I ENJOYED possibly the best customer service ever in a Dales shop this week.

I can't tell you which one as I may get the lady who served me the sack, but I went in looking for a couple of non-luxury items that turned out to be £15.95 each. It was a bit of an emergency and I was fully prepared to pay the asking price, however, the lady must have taken my dishevelled appearance as a sign I was skint.

"You want two? You can have them for £20," she said.

"Ex-squeeze me? Baking powder?" I replied in astonishment, before handing over the cash before she could change her mind.

Strangely, I had a similar experience in M&S the same week, although with less of a happy ending.

Please don't judge me harshly but I was buying several items from the food department for a lazy Friday night 'Let's pretend we're eating out' tea.

As I was queuing to pay, I heard a woman looking at me furtively and speaking into a walkie-talkie. It was evident I had been spotted on CCTV. Thankfully, this time it was not because I had slipped a tin of haricot beans down my trousers. No, I had unwittingly picked up items that would qualify for a meal deal – including a free bottle of wine.

The walkie-talkie lady, who was possibly ex-special services, even went to find a selection of bottles for me to choose from before recommending a crisp Sauvignon blanc.

"What marvellous service," I told people in the queue, until I got to the counter, was told my items didn't actually qualify for the deal and was asked for £7.99 for the bottle of wine.

I didn't even know you could buy wine which cost more than a fiver. Strangely, this bottle came from France, who presumably learnt their skills from better known wine producing countries in Eastern Europe.

M&S could learn something from other top Dales shops and D&S stockists, including Arkwright's in West Witton, where you find one of my favourite grocery brands, Happy Shopper. How do they make custard creams so cheap? Another is the shop in Askrigg which has a superb offering for a small store. I went in at the weekend and it was rammed; there must have been 47 people browsing the aisles, give or take.