London Help (Layover Questions)

Places
41

@Casual - Sorry, I meant 3x pints

2 Likes
42

Don’t waste your time, it’s about 2 racks of records in the basement of a clothes shop. Probably ok if you want the smiths or Taylor swift

1 Like
43

It’s out of date. No mention of Elizabeth Line, straight to TCR. Heathrow Express to Paddington?? No way.

44

Have to say though @Casual don’t expect much. The global nature of distribution and online chat means you’ll probably already know about most of the records in Phonica. This forum is too good……

I always ask for local white label / oddities when I go to a foreign shop. With different outcomes. Got a fucking banger of a 12” in Rush Hour Amsterdam that was a proper local vibe. Not sure Phonica will produce the same.

2 Likes
45

I mean I might know the records but I won’t have the records. I will have a list, I am sure.

Remember record stores in the US are not generally very TP friendly so the majority of what I buy comes from the UK and Europe at cost. Although Justin Miller just opened a store about 2.5 miles north of me and he has some records that I am going to take off his hands if I get up there. It’s pretty dire over here.

2 Likes
46

Ive developed a seething loathing of Phonica after last time I picked up 3x ordered I had to wait ages ( shop wasnt busy) / took 15min to find my copy of something they had in rack & then didnt even say thankyou
Just handed me bag & walked off

I know everyone (espec in REtail) has bad days but they seem to project that moody record shop vibe on purpose
Im not a regular but its not the there is a crowd of people all asking for Numero Uno when you have 2 white labels
They are nice in SOTU

2 Likes
47

That sucks. I know all of us grew up with the moody record store/rite of passage thing but I was hoping that would be a thing of the past. So if the consensus is that they’re dicks I’d rather head to love vinyl and clear them out.

48

Always had great friendly service in Phonica, guess it’s the luck of the draw like any shopping experience. :man_shrugging:

49

I’ve always found Phonica to be super helpful and a good experience.

50

Thumbs up from me for the Phonica staff too

51

I’ll go back !

2 Likes
52

Ive had mostly fine service in Phonica over the years, but in the earlier days of the shop I had some terrible service, that member of staff left many years ago.

53

I have always found the staff in phonica to be really sound. If you manage to be in there when it’s not busy they are usually really helpful.

54

I find the Phonica staff usually super friendly and helpful but have also experienced the pre-order nonsense that @grantham_disco had. Couldn’t find my order but thankfully there were copies still on the shelf. I no longer pre-order from them lol

1 Like
55

I hope your employer is making sure that you’re turning left when you board (or at the very least can spring for bulkhead/exit row seats!)

One purely logistical note: there was a very useful Priority Pass arrival lounge that’s just as you come out of T2 arrivals (I used to have a work card that got me in there) but I’m pretty certain that it closed during Covid. It was bloody great for a shower once you’d landed, and really made all the difference for me coming off a red-eye. Depending on who/how you’re flying, there may be other arrival lounges available to you, but thought I’d best mention this just in case you were relying on the T2 PP option.

Good luck!