Bad experience in M&S fitting rooms

[TwinTantrums]

I’ve recently lost a lot of weight and so need a lot of new summer and holiday clothes.

I came over to M&S this morning and had a trolley full of clothes and other such items, walking up to the fitting rooms and the woman looks me up and down and then asks how much I have, as “8 items is the maximum, to stop some types” from stealing. I offer to split it up and she rolls her eyes and says “I suppose you can”

I go in, try on my eight items, split them into what I do and don’t want and come back out, she then huffs and asks if I really need to go again? I said yes, as I’ve lost a lot of weight and don’t know what size I am. She looked me up and down and then asked how big I had been before if this is the after!! I just took the number from her and went back in.

AIBU or was she totally out of line?

I spent £450 so I don’t think im an “inconsiderate time waster”…

I'm sorry you were treated this way by a retail assistant who should know better (in my experience M&S assistants are well-trained and professional, whilst also being friendly so heaven knows how this rogue got through their training programme).
I don't understand some people on here trying to excuse her behaviour - this is her job and she should do it professionally. The "it's hot" excuse doesn't fly as all M&S stores are air-conditioned, nor does the "retail assistants have lots of others things to do besides help customers" - so what? If they have too much work to do in a shift they should raise that with their employer and/or union, not be openly hostile to customers (particularly those who are about to spend a decent chunk of money - I think you said £450?).
While M&S were dealing with the appalling ransomware hack of their systems they were sending out emails encouraging their customers into store to browse - you did precisely that (for your own reasons) and wanted to use the changing rooms that M&S provide - they wouldn't provide them if they didn't expect customers to want to try items on. Nothing you did was unreasonable or wrong so I absolutely would complain so she can be retrained - despite @alexalisten 's catastrophising, the assistant wouldn't be dismissed for this unless she has a history of being rude to customers and fewer than two years service.
A few years ago I had a terrible experience with a shop assistant in Debenhams, but I was on a deadline so couldn't speak to the store manager in situ. Nevertheless I was so incensed by the assistant's behaviour that I wrote an email to the store when I got home. I didn't expect anything to come of it at all, but felt better for getting it off my chest. However, I was astonished to receive a reply, just three days later, from the store manager who apologised, told me that from the information I'd provided they'd identified the assistant concerned and that she would be undertaking some additional training (not dismissed). As a PP has correctly observed, if people behave badly and experience no consequences for that bad behaviour, it just emboldens them to continue doing so.
BTW, really well done on your weight loss! 🤗

What an incredibly rude thing to say! I presume her figure was 100% perfect? She was nasty and I would have pulled her up on it.

Sorry you had such an awful experience op and congratulations on your weight loss.

Wow. That’s rude of her.

I only hope some of the people who are trying to justify this incredibly rude behaviour don’t work in customer facing roles themselves

Unacceptable to query if you need to try on the second lot. I've had to do this before in M&S and they didn't bat an eyelid. I supposed she's cheesed off as the unwanted items have to be put back on the rails, but that is the job.

I have offered to put stuff back on a rails before if I've only only tried on a few and don't want it but it's always been refused and the garments taken from me

There's a phrase I use in such circs:

'That's MY business.'

End of.

M&S have been pretty poor for a few years now.
Other than underwear I avoid them, their customer service is no better than any other shop.

I found a lot of their bits to be really good today, but I don’t know if I’ll be going back in store. Such a shame as buying multiples and returning the wrong sizes is such a bad option!

I’m a calm person but there’s something about M&S…. My local one has a very prominent sign on the cash desk saying “we won’t tolerate abuse” and rightly so….but they are so rude I can see why they need the sign. “It’s THIS till <sigh>” … well how would I know? “Have you got a Sparks card? No? It’s for CHARITY <eye roll>”. …etc

It really riles me from M&S who used to have such a good name for customer service. If the poor sods working in B&M and Iceland and Poundland can be cheery and polite then M&S should be able to manage.

Are you going to actually do something and complain or just stick with venting on MN though. It’s worthy of a complaint and the store needs to know when staff aren’t acting correctly.

I’m going to complain.

Oh I suspect they do, which is why they're defending the awful shop assistant the OP encountered. They'll be the sort that thinks assisting customers in a shop is a terrible inconvenience to their busy job...being a shop assistant

There’s no excuse for rudeness and what the OP experienced. But please don’t belittle retail staff, it’s not mentally challenging sure, but it’s hard and exhausting with too few staff and too high expectations.

All M&S stores have air-conditioning which is controlled remotely from a central monitoring and control centre in Glasgow.

@TwinTantrums sorry you had such a rubbish experience as I imagine you would have been looking forward to the fun part after the achievement (congrats!) of the weight loss. I don’t understand why some people are turning this on you when you’ve done nothing wrong. There’s no rules saying there is a finite number of items that can only ever be tried on - just a limit on the number allowed into the actual cubicle. She just sounds like another one of those not cut out for the retail life but unfortunately the bad is always found in every walk of life.

Funnily enough, I’d say my worst customer experiences have generally been at M&S and sadly always from the older female assistants. I think it’s because I’m quite short and look younger than I am and there’s a certain type of retail assistant that just relegates me to the ‘treat rudely’ category 😅. Examples are where I’ve just seen them gush over the customer before me or be overly friendly and kind to the lovely more elderly ladies that shop there and then many a time from that certain demographic, I just get looked at coldly or if I’ve returned a few (5 or less), huffing and puffing, moaning that they can’t find the code or something as though I’m personally to blame 😑. Oh and I never in these circs get a hello or thank you either. And it does leave you feeling a little crappy after and weird having negative associations with expensive clothes you want to enjoy.

When I get served by younger assistants (50 or lower), never any issues! We vote with our feet though and I’ve really pulled away from them these last few years.

Also I was hot because I was in trousers and a t shirt and had been on a bus, I was disgruntled and fed up!

Yes, she was older and definitely not the most in shape! I don’t know where it came from or why she thought it was appropriate but that’s for another time I guess. It’s such a shame as I genuinely thought everything in there today was gorgeous!

@Viviennemary

i think M&S would be pretty gutted if OP took her custom elsewhere especially considering their recent cyber attack

Why are people bending over backwards to try and blame the OP for the shop assistant being rude to her. The assistant only needed to say something along the lines of "Good morning. Just to let you know the trolley will have to stay out here and you can only take 4 items in with you at a time." Which is far shorter than her rude statement that seemed to imply the OP might be a shoplifter.

Why do people think there is some complicated etiquette around shopping in a store. Be polite, don't damage the stock, keep your bodily fluids and litter to yourselves and don't let your children run around the store, pretty much covers it. Yes, some customers will be harder work than others, often through no fault of their own, but it's all part of the job.

I do quite like the assertion that I, in my linens trousers and t-shirt, with a trolley full of more linen trousers and pants, looked like a shoplifter though!

Unfuckinbelievable 😂😂😂also liked this gem

But you can’t do anything about looking like previous dodgy customers

M&S ‘glad’ if she takes her £450 elsewhere?! You come out with some bizarrely contrary observations at times, but I can’t believe you typed that with a straight face.

This one has made me laugh again because there were ten free fitting rooms, I didn’t run into the last one and barricade it shut with a trolley

Yes, that's why I never try on stuff in store any more (although I appreciate you had to and why) - all that getting into something and then out again makes me hot and bothered, particularly if it turns out not to be a "keeper". And getting the "greeting" you did from that rude assistant wouldn't have improved your mood either, no doubt.