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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

I am hopping mad !!!!!

32 replies

taytotayto · 23/01/2011 20:00

I got up early this morning dragged dh and dd (18 months) to mothercare to buy/look at double strollers. db due april. anyway i left with my blood boiling. i asked the assistant when she passed for help and she just said i cant help you im busy and walked off. the store was only open 10 minutes. we waited outside especially so we would be early and hopefully get someone to help. she never offered to get someone else to help. this has happened in this store before so i dont think i was unlucky this one time.
out of principal im not buying from them now. I was soooooo mad i could have screamed......hormones i think lol

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

wigglesrock · 23/01/2011 20:24

Why didn't you complain when you were in the store, ask to speak to duty manager etc, kicked up a fuss etc? I always think Mothercare are a bit shit anyway but would always complain about poor service when I was actually there.

whomovedmychocolate · 23/01/2011 20:26

Nah they are usually crap you are just noticing it because you are pregnant. Don't shop there. Complain if you like but go somewhere you can get some help - try toysrus - they sell double buggies and are quite helpful if you go to customer services.

Original poster

taytotayto · 23/01/2011 21:00

my oh so hd wouldnt let me complain cos he knew id rant for a week when i got going!!!! he dragged me out. almost kicking and screaming. for once our toddler was speechless.

OP posts:

mousebacon · 23/01/2011 21:05

Two words. John. Lewis.

Mothercare are awful and the service you received does not surprise me at all. Don't let it get you down x

nicolamumof3 · 23/01/2011 21:17

Agree mothercare are useless and I'd be amazed if they could even properly demonstrate features properly on each one. John lewis or independent baby store will be much better

seaweedhead · 23/01/2011 21:20

Yep, mothercare customer service is shockingly bad. Toys'r'us and John Lewis IME are both excellent. Woman in Toys'r'us especially couldn't do enough to help us when we were choosing a car seat.

bessie26 · 23/01/2011 21:40

I'd defo complain - send a stroppy email!

The assistants in our local Mothercare have always been very helpful, so not all of them are awful!

imustbemadasaboxoffrogs · 23/01/2011 21:53

Tatytayto - Complain for definite

As an aside, are you from Norn Iron?

Northernlurker · 23/01/2011 21:56

Lucky escape - mothercare are awful.
Go to a local independant shop if you can and pay on credit card so you have that protection.

moregranny · 24/01/2011 08:28

A lot of independant baby shops will give you very good advice and price match :)

ng1412 · 24/01/2011 09:22

I went to Mothercare on Saturday and it's a big store with quite a few staff milling around. Unfortunately they only had one girl on the till and the queues were enormous and of course full of pregnant women (including me). 3 girls came round to the counters and looked like they would open a till but then went off and were talking amonst themselves. There seemed to be a complete disregard for all of us standing there, they were more worried about having a bit of a chat.

Having seen Mary Portas' new show I really wanted to complain. But I didn't as too tired to cause a scene. I wish I had now....

MrsChemist · 24/01/2011 09:27

When I asked for help getting a pram the woman basically told me to go away until I knew which pram i wanted. The point was I'd never bought a pram before, so wanted help finding what was appropriate. She was so rude. I left and spent £500+ on a travel system elsewhere. Their loss, and I still refuse to go in.

StartingAfresh · 24/01/2011 09:31

Oh no. Browse in Mothercare, buy elsewhere - always!

StartingAfresh · 24/01/2011 09:33

They always treat me as if I am too much trouble, don't seem to know the answers to my questions and I've usually had to wait about half an hour to be seen anyway.

Utter rubbish service. Agree re ToysRUs and independent. Mamas and Papas are okay if you don't mind overpriced, althouth tbh Mothercare are pretty overpriced too often.

FoxyRevenger · 24/01/2011 10:59

Oh, Mothercare are shit. We went to them to get a car seat and our seat belt didn't fit around the one we wanted (by about half an inch). We went back about a week later just to check again and see if it would fit and the Manager refused saying it was a waste of her time as it didn't fit the first time.

That's fine - if only she had actually realised our car had Isofix (she said she checked and it didn't) then we wouldn't have gone to an independent shop and spent over £600 on a base, car seat and pram.

Don't give them your money!!

sh77 · 24/01/2011 12:02

Mothercare - truly shite. The store on Oxford street looks utterly trashy. I went in on Friday to ask about prams and the guy looked like the security guard and could just about speak English.

I agree with OP - John Lewis. Heaven and earth difference in service. JL will price match another store as long as other store has exactly same pram in stock. It is def worth shopping around. JL were 200 quid more expensive for a pram package than another store.

I went to Mamas and Papas. Hardly any staff on the shop floor. Waited bloody ages but the shop assistant was excellent.

Watch Mary Portas this week as she gives good advice re poor customer service.

so far, pramworld.co.uk seem to have the best prices for packages.

cookingfat · 24/01/2011 12:28

Like a lot of people advise, get thee to John Lewis instead. Heard good things about Kiddicare too.

LovelyKatie · 24/01/2011 12:42

I went to my local mothercare in Liverpool (clayton square) to be fitted for a bra. Im only 20 so felt a bit worried about how theyd take me as I look about 15.

The assistant was young herself but so nice and helpful. she spent ages with me showing me the different types and recommending others and telling me why one sells better etc then she came in with me and measured me and I have a massive 27 inch keloid scar on my arm which is still raw red and she didnt bat an eyelid or look at it or pass comment.
then she waited outside for me and came back in and helped with another size.

all in all so so helpful and i am usually the type to let a manager know of great service so I will be doing so in her case.

I am a happy mothercare shopper :)

unlike my HCA who gave me my swine flu jab she seen my scar and said 'whats that!' at the top of her voice! my mum is a HCA and was disgusted!

Annpan88 · 24/01/2011 13:49

I had a pretty similar experience. I think people (well, me) get drawn to mothercare (maybe a bit more with their first) as they don't really know where else to go. I wouldn't of even thought about toys'r'us!

stegasaurus · 24/01/2011 15:42

I went to Mothercare to look at prams with my DH. We had looked in the catalogue and narrowed it down to 4 or 5 we were interested in. We went on a Saturday afternoon so the store wasn't quiet but we had an assistant spend ages with us demonstrating different ones. He didn't seem very expert on them though as he struggled to show us how to fold some of them and put them up after telling us they were easy. We were there ages trying to decide after he had shown us them, and we had 2 other assistants approach us in that time to ask if we needed any help. In the end we didn't buy from there as they didn't have the one we most wanted so we got it on ebay, but I couldn't complain about the customer service on that occasion. The bra-fitting service was terrible though in my experience. She measured me to be smaller than my pre-pregnancy size, which clearly wasn't right.

sh77 · 24/01/2011 15:46

JL is cheaper than MC for many baby essentials. In first preg., bought lots of essentials from MC. Went to JL bought the same for cheaper and returned the MC crap.

ChessyEvans · 24/01/2011 16:28

Just adding to the John Lewis love - we went in at the weekend and I have to agree, such a calm experience, friendly but not familiar staff, it was lovely. Spent a fortune!

Have to say mamas and papas have disappointed me the most given that most of their stock is at a premium. We were looking at nursery furniture there and asking about prices (i.e. splitting up the bundles they had on offer) - one of the assistants actually said it wasn't possible to buy them separately. Was soon corrected when we nabbed somebody else to ask them!

FindingStuffToChuckOut · 24/01/2011 16:43

SERVICE in Mothercare - ROTFLMAO!!!!! Never knowingly received any in there yet. Avoid it if at all possible.

sbeth1976 · 24/01/2011 18:15

Same thing happened to me.

Waited around to be served and was blatantly ignored.

In the end went to Mamas and Papas. Got better service in there, even though it was slightly more expensive.

Their loss - if they had bothered to help would have gladly spent my hard earned cash in there.

Mahraih · 24/01/2011 18:31

I've found Mothercare ok - I always use the one at Marble Arch in London, however.

The staff are helpful - if not overly so - they have a good pram/carseat area where the staff do seem to know their stuff, and I have never been brushed off or made to feel silly or a nuisance. And they do come up to you and ask if you need anything.

Perhaps levels of training are very different in different areas/stores.

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