AFTER almost a month of trying to buy a freezer, I wonder why none of the vacant shops in Witney have turned into an electrical dealer?

We are swimming in coffee shops, shoe shops, opticians etc but we seem to have lost many independent traders, electrical or otherwise.

If you don’t want to shop “online” or go to Oxford, you almost become the customer from hell trying to get the item you want. Once upon a time, we had the SEB showroom and Curry’s as well as the only two retailers we now have.

I like to “view before I buy” as I am sure most people do. Even the price for the same item can vary enormously. Hopefully now the freezer we need is on order; but you should be able to get what you want, rather than what shops want to sell you – and this does not necessarily just apply to electrical items. I found this in many other areas too.

A friend’s mum who worked in a shop used to joke “the customer is always right – except when they’re served by me!”

Gone are the days when we could walk into Leigh’s hardware store and ask for three 9in Phillips screws and a 6in piece of 4x4 plywood please.

Those were the days of customer service and variety – now it’s “No sorry. We don’t sell that – that’s all we have.” I’m sure I’m not the only person who really misses the “old style” shopkeepers, Arkwright or otherwise!

Progress? I don’t think so.

What do other readers think?

D HOLLOWAY Wenrisc Drive, Minster Lovell