparently we're the only economy in the world which has responded to the worldwide recession by increasing taxes, both direct and indirect.

Maybe I'm thick, but I just don't get it - the price of everything is increasing (e.g. ESB up 17% in Sept, Health Insurance up 20% this weekend, VAt up etc...), and the government (Cowen, Lenihan, Coughlan) have all stated that we should still be buying stuff in the South.

So, they completely failed to address the rip-off as between Northern Retailers and their goods North and South of the border, they take more money from us, and then they think we should use the diminishing money we're left in control with to prop up their disastrous reign for another bit.

Off with their heads?

Let them eat cake?

Left the house at about 8.30 this morning and got to Newry at 9.40 approx.

Most of the shops were busy, but no busier then Dublin shops at xmas time.
The only shop that really seemed to be struggling under the pressure of all the Southern custom was Sainsburys.

Grabbed a few bargains today. Piad €45.30 for a black shirt in River island last week, got the same shirt in white for £29 (which converts to €35 approx according to xe.com)

A lot of shops were offering £1 for €1, unfortunately none of those shops sold anything I wanted to buy.
Dunnes and a few others were offering 0.85c to the £1.

I made most of my purchases in shops that I would normally shop in at home (River Island, New Look, Top Shop, etc) so my saving was on the fact that I didn't have to pay the ridiculous euro mark up price.

Big savings to be had on booze, but the general rule of thumb seems to be that the more you buy, the more you save
There have a lot of 'Buy 2 for £5' type deals and I must admit I fell for them hook, line and sinker!.

Do buses go regular from Busaras to Newry?
I checked on the buseireann website and it told me there's buses going once an hour (Including during the night).
That can't be right, can it?


EDIT: never mind, i see that buses do go.

muffler wrote: »

Fair point. Midweek doesn't suit everyone.

I live 20 minutes drive from Strabane (40 mins to Derry) so I suppose Im spoilt in that regard

Maybe next year when people plan their annual leave, they will think of Northern Ireland shopping trips and set aside a day for December
I have been up on week days, and it is easier to get around.
Also, I was in Belfast city centre last Friday week and was looking around the shops between 6pm and 9pm (late night shopping) and it was fine...no big crowds and loads of helpful assistants in good form to help you with your purchases! Very friendly environment, I would highly recommend it.

We have free market. People who are not lazy do their shopping at the places, where they can get their products cheaper, interweb including. It has nothing to do with patriotism (unless you are french), it is question of your common sense.

=> Politics forum

Report on the traffic yesterday to Newry.
Rip-off refugees choke all roads to Northern El Dorado

Independent 30/11


FROM yesterday morning, the first sign of the mass Christmas shopping exodus could be seen 11 kilometres outside Newry. Cars packed with eager shoppers sat bumper-to-bumper all the way into the town.

Southern registration plates illustrated how far a nation on the brink of an economic meltdown was willing to go to save some of their hard-earned money.

From Dublin, Kildare, Wexford, Tipperary and Roscommon -- they waited patiently, armed with their cash.

After an hour waiting in traffic, drivers began to step out of their cars and stick their heads out of sunroof windows to see how far the queues stretched and they quickly discovered it was further than the eye could see.

You would almost have to witness it to believe it -- or to even begin to try and grasp just how big a dent this is going to leave in the Irish economy.

After two hours, the toilet breaks began and handfuls of drivers got out to relieve themselves at the side of the road. As with bargain-hunting, desperate times call for desperate measures.

I pulled down my window to chat to neighbouring cars and to see if there was even a hint of guilt among the trail of shoppers. One by one, they gave a uninterested shrug and shook their heads.

Debbie, a blonde in a Volvo jeep, pulled up beside me. She was bringing her two Dublin girlfriends shopping and couldn't believe how quickly word has spread about the good deals, having been up the previous week.

"I thought there was an accident up ahead so my husband rang the guards to find out why the tailbacks were so bad and it turns out it's all down to people going shopping. It's unbelievable."

Like every other driver I chatted to, she had no qualms whatsoever about bringing her money north.

"Ten years ago, when everyone was coming down to do their shopping in the south, I didn't hear anyone complain. What goes around comes around."

Before driving off she gave me some extra tips to get most out of my Christmas spend.

"Banbridge has some fantastic outlet stores. There are about 70 shops in all. Make sure you go to the information desk and they will give you up to 30 per cent discount vouchers for your first visit," she beamed.

Another driver who pulled up beside me had an empty trailer attached to his car. "Will that be full on the way home?" I asked. He gave me a smile and a nod and told me he was off to load up at Ikea.

A lengthy three hours after I left Dublin and I was in the heart of Newry, but the two main shopping centres, Buttercrane and The Quays, were still out of my reach.

A trail of traffic was snaking into the car park of each centre, horns were blowing, people fighting for spaces. And with every one car pulling out, three more were waiting to take the spot. It was utter mayhem.

The car park attendant said his job has changed from pointing out spaces to defusing full-blown rows between customers.

"Tempers are flaring because people are so frustrated with the traffic. I think the fact that the locals are a bit bitter about all the people coming up from the south and causing the queues doesn't help."

Inside The Quays shopping centre, there was no let-up in the volume of shoppers. Nicola from Diamonds Jewellers says it has got to the point where the queues are repelling locals.

"I know a woman who spent two hours in her car the other day simply coming down the hill into Newry. It's insane."

She said their shop has had to re-order their Juicy Couture range several times to satisfy "groups of young girls from Dublin".

Shop windows have begun putting '€ for £' signs in the window and, with the euro so strong against sterling, the majority of shoppers say they'll be paying another visit to the town over the next fortnight. It seems there's no end to their insatiable appetite for a good bargain.

As Mary Flynn from Taugh Macconnell in Roscommon said: "It's worth the drive. I have three neighbours who came home from the north last week with carloads of shopping and there's no doubt that I'll be back again on December 8."

I asked if she feels somewhat guilty about her shopping spree as jobs fritter away back home.

"People will always go where the bargains are. It's up to the Government to do something to save the retail sector. People are going to lose their jobs over this, but it's not up to us to sort it out."

The policy of looking after number one prevails throughout the crowd.

Tara Griffin, from Clondalkin, Dublin, says there's only one thing she's worried about and that is looking after her family.

"I'm not here to look after other people's jobs, that's the Government's duty. My job is to look after my family.

"I've saved hundreds here today. I was in Currys yesterday in Dublin and I saw a computer for €500 which I got up here for €308. Why wouldn't I be back before Christmas?"

- Niamh Horan

Adamcp898 wrote: »

Can't confirm this but my brother heard off a person at work yesterday that ASDA in Strabane had to be closed for a period yesterday because they had too many customers in the store.
Never heard of anything that bad but honestly not surprised, the place is mobbed with southern reg cars, queuing for a a trolley etc. anytime you go in

untrue

A lot of shops were offering £1 for €1, unfortunately none of those shops sold anything I wanted to buy.
Dunnes and a few others were offering 0.85c to the £1.

Dunnes Stores Swords - High School musical kids duvet = EUR25
Dunnes Stores Newry - High School musical kids duvet = GBP15, so at their exchange rate = EUR17.65.

With the excessive margins being charged by Irish Retailers, even those operating in both countries, is it any wonder people are fed up with being ripped off.
This is way way beyond VAT/wage/etc. differences.
They probably even came into the country in the same container.:mad:

PS - was in Dublin city centre yesterday. Noticed on the train on the way home, how while there were lots of people, much fewer bags then previous Christmas.