A Man Walks In To Shop…….
Alo Donegan’s in Portlaoise
He asks for a thermometer.
“We have three different kinds,” says Kevin, “what type were you looking for?”
No way, I thought. Is there anything this shop doesn’t have?
The answer is probably not, unless you’re in the wrong shop altogether, and you can get your coffee and cakes next door in The Pantry and jewellery across the road from Gerry Browne, brown bread and milk from Phelan’s all in this corner of the Market Square.
The shop front of this diminutive store says it all. It’s not just it’s a classy, lovingly restored and maintained handcrafted and hand painted signage.
It’s much more than that.
The shop front and that special shop window which would take more time to browse than the Brown Thomas Christmas window display, just has so much goods, so many items, so many gadgets, stuff you’ve always wanted, things you were looking for but couldn’t find, new gizmos that bring a smile and a nod that says, ‘I’m getting one of those’. And that’s only Alo’s shop window!
The shop inside, although compact yes, is an emporium of goods, gadgets and gizmos, a sort of Man’s Drawer to the power of ten and then some. The shop and its extensive range of contents actually defy the laws of physics as it should not be possible to store and display such an extensive range of quality, branded electronics, audio visual equipment, entertainment, and activity, outdoor and audio visual, electronic, IT items and accessories – but they do at Alo Donegan’s.
The thing is I’ve been coming to Alo Donegan’s in Portlaoise since I was a boy, knee high to a grasshopper. With my Granny on a Saturday morning it was a ritual as she called into Alo’s to pay down on the Paolo Soprani accordions for my uncles who were in the St Joseph’s Accordion Band in the Town. Those accordions looked like they had been carved out of red marble as their claret red glinted in the morning sunshine.
And over the years there were of course the bicycles the Raleigh and the Choppers and later on the revolutionary must have home entertainment equipment of the day, the VHS video player and of course matching cutting edge technology TV. It seems like only yesterday and yet a lifetime away from Netflix and Co.
But some things always remained constant at Alo Donegan’s no matter how the shop changed, evolved and moved with times over the years. Alo Donegan’s always and only ever stocked the best brands, solid, reliable, made to last equipment that you could depend on.
Also that quality of goods was matched by a quality of service, a quality of personal service second to none. The tradition and family business stretches back for almost 100 years since first established by Alo Snr in 1929.
And while today’s shop boasts an array of modern technology an array of state-of-the-art electronics and equipment that value of always making sure to ‘look after the customer’ is embedded in the culture of how customers are treated and respected three generations on at Alo Donegan’s today.
It is this unique combination of hands on, knowledgeable personal service and after sales support; the ability to move with the times and to be ahead of the curve in terms of technology and innovation, combined with a selection and range of top quality brands, goods and equipment, which makes Alo Donegan’s so unique and successful.
And now all that is available to you here online at a click or a call.
Today, those qualities and traditions and Alo’s unrivalled range and selection bring back loyal customers day in, day out, as well as a host of new clients and customers who have just discovered the Aladdin’s Cave of equipment which is Alo Donegan’s.
Like I said, a man walks into a shop, and if Alo hasn’t got it, you’re probably in the wrong shop…
And yes, they also cut keys at Alo Donegan’s.
article by: John Whelan
