emmab's Qype profile

I was looking for help in fixing an old computer. Colin at CWL responded very quickly with a helpful email setting out what he could do and what it would cost me. When I decided it wasn’t worth the cost given the age of the computer Colin offered his services to purchase a new PC and/or to transfer everything over from the old to the new.

In the end I did not need to purchase services from CWL but I was impressed by the speed of response and the attention to detail, both of which suggests that CWL gives good customer service. Not having actually purchased from them though I can’t give them 4 stars. Do post if you try them and let us know if the initial impressions turn into good service!

I’ve eaten here at lunch and for dinner. Both times the food was superb, most recently a melt in the mouth cheese souffle as starter, juicy steak as our main course and a wonderfully tart lemon tart to finish. The service friendly and efficient, and no sense of being hurried through, even on a very busy Friday night. It is pricey at dinner (about £90 for two with three courses, wine, sparkling water and coffee) but there’s a good value set lunch menu that is much more wallet-friendly.

There’s a lot of delis in Jericho and the surrounding areas, so a lot of competition for Manos. It’s not as good as Taylors, for instance, though it is more competitively priced than Gluttons. I’ve bought fat juicy olives here, sweet sticky baklava and tangy stuffed vine leaves. Their take-away salad boxes are good too - a pasta salad and mega-garlicky hummus let down by rather stale-tasting pita bread.

Yes it looks great, and all those baskets of fresh veg outside look so inviting. Until you look at the prices. Are they joking?!? You need a mortgage to buy mushrooms!

So if you happen to be rather well off with a taste for organics by all means do your weekly shop here. Personally I’ll be sticking with Abel and Cole or Riverford deliveries - a whole box of organic goodies for the price of two Gluttons tomatoes and an artichoke (ok, I exaggerate, but you know what I mean…)

I agree about the staff. I’m mostly in there at weekends when the staff seems to be made up of schoolkids who have no idea what they are doing. It can take forever to get served.

The shop looks great but it is pricey. The only thing I buy regularly here is bread - a bit expensive but delicious and full of flavour. I tried buying black olives here once but having struggled through a very expensive tub of what was much more pit than olive I wouldn’t bother again.

One of the things that drew me back to Jericho is the Phoenix. Growing up here back in the 1970s - when it was still, of course, just The Phoenix Walton Street - I saw classics like Star Wars and Grease here.

Now I’m back in Oxford I am a member and a regular here. It’s one of those places where you can go with friends and have a fab evening out (great bar) but you can also turn up on your own and not feel like a nobby no-mates as there’s usually plenty of other singletons in there too.

The film choices are excellent too. A few blockbusters (like Indiana Jones and Quantum of Solace) but usually intelligent, interesting films you wouldn’t find at the Odeon or Vue.

Recently refurbished (Nov 2008), Maison Blanc still produces the most indulgent aesthetically pleasing cakes and pastries but the whole look and feel of the shop is much more sophisticated now. If you feel like treating yourself try the raspberry meringues or the florentines. Be prepared to queue though - quality of this kind is worth waiting for.

oooh this place is so evil. The cookies are just perfect, moist and crumbly, and various different mouth watering flavours. Problem is you can’t just buy one - how can you choose between them? You have to buy two, or perhaps three. Or perhaps a big box for your colleagues at work….

Ah what a wonderful place for sheet music. I’ve bought several scores here - they have a great range considering how small the shop really is.

I have gone in meaning to buy CDs and I guess it’s fairly easy to find something if you know what you’re looking for. If you want to browse - and you’re only 5ft4 like me - it’s really not very satisfactory. You can’t see the CDs on the higher shelves and even the lower ones are quite hard to shuffle through.

I liked Warlands a lot the first time I went in. Friendly and knowledgeable staff member who took the time to talk me through a new bike. I bought the bike and it’s been fab, everything promised and more.

I took it in for the free one month service and my experience was very different. The shop was jam packed and all the staff were very busy. I was happy to wait my turn but was directed to a girl who can’t have been more than about 14 and who didn’t know much about what she was doing (the child of one of the staff members perhaps?). I wanted to raise a few issues about the bike before it was serviced but of course she couldn’t help with that. I felt a bit awkward because I didn’t want to embarrass her (I was 14 once too!) but eventually I said I would rather wait and talk to someone else. This didn’t have much effect and I felt like they just wanted to check the bike in and get me out of the shop asap.

When I returned to collect it it was all a bit quieter but I still felt that the person who served me was keen to get me out of there. I’ve really been enjoying riding the bike and I would have like to know what they had done with the service, but every time I opened my mouth I was interrupted… I suppose my disappointment was greater because I had a good experience the first time. Maybe they were just having an off day, which is why I’ve given it a generous 4 stars. But I am not sure if I’ll go back for the next service.