Big is far from beautiful at the new Stevenage megastore. Whoever said bigger is better surely was not talking about the new DIY superstore in Stevenage. My wife and I made our first visit to the mammoth new store shortly after Christmas, hoping to pick

Big is far from beautiful at the new Stevenage megastore. Whoever said 'bigger is better' surely was not talking about the new DIY superstore in Stevenage. My wife and I made our first visit to the mammoth new store shortly after Christmas, hoping to pick up some tiles to complete a kitchen makeover. Our first mistake was to choose tiles that, despite the gargantuan size of the store, were not held in stock - forcing us to pay £20 for a 10 day delivery service. And our second mistake? To think that the 10 days quoted by the sales assistant was an indication of when we might expect to receive the delivery. Numerous phone calls, and more than a month later, we were finally told that the tiles were in stock.

Abandoning work early I hastened back to the enormous store, opting to collect rather than delay the kitchen project any longer. Only to find, after waiting an hour, that a mistake had been made and the tiles wouldn't be available for...at least another three weeks. If you like us are tempted to embark on DIY during these winter months please beware of new DIY superstores. Staff rush around all over the place, but none are free to help. Those that do those can mess up your order and details and future phone contact simply misleads.

JOHN ORNA-ORNSTEIN, The Avenue, Hitchin