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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be annoyed with Mothercare?

21 replies

NestaTheodorus · 19/05/2010 14:09

I am 8 months pregnant and took my 3 year old to get all the bits and bobs I need for the new baby at Mothercare. I needed a car seat, mattress and all the bits for newborn baby like muslin cloths, bibs, breastfeeding stuff etc. etc. Probably a good £150 worth of stuff.

Soooo, they only have shopping trolleys which need a pounds coin to operate. Fair enough, but I didn't have a pound coin just some change. I go into the shop, queue up at the cash register to get a pound coin for my change. Turns out they can't open the cash register for that and the lady before me was paying by card so couldn't open the till either. They offered no other solution then 'Sorry, can't get you a pound coin'.

So I can't get a pound coin, therefore no trolley. Too much stuff to get to carry around with a 3-year old and 8 months pregnant.

Was I unreasonable to storm out in a huff mumbling that it is stupid I can't get a trolley and not able to shop and now boycot this store and get all my stuff somewhere else?

OP posts:

Iklboo · 19/05/2010 14:13

Pain in the arse - I've got one of those £1 coin shaped keyrings because of this. You can get them from charity shops & most supermarkets I think.

Iklboo · 19/05/2010 14:13

Oh - and surely someone in the shop could have offered you a £1 coin for your change? It's not like you were asking for a hand out is it!

ruddynorah · 19/05/2010 14:14

did you actually storm out in a huff? did you say you needed the coin for a trolley as you had so much to buy? or did you just mumble?

tbh if you're getting that much stuff i'd get it online.

sazm · 19/05/2010 14:14

yep THEY are def unreasonable,
would it really be so hard fro them to press the button on the till to open it!

order everything online from a nice friendly shop ( i like kiddicare.com) and get them delivered (free) to the comfort of your own home!

sazm · 19/05/2010 14:15

i bought one of those keyring thingys,and it didn't fit in the trolley!helpful ehh

OtterInaSkoda · 19/05/2010 14:18

To be fair, they wouldn't be allowed to open the till. But they should have found another solution, imo.

GoldenGreen · 19/05/2010 14:18

I would have bought something small and got the £1, then done the rest of the shopping

I have one of the keyrings as well, sazm and it doesn't fit in the Morrison's trolleys either - utterly pointless!

IMoveTheStars · 19/05/2010 14:27

why are you bothering to go to Mothercare? they're overpriced a PITA.

Try Kiddicare, [[http://www.thebabycatalogue.com/ thebabycatalogue.com], or John Lewis online. JL has the same prices as Mothercare for things like car seats, and are often cheaper for things like muslins and bibs.

HTH

Original poster

NestaTheodorus · 19/05/2010 14:28

Buying something small and get the change would definitely been a good idea - if I had thought about that! Or if the staff had suggested it, that would have been helpful too. I was already too annoyed by that point.

Ruddy - yes I did actually stormed out in a huff and said: 'So I can't do a shop because you can't give me a pound coin? That is ridiculous!' They just stared at me blankly and I walked out.

OP posts:

IMoveTheStars · 19/05/2010 14:29

damn, I'm usually so good at links

thebabycatalogue.com

sazm - you generally can't just press a button on a til to open them, you have to be processing a cash sale.

OP - sorry, didn't say, YANBU - they could have suggested you wait 2 mins, or ask a supervisor to open a til for you.

sazm · 19/05/2010 14:36

well any tills that i have used have a n/s button on the (no sale to open the till) they also have a manual button somewhere so you can open it in case of a powercut!

IMoveTheStars · 19/05/2010 14:37

fair enough
all the ones I've ever used had to be manually opened by a supervisor with a key.

homebirthmummy4 · 19/05/2010 14:38

if they want your custom they should provide the coin. i loathe going to shops that expect you to go out of your way in order to bump up THEIR profits.. grrr

Original poster

NestaTheodorus · 19/05/2010 14:54

Thanks for the reactions everyone, it is nice to know I wasn't totally unreasonable, despite my pregnancy hormones!

I'm not that keen on online shopping as I never seem to be home to receive the packages and at least when I go to a shop I can take it with me right there and then.

OP posts:

Bathsheba · 19/05/2010 15:00

Ah well, in that case probably mothercare isn't the palce to go anyway - if you want to walk out with it you might find that Mothercare still need to order things for you.

Our big Mothercare tend not to have the things in stock - they have them on display but if you actually want to BUY them, they order them on their Internet site and you pick them up at the store 5 days later...

Muslins you'd have been fine with - car seat and cot matress, you'd probably have had to order anyway

mnistooaddictive · 19/05/2010 15:02

YANBU I would have asked to see the manager and asked if they wanted my business or not.

IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 19/05/2010 15:07

Even the thread title alone makes me want to say YANBU.
I was in Mothercare last week, bought bedding, crib matress, muslins same sort of stuff as you really. That came to £122 alone was also going to purchase a car seat and stroller there but I am yet to find a member of staff apart from the one on the till to help me and by the time I got to the till I had decided that I was going to cross the car park and go to Toys R Us for the rest. Got what I needed then and there and took it homw that day.

I honestly don't know why I keep going back to Mothercare I always leave wondering why I bothered so based entirely on the fact it was Mothercare YANBU.

I also couldn't order online as I wouldn't have been able to be around for parcels for the near future.

Lizzzombie · 19/05/2010 15:08

I work in a Mothercare store.
It is possible to open the till for a change request but you have to be a supervisor/manager to do it.
They should have called for someone to come & do it.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.
Other staff members (like me) are much nicer.

zandy · 19/05/2010 15:08

Write them a stroppy letter.

islandofsodor · 19/05/2010 15:10

YANBU.

If they are going to have £1 operated trolleys then they need to do as the supermarkets do and have a customer services desk for the £1's

walkingfootball · 19/05/2010 16:11

Oh I hate mothercare (after my first experience too!). I was in store and they didn't have one item I wanted in stock. I was at till with £85 gift voucher (lovely workmates!) and was told that I could either wait 10 days (no thanks, it's a long drive and I'd need a lift as I don't drive and couldn't carry it all on bus at 39 weeks pregnant) or as it's over £50 I could order online with free delivery. SO I put it all back, spent ages on website and lo and behold website doesn't accept THEIR OWN gift vouchers. I would love to get stuff elsewhere but as it's a gift voucher have to shop there. Thought well I'll ring and order it into store...but no I can't do that either with a voucher! So I will need to make 2 trips to store, one to simply say in person 'I want that item', returning 10 days later to collect. Plus I'm due on Friday. I really loathe them alrady for their stupid rules, I noticed that despite it being one f their biggesr stores many larger items were not stocked. My dad said he had exactly the same problem when he ordered a buggy there, told they weren't kept in (huge) store.

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