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 very entitled.

The internet is changing the High Street.

I don't see it all as a bad thing.

Many city centres have become barren wastelands outside shop opening hours the "retail- ization" has gone too far imo.

The internet is creating many many jobs and allowing people the opportunity to work from home, build start up companies etc.

I think that is far better than cities which have faceless huge department stores and making sure all cities centres look identical.

So why do we actually need high streets? Apart from to give people jobs, if high streets weren't there what would we actually lose?

I don't like chasing parcels from neighbours.

Plus I'm still waiting for one Christmas order parcel to turn up!

'entitled' to expect people to be polite.

I think going shopping during the sales and expecting gold standard service is naive but I agree that we could do much better outside of this time. I agree with pp, Liberty is appalling despite bigging themselves up as a ‘name’ in British retail. I wandered around the shoe department for ages whilst 3 or 4 staff stood in the middle chatting, I looked their way several times as a hint I wanted help to no avail, I felt really embarrassed butting into their little gathering. Selfridges shoe dept was much better despite being far busier.

Agree that Waterstones are good. Also Boots. The staff on the perfume counters really know their stuff. I found this out years ago when I went in for a cheap everyday perfume. I said this to the assistant who asked what I was looking for as a way of letting her know I wasn't spending much and therefore not worth her time. I still got the full treatment, asking what kind of scents I liked, spraying samples on card etc. She knew every perfume there, whether it was floral or musky etc and even though I only spent £15 or so I got something that suited me exactly. I've always gone there for perfume since, sometimes spending a lot and sometimes a little, and it's always the same. Good move on their part as this is something that online retailers definitely can't do.

I would miss Clark’s for children’s school shoes. That’s about the only high street known shop I would miss. A staff member is always ready with a foot measure with big smile, shops always clean and smells nice.

There was a very interesting article in the FT about a year ago now, by an expert in this stuff who was making points about changing the high street. Not just in terms of more independent, specialist stores but even in terms of rezoning. The suggestion was high streets need to convert back to at least some residential. So that you create small communities with local residents, a lot of services (food and drink, medical, tailored services etc) and some specialist shops.

I've noticed that in our main town high street, and in our village high street, new, quite smart residential blocks are going up and I wonder if this is the first step in this. Encouraging professionals, families, wealthy older people etc to move directly in and then provide the services they need all within walking distance.

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.

That would scare me silly! I would run out the shop!

Yes Bling I have heard this too. Develop town centres and create communities rather than letting them sink.

if high streets weren't there what would we actually lose?

Some people enjoy shopping in bricks and mortar stores. It can be easier to see things, browse, be inspired.

I like physical shopping (though not around Christmas), but I'm as guilty as anyone of using shops as inspiration and then getting bargains on line.

Take Waterstones. I love browsing and hanging out there. But I balk at their prices and buy from somewhere cheaper. I appreciate how unreasonable that is.

No young professionals are going to move into the current crop of pound shop high streets we have in the UK.

I shop mainly online due to being a size 18/20 and refusing to dress like a pensioner as Evans (the main High Street option) would have you believe is trend.

This. More and more retailers of plus-size ranges (new look, river Island etc) are moving them out of the high street and onto online-only, citing lack of sales in actual shops. What confuses me is that the ranges could only be found in-store in major cities anyway! I’d buy a lot more in-store if they provided it across the country! I know I’m not exactly the only plus-size woman in Britain...

No young professionals are going to move into the current crop of pound shop high streets we have in the UK

It's a gradual process, but I think that young professionals do want to move into central areas of cities. If city centre living becomes more of an a thing to aspire to then it will expand outwards.

@livesleepsnore - that's the whole point. The high street needs to adapt and change to attract such people. Our town centre is not great, but actually, I can see real progress in this direction. However, the fancy new apartment block in our village I can see being a complete disaster as we still are basically a small high street with 6 coffee shops and 12 hair dressers (I'm not exaggerating). There are two average Italians, a couple of dry cleaners and a florist. And that's basically it. Not exactly appealing to someone who wants a nice little village vibe....

Clapping was a little odd, esp to us Brits, but at least it's a positive response. I would rather be clapped in than ignored.

I'd rather be ignored than encourage shops to demean their staff in that way.

I would hate that too. Even a 4yo wouldn't feel the need to be congratulated for being able to walk into a shop. What do they do if you make a purchase, to praise and acknowledge you for your extraordinary skills in being able to pull cash or a payment card out of your purse - whooping, jazz hands and pulling party poppers?

How could this make you happy, knowing full-well that the sole reason they're doing it is because they're paid minimum wage to do so? Plus, it's obviously a management ploy to make you feel under pressure to spend a lot of money - as in how could you possibly slip out of the shop empty-handed after being welcomed in so fervently?

They aren't clapping YOU into the shop - they're clapping your MONEY, which they're very much hoping won't be leaving with you.

"There were no useful signs about cabin luggage allowances"

I last bought a case (for a Ryanair flight) in Boundary Mills. The sales assistant was really helpful, and had a binder with all the latest cabin baggage dimensions in it for each airline. The service was exceptional.

We need a butcher and/or greengrocer (although we do have two good supermarket chains with local stores, where service and supplies are good), a better variety of restaurants and some other services that are used more often. The framers (I forgot about them in first post) are all very well and good, but no one pops in there monthly. A gift shop/toy shop would be useful too to create a reason to actually pop out onto the high street and get a coffee and do a few chores.

I notice that I have mentioned Boundary Mills a couple of times. I don't work for them, just near them so it is convenient for me to go there.

It sounds like you haven't done any shopping for a long time.
You'd get what you expected in by gone days, but not today.
Staff are being made redundant and operate on a shoestring, so you are expected to help yourself and maybe take your own measure and do own research about size.
Shops are in competition with online shopping, where they don't have over heads, high street shops will be pretty much gone in a few years.

Uk retail stuff are treated really badly zero hour contracts expect to work 38 hours a week November/ December they Will be lucky to get 15 hours a week in January minimum wage!! And people can be really rude to them. Another decade and there will be hardly and high street left. Councils won’t or can’t lower business rates, rents are to high, I know that I did all my sale shopping online. Only go to the shop is there free delivery to shop!!

Lonicera, Boundary Mills is a gem!

I live in a townhouse built on the site of a Brewery in a market town centre. It's great being in walking distance of shops. More miniature housing sites (not just flats) would help.

I find Waterstones a bit hit and miss. My local shop is chaotic, the staff are rude and the people who just want coffee and cake order at the only till point, so you have to wait ages to pay for a book while they make some complex organic soya frappucino and answer a dozen questions about whatever toxin/allergen that is this week's food of death and whether or not it's in their muffins. The tables for the coffee & cake crowd are dotted all round the shop, so you have to lean over people eating and drinking to get to the actual books.

They need to decide if they want it to be a coffee shop or a book shop. About 1 shop in every 3 in town is a coffee shop, so I'd rather they concentrated on books, tbh. The Brighton store is fine, the coffee shop is separate and doesn't impact on the business of book buying, and the one in Haywards Heath is lovely: knowledgeable staff who are friendly and helpful and will often suggest books that I go on to buy and thoroughly enjoy.

My IL want to buy in shops and not on-line they get very fed up with constantly being redirected to on-line when in the store because apparently they haven't got stock.

They are retired and have disposable income - they want a day /morning out shopping a drink/meal out. Increasingly they are going to the cinema instead - apparently cinema had it best year in decades. Some of that got to be better range of films but I wonder if they are picking up on people wanting to do something but finding shopping increasingly poor experience.

My parents are in similar position though they prefer garden centres with cafes and supermarkets they can get round and park easily at.

We increasingly have less and less money to spend – but find there’s few shops worth looking around in city centre – so unless we go up for another reason it's often not worth a trip in itself.

So while on-line is often blamed I think there a combination of less money and people with disposable income finding other things to do - all contributing to a vicious spiral of decline.

I think online shopping has it limitations. Seeing shops full of things you hadn’t otherwise thought off is the role of the high street now.

Food shopping is a good example. Despite it being cheaper to do it online from a shopping list, not pay to get there, park, find a trolley token, wait in a queue to pay, find bags etc, the supermarkets were rammed all Christmas ( and busy all year). Online, you can’t possibly look through the thousands of food items to compare. Yet a well stocked aisles have you putting all sorts of stuff in.

Too much of the high street is samey. WHSmith sells the same a Hallmark cards as Clinton’s and Tesco’s. Same Lindt chocolate everywhere, same “ best sellers” books in every shop including the charity shops.