Marks and Sparks

I tried to buy a couple of cheap dresses online the other day. The advert claimed there would be £5 off each dress but I only got one £5 off. If I'd ordered separately I would get two £5 off but would have had to pay twice the postage @£3.50.
I did not order anything - what a fiddle
M and S should always be able to sell me (I am their perfect demographic) something in the shop or online - they can't. No wonder they are losing money.

Years ago when I was in the UK on business, I went into a large M&S store and put together many items of clothing I wanted to buy. When I went to pay they said they would not accept my gold VISA card. I dumped the clothes and left the store empty-handed and have never forgotten that incident. In more recent times I took out one of their credit cards and discovered that if you had spent £100 and paid back say £99.50, they would charge you interest on the whole £100! Needless to say, I canceled that card very quickly.
It's just arrogance after being retail leaders for so long but it seems now they are losing the plot altogether.

I do think the quality of their clothing has, on the whole, deteriorated in recent years. At one time, for example, jumpers would last years as they washed beautifully, kept their shape and didn’t go bobbly during the first wear. I’ve also noticed that they are selling a lot of coats and jackets unlined. These are going to look shapeless pretty soon, in my opinion. Oh, and the obsession with drab, dreary colours and patterns - dear me, they don’t seem to listen to any feedback, do they?

M&S Ribbed polo necks are excellent value and I have them in basic colours that work with everything. Great for the winter and covering my ageing neck. They should stick to basics, at which they used to excel. Agree that sizing is all over the place, but that is true of other shops too.

Our local Mand S recently closed although there is a large branch 16 miles away. I usually order on line but although payment was accepted for two recent orders they emailed 1 day before delivery to say out of stock. I used to be a M/S loyal customer but no more!

Couldn’t agree more! Went to new flagship store in Longbridge clutching a £5 voucher, spent ages looking for something to put it towards, walked out with nothing!

I’ve used m&S toiletries for years but have stopped recently because the quality has dropped so much. Used to be thick and luxurious but now it’s runny and “cheap feeling “ if you know what I mean, in fact in the disabled toilets in my local Tesco extra there is a bottle of tesco value hand wash and that is preferable to me than the M&S ones.

In more recent times I took out one of their credit cards and discovered that if you had spent £100 and paid back say £99.50, they would charge you interest on the whole £100!

I don't know about that, Sourcerer, because the workings of my M & S credit card are as impenetrable to me as those of my Sparks card. I do know though that in an unguarded moment (I think a couple of drinks with lunch were involved) I signed up for mine instore after being promised £50 worth of M & S vouchers over the next few months as long as I used it once. Sure enough, I used it once and the vouchers arrived. I have no idea why and I haven't used it since, but I'm not complaining!

Did buy a pair of black trousers from M and S a few weeks ago ,for the first time in ages. Much prefer Debenhams for tops,jumpers and Bonmarche for comfortable jeans. I do like M. and S food but get annoyed at so many ‘two for £x ‘’
deals as I am on my own (widowed):and don’t want two of things. Only buying one item means a higher price.

M&S seem to have really lost sight of who their key demographic is and have too much of a scatter gun approach which is not hitting any target well enough!

If they stuck to reasonably priced /quality but stylish work wear it would be a start. I used to always buy my black, work trousers there but always got the jodhpur effect. Then the fabric became a bit 'shiny'. I often bought jackets and tops elsewhere though. Have not bought any clothes form M&S for several years now.. not even for the DGCs!

I've bought two of the jumpers Maw posted about and they are lovely. I got them for £12 each as I had a sparks deal on my card. Very pleased.

I also like their food and often have a party food order for family gatherings from M&S. Never been anything but pleased with what they have supplied.

Am I easily pleased I am left asking myself after all the criticisms on here. I didn't think so but perhaps I am!

I have been reviewing clothes for M&S for years and I tell them over and over they are getting it wrong. The grey pound is their bread and butter but they don't listen. I went on their FB page and told them about GN and they should read the comments posted by us, they just ignored it.
The biggest shop in our town centre is Primark, speaks volumes.

I have also given up shopping at M and S, in the Summer I ordered some shoes, I then had an accident and broke my hip. I was in hospital for 10 days and then couldn't get to the shop or Post Office to return them as unsuitable. When I did return them I had gone over the return date, but the shoes were still online. I apologised and explained the situation but they sent them back and said I could not return them.

The quality of the ready meals in M&S has deteriorated to the extent that I can rarely eat them. Everything from vegetarian lasagnes to cottage pies have a lot of pepper and chilli, to which I am intolerant. Do they really need to add so much seasoning ? I like the natural taste of vegetables.

I suspect they have to put in strong seasoning as the mass production of the basic ingredients, which often includes preservatives, may need pepping up otherwise it would all be too bland. Their hummus is rubbish!

I think Marks quality has deteriorated because they have tried to compete price wise with cheaper stores. I don't see how you can buy a t shirt for £6.50 and a dress for £13 - many of which are in their stores now - and expect them to be good quality. After tax and production costs the mark up must be tiny. I would rather pay more and get something that will wear well and last. I do buy from there but am selective. I like their jeans and trousers because they do lengths, which many shops don't, and haven't had a problem with "jodhpur effect" (perhaps I'm a funny shape!) I also have had very good quality silk blouses, cotton blouses and thermal vests. I do buy from other places, ie Seasalt, Hobbs, Boden, and Rohan to name a few but quite frankly for the extra price do not find the quality any better.

It has been a long time since I bought clothing from M and S as the fabric is poor quality. Just lately have bought items from White Stuff in the sales. Another brand I like is Tigi but not available in many shops.
Used to buy a lot from Eastex but alas no more.

I went to M&S today and most of the stuff was racks and racks of sale items. I think they had cleared their attic out!

Decided to go into the small M & S in Kings Lynn to see what food was like. Loads of ready meals, hardly any fresh uncooked food. I cook everything from scratch so won’t bother to go there again. Haven’t bought any clothes in there for years especially since they started selling imported garments.
I rembere that In 1940 when I first started work I bought a dress for five shillings. They sold nothing over that price then. They had a good reputation then. When he was little my son Michael thought his underpants were specially made for him because of the St Michael label!

I ordered a mattress which failed to arrive. When I contacted the online 'help' they told me they would check and get back to me .... then refunded it overnight! I have a pretty clear idea how much they value my custom. Now have a ' loyalty card' which feels utterly worthless. If it weren't for a few favourite foods I would cut the card up and post it to their CEO!

They closed our local Marks about 2 years ago - it’s funny, once it disappeared I really missed it although I didn’t rate it very highly when it was there!
They’ve now opened a new store about 3 miles away - it’s totally soulless made worse by the poor quality clothes and the staff who seem unhappy/ disinterested.
The only things I buy these days are the Heatgen thermal tops which are lovely and some of the food.

I bought a kitchen table and chairs before Christmas and organised named day delivery.
I came home to find it had been delivered a day early and dumped in my back garden in torrential rain.

M&S customer service were absolutely useless.

Recently the Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine suggested Uniglo instead of M&S. Haven't tried it yet.

I found that MawBroon's jumper was a bit itchy so didn't buy one but I loved the style and colours.

They have really lost their way these past few years in the clothing department. Too much polyester and hardly any natural fibres. Lots of the blouses/tops are completely shapeless - have they never heard of darts!?? I agree that the trouser shape has altered, they are now like jodpurs. Wish they would stock more really good quality staples: navy wool (or wool mix) blazers; trousers in proper 'suiting' material (they manage it in the men's department!); fine merino wool jumpers in lots of colours with v neck (not too low!) and 3/4 sleeves; dark indigo or black jeans that don't lose their colour after a couple of washes; more leather shoes, etc. I would willingly pay more for good material, we don't always want clothes that only last or are fashionable for 1 or 2 seasons (we can get those from H &M, New Look, Primark etc).

Our local M and S shops closed but we will soon have a food store instead and that’s all I buy. If I get tokens I spend them on food. My sister sent us some M and S anniversary flowers last week, delivered by Yodel, no note, no ring on doorbell, discovered by accident on doorstep in full view. Box had been tipped over so little water in wrapper, flowers dead four days later. Sister is to receive £10 voucher!