To be so angry with the British high street?

[peoniesarejustperfect]

Went sales shopping yesterday with my elderly Mother yesterday. We went to an 'affluent' city in the south east. We always go shopping after Christmas and it's a bit of a tradition and we normally really enjoy it. Yesterday was just so depressing - it made me fizz with anger. I hardly know where to start!!

The shops were just horrible - full of badly merchandised sales stuff which looked totally uninviting.

In several of the shops we went into there were no staff on the shop floor - we wanted to ask where different departments were (to save Mum walking too much), but no one to ask and poor signage.

In House of Fraser (one of the stores which is remaining open) we waited for 25 mins in the luggage department for a member of staff - there was no one there to help - no tape measure, no useful signs about cabin luggage allowances and no one to take any cash. We hung around for ages with two other families - no chairs to sit on, we just stood around. After a while we all gave up. The same in lingerie - no staff on duty. We had lunch there, which was really nice, but the restaurant loos were closed for cleaning when we went in at 12:15. What restaurant shuts its loos at lunchtime??? They suggested we left the restaurant and 'popped down' two floors to use another loo.

The British high street keep moaning but really, why on earth would anyone want to shop there? Why do they deserve our hard earned cash? It's incredibly expensive to park and the retailers don't seem very keen on keeping customers happy - let alone delighting them! There's not enough staff and with some notable exceptions, many of them are poorly trained - it all seems a bit of an effort for them.

Last Christmas we went to the US. I know it's different in America, but every morning in Macy's, when the doors open, a group of staff clap the shoppers in. We couldn't get over this and asked a sales assistant about it - she told us it's an honour to be picked - to welcome customers, look them in the eye and say thanks for coming. US retail is facing similar challenges, but what a different response. Helpful staff directing you to places, gorgeous merchandising, seats everywhere and staff trained to sell.

Anyone else fed up with the high street?

You sound like you are looking for someone to blow smoke up your arse. You're just there to buy stuff. You don't need to be clapped into a shop. This is just plain odd. Are you that desperate to be loved?

Yeah what is this lack of signing and pricing about?
Are they adopting the movie style "if you have to ask then you can't afford it" concept. Trying to embarrass people into purchases they wouldn't usually make?

@bunintheoven88 of course they would rather be with their families. But the reality is that some jobs require you to work over the Christmas period. Many jobs in fact. But as a shopper and customer it's really not my fault that Sandra wants to be with her grandchildren or Steve would rather be with his kids. The Christmas period is probably what keeps lots of shops going throughout the year.

And I have worked in retail. Used to work in a butchers. That's absolute chaos at Christmas. And my dd was only little. Would much rather rather have been at home. But I knew the job would require overtime and be busy when I took it over the Christmas period. It was a wage and I needed the wages 365 days of the year. So you should accept that when you take a job in retail. Or hospitality (which I have also done). Banking ditto. The NHS operates every day of the year, we wouldn't expect nurses to treat us any differently. Or doctors because we might need help at Christmas. Care homes.

I can't actually think of many jobs that don't require some sort of staff at Christmas. The construction industry is mainly off which is nice for us, and maybe some offices. But lots are still open and other than Christmas Day, boxing day and new years day the rest of the days are normal business days. And probably pretty crucial for the High Street to have its best face on, not sad staff that would rather be with it's family.

This is what you have to be angry about? FFS. YABVU. I'm disgusted at people fucking clapping customers in. That would make my skin crawl.

LOL @ all the 'hard-earned cash' statements. Yep, sure all those hours toiling away in a rice paddy for $2/day are taking their toil.

Get over it. You had a bad experience, so go somewhere else.

I get irritated by all the smug posts on mumsnet by posters who will only shop online. They, along with most of the rest of the population are to blame for the decline in our high streets.

What a load of shit. It's not the job of people who don't like/don't use a service to prop it up for you ffs.

Gosh, some really sarcastic comments on here! I think it's great that my elderly Mum has enough get up and go in her to want to go shopping. She still travels the world and would laugh at the idea of staying at home. She can still get around town, but finds too much walking tiring. We plan our day around that. She starts off without her stick but I go back to the car and get it for the last hour or so.

The clapping thing seems to have really annoyed some people. It probably wouldn't work here!! One of the nice things about travelling is experiencing different things and picking up new ideas.

Going shopping in our town is abysmal too. I went a few weeks ago. I was shocked at the number of closed down shops, with homeless people sitting in their doorways. Seemed to be more pound shops then ever. I've never seen that many homeless people in our centre before. Why can't the council use some of these empty stores to feed and bed the homeless. Felt so sorry for them sleeping outdoors in the freezing cold.

Well, every time any one of us has bought anything online over the last few years, the high street has died a little bit more. We have no one to blame but ourselves once it's all gone

it's chicken and egg isn't it? We buy online because the shops don't stock what we need and the shops don't stock what we need because we buy online.

Personally I now find most bricks and mortar shopping a bit of an ordeal. Either the shops are overstaffed and they chase you round the shop asking you if they can help, or you can't find anyone and the self serve tills are card only even if you want to buy something for 80p.

Also don't get the chain hate. At least you know what you are getting and they tend to have better returns policies and some accountability with a head office. Also profits may go elsewhere but they still employ local people.

Jesus Christ, if I was 'clapped into a shop' I'd die inside. I have just enough self esteem to not need underpaid shop assistants to prostrate themselves at my feet, thanks.

Well, every time any one of us has bought anything online over the last few years, the high street has died a little bit more. We have no one to blame but ourselves once it's all gone

But shops themselves have caused that by not having stock. M&S and Clarks are now terrible for not having stock in their shops and glibly telling you to order it online instead. So their own shops are driving customers online.

Being clapped on entering a store would make me cringe, and would also make me avoid that store in future. What I also hate in US department stores is staff following me around trying hard sales techniques on me all the time. Frankly, I'd rather that they use the money they currently spend on paying staff to clap on reducing prices instead.

peonies I completely agree with you 100%.

I also hate the 'well, the staff are only paid minimum wage so what do you expect?' attitude. What a crappy attitude to life.

I agree with customer service though. Awful. I don't want to pay £10 to drive there £10 to park and then have surly non existent staff serving me if I can go online and get it cheaper without the hassle. However some shops I go to because of the staff- like our nearest Waterstones always remember names and will happily help the DC spend vouchers etc and as a result we spend £100 s in there and not on Amazon. Last time we went in one of them-said 'Oh we've got the latest book in that series you were reading to youngest DD'- and it's not just us. They go the extra mile and we enjoy shopping there.

How many of you praise great service when you see it? Verbally at that moment and by dropping an e-mail to the “contact us” link on the store’s website. If everyone began there it might be a start to getting what we want

Possibly but on other threads like this we've been told the bean counters at HQ ivory towers want it their way or the high way and listen neither to customers nor their staff.

But shops themselves have caused that by not having stock. M&S and Clarks are now terrible for not having stock in their shops and glibly telling you to order it online instead. So their own shops are driving customers online
Exactly. If I'd have relied on stores for unifirm dds would have no uniform. I'd have managed to get hold of one pack of shirts that would have been it. Next don't even stock it in store.why would you order something online then go on store to get the rest. It's free delivery to shop so makes sense to get everything u need not hope to god the stuff is in stock.

If you run offers you need to make sure the stock exists to be able to use them. How can you get 2 packs of socks for 4 pound when only one packet in the right size is on the shelf and that's clearly return because the packaging is ripped and half the stuff is hanging out?

It's all meaningless nonsense.

If any shop started ordering it’s staff to clap in punters I would just feel nothing but sympathy for the poor bastards who had to do that. You must have astronomical levels of entitlement if you expect that kind of ‘service’.

Having worked in various service industry jobs as a student I am firmly of the opinion that a sizeable minority of people out there are rude bullying twats who enjoy throwing their weight about and cultivating their own self importance and superiority. Sod that for a back breaking, minimum wage, minimum training job

I’m fed up of reading about how shocking and terrible minimum wage is, on mums net, from people who seem to have little to no grasp of economics!

Well at least not a strong enough one to understand PPP theory or that, should we raise the minimum wage to say £10 an hour - inflation would adjust to swallow the benefit within a matter of months!

🤔 let’s say Asda charged 50p per items for its basic range. Suddenly it has to pay its staff a higher wage, and the ‘minimum wage’ shoppers who are a big percent of its customer base are all being paid a bit more. Asda increases its prices to 75p per item..... nobody is actually better off!!

Not true Satsuma. Just last month I wrote to Benefit to praise the shit hot service I’d got in HOF. They’ve written back thanking me for my custom, and assuring me they would (with my ok, given sodding GDPR) send the message onto the sales lady and her regional manager.

I did the same with JL in their carpet dept earlier this year and frequently in stores like Ted and Whistles. Also wrote to Gravity head office after a kids birthday party.

I always get a thank you and assurance the message will be passed on. It takes no time on my part.

My local John Lewis is dreadful for displaying prices. Really annoying. I also find in a lot of shops now that the staff continue talking to each other when serving customers which is so rude.

My sister asked a shop assistant in M&S if she could place an order (this was before Christmas) and was told absolutely not as they were far too busy she would have to do it online.

Customer service is poor in shops and restaurants these days when I receive good customer service I always make a point of making their manager aware as it's so rare these days.

stopitandtidyupp "I found Macy's too much. Someone saying good morning, how are you? Literally every few minutes it was all so fake and annoying."

You've reminded me of the time I bought a couple of tops in a Macy's in Florida. After I'd paid and walked away the assistant called across the department to me "Enjoy your blouses!" It sounded so odd.

Wow. How pleasant it must be to have so little going on in your life that you have the time and energy to feel anger towards such a thing.

I always thank people and if service is outstanding then I send an email. Always. I shouldn't have to because it should be par for the course but I do simply because it is so rare.

I have American relatives and they are horrified by this aspect of the UK. They cannot understand why you would be rude when you could be pleasant. I get embarrassed about it tbh.

I don't generally see poor customer service. I wonder if some of it is because I am polite to shop assistants and tend to treat them the same as I expect to be treated. DD said that loads if customers are very rude and treat shop assistants like servants.