Are we nearly there yet.......... ?

[Stranraer]

Went into my local HMV for the first time in a year, yesterday.
Had a 15 minute convo with a stranger about music and gigs, bought Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela on recommendation which turns out to be ace, and caught up with a mate who's very excited about his new guitar.
It almost made me cry.

Anyone else having any post lockdown wins ?

[Filterlab]

Blimey, are HMV still going? Can't be long now for them - they've been dragged back from the brink twice already.

[Stranraer]

They do keep clinging to that clifftop and dragging themselves back over the top.
Not as much fun as a proper indie record store but it's rare not to find a member of staff that can hold their own in a music/movie chat. I kinda like the place.

[Pigmy Pony]

After being closed for more than a year, Dean's Bakery in Preston finally re-opened last week. They are well-known and very popular in Preston, and it looked like they were gone for good. Only two allowed in the shop, so queued outside in the rain. Bought three meat and potato pies, one for my mate and two for me :)

[Barry]

They do keep clinging to that clifftop and dragging themselves back over the top.
Not as much fun as a proper indie record store but it's rare not to find a member of staff that can hold their own in a music/movie chat. I kinda like the place.


I don't - HMV pushed out all the independent record shops here, that were staffed by very knowledgeable and helpful people. Unlike HMV, who seem to be staffed by students working to pay their way through college and know nothing save the prices: and those are already printed on the CD/LP.

They are also the most difficult to deal with if you have to return a LP due to pressing faults. I avoid them and shop on-line through MusicMagpie and charity outlets such as Oxfam.

[Stranraer]

I'm not gonna defend them too hard. Like you say, big chains are often the death of indies.
That said, I've had a couple of returns where I've realised I've bought things I already have and never had a problem getting refunded even without the receipt.

[Pigmy Pony]

I'm not gonna defend them too hard. Like you say, big chains are often the death of indies.
That said, I've had a couple of returns where I've realised I've bought things I already have and never had a problem getting refunded even without the receipt.

Probably as many opinions of HMV customer service as there are HMV employees. Although whenever I went in one they were always too busy to chat.

[Stranraer]

Although whenever I went in one they were always too busy to chat.
Trust me, they're currently not too busy to chat.You could probably get them to read a book to you, if you asked nicely.

[Pigmy Pony]

To be fair I only ever got to go in on a Saturday afternoon, so they were always gonna be busy. I very rarely get into town these days, but I wish them well.

[Pigmy Pony]

Tomorrow morning I'll be going to my local branch of HMV (Hoarders of Manky Vinyl, aka car boot) :)