Hansens Chefs Shop

As a small business owner, you know time is precious and probably your day is full of twice as many tasks as hours to do them.
We were in search of an item much needed for our shop. I was told there was a shop in Fulham that would probably have it. I called Hansens in the morning on a Saturday to confirm they did have it. I realized I was calling around 9:45 a.m. and their opening hours were 10 a.m. so I wasn’t surprised when they didn’t answer. But then my subsequent calls at 10 a.m., 10:10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., went unanswered I was about to give up when finally someone answered around 10:35 a.m. Pleasant on the phone, he confirmed that they had four boxes of the product I was in search of (whew!).
Happily I headed down to Fulham on my day off to collect them only to find after 15 minutes of them searching that they were in fact wrong, they were completely out. Also making the excuse «People keep taking them off the shelf.» Well, you are a store, I would hope people took things off the shelf and bought them. I composed myself and said, «Right. How about you update your system right now so this doesn’t happen to someone else.»
Other than what seemed to be a meaningful apology, he offered no consolation, no free delivery or percent off for my trouble and their mistake. As a small business owner myself, that’s how we fix a problem that arises, we make sure we acknowledge the mistake and give our customers a reason to come back again.
I had to be the one to ask how quick it could be delivered and if they would deliver to our shop. He said, «I bet we could get a driver out there.» Which didn’t seem very promising!
As much as I hate to write a bad experience, that’s just what it was. I’m sure they have very happy customers, I just wasn’t one of them.
And, make sure they double check their supplies before you go in.

This place has all the necessities, as well as the brilliantly obscure accoutrement to adorn any cook’s kitchen. And it’s soooo much cheaper than places like Divertimenti or John Lewis. They also have a catalog for quick ordering, that includes all of the heavy duty kitchen appliances not on display.
I bought sheet pans here when I found out that my American ones were too big (just barely!) for my European-​sized oven. I also got a pastry bag and tips for less than ten pounds. They have an array of cheap barware for entertaining purposes, as well as my favorite extra large metal bowls for tossing salad and making bread dough.
The only downside is that it’s kind of a trek from my flat. But the savings are definitely worth it!