Argos

Waiting queue was super long and then when my turn came I was told my item didn’t come in stock yet even though I was told it was!

I’m not a fan of Argos, it’s always struck me as a really weird retail concept. You plough through the laminated pages of massive catalogues, then write down the number with a tiny pencil.
Now they have computer terminals in store which allow you to search a bit more efficiently (well, the connections are very slow, but it beats trying to find something in the paper version). But if you want to buy your chosen product there and then you still have to write down the number with that pencil, then find another terminal which allows you to pay by credit card (or queue for cash payments).
You then join a disorderly queue waiting for your products to be pulled out of the warehouse behind the counter. No real system here. It’s OK when you’ve bought just one item, a bit of a challenge when you are waiting for a whole list as everything is ticked off a list by hand — staff use pens rather than pencils.
Still, this branch in particular was a life saver after a failed mission to find a reading lamp around Brick Lane. Hardly any useful shops left, just cafes and vintage stores. And it was packed despite the extreme lack of atmosphere — not even Christmas music, a definite bonus!

Three stars for ease of getting there and relatively efficient set-​up. Really small though and inventory doesn’t seem to be that great. Argos’s click and collect is beneficial and probably the only reason I’ve been here multiple times.

Argos is cheap, think of it like a physical
. You walk into the store and order from a catalog, and within 5 minutes after paying at the counter, the employees will pull it out of the warehouse and give it to you.
I got my bedding here for real cheap. Is it quality? No, but it’s enough to get me by for a month.

Don’t shop it, Argos it!
Really? Really?! Three heaters you say you have online, 3! And I call you and no one picks up so I trek through the snow and oh no, oh no! Not one of those heaters!
Still I have another one now but MASSIVE FAIL!