To ask for things that you believe have declined in quality

@ocsober you shouldn't be on the roads. What would you do without your precious reversing cameras?

Customer service in banks. Bloody awful. For years I had a local branch. They knew me and I would go in regularly to pay money in and pay bills etc. We had a brief falling out when they tried the hard sell for an account that had a monthly charge but I held fast and they gave up on that one eventually. Now, they've shut the local branch and I have to schlep into town to speak to human beings. And all they are bothered about isnt what i have come into branch for but instead trying to convince me to use online services and stop using humans. Fuckin awful. I don't trust online banks, I hate trying to resolve issues online or with bots or with call centres miles away. I also believe in continuing to use cash.
Makes me feel so unwelcome. I'm a customer, sorry if that is inconvenient for them!

I was thinking the same. I'm in the north of England and the staff in the stores I visit are always lovely.

Agree with those who mentioned toilet roll. Andrews has become so thin and crap that I've switched.

I've noticed M&S shoes as well @Foy19. The lining in the last 2 pairs I bought for DS worn through within weeks.

General quality of household goods. When I visit my dad I notice everyday items in the house that were around when I was small and are still going strong over 40 years later. I had to replace a set of kitchen scales recently (less than 2 years old) my dad has a set my mum bought in the mid 1970s that still work perfectly well. Things are just not bought to last these days. I also think our parent's generation just didn't throw stuff away.

Cadburys chocolates and a lot of treats I remember from my childhood now taste rank which has it's positives as I just do not buy sweets for my DC.

Agree re. customer service. Lol at the PP who thinks it's emotionally taxing for young people working in retail to behave politely. I'm trying to imagine what the manager of the Woolworths store I worked in when I was 16 would have said if I told him it was "too draining" to smile at customers (or should that be too triggering, everything is a trigger these days). I'm honestly not surprised young people today struggle to cope with things their peers a generation ago managed perfectly fine. The level of coddling and insistence that we cannot place any expecations on their shoulders is mind boggling.

This seems to happen to me all the time in restaurants. I find something I really like and then over time the price increases dramatically and the quality and/or quantity decreases, until eventually it disappears off the menu. I know things can't stay the same forever, but I notice this a lot.

Tins of Quality Street. My Auntie still has one from circa 1978 and I swear it's nearly big enough to sit in!

I haven't bought Quality Street since they moved to those pathetic plastic tubs. I would happily pay £50+ for a Seventies style proper tin, brimming with sweets in their original jewel like wrappers.

M&S footwear of late - boots especially are cheap quality and look it too. Shame as M&S clothing is pretty good.

Customer service in most places.

I honestly don't recognise what's being said about service in shops or behaviour of customers. Obviously there are always going to be some rude people, but I find shop assistants almost always smile and are polite. And I haven't witnessed any customer rudeness for ages. Maybe it's where I live (NW England, fairly rural area)?

Levis jeans. Got a pair a 12 months ago and now have a big hole ripped in the knees just from kneeling on the floor often. Such thin material. Bought these as an investment hoping they'd last 10+ years!

I can easily fit a whole Jaffa cake in my mouth now ( rigorous experimentation) .
I didn’t know about Fairy and animal testing. I’ll find another brand.

Mumsnet

Jaffa cakes are the same, so small now!

I hadn't been in Starbucks for ages but was desperate for a coffee after an early motorway start (I was actually taking my own coffee machine to be fixed) and I was gobsmacked at the price for a tall latte.

Fabric softener
since there’s now the scent boosters everywhere they seemed to have toned down the fragrance.

lidl still rocking it, but for how long???!

Any food and drink which has seen artificial sweeteners replace sugar.

Sugar is not the enemy if eaten/drunk in moderation and some of us would like a choice between the two.

Artificial sweeteners are vile and leave a bitter taste in my mouth and give me the shits (physically and mentally!)

Some customers are rude and entitled. It doesn’t make it right to give poor service to everyone though.

I know how hard customer services is but frankly, dealing with difficult people is a life skill. Trying to ensure young people never have an adverse experience is doing them a tremendous disservice and it’s not wonder they crumble so easily

Totally agree. We went for a meal last Sunday and you could see the v round staff just wanted to go. We sat down to two female staff giving eye rolls and looks. Not a cheap place to eat either with 12.5% on for the eye rolls.

I have had exactly this experience with Sainsburys knickers. I got so aerated about it that I WEIGHED the brand new size 16s and found they were indeed lighter than the old worn thin size 14s.

Thankfully I didn't/don't/never will use Fairy (and products made by the company) due to animal testing.
I agree with restaurant/eating out. Very disappointed this week being served a spoon of mixed frozen veg with a dish that cost nearly £20. I won't go there again!

Bacon- much thinner slices
Bras - it’s near impossible to find a decent selection of bras with extra padding, not great if you have small boobs
Music - the quality and difference of genres in the 70’s-90’s and even early 00’s was incredible. Then streaming dumbed music down, to the point where it sounds like most modern songs are written by committee. In a parallel world where the internet didn’t happen I bet some amazing songs have been made.
Male sexual expectations- in the 90’s no one I knew or heard of ever had to worry about a man wanting to strangle them, now it’s alarmingly common.

Starbucks, I am not going to pay to eat in without any clean tables. Your drinks cost a fortune. Your staff are apathetic.

Mattresses
Clothes pegs
Soccer balls
Scooters

Do you work in customer services?
That’s a new one, smiling is emotional Labour
If you work for customer services, retail, it’s actually part of your job to be approachable, you’re paid to help people.

Kit Kat just not the same anymore ☹️