“Try them. They’ll know what you need.”

That is a strong recommendation for a shop.

Especially when you have already spent an evening looking online and still cannot tell which version, size or spare part to order.

So which Peterborough shop would you send a friend to?

Perhaps someone took the time to explain a purchase without making you feel daft.

Perhaps they found a cheaper option, tracked down something awkward or dealt fairly with a problem afterwards.

Those are the details we want to hear.

What brings you back?

Price has to be part of the conversation. When money is tight, even a small difference can decide where you buy.

But the price tag does not tell you how the purchase will go.

Being able to try something, ask a question or check that a part fits can save a second purchase or a return journey.

Think about the last time someone in a shop stopped you buying the wrong thing.

That advice had a value, even if it never appeared on the receipt.

Good service can also be as ordinary as an honest answer: “We haven’t got it,” “You don’t need the expensive one,” or “Bring it in and we’ll have a look.”

A recommendation becomes much more convincing when it explains what somebody actually did.

Buying locally can be a choice about the place you live

Spending in a Peterborough shop supports a business trading here and the people working in it.

For some readers, helping an independent business keep going is part of the reason they return.

That does not mean every household can afford to pay more, or that every local purchase deserves praise.

Shops still have to offer something customers want at a price they can manage.

Nor does a recommendation have to be for an independent.

A member of staff in a larger retailer can give excellent advice or go out of their way to put something right.

Tell us who helped and what happened. The experience is what another reader can learn from.

The shop you know may be the one someone else is looking for

It is easy to assume everybody knows a place because you have used it for years.

Someone who has just moved to Peterborough may never have heard of it.

Someone on the other side of the city may have driven past without knowing what it sells.

A specific recommendation gives them a reason to investigate.

“Lovely shop” is a kind comment. “They helped me find the right replacement part and explained how to check the size” tells another customer much more.

The same goes for value.

If you found a good price, tell us what you bought and when.

Prices change, and a bargain from several years ago may not be available now.

Who gets your recommendation?

Send us:

• The shop’s name and where it is.

• What you bought or asked for.

• What made you recommend it.

• Roughly when you visited.

•  

You do not need to write a review. A few sentences about your own experience will do.

We would like to use reader suggestions to build a Peterborough shopping guide, checking the details are up to date before suggesting a business. 

If you own or work for a shop, please say so when you put it forward your suggestion.

And if a friend is always saying, “You should have asked me—I know somewhere,” send them this article.

We would like to hear their recommendation also.