LBC's Steve Allen complains about Maplin's customer service live on air 

I tried to buy a book as a Christmas present for my great-grand-daughter in Waterstones --- the assistant (who also had a ring through her nose) rang it up on the till then shoved it back across the counter at me . She handed me the card reader, with my card already in the slot. I said 'do you have a bag?' ---she looked at me rudely and said 'No' I said 'it's a present' she just sneered. I took my card (without putting in my pin) shoved the book back across the counter, and walked out.

hes been at LBC since I was a kid, I'm 34 now.... Always brings the laughs, the gossip queen, the legend, there's only one Steve Allen.

You are correct. I always complain if there is no service. The trouble is Steve staff turnover is huge and no one knows their Job and the public are so lazy they just give in.

I would never hire, or tolerate, untidy, slovenly, lazy staff when I was in retaill management. The shops I managed were well-run, by polite staff with the initiative to tell me if we were running low on items that I might have missed (no-one is perfect). My staff were all clean, tidy, bright and knowledgeable about the stock we carried. I made a profit in all the branches I managed, when other branches were merely breaking even. That's how I reached senior management level. And that's why I won't accept poor service in silence.

This video is the reason Maplin went bust? Seriously it was incompetent management.

“I’ve taken my business elsewhere”. Yeah, another Maplins. 😂😂😂

Feel so sorry for those staff on minimum wage trying to do their job and having to put up with this.

Calls other people thick, yet goes on national radio telling the nations burglars the cameras at his house will be fake.

I found this Funny and Hilarious 😅😅😂

"People should complain" about.. being in a store where the staff are busy and procedures and authorisations are required for refunds to be put through the till. Good one!

Service costs nothing, repeats customer business in your store. Being an ex- Maplin Manager 1998 to 2001 we did things differently back then when putting the superstores together. They obviously have gone down the pan.

I was a cabbie in st albans. Before the moblile and smart phones. And i would listen to this religiously when i was on graveyard shift. Thank you lbc

We miss you Steve Allen hope you are well

Brilliant, was in agreement the whole way 👍🏻10/10

Someone called him “the original Karen”. Fun fact: I used to know one of the staff who worked there and used to shop in there quite a bit

@cliffaudio Not for a small dummy cammera, in a box about the size of a spindle of CD's. Not very big. Now I've left this to the end; Use my initiative? Well as I explained in my first comment, how exactly was I supposed to go and get some bags (even if there were some) since staff are not allowed to leave the till area?

Maplins Kingston : Twinned with Homebase, Roundhay Road, Leeds.

Maybe they are a bit depressed. Unfortunately not everyone is as lively as you.

Very good, I have a policy that if there is no price on an item, i don't buy at all, I should not be expected to hunt around for the price or chase staff. The main problem with high street retailers (Curry's/PC World are the worst in my opinion) is that they simply don't care about the customer, they are too big to care.

Does she still work there...?

They could have done it as an over ring, very easily

What goes around comes around, eh Steve?

The original Karen. For decades he has loved to brag daily about being vile to retail staff and getting ppl fired - a cashier asking him if he needs a bag sets him off.

And there Maplins went……

He's right! Customer service is lousy in alot of places nowadays and nobody complains it, that's why it continues to be the same, and this is 2020

Well done Steve. Its important to highlight this bad service in shops, after all shops are closing down all over the country could bad service be partly to blame

I get the feeling he was highly exaggerating the situation really. Just open your mouth and say what you want unless you are painfully shy which Steve is certainly not...

Yes, I found Hounslow branch were helpful.

Can’t believe this guy has been on there since I was a kid. And I’m now 51

I think that Steve is right in highlighting dreadful shops with bad service....Well done Steve!!!!

What a monumental bulb!

If you ask the answer normally is if not on shelf we have none so there 👻

Good for you Steve.

"Slovenly....." Learnt a new word there (all thanks to Stevie baby) :D

I do listen to him quite a lot, but he's not a great as he thinks he is.

@cliffaudio Right let's get the full picture here. I am supposed to get bags of which the store had run out. I am not the one in charge of ordering, therefore the manager should be liable not me. The bag I did find was from a returned item, where sometimes people leave the bags of returned items. Further to that, if people like him didn't demand and use to many bags which he clearly does "I've given up saying 'how else?'" we might have had some left for other customers who genuinely needed one

Original Karen

Maplin is dead...and Steve is still going strong

This man has no respect what-so-ever for the people who work in shops. The reason why a customer would be asked if they want a bag is to save plastic. In this case, a gentleman customer purchasing a single item in a box; one would assume that its quite elementary to carry it to his car without issue, and help save the environment.

For God's sake, what's the problem with giving them your postcode? They didn't ask for your full address (apparently).

You should always be offered a bag, no problem in being offered one. All you have to say is yes or no.

i bet he gives LBC his address so that he can get paid. I thought LBC was a phone in/ talk radio format......his show is a 2.5 hour monologue: subjects covered, fattening food, diabetes, poor service in shops, bitching about micro celebrities, reading the crap in newspapers plus his biggest thing......the big countdown to next Christmas which he starts about end of August each year. Love you Steve.......your programme has cured my insomnia.

Apple don't grapple the Mapple!!

so funny steve, gave my website a plug on he's show once aswell, yes he's a drama queen, but i'd rather have him than some wooden top like vernon kay!!!!!!!!!

A couple of things I picked up on listening to your video here: "I pay your wages love" - Top marks there, so, what kind of royalty are you, or is it military, c'mon, it must be something that's causing you to think you're head and shoulders above the rest of the world... Granted the service in Kingston doesnt sound great, but you sir need to get off of your high horse and start respecting people. They are NOT there to solely look after you. -Maplin Staff-

If you get Steve’s sense of humour you’ll be addicted to the show, if you don’t, shame on you ! He’s absolutely brilliant.

So, an attitude problem before he even walked into the store... oh no everyone was busy... queue of people, which is pretty normal in a shop like Maplin, they didn't have bags, let me guess the car was right outside? Its people like this that make me glad i dont work in shops. Retail staff are treated like absoloute crap, and get paid minimal amounts.

Well they are closed now. It's the business to blame for this. Staff are probably paid pittance to be fair and completely demotivated. Stil it's extremely annoying getting service like this.

Trouble is most customer service staff are badly trained & badly paid , if you shout & abuse them you will get zero respect... TUFF

Steve Hello Sailor Allen . Makes Larry Grayson look like Kirk Douglas .

HAHAHAHAHA 'im a customer i pay your wages' you clearly dont know how a buisness works

How about bringing a bag with you, Steve.

i've never really liked maplin in kingston either, but seriously... stop whining

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

It's pretty clear steve lost during this; all the hassle he went through such as standing about on his own, waiting in a queue, asking for direction to where something is, waiting for the till, buying the item, being refused a bag, having to get his money back whilst clearly being mocked by the people working there, walking out the shop empty handed, being offered a bag however refusing as he is too embarressed to accept help and having to go to another store just to go through that again, FAIL!

First World Problem!

🛎️🔚

As for the postcode, every retailer is in their rights to ask for an address in the event of refund to cover themselves in the event of fraud. In this particular case, the customer didn't leave the store with the product and so a refund without a postcode is acceptable. In my view, Mr. Allen should get off from his high horse and start treating people as equals rather than minions who are there to serve him. -Maplin Management-

well, they've gone bust! happy now?

steve allen is a legend in his lifetime.he will still be on LBC in 2019.

Horrible, catty little queen.

Steve Allen is the funniest guy on British talk radio. Loved him since I came down here in 2010.

It's true he is being slowly moved out..its like they are afraid to put an old dog down ,,but they will. He is getting increasingly bitter and deluded. It's all about Taste ..and his flavour is bitter .

Well said Steve!

old pinochio haha hes a crank

I Think Mr.Steve Allen, your a legend in the game, yuur a hilarious to listen to, just keep it up matey!! Peace

STEVE THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME LAUGH DURING AFTER ZERO DARK THIRTY,HAVE A SAFE XMAS M8...FMR SAS OVER AND OUT.

I wouldn't give my postcode either and if I was being forced to, I simply wouldn't buy the goods. And who walks out of a store with unbagged items? Why put yourself at risk of getting stopped or looking like a thief? I agree with Steve Allen. Christ - if you wanted to walk out without a bag when they had them, they'd cause a fuss. I'll keep out of Maplins.

I LOVE HIS VOICE! So funny 😂😂😂😂❤️❤️

deffo 'little man syndrome' he likes to bully people but only if they cant fight back, it would make his day if he could get them sacked

God he makes me laugh !!!

Get over yourself welcome to the real world if that all you have to complained about what a nasty piece of work to me he had a bad attitude the minute he got into the shop i bet the place didn't closed down without his busy

Talk about a nightmare customer! The employees aren't to blame for the company's policies.

i think this man is so funny

Brilliant,,,,,,,,,

Can't stand the man.

Well perhaps if retail paid decent money and did not treat staff like garbage then you would get a reasonable level of service. Well were is Steve Allen now unemployed, perhaps he can work in retail and spend a day on minimum wage dealing with horrible nasty general public.

Take a bag with you and stop moaning about everything.

Why do you need a bag to carry one item? Do your hands not work properly? I'm sorry but the only people who rant about something as minor as buying something in a shop are sad old people like you, the fact that you were so offended by this that you ranted on the air about it is beyond me, get some friends, might help.

Yesterday I had an unsatisfying experience making a purchase from my local Maplins store. Today I'm going to use my position as a radio presenter for a local radio station to air my views. I will do this in the name of all the other customers listening to my program who might have had similar experiences. My name is Alan Partridge.

Awful 'man'