Okay. I don’t know you, so you might think this is a bit of a personal question, but where do you buy your underpants?
I thought so. You don’t even need to squirm round to look at the label, do you?
It’s some time since I shopped at M&S as a matter of habit. Forty years ago it was the first place we all went to for basics – plain, sensible, good nt quality. If you bought a cardie at M&S you could be fairly certain you would be able to wear it until you and it had become close friends whose eventual parting would strike an emotional chord.
Now, though, what you want is often difficult to find. In the old days there were separate departments according to the type of product you wanted to buy. Nowadays we have to grope our way among departments so confusing they are reminiscent of the dying days of Woolworths. We are no longer directed towards tights or lingerie No. It’s Autograph. Or Limited Collection. Or Blue Harbour. Or Indigo. Or Ceriso. Or Adored. Or Portfolio. Or other names which seem to have no relationship to the sensible world of nighties, bras and socks..
Then there is Per Una. Per Una? This last I find particularly baffling.. Are their customers so limited in intelligence that they need to have pointed out to them that a particular garment is only meant to have one person wearing it? That they have to guard against two or more women trying to squeeze into the same skirt at the same time? That they might at some time introduce a range called ‘Per Duo’?
However, that is not why I’m writing to them. I am – and you should be – concerned with a much more serious matter.
Coming out of M&S – Salisbury branch – on Saturday last – (their lemon drizzle cake being to die for) – I passed a row of nice black jerseys. Yes, I could (and you will understand too if you have a white cat at home) do with one of those.
And M&S might now be selling tights which don’t go into holes at the first wearing, knickers which no longer leave the waistband in place while the main part of the garment becomes detached and slides inevitably groundwards during the course of a working day, button-through skirts whose buttonholes are tight enough to prevent embarrassingly large gaps appearing the first time of wearing, lambswool cardigans which don’t bobble and go into holes after one wash and shirts which don’t come apart at the shoulder seams.
And a polo necked black jersey was what I needed, so why not give it a try?
Join the queue, then, present the card, key in the number and press ENTER. Nice smile from the pretty girl (M&S are good at disarming smiles) as she hands us our receipt and there we are. Who knows, we might go back again one day.
Only when we get home, put on our reading glasses and inspect the receipt, we are puzzled. There, on the bed, waiting for its hanger, is one jumper. But the receipt says I’ve paid for two jumpers.
Back to Salisbury M&S.
Present the receipt. Nice smile from the duty manager. Have I mentioned M&S being good at smiles? Perhaps they have special training days devoted to smiles. Perhaps they need to.
The duty manager sighs prettily. It’s a weakness in the printer. It’s sensitive.
‘You mean it’s faulty.’
She concedes (smiling prettily) that its sensitivity could be regarded as a little unfortunate in my case.
But M&S Salisbury will continue to use the ‘sensitive’ machine, won’t they?
And, on reflection, why not? After all, how many M&S customers bother to check their receipts? I mean, they’ve been going since 1884, for goodness’ sake. If they can’t be trusted, who can?
And yet . . . and yet, the implications here are leading somewhere unthinkable, aren’t they?
Is the secret of their success contained in a deliberately policy to charge you twice and hope you don’t notice?
And would Mr Marks, back in his market stall all those years ago, actually approve of this?
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Sirs, I am 78 years of age, I have regularly purchased M&S clothing, mainly because of its value for money and durability.
Two weeks ago I purchased two summer shirts, one for £25 and the other £15.
The £25 shirt is short sleeved, has the Blue Harbour label, ‘Soft Touch’ logo and is a bright blue with a cheque pattern.
I wore it when attending Duxford warbirds air display on Saturday 10th July, it was a hot day.
Under the shirt I was wearing one of your cotton vests.
During the morning I started to sweat profusely, the shirt and vest became saturated, I had never experienced this before with an M&S shirt and had a very uncomfortable afternoon.
When I returned to my son’s house near Norwich I showered and changed, then decided to wash the shirt but before doing so I checked the inside label for washing instructions, only to find the shirt is manufactured from 58% viscose and 47% polyester. And I only ever wear cotton shirts!
At time of purchase ar Plymouth, Devon, M&S store the shirt was displayed for sale with other like shirts with the price tage of £25 and no notice indicating it was not of cotton manufacture.
Indeed it was displayed alongside racks of cheaper shirts which were 100 cotton.
I returned to the Store this afternoon but could find no member of staff to lodge a complaint with.
The same shirt was on display for £25, still with no notice as to its manufacture material.
I consider I was conned into believing the shirt I purchased was made from cotton.
I now have an expensive short sleeve shirt I cannot wear in the summer and it will be too cold for an elderly gent to wear in the winter.
Thank you for nothing.
Yours sincerely
David Carter
7 Frensham Avenue, Glenholt, Plymouth. PL6 7JN.
Dear Sir,
This morning (16-08-10) I took my 89year old Father to the Metro Centre to purchase a suit for my daughter’s forthcoming wedding.
Having travelled 40 miles believing we would find a larger selection of suits compared to our local M&S stores in The Middlesbrough area.
I was amazed to find that in all the selection of suits your range does not accommodate suit trousers to a 48″ waist. I fully appreciate that M&S offer the facility to “order in” items if they are not in stock, but it is not the same to order something without trying it on.
I was obliged to walk my elderly Father the length of the Metro Centre to Debenhams where we had a choice of several different suits which went up to 50″ waist. I am a regular M&S customer and feel you need to be aware that you are missing a large portion of the market (no pun intended!) and find it amazing that you do not meet the requirements of your more rotund customers (especially in one of your “Flag Ship” stores.)
I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter.
Regards
Ken Stone.
What on earth has happnened to M & S ladies cotton and lycra pants? For years they sold wonderful ones in either black or white. They were nicely cut bikini style with the leg holes curved so that they covered your bottom but looked very stylish. Now they’re cut around the leg at such a weird angle that they ride up the bottom so one ends up looking like a Sumo wrestler. And the crotch is so narrow it’s almost like a thong. They’re vile. Yet the fabric is still OK. Come on M & S buyers, just look at the design that persisted about 8 years ago and re-order those. So much better than the trash you’re selling now.
having seen your advert on the television for the apricot pie which looked delicous as we were in birkenhead we decided to treat ourselves. we were told by the assistant that they did not stock it i find this unbelievable as you have advertised it so much we always shop at m&s and we feel let down about this this is not up to your usual high standards hoping to hear from you.
The other day i made a trip to Marks and Spencer Festival Centre Dubai. Well what a disappointment. i struggled to find anything new and eye catching, firstly the restaurant and coffee shop have closed secondly they have relocated the womens wear downstairs to a much smaller space and next to the very small food section, leaving a very poor selection of clothing, and also the small dirty changing rooms which the mirrors you could not even look in properly and only one m-s lady to help. upstairs they have the menswear and home wear and a very tiny beauty section.
Come on M-S this is a real let down for you and not a very good image for your stores especially hear in Dubai. Talking to the staff they are also not happy about the changes and being a Friday when i visited the store it was pretty empty.
I will have to rely on my sister bringing me goods from the UK .
M&S rubbish! Over the last few years I have bought several pairs of ‘chinos’. Now (and not for the first time) I find myself wearing a pair of trousers with a broken zip! And only the fourth time of wearing them!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s a Sunday afternoon, I’m 40 miles from home and my trousers are open – if I get arrested then it’s not my fault! Today I vow that I will never, ever, buy anything from M&S again. Total crap! When I’ve complained in the past I’ve been told to take the defective goods to my local store – what use is that when one is wearing them and the store is closed! So I have to take time off work? Am I unhappy with M&S and their Blue Harbour brand? – You bet I am! Total M&S crap!
I totally agree, I have the same problem!
Blue Harbour Chinos – the zips are completely useless..!! I have bought M&S products most of my life, and if this happens one more time, it’ll be the last time.
M&S need to get their act together, and fast; the basic quality control looks to heading firmly downhill.
today my husband and i visited the derby branch marks and spencer cafe. What a shambles ! firstly the young girls on the checkouts sent us to the till opposite, this was empty so we ordered our coffees one iced coffee and my husband thought he would try the caramel latte, the key till wouldnt work properly and when at last when at long last the transaction was proccessed we went to find a seat only to find all the the tables were cluttered with dirty pots and mess,we cleared a table and sat down, my husbands latte was so sweet it was like drinking pure syrup, he commented to me and said lets go he was so dissatisfied with the whole saga and told me he would never go in the cafe again, also he said what a waste of money we spent 6.25 on the drinks and wishes we had gone somewhere different
I have for many years bought your Cumberland Pie without complaint but I must let you know that this week I again purchased this pie with quite a different view.
The pie was smaller the meat and gravy were awful and the potatoe topping was soggy and tasteless. The packaging also seemed to be different from previous times.
I can only presume you have changed your supplier for one who is producing the item cheaper and therefore not to the same standard for a more profitable return.
Never a good option!!!!!
visited darlington store today specifically to take advantage of dine in offer, was looking for sirloin steaks as advertised! none to be had! offered vaccume packed, dodgy looking rump instead!! was told sirloin only available in the south!!!……yet again we yokels in the north obviously only good enough for the dodgy vaccum stuff!!!…… didnt bother! , i await obvious placatory apology!
I also complained about the ‘dine in for 2′ offer of sirloin steak not being available at 09.45 on the first morning after it was advertised on television….all other items were on the shelf but the steak part was empty. I was annoyed at having made a special trip to Hanley (Stoke on Trent) specifically for this offer. I complained via e-mail and got the usual platitudes (thanks for contacting us, will make a note of your comments etc) so I wrote to M&S Head office indicating that I would like a fuller explanation of why stock was not available at such an early point in the trading day. I received a reply from a Tom Smith (Excutive office) which still contained the usual platitudes plus this comment:-
‘As it was the steak which was advertised on television, perhaps this could explain why it ran out much quicker than other items involved in the offer’ (brilliant..why didn’t I think of that)……….now I was involved in the food distribution industry for many years but even the most unsophisticated distribution operation ensures larger stocks for anticipated heavier demand and I think that M&S are pretty well geared up to compete in the modern era.I have my suspicions as to why stock was cleared at an early hour but most of them may be considered libellous; suffice it to say that I was pretty miffed when the ‘steak’ advert was on TV on the evening of my initial fruitless visit. Won’t trust them again.
I have been trying to purchase the sauce item advertised on the televison for 2 weeks now. Again today they have sold out of it, but when I asked about the next delivery they did not know, and then I asked if I could reserve a jar, but again that was not possible. I would like to try this product before it goes to the full price. As I do not live in Plymouth (live over the Tamar in Conwall) I cannot keep going to find out when this product is available for purchase. I do hope you will be able to find some way for me to try this.
I have been an M&S customer for many years, and I feel this is discrimination.
I TOOK A PAIR OF SHOES BACK TO THE AINTREE RETAIL MARK AND SPENCER IN LIVERPOOL AS THEY WERE TIGER PRINT AND I LOVED THEM BUT I NOTICED THAT THE PATTERN ON IT WAS OOMING OFF, AFTER WEARING THEM TWICE, AND IT WAS STICKY.
I DIDNT LIKE THE ATTITUDE OF THE MANAGERESS AS SHE TREATED ME AS THOUGH I WAS LYING AND SHE SAID MY RECEIPT WASNT THE RIGHT ONE, WELL I HAD NOT EVEN TAKEN THE RECEIPT OUT OF MY BAG SO IT WAS THE RIGHT RECEIPT.
SO THEY ARE SENDING THEM OFF TO BE CHECKED, IS THIS C.S.I. OR M&S. I AM NOT HAPPY I WALKED AWAY WITH NO SHOES, NO MONEY AND HAVE TO WAIT UP TO 28 DAYS WITHOUT MY SHOES. I AM GOING TO COMPLAIN AS I JUST WANT MY MONEY BACK AFTER FEELING VERY UNSATISFIED.
Hi Pamela,
I took a faulty coat back to the same store last week-end with my receipt. I had only bought the coat 5 weeks ago and it cost almost £70. The ‘bad attitude’ manageress took the coat off my back and said it would have to be sent away too when there was a clear fault on the manufacture of the belt loop holes.
I have emailed the chairman of M&S and am still waiting for my money back. I have no coat and am currently trying to recover from cancer.
Hope you have complained about this horrible lady who obviously need training in customer service!!
have just come back from m&s parkgate rotherham and if m&s management are wondering why there profits are not as they would like i strongly suggest they visit this store staff are none existent 3 poor women struggling to serve what must have been a Que of 50 people winding round the shop no 10 item and under tills people muttering about the waiting time i put back what i was buying and left this is not the first time last time i wanted some bras went to pay 1 lady serving 15 min to get to front of Que my husband went and got a lady off the shop floor to help serve then asked to see manager another 10 min waiting for her to come down totally uninterested result 2 very unhappy customer’s
whenever I buy a pair of trousers from you I always have to shorten them. The medium length is too short and the long length too long. I do not have a problem with having to shorten them, my problem is the fact that the side seams on the hem are GLUED. Why? They are almost impossible to unpick. I have just spent the last half an hour trying to do just this. Another query I have is….I like to wear your ‘silky’ nightdresses, but find they are too short. Also not a very large selection now a days. Not every one is five foot tall and I am sure I am not the only one who finds this very annoying.
I visited your Brentwood last Friday and was very shocked when my bill was way higher than I expected.
Humiliated and embarrassed as I did not have sufficient cash to pay, There was a long queue which I held up and this was mortifying
I had to get some of my items cancelled.
Came home and explained to my husband that I had spent our entire weekly allowance in M&S.
By Sunday I had got myself quite upset and dared to look at my receipt to find a single transaction for £63.50, I had only shopped in your food hall.
I took my receipt to the store anf after confirming that I had not bought an item of clothing my money was refunded.
I ask you to look at how this could have happened………I think it was my cat food that was overpriced!!!!!!!
Not a pleasant experience and one that caused me considerable distress
Thank you
I have had a response fron the “No Reply” complaint dept which directed me back tothe store.
Totally unacceptable to me as I did not want to deal with it directly with my branch but wanted the Head Office to take some responsibility,
Alas no
One unhappy M&S shopper
Clearly their promise to deal with complaints is all hogwash
Time to involve a national Newspaper me thinks
Anyone up for that???????
As usual we had a few Christmas presents that needed exchanging for the correct size or refunding. We didn’t have gift receipts for all, but I assumed a swap would not be an issue. But I have just discovered that M&S seems to immediately reduce all pre-Christmas stock in the Jan sale, replacing it with almost identical versions – so I was offered only £6 credit for size 9 slippers, and would then have t spend £18 to buy the almost identical new size 8. And most appallingly, even with a gift receipt M&S won’t refund but just give a credit note – ‘because we don’t know how the item was paid for’. Since they have proof it was paid for I’m not sure why this matters! Of course we can’t go back to the present givers to ask for original receipts, so effectively a gift receipt is worthless. I have long been an M&S loyalist, in part because they offered the best customer service and returns policy. I will no longer buy M&S items as gifts, and I will suggest that my friends and family do the same.
I have just purchased some briefs from your Stockport branch.They are supposed to be the same size as the ones I am wearing, LARGE,the ones Ihave just bought are not large, they are GYNORMOUS,made in SRI LANKA,not in CHINA like the previous ones,perhaps they have SUMO WRESTLERS IN SRI LANKA as well,are these items not checked out before purchase,they are going back tomorrow,perhaps medium might fit,its all more expense time, and bus fares.Not a happy shopper.
I purchased a skirt before Christmas – it was a snug fit so I ordered another which I was able to pick up at my local store. Today – having been ill for most of January and unfit to go to work let alone M&S, I took the first skirt back to the Finsbury Pavement store. They refused to give me a full refund as according to them I should have taken it back 2 weeks ago even though I could hardly walk! The manager Richard Cook said he knew me (intriguing as I certainly have never met him before) It was rather embarassing – so no apology, explanation or help. I can’t see myself shopping in M&S for much longer. The quality of the goods are not great these days and the quality of the staff certainly fall behind many stores – thank goodness for John Lewis!