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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that Marks & Spencers closing their dressing rooms is absurd

181 replies

paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:03

I was in Marks & Spencers yestaerday and saw a couple of really cute dresses so I took them to the dressing rooms to try them on. The dressing rooms were closed. The sales assisant then told me that they now close them during the sales. I explained to her that yesterday was a rare day when I didn't have my very young son screaming his head off and that returning it would be a hassle. She rudely refused me even though i'm a really good customer and shop their daily. I don't understand how this policy benefits their customers. I felt really angry. Am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 30/12/2009 11:34

Other shops did this last year too.

Do you really need to shop every day? No wonder he gets fed up.

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 30/12/2009 11:36

god I'd go for the once a week hour of hell than going through it every day even if it's for a shorter period on the daily basis .............because you know if you go in 5 days a week for 10 minutes then it's practically an hour anyhow, and so I'd like to enjoy the other 4 days LOL

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:38

I have a small refridgerator and I can't cram it with several days shopping. I also find shopping daily saves a lot of money. I'm usually not in there for more than ten or 15 minutes

OP posts:
FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 30/12/2009 11:39

Hardly fair on your kid though. Meal plan. Get a bigger fridge. Have your food delivered.

Bathsheba · 30/12/2009 11:40

If he bangs his head on the trolley - leave him in his pram....less hard surfaces and better strapping and restraints...

Make sure he isn't tired/hungry/bored when you go...

Get your very loud singing voice on - the amount of times I've gone round the supermarket singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer....people would rather hear that than screaming so don;t worry about people judging your singing voice...

clam · 30/12/2009 11:41

Maybe your DS is trying to tell you something!

"No Mummy, PLEASE! Not M & S again."

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:42

I actually think its harder on him if I go for an Hour. I am dying to get a bigger fridge. We have sold our house and are looking for another to buy. We are renting in the mean time and the house has this huge beautiful kitchen but the titchiest fridge.

OP posts:
clam · 30/12/2009 11:43

Sorry to hijack, but the nosey in me wonders why, if you're trying to save money, you do your food shop in M & S?

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:44

I actually bring a pillow ith me now. If I sing when he is happy he loves it, but if I sing when he is upset he just screams louder. I think he thinks I'm ignoring him.

OP posts:
Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:45

I like their produce better, I don't mind spending more money on something thats better quality. I don't like wasting money on food that doesn't get eaten

OP posts:
FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 30/12/2009 11:48

I assume you take a drink and a snack for him with you and maybe a toy/book?

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:51

Yes of course I have tried all those things. I even bought a whole toy made for trolleys. Its not just M&S, its any shop I enter into. He even went nuts in Toys R Us. I do all most all of my shopping online but I hate doing groceries online. I like to see my food before I buy it.

OP posts:
CoqAuVin · 30/12/2009 11:52

snort at paula

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 30/12/2009 11:54

believe me you'd be AMAZED how much food you can cram into a small fridge and one of those freezers that is literally a little space at the top of the fridge.

Stayed in a caravan last year, we'd ordered enough food to feed 6 of us (including packed lunches every day) (2 adults 4 children) got there and discovered what can only be described as a miniature fridge and toy sized freezer.

We got everything in

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 11:55

Well I guess I just need better fridge management skills.

OP posts:
Awassailinglookingforanswers · 30/12/2009 12:01

you could shop somewhere cheaper and save the money for a bigger fridge

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 12:03

Well not much point until I buy a house to put it in.

OP posts:
Bathsheba · 30/12/2009 12:03

If you can make shopping every day cheaper than shopping once a week then I think you completely buck the trend that every other person in the world experiences...

Top tip on ALL money saving articles/forums is "don't shop every day".....

CoqAuVin · 30/12/2009 12:03

oh klive in teh frigde instead

ruddynorah · 30/12/2009 12:05

sorry but i just fell off the sofa laughing at the idea of it just taking 1 person to man a fitting room. you have nooooo idea what it takes to operate a fitting room in a large store during sale. the store i work in takes around about £1m a week, this increases to £2m at christmas and sale time.

we used to keep our fitting rooms open, even though our competitors didn't. the behind the scenes operation you don't see is the team who work through the night, from 6pm to 6am putting all the stock back out onto the shopfloor that has been tried on. during normal trade this team only work 6pm til 10pm.

the job of actually manning the fitting rooms takes about 4-6 people. this is a fitting room with maybe 20 cubicles. ontop of this, during opening hours, there will be about another 4-6 people putting stock back out. it is nigh on impossible to keep on top of the flow of stock. hence the through the night 'recovery team.' this team of around 15, ontop of the 25 or so who finish at 10pm, will also re lay the shop floor to fill gaps, put extra stock out, re price, etc etc.

good grief my team would go on strike if i left just one of them to man the fitting room!

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 12:06

I've done both and definatly save money shopping evryday. We also create a lot less waste because I'm only shopping for that day. We eat what is bought, nothing gets spoiled. When I shopped weekly we had loads more waste.

OP posts:
mayorquimby · 30/12/2009 12:06

"If you shop there daily then surely its not actually that much hassle to return things...."

she's got you there in fairness. yabu.

BalloonSlayer · 30/12/2009 12:11

Am I the only person here so old that I rarely bother to try on anything in M&S because in my day you couldn't and I still haven't got used to it?

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 30/12/2009 12:15

It has to cost you more surely as you can't buy everything in one meal sized portions so what do you do with the left overs - just eat the same things over and over?

Original poster
paulaplumpbottom · 30/12/2009 12:18

There are four of us and I find we rarely have left overs. We do sometimes of course, for instance I made chilli a couple of weeks back but there was enough leftover for another meal so I froze the rest. I'll use it a night I don't have time to cook. My husband took a leftover portion of stew to work not too long ago

OP posts: