Brookside Garden Centre Reviews Summary

Plant Selection

Pros:

• "Great selection of plant's to choose from if you need a break they have a cafe before returning to look round the store."
• "The usual well cared for, healthy plants."
• "Plants always well cared for - a good selection of other gardening bits."
• "Lovely looking plants as well."
• "Excellent range of bedding plants by season."
• "A wide selection of plants to offer with everything you need to plant them, ranging from tools to pots to compost."
• "They have a great range of plants and shrubs that we feel are above the normal prices."

Cons:

• "Shop is decent but the plant section outside (apart from shrubs, lots of them) always seems a bit low stocked."
• "Lovely place to have a look round. But I was disappointed that there was only a few winter bedding plants in stock couldn't get the ones I wanted."
• "At first glance this seems to be a well stocked garden centre. However on a second visit specifically to buy two plants they had neither."

Cafe and Food

Pros:

• "Food and drink reasonably priced only 5 minute wait for table staff helpful."
• "Cafe has a good menu with vegan options."
• "The food in the cafe was delicious, good value for money."
• "The cafe is lovely and the lunches delicious."
• "The tea room there does lovely cakes and light lunches."
• "We had a lovely lunch in the cafe which was all made fresh."
• "In the cafe... as always spotlessly clean, we knew we didn't have to worry if they were sanitizing properly because they always have! Food as ever delicious."

Cons:

• "It would be nice to see a wider range of cakes though."
• "Cafe crowded. prices on the expensive side. inadequate toilet facilities."
• "A bit expensive to visit Santa for families."
• "Has a nice coffee shop but a little on the expensive side."
• "The only reason I haven't given 5* is because of the café located within the garden centre."
• "Most of the staff in the cafe were not very welcoming, hopefully it was just a bad day."
• "Cheese on Toast was good but need less time in microwave as toast was too chewy, but the hot chocolate was divine!!"

Customer Service

Pros:

• "Excellent customer service, Phil in Sundries was so helpful answering all our questions re; purchasing a BBQ."
• "Staff so friendly, informative and helpful."
• "The staff are so welcoming and helpful."
• "Staff were very friendly and helpful answering all questions."
• "Professional and knowledgeable, friendly and helpful."
• "Superb staff, knowledgeable and friendly."
• "Staff are always polite, friendly and helpful."

Cons:

• "Sadly Poor Customer Service - Didn't want to know."
• "Gone downhill rapidly, very unhelpful till staff."
• "The manageress here really does need to learn people skills, all I wanted was a refund for a pump that the bulb stopped working after just 3 days."
• "Sadly very mediocre experience on the till, complete lack of staff training."
• "Gone downhill rapidly, very unhelpful till staff, shouldn't be up to elderly customers to find where their bags of compost are, when they weren't at the till as promised by another staff member."

Facilities and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Fully inclusive and accessible, large car park and disabled parking. There is also a toilet block on site."
• "There is a large area for car parking and if you wish it can undergo a car wash by hand."
• "Well laid out, arrows directing route through building, separate entrance and exits. Good car parking facilities."
• "Beautiful layout, easy to get around, lovely wide isles."
• "Location has plentiful free parking."
• "Plenty of parking available and open 7 days a week."

Cons:

• "Open since 1968 and needs an update in certain areas."
• "Car park a little cramped at busy times."
• "Carpark’s a bit tight but always able to find a space."
• "The car park has narrow, short and angled spaces - if you drive a 4x4 or estate there are few spaces you'll fit in."
• "The only downside is the car park is so badly laid out that if you have a bigger car (estate/SUV) you will probably struggle to find a decent space without the risk of damage."
• "Only gripe is that the car park, probably due to the time of the year, is a hazard zone. Very narrow and full of people with oversized SUVs needing to retake their test!"
• "I'm currently using a wheelchair following an ankle break. Visited Brookside and was extremely disappointed in the floor surface."