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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that MOther care is the crappiest shop in the world and tbh a bit rough?

146 replies

NoahFence · 10/05/2011 15:18

i went in there to look ( indesperation) for a gift for a new mum - was thinking some gear or some clothes. WHat a hell hole. Naff logoed clothes, sterile shopping area, stroppy be-polyestered staff and a general air of tiredness

AIBU to sugggest that Mothercare has Lost its way?

OP posts:
CheshireDing · 10/05/2011 19:19

I went in a Mothercare for the first time a couple of weeks ago to have a look for maternity clothes.

Pile of crap unless you look depressing looking, really long (I am short arse), expensive, not much choice clothes.

Left with DH and cried. My first and only experience of Mothercare I hope not to go again.

bringmesunshine2009 · 10/05/2011 19:45

Got lots there with DS1. This time I know better! White Company, JL and Green Baby for clothes, JL for the pushchair, mamas and papas for some other bits and online direct shopped everything else.

I got a voucher from work when I left and decided it would be churlish not to spend it. Went to the Holloway store. F**k me, it was awful. Smelly, poorly lit, poorly laid out. No baby change but still smelly, they offered a changing room!!!! Had to queue for 20 mins, twice even though there was only 1 person in front of me.

Got some breast shells, maternity pants (error, they are a terrible fit, unlike JJMB ones which are like heaven on earth) and a pack of babygros.

Love JJMB, JL is great, little independents have great stuff.

Goldenbear · 10/05/2011 20:22

I have a 6 week old and recently visited a City centre one to try and buy a swinging chair. I saw one on display but they didn't have any for sale on the shelves so i asked the nearest Shop Assistant who told me he was unable to help me because he was on work experience!

Jonnyfan · 10/05/2011 20:37

Yup, 'tis shite.

ComeWhineWithMe · 10/05/2011 20:49

Mothercare always has a depressing air to me. I never look at the clothes it's just all so cluttered and mismatched.

Plus the bloody shoplifting alarms are constantly going off in the one closest to me. (That maybe the area rather than the shop TBH)

FreudianSlipper · 10/05/2011 20:55

its so dated and the clothes are so drab

m&s a british institution need to move with the times too

weebleswobblebutidontfalldown · 10/05/2011 21:08

I won't go in either of the branches near me, for a company with products aimed at babies and young children, it is the most over crowded store I have ever been in. Completely impossible to browse with a small buggy let alone a double. The displays and shelving are far too close together and my dts just end up pulling everything off while the staff glare at me.

Much rather h&m, peacocks, m&s and gap- all superior for products and ease of shopping!

LordOfTheFlies · 10/05/2011 22:07

I've bought all my car seats in there including the same day as I had a car accident (someone sided my car and had to replace seat that day) so was a bit tired and emotional.Was very lucky each time as the staff tirelessly lugged out several seats to get the best fit and took time to explain why this one was the best choice.On the downside when I wanted a fold-up cheapie buggy to pop in the boot instead on my big pram the salesman was determined to sell me one that was £90+

Scaredycat3000 · 10/05/2011 22:41

The baby change/feeding room in the Croydon one is the worst I have ever seen. The baby change down one long wall and a long hard bench down a short and long wall. Lovely views from all seating directly into the shop every time the door is opened or the nappy change opposite. Most of the room was falling apart. Last time I went the facilities where shut. Never really stopped to look at the goods.

MangoTango · 10/05/2011 23:30

When I was pregnant with my eldest 7 years ago, I went to Mothercare in Croydon fairly regularly as I worked locally and the loos were always out of action. You would think that somewhere frequented by pregnant woman would have a working loo! The Mothercare World in Purley Way on the other hand was very good though I thought. I was quite disappointed when it closed down.

WinkyWinkola · 10/05/2011 23:32

Dated, grotty, naff and over priced.

It owns ELC as well, doesn't it? I've noticed them going the same way too.

MangoTango · 10/05/2011 23:33

sob Wink

MercurySoccer · 10/05/2011 23:41

YANBU. If they took the naff logos off the clothes they'd be much nicer.

Very expensive online shopping postage of £4.95 per order too. I end up buying nothing rather than buying more to make the postage worthwhile.

dobbyssocks · 10/05/2011 23:48

Its not as good as it was but ours nearest is good enough, big tree reaching the ceiling with the lift inside it, kids always love that. Loads of toys out in the ELC bit upstairs, have to drag the kids out. Lots of stock although have never been impressed by their maternity wear and yes a lot of the stuff is over priced. Properly chuffed with the bargain trainers i got last week though, in the sale and BOGOF so I got both kids new trainers for £6 total, result! Its a Mothercare World though so perhaps that makes a difference?

beanlet · 11/05/2011 00:11

The dimwit behind the counter at ours didn't know what a breast pump was. And we live in the ground zero of middle-class-naiceness.

LDNmummy · 11/05/2011 00:58

YANBU, and I have visited the one in Oxford Street/ Marble Arch, London. Can't think what the lesser maintained branches are like.

shubiedoo · 11/05/2011 01:00

The one in Cork is gorgeous, great buggy selection, lots of gear. Probably a megastore though.

microserf · 11/05/2011 07:26

i have to agree about mothercare. why are its stores so insanely depressing? it does sort of suck all of the joy out of reproducing. the clothes are horrible. we wanted warm trousers for dd in the middle of winter. everything was thin summery cotton. checked the boys department in desperation, no luck.

in my local one, the staff are either useless or unpleasant. a few months back, we arrived at 9am when i was heavily pregnant accompanied by a toddler and needing to buy a double pushchair. 9am is the store opening time. except no one could be arsed turning up to bloody well open the store and the cleaner told us she couldn't let us in. had to sod off and buy a coffee waiting for their lazy staff to get out of bed and get into work. twas a saturday too. finally opened at nearly 9:30.

when we finally got into the store, we couldn't see the doubles kit "as it got nicked off the display unit and we don't want to open another one". even dh looked startled by how bloody horrible the whole experience was. anything we needed, they NEVER HAVE...

the oxford mega store though was really nice. the staff were horrible at check out and we couldn't find anyone to help us, but the store itself was good.

OOAOML · 11/05/2011 07:59

I also find their staff strangely disinterested in selling - we went in to ask for a nappy bucket and to see what cloth nappies they sold and all we got was 'oh, no, you want to use disposables'. The only Mothercare in the city was out of town so it isn't as if we'd be going there all the time to buy disposables, why not clinch the sale now (even by pointing to the relevant shelf)?

fiveisanawfullybignumber · 11/05/2011 08:03

I did to try and keep giving them my business as I used the feeding room at my local store, (an absolute godsend as i had a difficult reflux baby!) So regularly bought breast pads, socks babygrows and vests etc.
However according to the Cambridge store manager (and she's a miserable so and so, as well as most of her staff) all high st stores are losing facilities such as feeding rooms to make room for more ELC stock.
In principle I will never set foot in another Mothercare store ever again. If Mothercare wont support BF (and FF, don't want to start a riotGrin) mothers, then who will?Hmm

hester · 11/05/2011 08:20

I went to Mothercare to look at buggies when I was expecting my first. Absent-seeming sales assistant gave me 'advice', trying to flog me a crappy little buggy because I said I wanted something cheap. "It looks very small", said I, "What age would this last till?" "Oh, this one's for premature babies". "Really?" said I, still clueless in this world but not having completely lost my faculties, "They sell a special buggy for prem babies? Surely any baby that's so tiny it needs a special buggy is tucked up in an incubator somewhere?"

She assured me I was quite, quite wrong. I decided to go to John Lewis instead.

memphis83 · 11/05/2011 08:33

I used to be an assistant manager in Mothercare......and yes it is crap, but we were always busy as it must be the only town without a woolies (back then) Adams (again long gone) or any shop baby related, it says it all when the manager had been the manager for 10 years before that she was a saturday girl, moved up to full time, worked her way up and had been in the same shop for 25 years, she was the most sour faced bitch ever, didnt have kids, hated them infact, i dared her to smile once at a toddler and the kid cried because it was more a grimmace!! but the changing room was amazingly clean, I used to spend half the day hiding in there cleaning it even when someone left a pair of shitty pants on the mat (not childrens either)
But I saw the error of my ways and left when I reaised they were in a time warp, please let me stay on MN!!!! Grin

bigbuttons · 11/05/2011 08:39

I'm absolutely amazed MC are still able to open. They should be running at a massive loss by now.
How I would love it if a MC bigwig read this thread.

AmazingBouncingFerret · 11/05/2011 08:41

fiveisanawfulybignumber. The manager was lying to you. Headoffice would be pissed off to hear him/her say that to customers.

IThinkNot · 11/05/2011 08:41

ds got given a ELC voucher recently. we don't have any elc stores here, nearest is an hours drive away. so took to mothercare as they sell elc toys.

ds chooses toy, get to the till to use voucher. get told, sorry but it doesn't have the MC logo on it so you can't use it here! But you are selling elc toys, this is an elc voucher Hmm and i can't use it online (ridiculous!) The shop assisitant was clearly bored by this point as she then refused to speak to me again Shock

Obviously i complained but it still took 3 weeks to convince MC to send me a new elc voucher with the MC logo on it. And they said they were doing it as a gesture of goodwill! Idiots!

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