AIBU To be annoyed at the way M&S staff treat their customers.

[Bridewel1]

I regularly shop in my local M&S and there have been a number of instances where the staff have been rude when speaking to me through no fault of mine. A number of years ago whilst queuing for clothes even if there was no queue you had to wait for a member of staff to check your items (this now no longer applies). I waited no queue no member of staff to check items and empty cubicles. I got fed up waiting for member of staff so went in an available cubicle only to be confronted by a member of staff whilst half undressed a few mins later saying in a rude tone and stern expression ‘Thought there was nobody in’.
Whilst I was nosying at some food a member of staff was reducing on a trolley they piped up in a stern rude tone ‘you cannot take anything until it’s on the shelf’. 2 occasions this happened.
And during this COVID situation which I know is frustrating they told me off and shouted at me for not keeping my distance just before I’d had chance to stop within 2 metres! And recently when they’d just implemented a one way in the store and one way out. I didn’t realise this was in place and when I was heading towards the entrance to leave I was literally rudely shouted at me across the floor from quite a distance ‘you can’t go out that way’!
And the other day I’d finally decided to buy some boots I’d had my eye on and they’d none left in store. Yet next to the shoes I noticed some green stacked baskets with the boots in that I’d had my eye on that looked like they were waiting to be put out. So I asked a member of staff near by who wasn’t dealing with the shoes who said it should be ok to look in basket, so I did. Then a member of staff who was obviously dealing with the shoes noticed and came over and bit my head off saying ‘they’re not in the sale, they’re just waiting to be put out’ I explained why I was looking and she just wheeled the trolley away. So I asked a member of staff on the counter if the nearest store that i saw online that had the boots in my size would if they’d deliver as that store is a bit for for me to get to and she in a rude tone said ‘no it’s not possible, but we may get some returns in here’. I work in retail myself and I understand that stores have there own policies but that doesn’t give staff the right to be rude to customers! I’ve always been told to be chatty and pleasant when dealing with customers. As much as I love M&S I feel as though I shouldn’t be shopping there anymore! Do you feel I’ve been treated badly.

@Ginfordinner

Why do you wear headphones when shopping *@ObliviouslyIgnorant*?

Because I get anxious shopping and it helps me to drown out the noise and to concentrate on something else. Sometimes, I would have had the headphones in on commute home, then went to shop, or put headphones in while queueing etc.

@MemphisMum

it certainly does seem to 'show em' *@Edith12*

nothing more cringe (and laughable) as when you see that customer who had rudely declared 'i am never shopping here again'...there they are, shopping ...back again!!

nobody is out of a job

Quite a lot of retail workers are out of jobs actually. It’s a rapidly changing sector under huge stress due to COVID but other societal changes too that predated COVID. The High St won’t be the same once COVID is over.

As an aside, I was in Marks this morning for some food shopping. The ladieswear is also on the ground floor, the menswear and children's is upstairs. The upstairs is closed. The whole of the ground floor was open and people were browsing, picking up stuff from rails - particularly as big sale was on. This is tier 4 with over 500 cases per 100,000. Not sure how this works as regards essential retail - if clothes are essential then other clothes shops should be open as should M&S upstairs stuff. Why do Marks get to scoop up the market for womenswear? In lockdown 1, they made it food only and used barrier and signs to ensure food only..
Just don't really get this inconsistency..

I don't work for M&S but I do work for a supermarket. It is really frustrating when I am reducing stuff to have customers hovering around waiting to pounce on the items , sometimes they start rummaging through stuff I have in my trolley which has expired and we aren't by law allowed to sell. The worst is when they wave things under my nose to reduce, we have an order that we should follow on our handsets and to start reducing out of synchs can throw us off and we have to go back to the start which wastes time. I don't judge anyone for wanting reduced items, I like a bargain as much as anyone, however, we have 'regulars' that quite literally stalk us round the shop which is really quite frustrating especially as it means other customers don't get the chance to bag a bargain for a change

Haven’t RTFT but I think your thread title is unfair in that it suggests that M&S staff in its stores in general are rude, rather than just the ones in your local store. I’ve never come across any rudeness in our local M&S. On the other hand, our local Costa has a couple of astonishingly rude members of staff. I now go to the next nearest Costa, where everyone is pleasant and friendly.

It must be you!
Staff have always been lovely, polite and helpful when I've been in M&S.

Maybe you're super sensitive and taking offence at something that isnt really how you perceive it to be. Surely all the staff in the scenarios can't have been rude and shouty and only you were in the right?

@PilatesPeach

As an aside, I was in Marks this morning for some food shopping. The ladieswear is also on the ground floor, the menswear and children's is upstairs. The upstairs is closed. The whole of the ground floor was open and people were browsing, picking up stuff from rails - particularly as big sale was on. This is tier 4 with over 500 cases per 100,000. Not sure how this works as regards essential retail - if clothes are essential then other clothes shops should be open as should M&S upstairs stuff. Why do Marks get to scoop up the market for womenswear? In lockdown 1, they made it food only and used barrier and signs to ensure food only.. Just don't really get this inconsistency..

Maybe they didnt have enough staff available to work to open all departments/floors. So have just opened the best way they can.

I would expect to receive slightly better customer service in M&S for the simple reason that I'm paying 3 times the prices of Lidl for e.g.

Lidl is a bit of a cattle-mart. I can accept that for the cheap pricing, though it took a bit of getting used to at first. It's nothing more than a warehouse really.

I too worked in retail and we were taught (about 25 years ago), so accompany customers to an item they were looking for, rather than to tell them the general direction. We were taught to assist someone with children, or to assist an elderly person - or to offer to at least.

It's different times I suppose. Where I'm from we have a sort of M&S style store for grocery shopping. There is ambient music, ample space and just generally a nicer feel to it. Anyone who can afford to shops there rather than the discount stores.

It's like BA is stooping to Ryanair levels.

I complained a number of years ago at the way I was spoken to by a member of staff who was also chewing gum at the time! I was contacted by the branch manager who apologised and advised me that the temp member of staff would not be re employed again and that they do not tolerate rude customer service. DONT accept this tone or manner from anyone. Do something about it...

@ObliviouslyIgnorant

I get barked at regularly in shops. Lidl and Tesco are the worst. In Tesco, mid-winter, sub-zero temps, I was wandering around looking for something to eat I had just entered the store - about 10metres in. I had my headphones in and a security man sort of approached me and said something. I was presuming he was saying hello, so said Hello back. Oh no. He touched my arm, so I took out my headphones and he told me that 'no hoods allowed'. I felt reprimanded like a child. Pre-covid. Felt like a criminal.

In Lidl, I was buying alcohol so needed a shop assistant to authorise it (self-checkout till). The assistant walked up to me (again head-phones in) and was saying something, so I took headphones out and she roared at me - STAND BACK. Covid Times, but if you know much about Lidl tills, there wasn't much space to move back. Again, I felt publicly humiliated.

And another recent one in November, I was queueing to go into Wilkos. Again, lol, headphones in. Person in front just stopped and stood still, but the assistant was waving me in. So I took headphones out and she said shouted in a very annoyed tone 'you can come in, but there's a minute's silence'. I asked what for and she roared at me 'Remembrance Day!!!'. I felt like a blithering idiot yet again, but wandered in anyway. I should mention that I'm not British, so had no clue about Remembrance Day.

I am quite shy and very sensitive, and have a history of abuse (maternal and from a boyfriend), so being shouted at affects me a lot.

There's no need for it. I've never seen them roar at a man funnily enough.

Are you joking. That's not on them. Honestly. Awareness of your surroundings, people. Take one of the headphones off when you shop, it's not that hard.

Take one of the headphones off when you shop, it's not that hard.

Thanks for telling me so nicely. I'll make sure to do so in future.

@Edith12 nobody is 'pushing back' on this imaginary rudeness from retail staff...thats hilarious...whats happening is staff are not prepared to put up with the rudeness towards them anymore, just because they are paid to be there and have contact with hundreds of people per day.

@ObliviouslyIgnorant

Take one of the headphones off when you shop, it's not that hard.

Thanks for telling me so nicely. I'll make sure to do so in future.

It is rude to ignore people like that until they have to raise voice. I would bet all my jackets that they don't "bark" or "roare" straight away until they get frustrated because of the headphones...

[quote MemphisMum]@Edith12 nobody is 'pushing back' on this imaginary rudeness from retail staff...thats hilarious...whats happening is staff are not prepared to put up with the rudeness towards them anymore, just because they are paid to be there and have contact with hundreds of people per day.[/quote]
That’s not the issue here. I’m sure some are rude to staff and that shouldn’t be accepted but the problem here is staff being deliberately rude and awkward which there are many examples of this happening on this threaf

Well you're barking at me and it's not even an auditory medium we're communicating over.

If you as you have mentioned are a manager, I'm not surprised that your staff are getting assaulted.

My observation of it is that supermarkets want customers to behave in a military fashion, while they bark out arbitrary orders.

I used to work as airline cabin crew and many customers were rude or unpleasant. I would have been disciplined if I had shouted at customers or if I had been rude back. Apart from shouting commands in an evacuation.

I was always pleasant and calm even when dealing with people who weren’t very nice. We were taught to find out what the matter was, to empathise and to try and find a solution.

I’ve largely given up on going shopping now as I don’t like being shouted at all the time. Buying online is much easier.

Funkypolar - same as, though different front-line industry. Still to this day!

I used to work as airline cabin crew and many customers were rude or unpleasant. I would have been disciplined if I had shouted at customers or if I had been rude back. Apart from shouting commands in an evacuation. I was always pleasant and calm even when dealing with people who weren’t very nice. We were taught to find out what the matter was, to empathise and to try and find a solution. I’ve largely given up on going shopping now as I don’t like being shouted at all the time. Buying online is much easier.

My observation of it is that supermarkets want customers to behave in a military fashion, while they bark out arbitrary orders.

I think these comments say it all @mem

• @MemphisMum

@ObliviouslyIgnorant

Well you're barking at me and it's not even an auditory medium we're communicating over.

If you as you have mentioned are a manager, I'm not surprised that your staff are getting assaulted.

Well I am not barking. I am just confused how someone can have so little awareness

The customer is not always right.

Customers hovering like flies round shite while you are reducing items is infuriating.

The member of staff who shouted probably thought you wouldn't have heard them if they didn't shout given you were quite a distance away.

Yabu

@Anywherebuthere it’s an M&S in Tier 4. All other clothes shops are shut and only doing click and collect. M&S are taking the piss by letting people browse through womenswear on their way to the food hall.

Ours is the same.

@slashlover

I find it a tad strange that Edith12 has posted 26 times in a thread of 158 posts and has ONLY posted in this thread

Hahaha good spot... how very strange

I have a totally different experience in my M&S. Staff have always been more than nice. Not so much lately but I did order a good bit online to collect in the store. So much that some now call me by my 1st name. There was just one member of staff who could be a bit abrupt at times. Staff at the food tills also pleasant. Though I have encountered some rude ones in other stores. There was one food till operator in another store that I used regularly who used to fire the food into the bagging area. I really should have said something. I would say that I am 95% happy with the staff.