My stepfather bought a bag as a gift for me at Elusive Style for Christmas. He was keen to thank me for taking care of him since my mother died last year. He suffers from dementia and thought the bag had been stolen - he misplaced it... As he was desperate he went back to buy another one - more expensive this time as they did not have the same bag. After Christmas when I'd heard the story I explained to Elusive Style what had happened. They remembered him, but would only offer store credit on the more expensive bag. I'd already used the other bag so we couldn't return that. I think it shows a complete lack of compassion to offer a bereaved male old-aged war veteran pensioner who suffers from dementia and hallucinations store credit to a ladies accessory store. Especially when I'd explained his circumstances. When I tried to discuss this with the shop owner she talked over me the whole time, at which point I got upset and she withdrew even the store credit offer. Shame on you, Elusive Style. I would never set foot in your store after the shoddy treatment you gave my stepfather.

http://tiny.cc/lspz7

Approximate cost: $250

It's so handy having Dis n Dat nearby. They have most of the little bits and bobs you might need that you'd normally get from a discount store and they're just up the road. The staff are always friendly and helpful and they're getting more party items, storage containers and clothes in which is great.

I made a telephone enquiry regarding a couple of items. The gentleman I spoke to interrupted me and tried to pre-empt what I was asking for. He was not interested in listening to me, or the problem I was trying to solve before telling me what I should be doing, and basically mocked me. When I commented on this he told me to make my purchase elsewhere.

I feel I was polite in the transaction. I am surprised that some businesses act like they're doing you a favour by *allowing* you to spend your money there.

I've been here a couple of times and the girls are really nice. It's a nice quiet salon and the treatments are effective. The prices are good and you get a discount if you get a couple of things done together.

I got a full leg, bikini line and underarm wax. It seemed to take an awfully long time and most of the hair was broken rather than pulled out. There's lots of places that were missed and overall it wasn't worth the money I paid. There's also a 10% surcharge on credit cards, and the cash prices are already higher than some others I've compared them with.

In addition to that, the telephone answering machine is set to loud so you hear every unanswered call that comes in resonating through the salon, and every so often the therapist runs off to try to answer the phone... usually without success.

Approximate cost: $80.00

I have been to footlocker once before and was encouraged to join their "footlocker club" which granted me a 20% discount voucher for my next visit. With this in hand, I took my sons in to buy some shoes. We chose some shoes and when the assistant went out the back to get them she slipped in some special $40.00 insoles and then gave them to my son to try on. Of course my son was impressed and started to nag me to also purchase these insoles... I conceded and went to look at something else in the store. When I turned back the assistant was showing my sons the 'cool' shoe cleaning foam and doing the 'sell' on them. My sons are 8 and 9 and I object to salespeople trying to convince them they need something. I said to the assistant, "no no no, we already got this product last time we were in the shop and your salesperson sold it to my children that time".

When I went to the counter to pay for the shoes I asked her to remove the insoles as I did not want to buy them. I told her I wasn't happy about the 'hard-sell' she did on my children.

For this reason I will not shop at footlocker again. While it is in my power to purchase or not, it does not make shopping a fun experience when a salesperson puts me in conflict with my children over what I will and won't buy because they've done the sell on them. It's unethical and I deal with enough kid-nagging without having someone conspiring to make my kids want something they actually don't need.

Approximate cost: $60.00

These guys are our local bakery. Their stuff is always good and perfect for something special to take when visiting, a treat for the kids, or something for lunch.

Met up with some girlfriends on a Monday night. We were the only people there so the service was unimpeded. We shared five main courses and some entrees so got to experience a wide variety of dishes. They were all really nice and I would happily take other friends there.

Approximate cost: $17.00

We always get Fox to do our plumbing. They're efficient and usually reasonably priced. They come immediately if you have an emergency like an overflowing toilet, not quite so quick when it's not urgent. The last job was to unblock a train and fix some capping on our roof

Approximate cost: $250

I made my husband go here for a haircut because I hadn't been happy with the expense and cuts he'd been getting elsewhere. I'm really happy with the job they did (as is my husband) and the price was 1/3rd less than we usually pay!

Approximate cost: $22.00