What is up with M & S?

Any one third it?

Me

Do you think we need to approach HQ, or will they read this and react?

I have e- mailed them recently (twice) to say that their reputation is suffering, according to a survey of women in our age range (i.e. GN but didn't mention us by name - felt I shouldn't speak for us all)

I listed the issues, and also reminded them that we are, on the whole, a generation with money (yes, I know, not all of us!) and that our opinions should not be ignored etc. etc. Also mentioned that we had probably helped keep them in business over the years.

Have I heard anything? S** all! So yes, get them on here - please, GNHQ!

I'll fourth it! I think you can buy better quality stuff on a market stall!

My biggest gripe is over their T shirts! I want ones with a longer sleeve length (just above the elbow) to go under business suits. The Portfolio ones were fine, then they stopped them.

A while back when I looked at the website it said that items in the Portfolio range could be found under other ranges. NOT WITH THE BLOODY T SHIRTS THEY CAN'T!

sorry.

My gripe too phoenix and I want a tee shirt that doesn't end an inch below my waist, too. I'd rather pay an extra couple of pounds and have more length on sleeve and body. If Gransnet passed on these comments to M and S they might find their sales go up - we all know exactly what we want from them.

Also, I want to know why I can't get a straight mid-calf length jersey or polyester crepe skirt in various plain colours. If I see another viscose skirt, I'll scream!

Have just found out what M&S did with all the Portfolio stock.....its on their 'Outlet' part of the website....have ordered one of the wrapover jersey dresses that were so successful!

Oh wow M & S! The most frustrating retail enterprise.

I am 5'6" stock size 12, 36B cup etc etc. I have stood for hours trying to find the tights/bras in the colour and design I want, in my size. My main beef is having to negotiate my way around groups of smug M & S execs with their sodding clipboards, who fail to notice that there are queues of customers waiting at the undermanned pay desks nor that I have got steam coming out of my ears with the frustration.

Dont go there girlies! I shop for all my basics late at night on line or on the phone with Lands'End. Their stuff is great quality and lovely ranges of colours. They have great sales and their swimwear is the best ever. Trouble is, they don't do bras or tights! Never mind, here in France, we've still got C & A!!! WOO HOO!

I agree about Lands End. Although I do a lot of internet shopping I always ring them up for the pleasure of talking to their lovely sales people.

There are a lot of tall people on this site! Spare a thought for the 7 stone 7, less than five foot, granny who can never find anything that fits (appropriate or a granny that is ).

Lands End - great service, great range of products. But i find their trousers are a peculiar fit - perfect round the behind, but the waistline comes up to my ribs!

And spare another thought for the very much larger 5' 1" gran who has to shop at M and S because it is one of the few places that does different trouser and dress lengths. Even then, either I've shrunk, or their 'short' trouser length has become longer recently so that some trousers skim the bottom of my shoes. As for longer sleeves, my bete noir is the number of sleeves that are really wide at the edge; having short arms too, I need knitwear to have ribbed sleeve edges so that I can turn them up and they will stay up. It's not very smart, I know - but wet sleeves every time you wash the dishes aint much fun.
I agree totally about the dowdy styles; as for Per Una - it seems to have stuck in a time warp ever since it began. I like some of the Indigo range though. I don't buy the jeans of course - sadly, denim clad big bottoms are really yuk!

I love m &s food and school uniform and I used to like their shoes but now on the whole they are not wide enough for me. I used to buy undies from M & S but few clothes . When Per Una was introduced ( I think George Davis was in charge) I loved the clothes as they were modern but still looked good on slightly older ladies and pretty good quality. Now I cannot find anything to buy it is all hideous flowery enbellished clothes with elasticated waists. Come on M& S get some decent designers in who understand their customer base.

Isn't it frustrating when you are faced with hundreds of pairs of tights and hold-ups and none of them is the combination of size, denier and colour you were looking for? That was my fate in M&S today!

helmacd - no, it's not just you- M&S trousers have all got longer. I used to find medium was just right but that changed about two years ago. Annoying!
seasider - please don't knock elasticated waists!

Aah, you may well moan about M&S but has anybody seen the bunfight that is BHS ? Everything needs a good iron, they try to put everything they sell into one store. its just a jumble. Sylvia

I know I was mad to go, but future daughter in law wanted to visit M&S when I was with her in London at Christmas. The Sales were on!
Well, being a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, I grabbed a couple of bargain T's and marched off to the changing rooms - only to find them taped up with a sign saying : FOR THE DURATION OF THE SALE, THESE CHANGING ROOMS WILL BE CLOSED! I explained I didn't live in the country etc. etc. but they would not budge.
Needless to say, I didn't give them any of my money, and I could do without the T's anyway.

And another thing, why are the sleeves so skimpy. We need nice sleeves, not cap sleeves or fluttery bits of material Sylvia

Why does M and S insist on manufacturing jersey and polyester crepe pants that are too wide and flare out at the bottom? They hang really badly. What's wrong with trousers that gently taper so they sit neatly above your shoes, and if they are a bit long, they don't drag on the floor.

I think the manufacturers are making trousers longer because the fashion is to wear them with high heels!

Lots of places seem to be making jumper/cardigan sleeves much longer too - I love the ones with a line of buttons on the rib but if the sleeve is too long turning sleeve up spoils the look.
I agree about the cut of the trousers - it is as if the seams are not straight so the legs go all strange.

If I wore high heels nowadays, I would break my neck - just a gentle slope these days, and my feet are so much healthier now I don't squeeze them into the court shoes I used to wear at work.

Think I'd definitely break my neck, carol - hardly ever worn heels.

Popped into M& S for a coffee in Oxford Street the other day, and the clothes looked quite sharp - though whether they will be as nice when you actually try them on is another matter. And in our neck of the woods here in Cornwall, the choice is really limited. It's not always possible to make a wise choice from a picture on a website.
Bought a chunky spring sweater from Sainsbury's the other day: £16, compliments all round!