John Lewis in Trouble

I used to default to John Lewis for white goods, tv’s clothes etc. I gave them up when they switched to my Hermes as a delivery default ( very unreliable where we are) I did speak to them but they were dismissive so clearly didn’t need my cash.

I still shop online there, I price check everywhere and if it's cheaper will buy it but I don't expect any better customer service than say, Amazon. I don't visit the shops now but expect some more to close anyway. I use Waitrose as we have a nice big store and the alternative in our town are Asda or Lidl

I used to love a JL visit. The one in Newcastle was the place to look for anything I needed. I noticed the customer service changing about 8/9 years ago, I was on mat leave with my youngest and had to return something and it was a bit of a battle.

we’ve moved now and aren’t near one and recently took a punt on buying bedding online. I’ve always liked JL quality, even in their basic ranges so got some AnyDay bedding. It’s almost see through it’s so thin.

I'll keep it as backup bedding but I’m going else where to get something for day to day.

it’s such a shame.

It certainly isn't. The shares are all held in Trust on behalf of the employees.

In other news, Sharon White steps down next year. Agree she has been disastrous. This is what happens when you make prestigious hires rather than put people in post who understand the job and the company.

Perhaps you would like to link to this as you seem to have bought shares in JL, I would be interested to know where they are listed on the stock exchange

What? Of course you can. It’s a publicly traded company.

I used to buy big ticket items from JL because I knew they would help if things went wrong. Not any more. The Trust Pilot reviews are diabolical. If a product is faulty, you have to really push to get JL to honour your basic legal rights.

@vivariumvivariumsvivaria

You can't buy or sell shares in JLP

I'm not sure about my local JL as haven't been in for a while but our two local Waitrose and brilliant. My nearest one I go in every week or so and staff are always so helpful. The toilets are being returned and the staff were kind enough to show my husband potty training toddler to their staff toilets, great customer service

I used to own shares and lots of them. Loved the partnership model.
Then they told me that men were women, I sold my shares and they can fuck off.

Partnership is not colonialism.

oh how I fondly look back at the days when they used to have ribbons to cut and proper fabric bolts 😩😩😩

The flagship Oxford St store used to have a fabulous haberdashery and fabric department. It’s been whittled down to a pathetic stump now - I went in the other day needing to buy some incredibly ordinary haberdashery item, can’t recall exactly what, but I couldn’t have just the one or two I needed; all they had on display were eye-wateringly expensive packs costing ££. So I didn’t part with my money.

Ironic really, when Sewing Bee has become so popular and people are interested in making their own clothes again. There’s a big, big online sewing 'community' (sorry, I hate that term but you know what I mean). It just seems so flat-footed of JL not to tap into that.

All rather sad that JL started as a drapery business. The original John Lewis would be turning in his grave, I suspect.

One of JL's biggest selling points for me was its customer service, which is now virtually non-existent, IME. Items on display, in the electrical department especially, tend to be for show only and I've lost count of the times I've been told, somewhat laconically, to check availability online.

Their telephone system is now automated and dire - no longer a direct phone number for individual stores.

The JL own brand clothing no longer has the feel of quality.

As others have said, the cessation of free delivery and their Never Knowingly Undersold policy are two more nails in their coffin.

That said, the staff in my local Waitrose are lovely; it's just a shame the prices for ordinary shopping are so inflated.

Sharon White has been fucking disastrous for JL. She's completely destroyed their USP which was excellent customer service at reasonable prices. Their staff knew what they were talking about but the staff are now floated from dept to dept so none of them know anything. She's also got rid of the uniforms. I used to work for JL and they were hot on the uniforms and appearance which affects the culture of a store and now staff wear whatever they like and often look too casual and sometimes a bit shabby. Their customer service in general has also gone really downhill, not helped by the outsourcing of their helpline. I have also heard they no longer treat their staff very well which will reflected in the service provided. Also agree with PP's that they were silly to give up the Ocado contract. They need to get rid of her asap although I worry it's too late and they won't be catch things up now. Very sad. I've always shopped in JL, was treated well when I worked for them. Seems another British institution might be going down the drain.

I haven't touched them for 4 years and I never will again.
I bought some sheets from them, they were just a bit too small for my bed so I returned them a few days later without the receipt (lost) They refused to let me change them without the receipt and so did the manager.
I complained on Twitter and I got an absolutely obnoxious reply insinuating that I had stolen them. I was shocked, disgusted and furious.

@asterel
The toy department😔
Back when my kids were kids (1990s) the High Wycombe JLP's toy deparment was vast, varied, and A Destination for an afternoon. I so miss that.

Agree with all this and also the very poor and uninspiring stock. After Debenhams and House of Fraser closed in my town it is the only department store. It’s really sad there there are so few options now.

I really miss the JL in Sheffield, as do all my friends. Nottingham and Cheadle are too far away. Online shopping is fine but it’s fun to browse and impulse buy.

@asterel it would be better if you fed it back. Direct customer feedback always has more weight. Just copy and paste above and send it to Sharon White, mention the store this relates to.

I don't work at JL. I've always worked in grocery

I still do love JL, but since the pandemic they’ve made another set of changes reducing the number of lines and products available in store - particularly things like haberdashery, etc. - our local one is slowly becoming mostly beauty hall and Ori Caffe and the amount of actual products is getting teenier and teenier. The kidswear section and toys are diminishing each time I go in (and the amount of unwanted kidswear on sale seems enormous). Five, seven years ago there was a fabulous toy department that DD loved visiting, and their kidswear was great and fantastic quality - I bought nearly everything there. Great, attractive basics in cotton and wool. Now the ranges are markedly smaller, poorer quality (especially Anyday which is synthetic and poorly cut), and everything seems badly designed to look “fashionable”, but incredibly ugly and somehow tarty, like stretchy silver ruched tops for preteens that look like clubbing outfits from a market in 1995? And the toy section barely exists any more, and like a pp said, are mostly Lego. —Also, children’s shoes! We used always to go to JL, but I haven’t been for years as they started employing useless fitters who didn’t seem to be able to fit DD’s (perfectly ordinary) feet, and the range is really thin!

Decor ranges have gone the same way. Used to be my first stop for everything from blinds to bedding to cushions. Now, reduced range in store, assistants don’t seem to have the knowledge they used to, markedly poorer quality than before.

And don’t get me started on the clothes. At least there you can see that all the bloody retailers are cutting quality and design and putting prices up. But I used to really enjoy shopping for women’s clothes in JL, and now nothing seems aimed at my age - mid-40s - it’s either frumpsville pensioner clothes or high end brands selling clothes that seem aimed at 20 year old models who are 6ft tall.

I used to go to JL first for everything from Christmas cards to clothes to ribbons by the yard (oh how I fondly look back at the days when they used to have ribbons to cut and proper fabric bolts 😩😩😩) But they just seem to have lost the great quality basics and tasteful luxuries thing that kept people loyal.

Design good basics that make people look good! Diversify the product ranges again for toys, household goods, decor, baby and kids; and have the things actually in store to look at! Have nice ladies in their fifties working there who know everything about the products! Bring back the free coffee and cake vouchers and - one final thing - make the loos a bit nicer. When DD was born the only place my NCT group ever met was JL cafe, because the baby department was so good, and the loos and baby change facilities were so clean and nice. I’ve noticed they’ve really been going downhill the last ten years. Nice loos really matter to female shoppers.

@Pipsquiggle please feed this back to your team (what bit of JL do you work in?)

Also, Waitrose is now significantly more expensive for the basic basket of goods I buy every week. I did a comparison online shop with Sainsbury’s so not even one of the cheaper alternatives. The difference was about £13 on my weekly shop.

Me too!

And now Waitrose is full of their stuff. So l’ve boycotted them too.

And they ditched their partnership credit card, then tried to force customers to sign up to their new one rather than just port people across, which meant you had to reapply from scratch. A lot of customers then found they were turned down, or were offered a drastically lower credit limit. Iirc they also slashed the rewards you got for your spending.

We decided not to bother, having used our JL card there and in Waitrose a lot. They still seem to play a loop instore with constant announcements begging people to take out their new card so I presume it hasn’t been a roaring success.

I used to love going to JL in Sheffield. Lovely big store, great location and lots of staff. Then it started looking more like a closing down sale every time i went. Until eventually i just stopped. And then it closed down completely. So. Meh.

JL customer service just isn’t up to it and that’s essential these days when so many things can be bought online.

I found out I could avoid paying the VAT on a Tempur mattress because of a disability I have. John Lewis staff knew nothing about it. I went to a local store and they were all over it, had the forms ready to go and they made it so easy. John Lewis was my first port of call and they lost the sale.

The mattress is great by the way.

I stopped shopping there when dogs became welcome in stores. Shane as it was lovely to shop there. And the free delivery was good too. It went up to £30 spend for click and collect.