M&S customer service

Personally, no. In our local branch all the staff are lovely, many of them have been there for years, and we always have a chat and a laugh at the checkout.
There are quite a mix of ages and nationalities, and I’ve never found one who wasn’t friendly and professional

Hi trishs, are you new to gn, welcome if so.

The staff in all our nearby M&Ses are lovely. I have never had a problem at all.

Slagging off MandS has become a national pastime, it seems.

I don't think it's any better or worse than anywhere else; we just have higher expectations.

Hi Kittylester, no I've been a member for years (even did a guest blog once !) I just have been otherwise engaged both as a grandma with after school duties, a gardener with a very big garden, and an active supporter of my favoured political party. The thing is I am no longer able to get to stores and do all of my shopping online. It was their online customer service that I found so poor, and reading through some of the other comments I found others commenting in a similar fashion. I'm a very loyal M&S customer as I was brought up "in the business" as my father first began working for them as a bicycle delivery boy when he was 14 and met my mum there working in the office. He was warehouse manager by the time he retired but then sadly died very suddenly aged 60. The firm looked after my old mum very well as a pensioner, so I have no axe to grind

oldgimmer1 In this particular instance , I had a very similar issue with items from Pavers Shoes and Kent hairbrushes who dealt efficiently and generously with my complaint. I can just about accept their mean response but they could at least have apologised for the wrong advice I was given, twice!

sarah65 Yes, the staff in some stores are lovely, but even when I was still making the occasional visit in person not all were as good as they used to be. I do think standards have slipped.

I visit our local M&S very regularly. The staff are very pleasant and friendly. They regularly save unwanted discount vouchers for me which are much appreciated.
I also order things online and can't believe how quick and efficient the system is. We were just discussing how on earth they manage to get the orders out so fast. I can't comment on their complaints system as I've never had to complain!
I'm a big complainer too and just deal direct with the complaints dept of electricity supplier, BT, car manufacturers as, frankly, it cut out the inevitable hassle!

What is your personal experience trishs ?
I’m afraid I am with oldgimmer on this - we were about due another slagging off M&S thread

Trishs

I guess we must just be lucky then, I can’t fault our local store, had lunch there yesterday with three of my grandchildren, staff all helpful and friendly

I suspect that many things aren't what they used to be, including M&S who certainly aren't the only culprits.

The 'click and collect' service in our nearest M&S used to be very slow indeed, but they have since moved it to a different area and I'm now very rarely kept waiting. I have no problems with the checkouts either and I had a very helpful chat with the lady in the skincare department.

Whenever I've had an issue with goods such as clothing, I've never had a problem with getting a refund or exchange, but legitimate complaints about food, well that's a different matter, treated more or less like a criminal, demanding receipt, the food itself, containers etc, Sainsburys, on the other hand, no problem at all

I don't think I should be accused of 'slagging off' when I ask a genuine question. I have clearly stated that my issues are concerning customer service in relation to online activity rather than in store. It's their current procedures I am questioning. If you look at the link in my original post you will notice two things; that you have to click to bring up the latest comments (ie atm mine, and secondly that there appears to be no responses to anyone! My issue is that I asked for help via three different sessions on their livechat facility for help and advice, and twice was given advice which has on both accounts proven to be wrong. I was advised to post back an item and promised that I would at least get the postal charge refunded. The letter I have now received plus the return of my item does not contain any email contact so unless I take yet more time to write a postal reply I cannot progress this further. I sought to raise the issue online in the hope of highlighting this process which I have found to be inadequate compared to all the other online companies I have ever dealt with.

I have always found M&S staff polite and helpful. I even wrote to the CEO and local store manager to thank members of staff who went ‘above and beyond’ when my, now late, husband was taken ill in our local store.

Tweedle

They do seem to have a lot of people taken ill in our local branch, but they’ve obviously got a fast procedure for dealing with it. My mother in law fell down the escalator once, and they were wonderful, and recently my daughter and I just managed to save a frail old lady from toppling down from the top of the escalator

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201907/medium-940639-20190714-113052.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201907/medium-830847-20190714-113143.jpg

This is my original email which I was advised to send but then told otherwise (it bounced back) : please see attached pictures of my M&S handbag. OK it was bought quite some time ago, but it wasn't cheap,
and I have kept it carefully to use with particular coloured outfits on special occasions when I need a small bag.
It is quite unusual in its design and colour, and will be difficult to replace. When I took it out with me last night
I didn't expect to bring it home in this state, having left a trail of debris at my host's home as it gradually fell to bits
during the course of the evening!

Maybe items which are prone to do this kind of thing should carry a 'use by' or 'best before' sticker if we cannot rely on them lasting
and being usable . This bag has only been lightly and gently used over the years and I didn't expect this to happen. I imagined it to be leather actually.

I look forward to your comments.

It's actually a known issue as I mentioned earlier I had similar issues with shoes (not from Pavers as previously stated but) from Padders who very kindly replaced my shoes with a choice of my own from their website, and a hairbrush from Kent, also replaced. Here's a thread with lots of examples in the comments. It's worth knowing about if you are someone like me who buys things to wear but uses them very lightly over long periods of time. It doesn't matter how carefully items are kept stored, they just suddenly deteriorate. My handbag had only been lightly used as an evening accessory around fifteen times maximum and was in as new condition both inside and out until this sudden chemical breakdown. www.phlmetropolis.com/2011/11/the-case-of-the-crumbling-shoes.php

Trishs

My friends daughter returned a handbag to Monsoon, as it was falling apart after a fortnights use, she was asked how long she’d used it for, and she told them, they said, well there you are then, it’s a single use handbag! So maybe your M&S one is a single use handbag!

Sara65 if that has indeed become the case then products should clearly state the fact. M&S was not normally known for cheap shoddy products. I didn't think Monsoon were in that sales bracket either, but I've only ever once shopped there.

Trishs

Well obviously the whole idea of a “single use” handbag is ridiculous, no matter where’s it’s from, a ten pence bag for life will last longer.

Trishs
I have recently given 2 tote bags to charity as the handles wore in exacy the manner as shown in your photos.
One bag bought in Primark and one in Selfridges.
Neither were leather, one silvery grey t'other a champagne colour. Both metallicised faux leather.
That's what happens, no matter how much or how little you pay. It peels and flakes.
More than once when using said totes, I would put the bag down only to find my hand covered with flakes from whatever colour bag I carried on that day and the underlying 'material' was a creamy colour.
The Primark bag cost £6, the one from Selfridge' s cost £245.

exacy exactly

Oh £245, that's a big hit! What shocked me was that it had always seemed fine , no beginning signs of wear, just sudden all-over collapse. Had I known to expect this I would have made sure to get more use of it sooner!