After 2 years contract with Vodafone, I can't wait to switch over to Orange, at the moment my…read morebrother pays £20 for 600 minutes and unlimited text and he got a free touchscreen phone thrown in. I used to have an Orange contract too, which I opened in this shop, the only reason I changed to Vodafone was because I was talked into it by a sleazy phones 4 U sales man. I wish I hadn't bothered, unlike Vodafone, Orange never lumped on any extra charges at the end of the months and the Orange Wednesdays offer is fantastic seeing as I regularly visit the cinema. The staff here are also really friendly and I remember one time my phone had ran out of battery and I desperately needed to contact a friend as we were meeting up. I popped into this store and they kindly charged my phone up for me, awesome!

DISCLAIMER: This review is headed under the Stirling branch as that's where I bought my phone,…read morehowever most of the content is directed at the customer service call line, which is centralised as far as I know. The only good thing I currently have to say about the Carphone Warehouse is that the girl who sold me my phone last year could not have been more pleasant or helpful and was at no point pushy or condescending the way a lot of assistants in phone shops are these days. However she did talk me into an insurance policy, which, given my terminal clumsyitis seemed a steal at £3.99 per month. Hah! As I walked out the shop clutching my shiny new purchase of 21st century-ism (my first smartphone, woohoo!) and a bag full of my insurance paperwork and such, things started to go downhill. I had been told it would take the usual 12-24 hours to connect, but that it would be likely I would be connected that evening, and if I wasn't connected after 24 hours to call them. So far, so fine. 48 hours later (I decided to exercise patience for once), I called them to let them know I wasn't connected. They assured me there was a problem that week with Orange connections, it was not their issue and that I should contact my network. So I did. And was batted back and forth between Orange and the Carphone Warehouse both denying responsibility and both being very dismissive and unhelpful (Carphone Warehouse more so it has to be said). It was a week and a half before I was connected. Not chuffed. Anyway. The only real cause I'd had to gripe about since is the lack of customer care regarding my insurance policy direct debit. I have had no end of grief with this thing. It comes off on a different day every month, it's sometimes 4 weekly and sometimes not (even adjusting for bank holidays etc) and it's been taken off twice in one month at times (3 bloody times in July for some reason). I have called them umpteen times to try and arrange this for a specific date only to be dismissed with an ''it's on the system and it's definitely on a monthly cycle''. Eh no, no it isn't pal. My bank statement is often cruelly honest with me and it tells me when you've decided to take your pennies in plain black and white. There is clearly a problem at their end somewhere and while it has yet to cause me any problems regarding a returned DD or anything of that nature, it's irritating and should not be happening. I have had refunds where it's been taken off several times, but only after long arduous debates on the landline, costing probably what the amount taken off was worth anyway. They are dismissive, at times quite rude and to be honest, I don't think I'll be wasting any time with them again when this contract expires.

I'll keep this short! When I was due an upgrade on my phone, Carphone Warehouse, (without…read morepressuring me into going with their insurance and tech membership!) got me sorted with my new iPhone and made sure I left with all my questions answered. The staff are really helpful and professional. They just made everything so simple and I left in no time, happy with my new phone! Also, you get 25% off any phone covers with your purchase.

Ok, so my experience of EE during a recent upgrade has been poor. MEGA POOR. But there's a guy in…read morethis shop who is excellent. In fact, generally the staff in this shop are pretty good and know what they're doing. The same cannot be said for all EE shops, particularly the one up in Buchanan Galleries which is chaotic to say the least and has burning halogen lights that you could make toast under. Not a pleasant shop to endure. Long story short, I got an upgrade from a company who I thought were EE, they weren't, I cancelled it the next day, and then two months later, I was still waiting for it all to be sorted out, all the while being on a new unsuitable price plan, and with no new handet. The EE call centre, who are utterly hopeless, repeatedly failed me through security, so I had to come in to the shop. I'd had a total melt down on the phone to EE on the Sunday, so it took me a few days to steel myself to go through it all again in the shop. The assistant manager, Scott, immediately made the decision that he wasn't going to pass me to anyone else, but that he would sort it out for me. We were in the shop for almost 1 1/2 hours, while he spoke to various depts in the EE call centre, and the external company who I'd take the phone from - Get Connected/Upgrademymobile - don't go near them. The man has the patience of a saint. I would have been spitting chips but he remained calm and collected, and just battered on through it. He really was excellent. Another long story short - today I've been informed by Get Connected that the new contract has been cancelled, although I don't quite believe it yet. I'll go into the shop to check. Scott had jokingly said to me while we were enduring the mammoth rigmarole with the call centre 'hey you'd better get your upgrade from this shop after all this!'. I'm hesitating about this at the moment as, despite being an EE customer for 18 years, yes 18 years, I have been so disappointed in the service from the call centre that I just don't know if I can bear dealing with them again. The competence and attention from the employees in this shop is the only thing that will convince me to stay as an EE customer. So I'll go back in and see how that works out.

Orange is my favourite network, even though they didn't get the iphone till quite late on and sent…read moreme a Blackberry instead, I still love being their customer. From all the phones I have had, Orange make being with them a joy, they definitely got it right with Organge wednesdays. This store was where I went when I lost my Blackberry. Sadened as I was the shop people gave me a few options of what I could do next: either barr all outgoing calls and still keep looking for it, order a new sim card and use an old phone if I had one, or pay £70 for a replacement phone and be enlisted on their insurance service. Well I waited and waited and looked and looked then ordered a new phone, then found my old phone. AHH. So I went back in with the replacement phone that I hadn't even opened yet, and they were very understanding and spent a while on the phone confirming the reactivation of my old phone for me. I couldn't ask for better service and I never even had to spend a penny.

Just your average mobile phone shop, although it's hard to set one apart from the other, I suppose…read morethis one has the friendliest staff who jump on you the minute you walk in the door. Quite small, with a great selection of phones and consistantly good offers, this is where I choose to come and buy my mobiles every time (and I go through quite a few, I am prone to phone dropping!) The staff even stand out on the streets on sunny days and try and get you to go in, like some weird Spanish restaurant owner on holiday. Quite unusual for a run of the mill phone shop, but I suppose the staff in here just love thier jobs!

The boyfriend will soon be in the market for a new phone so we stopped in here to have a look. He's…read morehad his Samsung for ages and is hoping for something a bit different once his contract is up. I couldn't really give him any advice, as I'm not.very tech savvy and I hate my Nokia Lumia (windows platform, boo). No one came up to see if we needed any help, but I got a wee fright from the cardboard cutout as shown in my picture. Phones are well laid out and descriptions are abound, however, I think its best you research what phone you might want before heading in, as its a bit overwhelming with as many phones they have on offer.

Claiming to be the cheaper place to get your mibile phone, it has found itself with quite a tacky…read moremarket type image. I did buy a phone in here once, this phone was £25 and I had bought it for one sole reason and that was to give to my mum so that I could get free calls to her as one of my Orange magic numbers. The staff were nice, and not pushy at all. I fully explained why I was there and they had even recommended a cheaper option for me. From Carphone Warehouse, you can get mobiles with Pay as You Go, and contract and there are just so many. Also if they don't have one in store that you want they will try there best to direct you to one of their stores that does.

This store is in a prime location in the olympia it is a small shop that sells mobile phones on…read morecontract,pay as you go or just sim cards. The thing i liked about this shop is that they offer different networks so you are able to compare prices and tarriffs of all networks at once. Dummy handsets are displayed along the wall so you can get an idea of size & colour. Staff obviously work on comission as they are so pushhy desperate to get a sale.

The people at this store are fantastic, one of the few mobile phone stores that won't try and sell…read moreyou something you don't need. They are also highly knowledgeable about their products and will bend over backwards to help you out.

This new edition to Byres Road is scarily large and very brightly lit. Please note, this is not the…read moreplace to wander in with your person, the morning after a heavy night. You'll both (hopefully, not just you) look terrible and feel dazed completely by the surroundings. The shop itself is impressive and has a massive range of products and paraphernalia. The staff are very quick, friendly and efficient with a good knowledge of what they have to offer. Though, beware their sales pitch, as it can get a little much for the hungover troops.

Need mobile broadband... stupid connections that don't work (can you feel the point of my elbow…read moreHillhead Library? Can you? Eh?). Having reached the 'aw, screw it!' stage in my hunt for internet connection, I finally gave in and plonked for a *holds back the urge to titter and make 'oo er' noises* dongle the other day and stamped angrily into this Byres road branch of Vodafone. Me 'Grrrrrrr, need mobile BB thingy' Pretty Vodafone girl 'Ok, here are your options' Me 'Grrrrr, that one' PVG 'An excellent choice sir... do you realise you keep grrrrrring?' Me 'Grrrrr, yes... yes I do' Dongle (wooft! nod, wink!) purchased, info given, me walk out... slightly less grrrrry. Does it stand out as an amazing service or venue... nah. Does it do the basics... yup. Grrrrr