To think this is why the high street is failing?

@RaraRachael I have started reordering a second top or pair of trousers when I find something I really like. I genuinely think in a few years time I will only be buying underwear.

I hate online clothes shopping - having to wait in for parcels to arrive, then returning most of the stuff because it doesn't fit, is shit quality or just doesn't suit me.
If this is the future of retail then I'll be stuck with the same clothes I've got.

There is no negotiating. In the 10 years that I was in retail management up to 2016, all my shops staff hours were halved. Head office would not be moved, but they weren't the ones who had to deal with the complaints from customers.
The lower the hours got, the worse the service we could offer to our customers, the less customers we got, profits dropped so hours were cut again...

@MorvernBlack I have read that some places are restricting customers who return too much. I think I will just end up buying less and less clothing.

Some companies are now restricting customers who return too much, especially buying multople sizes in the same outfit. So you are damned either way. But I find it difficult to know if something will fit, I'm above average height and sizing is so inconsistent. If they put actual measurements online it would help.
And shoes - not happening for me online.

In my town all the new building is student accommodation in the centre. Every week it seems our local rag is reporting planning permission being granted for yet more. I read once that there's some kind of planning loophole that gets quicker permission for student accommodation, but that after a few years it can be changed to private rental if demand for student accommodation leaves them empty, not that I'm aware of that happening as the local Uni seems to be expanding at a huge rate, especially with overseas students. To be fair it is rated as a good Uni.

Previously students would share 4 or 5 bed houses in the "burbs" which meant families were squeezed out. Now there is luxury student accommodation available, those houses are rented out as shares or HMOs at pretty high rates. Makes sound financial sense for landlords, but has decimated local communities.

It's not the card payments, but the need for a bricks and mortar bank to transfer money, arrange direct debits etc, pay bills. Or deal with other problems. The nearest is 15 miles away.
Neither of my patents 70 and 80s will bank online, Dad is incapable and Mum is terrified of scams and not knowing what is genuine online. Neither have had jobs using technology.
My mum uses cards happily.
I can't believe some people are so ignorant in believing that they're alright jack, sod anyone else.
A lady I work with only has a feature phone, she doesn't use computers or anything like that, she probably has a mild learning disability, but has always managed until now. Again she is struggling with online systems.

This happened to my daughter with over £100 worth of shopping and a fractious toddler in tow. She stood there while every single item was checked.

I'm one of the ignorant people who doesn't like self checkouts. I wouldn't mind if the bloody things worked half the time. Yesterday, "Unexpected item in bagging area" - it was a bag. When the assistant came over she said "Oh your bag must be too light and it hasn't registered!

As for a PP doing their whole weekly shop by self serve - I can think of nothing worse. Our Tesco has self serve tills but you only see people with small baskets there.

This isn't why the high street is failing, it's a result of the high Street failing.
Online shopping,out of town shopping centres, high rents, rates and utilities , high wage costs and lack of town centre parking is why the high street is failing. It's been that way since the birth of online shopping, just as was predicted at the time.
I remember shopkeepers in Sheffield complain about what was going to happen when meadowhall was being built.

I hate ordering clothes online. Most places now charge for deliveries and returns. So you order 4 things in 2 sizes, pay delivery charge, and find out the fabric is cheap, the garment is badly made, or even though you have 2 sizes none fit properly. And then pay return charge.
I want to go into a shop. And there is no way I want to buy different shoes online. This is why I keep ordering the same pair of shoes online. Because the bloody shop never has my size, and is not an unusual size.
I swear I would buy way more clothes if I could actually shop for them in my size.

I areas in areas where there is the demand. Where I live we have lots of these apartments. The demand is for houses with car parking.

And they do it online........

When I worked in shops, if I were on close I was contracted until 30mins after the doors closed. This was so we could do things exactly like the cashing up, and any last tidy up bits.

So actually, she probably wasn't due to leave at 8pm on the dot.

They still need to buy food and clothes.

Or perhaps it's best that high streets do come to a halt and then that's nobody's problem, is it?

The fact that rents and purchasing costs for flats in central areas are unsustainably high and keep climbing Year after year suggests that the demand for living in central areas is higher than the current supply of this kind of housing.

Those posters on here including me who are suggesting that we build more of such housing are merely suggesting that we grow the supply to meet the demand.

If you like living in a house in the suburbs, then you do that, and if you prefer to shop out of town at a retail park, you do that, too.

The UK is not North Korea, nobody is forced to live anywhere they do not want to.

My experience would be very different from this. I don't live within walking distance of a high street or a shopping centre, so going to the shops always involves a car journey.

I have several places to choose from. The nearest is 19 miles away and takes 35 - 40 minutes to get to the (expensive) multistory car park, which is about a 5-10 minute walk from the main High Street (or used to be. I haven't been there for 20-odd years).

The next nearest are both about 45 minutes drive away.

For me, i's so much easier and more convenient to buy online. In your scenario, I would order the items I thought I might like in two different sizes. So, if I want a dress I'd probably choose maybe four designs and order each one in two sizes, hoping that one out of the eight would fit and I would like it. Then I'd return the rest.

I agree that buying shoes online is tricky, but one just has to be patient. I usually find I need to try about five pairs before I find the right one.

I like being able to try things in my own time in my own home, without feeling rushed and having to make quick decisions as to which is best.

I can order online from two or three different retailers at the same time, then compare them all before deciding. If I were buying on the high street, I'd have to traipse around different shops remembering what things were in which shops that I liked, try stuff on in different shops and then go back to buy the one I thought I liked best (only to find they'd sold the only one in my size, knowing my luck!).

What an attitude! If the desk is open until X time and the employee wants to cash-up so they can leave on the dot then surely a conversation with their manager about what time cashing up should be done, bearing in mind that customers can still appear until X time?

If customers have to be finished by X time-minus 15/20/30 whatever, then that should be clearly communicated.

The currency exchange in our ASDA says after a certain time, only pre ordered currency can be processed. The pre ordered currency is already in a separate envelope and you have to say a time you will collect it. So they are open, but not for walk ins.

Yes, and where I live it dovetails with wanting to make sure nobody can park anywhere near the station so there are restrictions everywhere, although if you just want to nip into town for a few things, you can find streets where you can park for an hour without a problem. There appears to be a massive ring around the station and the town centre where there are restrictions and on some other roads too where I really can't understand why the restrictions exist, nowhere near a school, for example.

Have I missed something, have you seen the contract? Why is she different to the other marks employees who are not paid just fill doors close?

Clarks shoes 20% off ladies shoes online so DD school shoes bought online rather than in store. No brainer, so it’s also failing because online is cheaper.

Wow to you % of not being unreasonable!
I have seen this type of attitude from staff indeed. They do not seem to take much pride on their job when it comes to good customer service. But I did not know it was to this level...

Well it kind of is your problem. They don't pay an employee to stay late enough to keep the service running until 8pm. She is contracted until 8pm on the dot. She only has to work as long as they pay her for. That means the cashing up has to be done early. She doesn't have a problem with that, you do.

You want the service to run till 8pm so take it up with the people who are responsible for hiring staff. Its not her problem.

Except there is a limited amount of people who want to live in a small apartment in a city centre with no car parking. Most people want houses and to be able to park for free where they live.