Marks and Sparks

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 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!

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 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.

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!

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 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.

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'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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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?

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 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.

I love a navy cardi! I was desperate for a new one a couple of years ago and couldn’t find one anywhere! I miss BHS I always liked their clothes more than M&S.

I must be lucky with our local M&S I bought two lovely cardigans in November one in a soft dove grey with a fake fur trim and the other a floor length black tweed effect one both elegant and a great fit! I admit I don’t buy trousers as I live in dresses or leggings and tunic tops so maybe the trousers aren’t so good.
I am very impressed by their new plant life food range! as a vegetarian of 30 odd years I have always previously found M&S to be disappointing for my needs but now they seem to have stepped up and produced a really good range.

I've stopped even looking for clothes in M and S since I asked if they had any long navy cardigans, only to be told 'no we haven't because no-one wants those anymore'!
Surely that's a must in everyone's wardrobe.

I too received vouchers that I am struggling to spend. I need winter trousers in a plain, dark colour, but this appears to be unobtainable. The short length are too long (not everyone who is short wears huge heels). I don’t want jeans, leggings or something with cheap tacky embellishment (or their jodhpur style cut) either. I would like classic, straight trousers in a decent winter material, that will last me a couple of seasons. I don’t expect them for £15, I’m quite happy to pay more for quality, and it would be nice if a size 12 wasn’t a rare event...

However, as a lot of gransnetters have been asking for similar things for a while, I’m not holding my breath. They aren’t listening- or not to us, anyway.

Tut tut! Bear not bare!

Isn’t this sad though! I feel very proprietorial towards good old Marks as my mum always shopped there and I have too. I worked there for a while and loved the quality of goods. I’ve got to agree though that something needs to be done about the choosing of clothes by the buyers. Who wants all those acres of chunky jumpers in broad stripes or with a different colour on the bottom? They wouldn’t appeal to young or old. Every time the sale is in, there are rails and rails of trousers which I can’t even be bothered to look through. I bought two things the other day which happened to be on the end and in my size and length so I grabbed them. BUT wouldn’t it be sad to lose this iconic store? I can’t bare to think about the hole in our nearest High Street if it closed and it’s on the cards I think. I wish we could big them up and encourage others to go back instead of criticising them. Having said that, I don’t go in half as much as I used to. Sorry for such a conflicting post.