Wilkinson Plus

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J K Wilkinson started with one shop in Leicester in 1930 and now has 297 shops across England and Wales. I can remember when I moved from London to Derbyshire in 1988, I had never heard of Wilkinsons, so they must have been mainly based in the Midlands, so in the last twenty years the business must have grown to cover England and Wales. In 2005 the internet site was set up. It is still a family run business and now run by J K Wilkinsons ...
...Wales.

The Wilkinson website is www.wilkinsonplus.com. On entering the page you are greeted with a brightly coloured website. The traditional Wilkinson logo in bright red with a black and white plus written next to it and then a bright red + sign. Below this there are six different tabs, consisting of Wilkinsonplus, Wilkinson Books, Wilkinson Electrical, Wilkinson DVD Rental, Wilkinson Corporate and Wilkinson Store Locator. Further ... more

I love to go shopping in Wilkinson's, however it does cause me a few problems. I go in for one item and come out with three carrier bags full of goodies. Two bags hanging from the pushchair handles and one bag placed in the pushchair, telling my daughter that its good for her to walk! Nasty Mother. Anything on offer and I'll buy it, this most of the time tends to be a waste of money as these things sit in my cupboards gathering dust only then to be given away to friends or the local charity shop.

Whilst recently going through some of my cash back websites I noticed that Wilkinson's were available on line with a small amount of cash back. Great I thought I can buy what I need only and stop wasting so much money.

So off with pen and paper I set checking through my bathroom and kitchen cupboards then to the shed to see what things gardening things I needed. With list in hand sat down to do some shopping on the internet.

A Bit about Wilkinsons

J K Wilkinson started with one shop in Leicester in 1930 and now has 297 shops across England and Wales. I can remember when I moved from London to Derbyshire in 1988, I had never heard of Wilkinsons, so they must have been mainly based in the Midlands, so in the last twenty years the business must have grown to cover England and Wales. In 2005 the internet site was set up. It is still a family run business and now run by J K Wilkinsons Grand daughters. Their Head office and a distribution site is based in Worksop Nottinghamshire and a second distribution site is situated in Caldicot, South Wales.

The Wilkinson website is www.wilkinsonplus.com. On entering the page you are greeted with a brightly coloured website. The traditional Wilkinson logo in bright red with a black and white plus written next to it and then a bright red + sign. Below this there are six different tabs, consisting of Wilkinsonplus, Wilkinson Books, Wilkinson Electrical, Wilkinson DVD Rental, Wilkinson Corporate and Wilkinson Store Locator. Further down there is a section for Garden Furniture and new for 2008 is the mattress and bed section.

Wilkinsonsplus

This shop consists of DIY, Decorating and Car, Special Offers, Home Living, Garden and Outdoor, Health, Beauty and clothing and Cleaning and Pets. This is the section I shopped in so I will come back to this bit later.

Wilkinson Books

This shop, which I never even knew existed, sells paperbacks, hardbacks, audio books and maps. Delivery on orders is either £2.50 for second class or £2.95 for first class on all orders under £20.00 and second class deliver is free on all orders over £20.00. They seem to sell every book available in every section you can think off. I have just clicked on bargains in the paperback section and found that they have quite a few book at the rather large cost of £0.00. The search looks easy to use, I have just searched for a certain author and it has listed all his books. You have to open an account which consists of your user name, password, name, address and email address.

Wilkinson Electrical

The electrical section sell cookers, fridges, freezers , fridge freezers, dishwashers, tumble driers, washer driers and washing machines. Prices start at £149.99 up to £479.99. Each section has price bands from £0 up to £200.00, £201.00 to £350.00 and £350.00 up to £500.00. The three brands that they sell are Indesit, Hotpoint and Cannon. If you click on an item it gives you a good description, dimensions and colours available. Delivery is £19.95.

Wilkinson DVD Rental

This seems a bit like the other on-line DVD rental companies. You pay from £3.79 per month for 2 rentals per month up to £14.47 for 3 discs out at one time but unlimited rentals. They are currently offering a 4 week free trial with a free £5.00 Wilkinsonsplus gift voucher. They have a star system for every film, synopsis and a review section as well. They send you an envelope with every DVD rental for you to return the DVD in the post. (Might consider this when my daughter gets a bit older).

Wilkinson Corporate

This section has information about the Wilkinson company, employment opportunities, latest news and a media section.

Wilkinson Store Locator

Just put in your postcode and it will list all your local shops.

Garden Furniture

This part sells Patio Sets, Seating and Furniture Textiles, Sheds, Gazebos, Parasols, Garden Lighting and Decorative Stones and Paving.

Wilkinson Beds and Mattresses

This is as it says a few beds and Mattresses.

Now at last Shopping on the Wilkinsonplus site

I found it quite easy to find the items I was looking for. I placed in the search "Airwick", that listed 21 results. You can then narrow your search by type, i.e., automatic spray and refills (9), plug in air fresheners (7), aerosols (2), solid air fresheners (2) and candles (1). Click on the item you want, this places the item in your basket. Without this type search it can be a bit awkward. I put in another search for nappy bags and this returned 497 results. However with the type listed below is able to eliminate the nappies and all the other items with bags by clicking on nappy bags, this left me with three options. The items cost the same as when you are buying them in the shop. When you have finished your shopping, click on your basket. If you have not set up an account, this is easy to do. Put in your email address and click on set up an account, next add your postcode. Next add your title, first and last name. Click for the addresses found after adding your postcode or add it manually, your telephone number and finally a password. When your account is set up Wilkinson email you with confirmation. If you already have an account enter your email address and password, this then takes you straight to your account.

Delivery Costs

Standard delivery cost £3.95 - delivery is Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. If you order before 2pm, Wilkinson's deliver in two days. I ordered about 9pm on Monday and I received my goods on Friday. You can also collect your order for free in store. However unless your local branch doesn't sell something that you are after this serves no purpose for me as I would still go to the shop, collect my order and then shop for more things. If your order is over £25.00 you can pay extra (£5.95) and specify a two hour delivery slot, either 8-10am Monday to Saturday or 6-8pm Monday to Friday. You can also type on instruction for the courier company.

Payment

Payment is on a secure page and is either by credit card or debit card.

After Sales Service

Once the order had been placed I received a confirmation email containing the order number. On Wednesday evening I received a telephone call from Wilkinson's telling me that my order would be with me on Friday morning. Thursday I received an email confirming despatch of my order then on Friday Morning my order was delivered by Amtrak. Be warned a signature is required.

My Order

The box was well packed and padded out with paper. All lids were taped on. The order was complete and no breakages. The delivery note was stuck to the side of the box. This contained no details of my credit card, which I was quite happy about.

Shopping on-line does not suit everybody. My local Wilkinson's (about 4 miles away) is a medium sized branch and does not sell everything. My nearest large Wilkinson's is about 10 miles away and I would probably end up spending about £2.00 in parking, so for me buying on-line quite suits me. This also keeps my daughter happy as she is not forced to walk.

Wilkinson's can be contacted on 08456 080807 or email wilkinsonplus@wilko.co.uk.

Thanks for reading. Anna 

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