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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

MARKS AND SPENCER CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A JOKE

128 replies

mufti · 01/12/2010 12:30

i have not used this topic before and just need to get this down / off my chest, i think.
i needed new shoes and got some birthday money i have always been a great fan of m & s , and spent loads there, so this is really upsetting.
i only have a SIMPLY FOOD where i live, so first chance i got , i went into large town an hour on the bus.and found a pair, if only they had had my size in, none of this would have happened
as they didnt , i noted the style number, and ordered at home online, getting them delivered to the simply food store, which is a good system normally, as you save delivery charge
so, opened them , threw away old scruffy pair and the packaging.
i went to wear them and found a small split in the leather.
i wore them ,as i had to, no other shoes, then got back into the large town last weds, 24th, and took them to customer service, expecting an exchange
huh, first assistant took shoe away, came back , "you shouldnt have worn them"
i explained ,and asked for the manager - in a meeting
so she fetched what appeared to be a catering manager. who was even less helpful and quite rude
she said i should have returned them sooner, seems it would have not been a problem if they had split since i got them. then they would be classed as faulty goods
she wanted me to leave them, i asked if i should go home barefoot, she accused me of being pedantic!
she offered to make a call to see if there had been problems with any others, i had to get the next bus home for school run, and they are hourly. i told her all this, and i have no other shoes, im not that well off and i had said all this several times by now.
she then said, "well do you want me to help you or dont you?"
i said , " you could take my details and call me back later". she did so, but didnt call
i have spent the week since emailing customers services, who seem enable to read my emails as i told them i have nothing else to wear , i suggested i send them a photo, i suggested they send a replacement pair so i can them return the faulty one, they keep emailing me back saying return them
if you read all that thanks, im fed up, it is a very small split, but it could get bigger , and its just not good enough

OP posts:

doughnutty · 01/12/2010 14:53

All I can ask is that you don't take your annoyance out on the person you speak to tomorrow. They don't know that you've had issues with other people within the company. Chances are if you go in calm and to the point (and wearing some other footwear) they'll be as helpful as they can be. Like I said I'd probably have refunded you but for the passive aggression.

libelulle · 01/12/2010 14:53

doughnutty that is just weird! If you're running a shoe department you can reasonably expect to have to handle worn shoes. What do you do when someone comes in wanting to try out new shoes? 'ew, get away from me you disgusting person don't take your old shoes off near me that's sooo unhygenic I'll just retch in the corner while you try these new ones on'? Feet are not genitals, if the AIBU had been about underwear the OP might have got a different response
As it is - doughnutty hope you never buy expensive shoes that collapse on you after a week. What would you do? Take your 30/50/100/160 pound hit just to spare the poor assistant the horror of having to look at shoes that have been worn by someone for a week?!

cakewench · 01/12/2010 14:53

You are saying the only shoes you have to wear out of the house are these new ones and a pair of wellies?

You keep coming back to this being their problem ("yes but what would I wear in the meantime?" cue violin) but fgs you have to know that is simply you being difficult. If you are on such hard times that you can't afford a second pair of shoes, why on earth would you have thrown out the old ones immediately?? You didn't know how these news ones would work out. Even if there hadn't been a split in the leather, they just might not have fit well or given you blisters after an hour, etc. You say you were just so happy to be rid of them but this just sounds simplistic if, indeed, you only had one pair of shoes to start with.

You say you've worked in customer service but it must not have involved clothing. It's very rare to get an immediate refund or exchange on shoes which have clearly been worn outside and around town for a day. They need to be in re-sellable condition. (yes, they could even sell a pair of shoes with a split in the leather, it just would have been as 'having an imperfection' at an outlet or so)

YABVVVU. I imagine, however, that you'll eventually get a refund because you sound persistent and they will likely get tired of passing your case around eventually.

TattyDevine · 01/12/2010 15:00

I'm glad you are getting your refund, as I feel that morally it is the right thing, as they have supplied you with faulty shoes.

I do think its odd the way you went about it, but if you are in a position where you really only have one pair of shoes I suppose that does make things complicated for you.

I dont agree its bullying, I honestly dont think the OP is a bully, though its not necessarily the right way to go about it.

Anyway I hope things improve for you, a woman has the right to a few decent pairs of shoes in her wardrobe!

doughnutty · 01/12/2010 15:05

libelulle If you read my posts you'll see I never for one second suggested that the OP not try to return her shoes. I, in fact, said that if she'd brought them to me I would probably have refunded her.

What I object to is having them handed to me fresh from her feet in a way which is supposed to make me feel so sorry for her that I forget what my job is and give her a refund without inspecting the damage.

Cakewench you are right. OP probably will get her money back by persistence but being nice doesn't cost anything and might make her feel happier at the end of it all.

Working with the public makes me a big believer in 'what goes around, comes around', karma, whatever.

doughnutty · 01/12/2010 15:07

Tatty You're right. Bullying was not the right word. Maybe manipulative would have been closer to the mark.

libelulle · 01/12/2010 15:12

Doughnutty fair enough by the time I'd written my reply there were about 30 new posts - you're all too speedy for me.

But all the same I think you're being a teensy bit precious about the 'fresh from her feet' thing. Admittedly this is M&S and not a specialist shoe shop, but surely in general terms, an assistant in a shoe shop can reasonably expect to be in fairly close proximity to people's feet?! When I was buying shoes while heavily pregnant a shop assistant actually helped me remove my shoes once I don't think she felt the need to go and retch in the corner afterwards, and if she did she should probably be working somewhere different.

If you class handling a 'warm' shoe as akin to some of the horrors mentioned on the thread (corpses, excrement etc) I'm not surprised you find dealing with customers a problematic experience!

classydiva · 01/12/2010 15:17

You can buy 7 pairs of shoes on eBay for £35.00.

Guess that is why I have 60 pairs.

doughnutty · 01/12/2010 15:21

I love my job believe it or not! I have spoken with probably tens of thousands of customers in the years I've worked in retail. I have rarely had a problematic experience in all that time and the OP would not come close to someone I would call a problem. Being physically assaulted by a 6ft plus man because I wouldn't refund his 3 year old shirts which were fraying at the collar, or having shoes thrown at my chest over a counter after having told the lady that there was a queue. Those were problems.

The OP is someone who will get mentioned as an aside at the lunch table but is not unusual enough to be remembered. You need physical or mental scars for that. Or maybe corpses

Original poster

mufti · 01/12/2010 17:20

crikey doughnutty, was this m and s
i do intend to stay calm, as i have been on that side of the counter i have respect for the staff, it can be dreadful, especially at this time of year
and i really was lsat week, right at the end i was getting frustrated at getting nowhere, but not angry.

OP posts:

doughnutty · 01/12/2010 19:29

These are a couple of my worst experiences but I have colleagues who've suffered worse. Yes, even in M&S. Some people just need to take their moods out on others and maybe M&S staff are an easy target because they know we can't really answer back.

I once had my manager apologise to a customer because I'd asked him how many items he was taking into the fitting room and he went off on one saying I was accusing him of stealing . On that occasion I had to stand there while she said sorry for my behaviour.

Customers are not always right but in M&S they get away with a lot more than in some places.

Journey · 01/12/2010 19:42

The shoes are faulty and as such the op should get a replacement. The fact that the op wore them (and for such a little time) seems irrelevant to me. The shoes are faulty!

Sorry you've had so much hassle over the shoes. Hope you get a replacement pair.

ruddynorah · 01/12/2010 19:43

Simply foods are unlikely to have shoes to exchange yours with. They may have slippers if they have a range of non food items.

When you went to exchange them originally why didn't you find a pair to Exchange them with and take them with you to the refund desk?

MsSparkle · 01/12/2010 20:20

Why do you only have one pair of shoes? People who don't have alot of money don't usually buy shoes from M&S because aren't M&S shoes quite pricey?

Put on your wellies and go somewhere cheaper and buy a couple of pairs of shoes.

YABU.

poppytosh · 01/12/2010 20:23

The shoes are faulty so you would be able to get a refund or an exchange. However, you would not be able to get a refund and then keep the shoes as they need to be returned to the manufacturer. You would need to exchange them for another pair of shoes they had in store.

poppytosh · 01/12/2010 20:24

or wear something else and get a refund!

Lonnie · 01/12/2010 20:55

Doughnutty
Whilst I do get what you are saying " that it isn't nice for the person behind the counter to get a shoe that someone has just worn handed over"

It doesnt actually change the customers rights and it is not up to that sales person to decide if the law is to be upheld or not.
(and one of your posts did imply that you felt that you had that right)

The customer had a pair of faulty shoes and as such she under the retail law has the right to get them changed. If you like the way she goes about it or not is really irrelevant as long as she is not physically or verbally assulting you and I dont belive from what the OP has said that she did either.

What she did encounter was imo some badly informed and pretty rude "sales assistants" Also I would state that to me there is a WAST difference between dirty knickers and shoes. there may not be to you but to many there will be.

Personally I would have worn other shoes or my vellies to go change them but that is me whom have more than 1 pairs of shoes to wear.

to the poster whom posted about M&S order delivery from their "online" I couldnt agree more and I had to escalate a complaint all the way to their HO before I got my money returned I shall NEVER order from them online again.

Original poster

mufti · 01/12/2010 21:42

mssparkle , i repeat again , i had birthday money to spend, where i live there is only clarks anyway which is much dearer
i dont know where you could buy cheaper shoes.

OP posts:

ruddynorah · 02/12/2010 10:49

supermarket

MsSparkle · 02/12/2010 11:00

Well you sound like a right martyr to me. I don't believe for one second that there isn't somewhere cheaper to buy shoes in your area where you have bought a couple of pairs. If your not sure, go out and look or google shops in your area. Your not helping yourself at all.

Plus throwing away your only other pair of shoes before you knew the others were right? FFS, go out to the wheelie bin, put it on it's side and get the old shoes out.

I have had to search the wheelie bin before for lost stuff, it's called helping yourself, not blaming everyone else and not being a martyr.

perfumeditsawonderfullife · 02/12/2010 11:17

The heel on my brand new black shoes from Dune fell off, first wear, at my brother's funeral. I was so upset, this is not an item you carry spare in your handbag. Took it back to a similar attitude, they have been worn, can't refund, blah, blah, blah. I was furious, I know what is faulty and I know the sale of goods act.

Keep going OP, they sold you faulty goods, end of story.

Lonnie · 02/12/2010 11:24

MsSparkle if there is other shops that sells shoes or not is really irrellevant OP wanted to get them at M&S so she went to M&S to get them. Many people view M&S as a good place to get items of quality without spending a huge amount (note I say Many not all) and it is OP's choice where she goes for shoes even if it is nto where you would go. Personally I wouldnt buy shoes in a supermarket

Firawla · 02/12/2010 11:27

how can you take them back wearing them though, if they refunded you what were you going to do, hop home in your socks?!
just go in your wellies, take them in a bag and they will probably refund you

Original poster

mufti · 02/12/2010 11:43

firawla - did you read where i said they now had my size in , i hoped for an exchange

OP posts:

Original poster

mufti · 02/12/2010 12:04

for you perfumed, and did you get your refund?

OP posts:

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