Thoughts on Boots?

[ohthehorrorthehorror]

We're away for Christmas and I needed a new mascara. We're staying quite rurally so the little Boots in the nearest small town was my only option other than Amazon.
In recent years I haven't used Boots much as I've found it expensive, and things were often not in stock. Also didn't like what I heard about how they treat their pharmacy staff. I used to shop there loads, dating back to when I was a Saturday girl there, hammering my 25% staff discount at the makeup counters!
Shopping there today was a dismal experience. The (small) store felt tired, dated, dingy, and even a bit dirty. The stock on the shelves was sparse, and jumbled. The makeup stands were atrocious. Hardly any stock, half of what there was had been opened and tested, and then when I got to the tills, the prices on the shelves didn't match what was rung up. I ended up leaving empty handed and ordering from Amazon. Even delivering to rural Cumbria, I will get my mascara tomorrow and at half the cost that Boots was charging.
I've often wondered over the past few years just how they have survived, even the larger ones in cities feel a bit dated alongside Superdrug. What are other people's thoughts on Boots? Do you still shop there? Or do you think there are better places?

I stopped shopping there when they stated the reason for charging so over the odds for the MAP was to discourage women from being promiscuous.

how fucking dare they?!

Really interesting to read this today as I've just lodged a complaint with Boots and Advertising Standards over their 'free gift' on No 7 products when buying two items. I did, received the despatch note but not the free item. Boots staff have advised the free item is out of stock but are still advertising the offer 20 days after I ordered it on the website. Customer services experience was dismal too. Not impressed.

I work in a Superdrug, there is a boots 2 doors down. We constantly get people telling us how much better we are in terms of stock, staff, cleanliness...
the only thing 'good' about boots is it's a pharmacy and we aren't. People will go there for advise then come to us.

@cortisolqueen

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/13/how-boots-went-rogue?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

amp.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/17/yours-a-stressed-pharmacist-boots-article-prompts-flood-of-letters

Quite old articles, but I can't imagine things have improved.

@HermioneWeasley Oh yes, I forgot about that - fucking outrageous!

I think this is a hit and miss situation depending on branch- our very large modern one in Bath is perfectly good clean and well stocked- the small one (2 doors from Superdrug) is a bit rubbish, a bit shambolic and cramped - I use both the big Boots and Superdrug - Superdrug actually has some good and interesting products you don't get in Boots and vice Versa.

What??? When was that

The website is abysmal, as is delivery. They bombarded me with emails until I unsubscribed and they kept telling me to book a flu jab, which was impossible to do. Every time, it said there was no availability and then there would be another email the next day.

DH couldn’t make an appointment for a hearing test, although they were advertising them regularly. We tried more than one store. The small Boots look slightly grubby and the stock is poor. It’s impossible to make an appointment for a sight or hearing test on the phone and we were told off when we tried to go into a physical store to make one.

Yet another chain that’s lost it’s way.

I used to love boots
id but everything for the kids there but I’ve just spent the last of my points and won’t be back
our store seems to have a window put through permanently,it’s full of druggies after their meth,they take their time with meds,the staff are rude and unhelpful and there’s nothing to buy-and if there is,I can buy it cheaper elsewhere
its a shame but I’ll stick to buying from other shops

I get this same feeling about Boots too. I find the stores quite depressing these days whereas it used to be a nice experience. Even the major stores (Trafford Centre etc) just seem a bit grim.

I mostly shop online but even their website/app is a disaster and in urgent need of a redesign. Half of the functions don’t work and it is miles behind other retailers apps such as ASOS/H&M etc. Makes me quite sad as I sense Boots not surviving if it carries on like this..

I buy online from Boots, it's easier & that way I only buy what I need.

Despite our local Boots being a large store (3 floors) the stock has been really low for months. Not just make-up but lots of other products too. Some of the make-up brand counters, such as Revlon, have been removed too. It's got the same air about it that Debenham's had before they went under.

Savers is best for everyday things. Boots is overpriced for them and in ours at least the pricing is all over the place - what you get charged at the till doesn't match the shelf ticket and offers don't go through.

The perfume counters are really good though.

Superdrug can fuck off now they've gone the way of Tesco with a two tier pricing system and endless three for twos. I want to just pick stuff up and buy it for a clear price.

@amiold it was a few years ago. They relented after criticism but for me the damage was done

The ones I used to frequent in central London were mostly great - well stocked, clean, bright, helpful staff.

The local ones are awful. Dismal, dirty shops with staff who clearly couldn’t care less. There is one big newer store on a retail park near me but the stock selection is terrible and they closed their pharmacy so it’s now just a cavernous shop with empty shelves and hardly any choice.

Boots’ online offering is (amazingly) even worse. Delivery is slow, parcels get randomly split because items are not available which means multiple deliveries or even more annoyingly, multiple trips to click and collect.

I’ve been a customer for years and have always thought they were great but the last couple of years they’ve gone completely downhill.

I bet they did! Anything to make a bit of money. Terrible behaviour

I went to our local Boots earlier this morning to get some stocking fillers for DD. Opened the door, saw the massive queue and one poor frazzled person on the tills frantically ringing for help. Turned round and went to Superdrug instead and got it all there.
It's badly laid out, I can never find anything and I wasn't going to queue for stuff I could get elsewhere which was cheaper anyway

I stopped shopping at Boots when their tax avoidance practices were exposed a few years ago. Have used Superdrug since then or local pharmacies and really don’t feel I’m missing out.

They’re expensive and even the ones in central London where I used to work were a bit shit but I don’t like the Superdrug’s much either.

Near where I live there are a few smaller Boots and they’re dire but there are hardly any independent chemists left.

What did irritate me when I was working in London recently was that both Boots sold out of all cold and flu remedies quickly.

The big Boots near me in the town is good but eg with The Ordinary products - no one knew about them and it took ages to find someone who did know. Same re SPF for the face, no one around to ask and when you did ask they were clueless. There was someone on the pharmacy counter there last year who was very informative re things for my plantar fasciitis though. The Christmas selection this year I found very poor, spent 15 minutes looking around and ended up going elsewhere (Flying Tiger and H&M) to get similar cheaper bits.

It's rare, now, that I venture in and usually come away empty handed. So many items out of stock or not replenished.

I thought their Christmas gifts , these last few years were disappointing. I always looked forward to their Christmas brochure but not any more.

We stopped using their pharmacy years ago as we got fed up having to go back to collect shortfalls or out of stock meds.

So few staff too... the few that remain must be frazzled.

Our small local one is good fro essentials but not make up, the Pharmacist is quite rude at times, but obviously that can happen anywhere.

The big one a few miles away is great, they stock Fenty, Estée Lauder, Clarins, NYX, Revolution Beauty etc

It depends what store it is, I use one of the flagship stores it's massive and almost space age in it's appearance, but some of the smaller ones can be a bit run down I admit.

I never understood why you can only spend points to buy the full basket of items. So if you have £7 worth of points you can't just take £7 off your £30 shop, you have to work out which items add up to about £7 and ring them through separately. It's so odd.

I've mainly used boots for the points via boots appliances but not used that for years so never go in there anymore.

Our local Boots is a pharmacy and a very small store with a limited stock of other items. The fact I can walk there to collect an online order is great. The staff are lovely despite the pressure they are under.