Terrible Service at Marks and Spencer ??

[allmycats]

AIBU to consider that the service I received at my local M and S store last week was terrible.

Tried on 2 pairs of ankle boots in size 35.5 (bearing in mind I am a true size 35), over the last donkeys years I have been able to wear a 35.5 from M and S by putting a couple of insoles in.

Took along a set of new in soles and tried on 2 pairs - they were not just a bit too big but 1 pair - shoe boots, was nearly 2 centimetres too big and the other pair I had about 2 inches of space between my toes ending and the tips of the boots.

Asked a staff member (who reluctantly stopped chatting and giggling with a group of her friends) about if they have had a change in sizings to be told ' well when you buy clothes you can be a size 10 or a 16 depending on the fit, it's the same with shoes you know '.

No bloody wonder M and S are going down the pan !!!!!

Shoe size varies a lot depending on where they are made - I have shoes from 5 to 6½,

You tried on something that didn't fit, that's all. What were you hoping she'd do? Make up an explanation for why that particular pair of shoes didn't fit you? Apologise for something that she had no hand in and could do nothing to change? Drag the Shoe-Shrinker™️ out of the back?

Seriously, what were you wanting her to do?

Sounds OK to me, what were you trying to gain, OP? Actually she's right - I'm a size 14 and my wardrobe contains a perfectly fitting John Lewis dress with 8 on its label.

I was not rude, I was pleasant and asked for her advice, she gave it in a manner I considered flippant I was surprised that a size I had used for many , many years was no where near the same size now. I had tried 2 different styles on and neither were even near a fit. I was actually wearing a pair of their boots at the time and when I compared the soles to those on the shelves it was apparent that nothing at all ( in the 5 soles I compared) in ,my size, was the same size as before To say that you can compare shoe sizes with dress sizes is silly, you can be a size 10 in a dress in 1 style and a size 16 in another but you can't be a size 3 in 1 shoes style and a size 6 in another. That is clearly not possible. And where did I ever mention any age or make a derogatory remark about the woman. I actually work in a customer facing role so I am always nice to staff as I know what it is like to be 'attacked'.

How many of you who have said that she was right with her sizing comment wear footwear in 3 or 4 different sizes.

the shoe i wanted yesterday in cheap shop, they only had the right Shoe!
now that is terrible !

were they made in China op?

I think people are being harsh on the OP.

First of all, she shouldn't have shown reluctance to stop chatting to her colleagues. And a nicer way to answer the question is a polite tone and something like 'No, our sizing hasn't changed, but unfortunately fit does vary according to the shoe'.

Or 'I don't know if we've changed our sizing; I'll ask the supervisor if you don't mind hanging on.'

She sounds very off-hand.

you can be a size 10 in a dress in 1 style and a size 16 in another but you can't be a size 3 in 1 shoes style and a size 6 in another. That is clearly not possible

IME it is.

I still think she sounds a bit rude though.

The assistant was not responsible for the sizing of the shoes. You did not ask for advice, you asked a question about sizing, which clearly any assistant would be unable to answer.

As with any item of personal wear you try things on until you find something that fits well and feels and looks good. You don't take it as a personal affront when something doesn't fit.

You're making a whole lot of fuss about nothing.

I know this isn't exactly your point, but I have very small feet too, and find that M & S shoes can be a completetely different fit depending on where they are made. A while ago they seemed to start stocking more shoes made in China, and these always seem to come up huge. However I bought some made in Cambodia which are so much smaller that I had to buy a 3.5 rather than my usual 3 plus inner soles.

OP I feel your pain - I have always been a M&S size 3 but the last few times I've tried shoes there (within the last year), the size 3's have been too big by at least 1/2 a size. It's annoying because they were one of the last high street stores to regularly stock a true size 3. I've just bought a pair at Top Shop in size 2 - it's bonkers!

First world problems.

Not Broken Britain or Rip Off Britain, to complete the trio of stupid responses?

Unless a store specifically offers an advice giving service, the people on the shop floor are generally shelf stackers. Trained (I use the word very loosely...) to open boxes and put stuff on shelves. 'Where is...?' questions are fair enough. 'Have you got...?' Fine. But the average shelf stacker doesn't receive any sort of training about the products and certainly doesn't have any control over things being changed or discontinued or rebranded or whatever.

I'd never be rude and I regularly lie about how sorry I am that a product has been messed with but the honest answer is often 'I don't know and there's nobody in this store who does' because we're not the ones buying the shoes or changing the cereal flavours or choosing what cat food we stock...

The real problem is there is no enforced standard for sizing of shoes. Which considering the damage that can be done to your feet and body with poorly fitted shoes, there really should be regulations with shoe sizing.

I went to Clark's and had my feet measured, 4, and asked the employee, "If I'm a size 4 then why are the 4.5's too small and the 5's too big?" She didn't have an answer.

That’s not terrible service, that’s terrible sizing.

I’ve noticed their children’s clothes can be randomly massive and I sometimes wonder if there is a problem when they label their stuff.

Could you not just have tried a smaller size? I'm either a 7 or 8 in shoes so if the 8 is too big then I try the 7. Once the 7 was too big and I bought a 6 instead, not sure if it was he style of what.

but you can't be a size 3 in 1 shoes style and a size 6 in another

You can. I'd say I'm a 4.5 but M&S I'm a 3 (they all seem to be wide fit), and my biggest shoes are a walking sandal in a 6.5. Sizes are all over the place nowadays.

GunpowderGelatine

I don't think these compare to my recent experience at Home Bargains when I asked the sale assistant if they sell bike puncture repair kits and she replied "What in this shop?" confusedhmmgrin and yes she was most definitely staff.

But she was right! A bike puncture kit in Home Bargains?!

Agreed, I'm 4.5 in M&S, 5 in Next, 4 in Fred Perry.

OP, I think the quality of shoes in M&S has plummeted recently. I used to wear shoes from their Footglove range, but have had to switch to Pavers shoes because the quality is now so bad in M&S.

"But she was right! A bike puncture kit in Home Bargains?!"

Exactly. I'd go to Halfords for that.

I agree too. My Ash high tops are a three, my (cheap pointed) Chelsea boots are a five. They both fit.

OP can you please give an example of what you would see as good customer service in this scenario? I can’t imagine any answer that was going to please you, or that was going to actually result in a shoe that fits you. Why didn’t you ask instead if they had the shoes in a smaller size? It seems like a strange non-issue to be mulling over still a week later

@Havaina they do all sorts of household stuff!

Gunpowder, I know, I like a mooch there but a bike puncture kit?!