When an elderly couple turned up at AO’s Bolton offices, after struggling to buy a new tumble dryer online, an assistant sales manager stepped in to prove that staff at the online electricals retailer "treat every customer like their gran".

Internet novices Brenda and Alan Huby, 85 and 83, of Atherton, had been at their wit’s end with trying to find a suitable appliance after theirs suddenly stopped working.

Remembering the recommendation of the woman who runs their local crafts club, they turned up at Middlebrook Retail Park in search of AO.

They were eventually directed towards the Parklands Business Park, where the online retail giant is headquartered.

After being let into reception, assistant sales manager Connor Eckersley greeted Brenda and Alan, and took them through the ordering process, even arranging for the tumble dryer to be delivered the next day.

Army veteran Alan said: “Brenda has dementia, so we need to keep a routine. When the tumble dryer packed in, I knew we needed another straight away so we could get our laundry done on the same day as usual.

“I tried to order online with John Lewis but just ended up giving up as I couldn’t find what I wanted. Mabel who runs the crafts club said that she had a really positive experience with AO in the past, so we decided to give them a go and I’m so glad we did.

“Customer service seems to be rare these days so we cannot thank AO enough for how they have treated us.”

Retired midwife Brenda added: “Connor was absolutely brilliant, he really looked after us.”

Connor, 23, said: “Dealing with customers face-to-face isn’t something we normally do, so it’s absolutely made my day to help Brenda and Alan, and hear about their life.

“One of the core AO values is treating every customer like our gran, so I really wanted to make sure that we got everything sorted for them and make the process as straightforward as possible.