Tanvir at WH Smith Waterloo was extremely helpful with my purchases which I left at the selfservice till at WH Smith. He was kind and courteous and caught up with me with my goods. He also demonstrate... See more
While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more
To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more
Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Company details
Written by the company
WHSmith is a global travel retailer for news, books and convenience. WHSmith Travel stores offer a tailored range of newspapers, magazines, books and impulse products for people on the move in airports, railway and bus stations and a broader convenience range in hospitals and workplaces. As a leading travel retailer, we have established a core brand that is recognised globally and is synonymous with customer service and a quality offering. Operating circa 590 international stores in 30 countries outside of the UK, our stores can be found in airports, hospitals, railway stations, motorway service areas and workplaces worldwide.
Contact info
WH Smith Travel Retail, Aldgate Tower 2 Leman Street, E1 8FA, London, United Kingdom
- Customer.relations@whsmith.co.uk
- www.whsmith.co.uk
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 38% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
How this company uses Trustpilot
See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
Rude member of staff
Very rude older man in the till in Rickmansworth branch
Bad customer service
Uttoxeter branch visit.....
Uttoxeter branch visit.....only wanted a French dictionary. Nothing. The store is tired, scruffy and not well maintained.
Zero staff anywhere on the floor to ask for help. One miserable chap on the till on exit who was on his phone and not interested. Try to support the high st and this is the result.
Bought from Amazon on-line in the end.
There website is so difficult to use
There website is so difficult to use! Almost like they don’t want online business. I gave up and went to Amazon. Could not find any graph notepad!!
I give this 2 stars because I've ordered…
I give this 2 stars because I've ordered 3 books, 1 of which was damaged. The cashier refused to give me a refund and said i needed to return it myself and pay forcreturn postage (even though the book looked like it had been kicked to the store). Obviously there is no phone number to contact anybody and due to the fact I'm not a teenage girl I don't do 'messaging or email'. Based on this experience I would suggest ordering from amazon instead because for all their faults, atleast they make it easy to return an item or get somebody on the phone.

Reply from WHSmith
Overpriced
Overpriced! Rubbish and poopy 👎🏻 Take advantage of the ‘convenience’ to charge repulsive prices. Low quality and would never go if I had the choice 🫡
Shocking way to treat customers.
Came out of the Northumberland Street branch of WH Smith in Newcastle extremely upset by the behaviour of the assistant at the self service machines in the Post Office. All I needed was a receipt for a pre-paid package which would have taken 20 seconds. I waited while she served another customer -very slowly - and asked for her help when she was finished. She turned her back on me and went to the counter queue to ask if anyone needed help. No takers but she pointedly refused to acknowledge me. I’m 73. I left the shop close to tears then I was forced to walk the length of Northumberland Street to another Post Office to post my package. This was at lunchtime on 05/01/25
Best place for books and customer…
Best place for books and customer service reps are always nice
Unfair Treatment and Disappointing Experience
I had a disappointing experience at WHSmith, Broad Street. As I was leaving the store, the security alarm went off. I immediately stopped and voluntarily showed the contents of my bag for inspection, but despite finding nothing wrong, the security officer continued to make things difficult for me and insisted that I was hiding something.
What frustrated me even more was that another customer, who also triggered the alarm, was allowed to leave without any checks. This inconsistent treatment felt unfair and left me deeply disappointed. Eventually, my companion suggested that the alarm might have been triggered by my bag’s magnetic clasp, and only then was I allowed to leave.
I hope WHSmith takes incidents like this seriously and ensures all customers are treated fairly and respectfully.
Amazing service
Amazing service, I ordered my books on Thursday evening and they arrived in the post today and I used the Standard post option. Really pleased with the delivery service and the product
WHSmith at Cardiff Central railway station
This is regarding the WHSmith at Cardiff Central train station. I wanted to buy a magazine but couldn't pay for it as I didn't understand how to operate the self service check out. There was no alternative method of payment - no cashier desk and no staff around to help. Someone completely unconnected to WHSmith or me, came over to ask if I was okay, and try to help. But, I believe there should have been a WHSmith staff member available. In fact, I believe there should be the option of a cashier desk - not everyone is able, or wants to use a self service checkout. In future I will shop elsewhere.
Just rude
I visited WHSmith and was quite disappointed with the service. I wanted to exit through the front door, where there is a cash machine, but I was rudely informed that the store only accepts card payments that end . I understand that this is a policy, but I believe it discriminates against customers who do not have cards or smart devices.
While I was there, I noticed only one staff member at the exit and three others standing idly, seemingly unsure of what to do. Some young boys outside were playing around, top entrance and when staff members shouted at them to leave, it felt quite unprofessional.
The manager, who was wearing a white jumper, told me that if I didn’t like the payment policy, I didn’t have to purchase anything. I found this response to be very rude. Although I tried to remain polite, it was disheartening to be treated this way as a customer. And I know that 3 member are staff are going to back the member of staff whom in my opinion was rude
Additionally, when I went to the back of the store to pay, one young girl on here own I overheard some one speaking about the incident to the manager, which I felt she was unprofessional. It’s important to remember that customers can lip read
While I was waiting to be served, I noticed a queue forming behind me. I apologized to everyone waiting, as I knew because I had made a fuss no one would get served until I was at the till but despite three customers in front of me, and (6 behind) they did not bring in a second staff member to assist. Until
I was being served anyone with half a brain would known what was going on because the guy that came to put on the till was the same guy standing in a group of them three of them at all man a woman with a jumper in this other man in the middle of the shop so that lacks customer service in the respect that I knew what was going on
This lack of service and communication felt discriminatory.
Overall, my experience at WHSmith today was disappointing, and I hope they can improve their customer service in the
This was Saturday between 13 - 14 hours 27/12/24

Reply from WHSmith
Helpful always
Disgusting employee behaviour
I was followed and harassed by one of their employees from the Berkeley branch! Disgusting!
WH Smith at Bristol airport on 7/1/25.
WH Smith at Bristol airport on 7/1/25.
I made a small purchase, two staff gave excellent service helping me. Thank you.
Poor service
It took 10 days to deliver an item when orders from Vinted, eBay, and Amazon (placed at the same time) took 3 days. Having paid for 48 hour tracked delivery I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that to be honoured. No update on parcel tracking and I wasn’t informed the parcel had arrived in the store. Box slightly damaged as no wrapping to protect it, not ideal for a birthday gift. I expect better from a well know high st store. Won’t be shopping in WHSmith’s again.
Laura at W H Smiths Southend high…
Laura at W H Smiths Southend high street was so incredibly friendly and helpful today. So refreshing to be dealt with a shop assistant who smiles and wants to help.
Visited Southend High street W H…
My partner Visited Southend High street W H Smith’s today and couldn’t find the price on some crackers, a lovely assistant called Laura helped her and again with another price check. Nothing was too much trouble for her, incredibly friendly, she is a credit to your team.
10/10 and 5 gold stars to them!
I've only ever bought from WH Smith in physical shops but this time I had to online order a book.
They emailed me to let me know the order/payment had been placed successfully and then a text to say it was on it's way soon. They didn't pester me in any way, just conformation stuff.
I ordered the book on 2nd January and it arrived this morning on the 7th in a cardboard envelope.
Thank you, WH Smith for brilliant service as I get in your physical shops!
I purchased a calendar on the web
I purchased a calendar on the web, looked up the dimensions there were not any then it arrived and it was miniture size, so I went about returning yet they did not refund me every part, very unhappy experience. They are obviously saving money wherever they can 1) by not getting the dimensions written up on the site and 2) a genuine refund not offering full cost. Very disgruntled!
Looking to spend vouchers online
Looking to spend vouchers online. Used to be loads of choice for lots of things. Very lacking quantity of options nowadays
The Trustpilot Experience
Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.
We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.
Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.
Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.
Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.
Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.







