..to despair at my local Mothercare?

[villanova]

Every time I go in there (it's a big, new, out-of-town 'superstore' type, not one of the pokey old ones) they never have the stuff I've seen in the catalogue or website, so I end up ordering loads of stuff online (to get free delivery) then taking most of it back, and the assistants, while lovely, are the slowest and most inefficient I have ever met (seemingly not helped by their computer system), and none of the till staff seem able to process a return - last week I was there for 27 minutes!!!!!
Also, all I want for my toddler daughter is a pair of sandals with closed toes - like the lovely 'active' sandals you get for boys, as she trips over all the time with normal girly sandals (don't all little ones?), but my only choice everywhere is flappy sandals or canvas - why don't they design practical stuff?????! Grrrrrr. Rant over.

I despair because they have a fifth of the stuff for boys that they have for girls which is why I stopped going there about five years ago.

Clarks have some closed toes sandals btw.

Oh mothercare drive me mad. My local store is over 2 floors and there is no lift. D'oh.

Haven't been in Mothercare for years.

Their stuff is very overpriced IMO, poor customer service and our local MC didn't even have a customer toilet. This a store catering for mostly pregnant women, and it doesn't even have a loo!

I could find everything I needed elsewhere, and usually much cheaper.

Aargh, the times I've had queuing in Mothercare with swollen ankles or a tetchy toddler, or a tetchy husband! They must be the same everywhere then. Oh there's just one person in front of me, this shouldn't take long...half an hour later.

Fortunately I've rarely been in after having DD2 as we had most things already. I only go in if there is really nowhere else to get a particular item.

I hate Mothercare with a passion. Dreadful customer service on many occasions. YANBU.

MIL told me ladybird have closed toe sandals as well, you'll have to order them online though.

DD is managing okay in the open ones, so I didn't get any in the end.

Thanks so much Weaselette - I have now found them online. I had tried all the obvious high street places, even my local Clarks & Clarks outlet. Here's to a toe-protected summer!

Totally agree - I am not sure how they manage it but every transaction seems to take forever so what starts as a reasonable queue always ends up really long and all the staff seem experts in turning a blind eye to the queue even though there are spare tills! Certainly at my local one, there are always tons of staff wandering around the shopfloor but never on the fecking tills!!

Drives me mad yet I still go back...and each time I say 'never again'

same here, and dont even try and ask about a pushchair repair when its been used for maybe 6 seconds, customer services is dismal and there is none of the help and advice re. baby kit you used to get. Kiddicare all the way these days.

sainsburys had some closed toe sandals.

Villanova - I would really recommend Clarkes Doodles - I know they are canvas, but we used them for all of the dses when they were little, and found them to be durable and comfortable - in fact I was very sad when they grew out of them.

Asda. Just buy boys' sandals.

it should be renamed to motherdespair

I can't buy my DD boys shoes because they make them slightly wider and she has narrow feet like me.

Anyway - glad I could help OP. (I assume that was me and some crazy autocorrecting!)

I see the OP's sorted now, but just wanted to second Doodles. They were fab. You can wash them and everything. DS is 10 now though, so less inclined to wear little buckle-up canvas jobs

I remember going into ours for some all in one vests for ds and they didn't have any, they didn't know when they would be in - stock arrived daily but they didn't know what they would get, and I couldn't order them as they were fashion items........
I only went there cos I could walk it.