W H Smith

My last visit to WHSmith in the Centre Mall, Middlesbrough resulted in me being stopped as I was walking out by a woman who asked if I could speak. She asked my name and said that her father’s happened to be the same. Possible I guess but if that is part of a script then be damned. I hate dishonesty. Dishonesty certainly followed when I asked where this was leading and I said that it isn’t for charity is it as I don’t give to charity. She said ‘no, it’s not for charity’. As she was just about to lead to me to a desk behind her, I could see another woman standing by a load of forms with ‘The British Red Cross’ stated on them. My brother used to be a member of The British Red Cross. Unfortunately, it is all a ruse to get money in the end. I advised her ‘I’m sorry. I can see it is for charity’. The only true charities are those that have no paid employees. Others are business whose trade is ‘charity’. I feel sorry that the goodwill of some unpaid workers is exploited.

This is your usual Smith’s: they sell books, magazines, cards, stationery and some DVDs/​CDs. They also sell a small range of drinks and snacks.
It’s always mega busy so there’s often a queue at the till. There’s now a post office downstairs which is also quite busy, especially at lunch times.
I don’t think the store is laid out very well as I always have trouble trying to find the book or magazine I want and there never seems to be a member of staff available to ask for help.
It’s not a very big store so their book selection is limited and they only tend to stock the most recent releases or those that are on special offer.

This is one of the better branches of WH Smith in this area. It’s located in one of the large indoor shopping centres in Middlesbrough town centre, not too far from Boots.
Now, I am one of these awkward people who love magazines — but not just ordinary magazines. No, I like the more obscure ones which sadly are simply not stocked by most newsagents, and are not stocked by a number of branches of WH Smith (for example the one in Stockton town centre and the one on Teesside Retail Park). However, this branch in Middlesbrough is brilliant! It has an excellent range of magazines — ok not quite as good as you will find in Borders on Teesside Park, but then Borders is unsurpassed! If you’re in Middlesbrough town centre, this is definitely the best place for magazines.
The branch is quite large and set out over two floors. They sell everything you would expect from WH Smiths, not just magazines, but also books, games, DVDs and CDs, even sweets!
The only real downside with this place is the queues at the check outs. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, but there always seems to be a queue, and it never seems to move very quickly!

This branch of WHsmith is a decent size, not too cramped, and has all the things you would usually expect, books, cd’s dvd’s, magazines, and stationary in abundance. Also, as usual the price of everything isn’t too cheap, but they sometimes have some good offers on. One of Middlesbrough’s post offices has now moved from its original premises, to the basement floor of WHSmith, which in my opinion was not a good move. The post office is now smaller, there are always fewer cashiers to serve you, and the queue regularly gets so big that it stretches across the main entrance/​exit and into the other half of the floor which is occupied by WHSmith. The old post office used to have several tables/​writing surfaces to fill out forms, write cards etc, but the new one has one table, which is definitely not enough. If you are going to use this post office be prepared to wait a while in a very cramped, hot environment. When you do get served though, the service is good. I would just avoid mondays when all the pensioners come in, and also those who are on the dole which makes it busier than usual. The addition of the post office has made it a busier store, and lots of people who wouldn’t usually go to the shop, do so because you have to walk through it to get downstairs.

Very large store witha great selection of books, stationary, newspapers, magazines etc. There is also several tills dotted around the store which is great for queues and the staff are always very helpful. They is also a downstairs levels with craft items, dvds and a postoffice. There is a lift to access this which is good for those who cant take the stairs.

recently added a post office downstairs bit tricky for the elderly, staff always willing to try and get item if out of stock for you, nice personnel touch, massive store always loads of room even when busy

Very large WHSmiths store, with a great selection of books, gifts and magazines on a couple of floors.
They often have some good offers, especially in the run up to Christmas and they often have 3 for 2 on Christmas gifts.
I found it quite hard to get my young son in the lft with his buggy, so may cause a problem to those with young children if they want to venture away from the ground floor!
It’s always well stocked but does often get busy during weekends and lunch times.

Very large WHSMITHS which is situated in The Mall shoping centre.
The shop is on two levels and has a large floor area. Therefore there is a large display area on both floors.
Well stocked and large newspaper/​magazine section. Very good book section and there are lots of different cards for verious celebrations to choose from.
More recently Middlesbrough Post office moved into the lower floor which is a very handy spot for customers.
I find WHSmiths quite reasonably riced when various offers are in place and they do seem to be pretty regular.