Homebase

The Staines branch of Homebase is quite large and is always crowded. It’s over two floors — most of the stock is on the ground floor but in the last couple of years a mezzanine floor has been put in and the furniture is up there. There’s also a garden centre outside.
The entrance to the store is often cluttered and messy which doesn’t give you a great impression of what the rest of the shop will be like. However, I’ve always (eventually!) found what I need here. The thing that irritates me most about it is that items aren’t often priced so you have no idea what they cost and tracking down a member of staff willing to help is like looking for the Holy Grail.
As with all these places, the older, permanent staff are helpful and knowledgeable, but the Saturday and temporary staff don’t really care whether they help you or not.
Despite this, Homebase always seems to be doing a roaring trade — probably because there isn’t really a nearby alternative.