John Lewis in Trouble

Yes JL do refund the difference if something reduces in 28 days, I think it is, I have used it a couple of times recently and been refunded very quickly. There is a form online to fill in for it.

I like JL . I bought a rug recently, I checked before I ordered it and it wasn’t in the sale , but when it was delivered I checked that the one delivered was the one I ordered( poor memory) and found it had been reduced by £90. I phoned ( took ages to find a number btw, that is something they could remedy) and the customer service person I spoke to immediately refunded the money.

They also do really good triple cooked chips in their cafe, well my local one does anyway!

DH & I got married 17 years ago and were very kindly gifted a very generous amount of JL vouchers from relatives. We used them to purchase lots of lovely items for our first home together (moved in 10 days before we got married). As time went on, it became our default store to head to for purchasing most things - white goods, appliances, electronics, decorative items etc.
I was so excited when our area opened up a large JL/Waitrose. Unfortunately the store was a huge disappointment. There were virtually no staff, and those who were there were rude & dismissive. The items stocked were very uninspiring, lots of the same items in slightly differing colours / designs and the prices were eyewatering. It closed shortly after Covid.
Our more recent experiences of purchasing from JL have been extremely sub-par. I bought a lamp from the store, got it home and it was cracked. Took it back to exchange it but the replacement had a faulty connection. The store ordered one in for me and when it arrived it had red marker pen dawn all over it. Each time I took them back I was made to feel like I was making a fuss over nothing and was just being awkward for the sake of it! Went to B&Q found the exact same light at 30% of the JL price!
The lovely bedside table lights that I bought from JL after we moved in to our current house stopped functioning properly after 12 months and JL couldn't have been less interested.
We bought 3 mattresses and all of them went saggy & lumpy within a couple of years.
Needless to say, we no longer shop there.

Oh, and DH and I have virtually stopped shopping at Waitrose, the former one and only destination for all our groceries. We spent loads there. But it’s just too expensive now and the choice is often very poor, shelves looking bare etc. Aldi is where we tend to go now, sometimes Sainsburys.

After reading what James Esses posted, I’m happy to continue avoiding JL.

I shop with Ocado and have done for years. When Waitrose left I stayed with Ocado happy to buy nice M&S bits instead. I don't really understand who instigated their split with Ocado but I think that must caused a reduction in revenue at Waitrose.

If you can’t buy the basics the store is in trouble. It’s my Tights knickers and toasters test

Interesting to hear this @tinkerella1. I wanted to buy an ordinary round hairbrush - nothing fancy. Popped into JL as it’s on my route to work and that’s exactly the sort of thing they used to stock.

I could have bought a glitzy hairdryer for £300 but no hairbrushes. They did have one online but it was £76 (!!).

Left empty-handed. I think eBay got the money in the end.

Madness.

From what I gather, JL have outsourced their customer service to the Philippines which would, in part, explain the shoddy service.

Over time I think that customer services at JL has gotten worse. I purchased a quite expensive TV and had issues with it. I called to arrange a time when someone would call and fix it. They did not turn up. I called back and they said someone would contact me that day. They did not. I called the next day and asked to log a complaint. In particular to understand why they had not called back and why the repair co did not turn up. The operator then asked if I was interested in "nit picking" or getting my issue sorted! I did get some response from a letter, but sadly now Amazon has better service.

M7S food is pretty poor- all pre processed with loads of sugar and salt. The fresh unadulterated stuff is generally quite poor and over priced- you get better and cheaper at a deli or farmshop

Waitrose fresh food is much much better. It is a shop for chefs rather than microwavers (unlike M&S)

The ham in Fortnum and Masons is better than either of them and cheaper.

@tinkerella1 I was pleased the thing I wanted to buy had a tag on as I thought - great, I won't have to use self service! But no. It's just shit really. And because "more people" use self service, you get more and more of the terminals. But it seems staff are told to direct you to them. It's all been gamed.

I have been a loyal and happy customer of both John Lewis and Waitrose for decades.

Recently having a bad experience with my weekly Waitrose delivery i rang the local store trying to get more informaion on when it might turn up.
The person I spoke to was incredibly rude. There was no need it was just a question.
I told her I was going to speak to the manager, and she replied she was the manager.
I then said, ok i will be making a complaint about your attitude.
I did and while I received a Gift token to soften me up I still felt I was being treated like a nusiance which is not the best way to talk to customers.
In all these years I have never needed to complain before.

PrimalLass Thank you. I'm not a dog lover but I suspect your retriever would prefer not to be in JL. I remember the days when people left their dogs at home.

its actually a Diversity and Inclusion fail. Many people can’t use self checkout. I’m not saying this is you but for other people. The whole point of being inclusive is not having to explain why you can’t or don’t want to use self checkout. Some find them confusing, other people want to have conversations with staff. In the Netherlands they’ve introduced checkouts where you can chat. It’s great customer service.
Meanwhile D&I over here is designed to exclude disability and promote biological males using womens changing rooms… what a mess.

Well quite. If I took my Dalmatian in everything would be covered in hair too. He sheds horribly. It’s it’s a pain to get out of things 🤣

I can't imagine anything more stupid than taking my slobbering retriever into John Lewis.

Do all these posters not shop online - that is why JL is going downhill

I find that JL - and other shops - will direct you online! And I alway think: but I came in to see (this top) IRL, not to find you don't have it in my size and order it online.

I think shoppers have moved online a lot for sure. But shops now also want to push you that way. They don't want to help very much.

I also loathe self service for clothes. Bought something in M&S this week. It had a tag on so I went to a normal desk but they seemed to be preserving it for refunds only. I pointed out the tag and someone almost shouted at me (it was quite loud) to use self service and they would come and take the tag off!

I think this is all pushed by those in HQ, in all these places. They want to get rid of interactions with staff so they can cut staff. Then they're shocked when people stop shopping IRL as much.

This popped up on another newsfeed; as well as aligning to the more controversial verges of society, it appears to be morphing into a sex shop.

The shoe selection in the Edinburgh one was awful last time I looked. Very expensive and samey. Either flat sandals or sky high.

We want choices though. I do both.

I never buy over the counter. Buy everything online. So does all my family.

Our city centre shops are shite though.

Do all these posters not shop online - that is why JL is going downhill

I don't want to shop online, my nearest store is about 10 minutes away and I want to be able to go and get my shopping! JL started really pushing online around the time of the pandemic and I think Sharon White (or whoever was advising her) mistook "We're shopping online because the shops are shut" with "Shopping online is what people want".

You only had to look at the queues once we were released from Covid restrictions to see people want to go into a physical shop. If you've forgotten someone's birthday you can't wait for even next day delivery And stores should want us to go in - after all, wandering round is a) how you sell more stuff because people pick up extra things they've seen and b) how you build your brand/customer loyalty via an enjoyable shopping experience. Enjoyable shops = more customer time spent in them = more purchasing.

If I can see that, why can't the Chair of John Lewis?

I used to shop at JL when there was a branch locally-ish. My next nearest branch is totally fur coat and no knickers. I've given up going as they never have anything I've gone for. The next next nearest branch is 1.5 hrs away. So basically I don't shop there anymore. We are also in a Waitrose desert to the extent that their grocery delivery site won't accept my postcode as real, so I can't get Waitrose deliveries - we're 10 mins off the M1!

JL are not making it easy for me to shop there!!

I've not heard that they rolled back on this.

And my local m and s now has changing room signs, not sex designated. Which is an improvement. But I think I'm the only one who noticed.

I personally am boycotting until they return to single sex, ( I was in with another person, I wouldnt know about signage otherwise)
They have lost about £600 a year from me, but it's still £600 they dont have but another company does.

The Waitrose in my town is looking really shabby now. The trolleys are wonky and noisy, the fridges leak, some of the fresh fruit and veg is not up to standard. I think M&S has really nailed the luxury end of food shopping and Waitrose is now charging a premium for a pretty bog standard experience. Our store is only about 10 years old too - it used to feel a bit special but it really doesn't anymore. Can't fault the staff though, they're lovely.