MNHQ here: thoughts on Mothercare (NOW CLOSED)

[FinnMumsnet]

Hello,

The BBC have been in touch with Mumsnet to gauge your opinions on Mothercare.

We'd love to hear anything and everything you've got to say -- do you shop at Mothercare? (Or have you in the past?) If so, what do you like about it? If not, why not? How does it compare to the alternatives? What does it do well, and what less well? Have your views changed over time?

Please feel free to post in as much or as little detail as you'd like.

Thanks,
MNHQ

[Glitterspy]

I had a lovely pair of maternity jeans when pregnant with DD, reordered online, paid for delivery, the new pair (exact same looking on the website) were awful, horrible fit and quality, overly long, very expensive for what they were, and to add insult to injury I had to pay to return them.

Muslins and baby grows are not cheap but are horrible quality
Little Bird stuff is pretty but very average quality

What stores there were, were oddly laid out/patchy stock which felt like a bit of this and a bit of that, nothing you actually wanted was ever in stock/in the right size, all very expensive for the quality level. Dusty or downright dirty carpet and shop fittings.

I used an old, dirty changing room redesignated as a feeding room once which was nice only in that when I was new to breastfeeding I felt self conscious about feeding in public.

Now the stores I would have gone to (miles apart) have closed down and the since I won't shop online with them again the only store near me is the other side of the city on an out of town centre. I shan't be bothering when there is far nicer cheaper stuff available online Amazon/Boots/M&S.

[TrollTheRespawnJeremy]

The shops just feel really outdated, dark and depressing and I never felt like the staff in my local one were particularly knowledgeable or interested.

We did visit because it had a Clarks shoes in store but as that's no longer there we have no reason to go.

I did pick up one or two nice dungaree outfits for DD when I was in - only place I could find roomy dungarees - but a lot of it was really uninspired, or relied on celebrity endorsement or cartoons.

DD is now 7 so I have no reason to go now.

[Frazzled2207]

To be fair i've had good experiences buying car seats there, both occasions we were given mothercare vouchers which is why we went there and both times we got good advice and the seats were fitted properly into our car.

My kids are 1 and 3 and i find I rarely go in anymore. I have bought pjs in the online sale but that's it. Better selection of clothes elsewhere, and the clothes are no better than in
Sainsburys, where I go weekly anyway, so no point going. Also the ones near me are in awkward locations. None in manchester city centre or trafford centre.

[RaeSkywalker]

I've heard that staff training for prams, car seats etc is all digital, rather than practical. I therefore didn't have confidence that they'd know how to fit them correctly.

Clothing ranges are expensive for what they are.

Mamas and Papas is a far nicer shopping experience- smaller product range, nicer store layout, super knowledgeable staff.

[sh700]

I find them good for basics such as cot sheets, muslins, etc. I have had some lovely babies and kids clothes from there but it is very hit and miss. I imagine they were once an essential place for expectant and new mums but now John Lewis, Amazon and the supermarkets are hard to beat.

[DorotheaHomeAlone]

Absolutely crap. Hate the over gendered kids stuff. Everything slightly over priced. Staff are poorly trained and unhelpful. Every time I go in I regret it.

[Flumplet]

Very expensive for the level of quality. Always a lot more choice for girls than for boys and limited selection of sizes available.

[cheekyfunkymonkey]

Our local one has soft play and café which is handy, and better to have somewhere to sit when feeding baby (rather than being banished to the changing/ feeding room which was previously the case). The photo service attached is irritating, always touting for business, one day someone tried to give me a leaflet 5 times . I like the fact there's a Clark's instore. I tend to buy toys and pyjamas and underwear for the kids. I don't particularly like the clothes.

[icebearforpresident]

I browse everytime i'm in the town nearest to me which has one but very rarely buy anything not on sale. Clothes are over priced for the quality,i bought my dd a pair of jeans which were worn at the knees within 6 weeks.

When i was pregnant with my second DH and i went to a larger store (two floors) to look at cots etc as we couldnt agree on what one we liked and in the whole nursery dept there was 1 cot and 1 crib set up for display. We hadnt made the trip to that branch especially but i would have been very annoyed if i had.

That said i have managed to pick up some larger items ex display and they've been great value,hardly marked etc and at least 50% off. The staff at my nearest branch are lovely too

Overall i think Mothercare doesnt know what to do with itself as a brand and as a result are trying to be both a 'premium' and 'normal' brand. At the moment they are doing both badly. Someone at head office needs to make a decision amd stick to it as it would be a shame to lose them from from the high street.

[AgentProvocateur]

MNHQ, now that we've all given our views on Mothercare for you to feed back to the BBC, what will they do with this information. The (almost) universal opinion is that it's too expensive with untrained, unhelpful staff and dingy cluttered stores. While it has perhaps been cathartic to vent our combined spleen, will anything change as a result of this thread?

[RandomDent]

I wanted a particular car seat, had researched, etc. Mothercare was a stockist, but insisted that they fitted it for some reason. Wouldn't sell it without fitting it. Having been on the end of one of their "fittings" before I wasn't keen. I did find an independent online store who sent it to me. Easiest car seat I've ever fitted. Not sure why Mothercare were resticting sales like this.

[RedStripeIassie]

They are sooooo pricy for the type of clothes they have. The service when I used to go was really nice in my local one.

[Babytalkobsession]

I like them for clothes (multi buy is reasonable), and ELC but wouldn't trust them for car seat advice (no reason particularly). Everything else is over priced

[Etihad]

I signed up for their emails (to get vouchers and special offers etc) when I was approved to adopt.

There was no option on the sign up other than to make up an expected delivery date, so I was bombarded with (pretty insensitive in the circumstances) emails about how my baby was developing in the womb.

Deleted them all, left email list and never darkened their door again.

[BreatheDeep]

Staff are not well trained by the looks of things. They don't seem to actually want to deal with customers. Shops feel very dated. I do shop there sometimes for shoes, ELC toys and very occasionally clothes, but the clothes are generally over priced with a poor selection of boys clothes in particular.

I wouldn't buy any 'big' equipment from them such as car seats or pushchairs etc as the staff don't seem to have any knowledge about them.

I have also had issues with their online services. When I recently ordered some toys online for click and collect I didn't receive anything telling me they were ready for collection. I ended up having to chase them up to see what was happening and the package had been in store for days with no notification

[scrivette]

I like the idea of Mothercare, but I find it overpriced.

The staff in my local store are always very helpful.

However the lift in my local store was broken for ages, leaving the pushchair down stairs and carrying the baby upstairs was not ideal. I was surprised that they didn't see it as a priority.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

The staff at the one in Sunderland smoke outside the main doors . Nice !

[SpornStar]

I find Mothercare overpriced and I hate my local store so rarely venture in there. The shop is badly laid out over 2 floors and feels cluttered and disorganised. It all looks overdue for a refit.

I developed a bad impression of it when I was pregnant and nothing I've seen since has made me rethink my opinion. I went in to look at a Bugaboo pram as I had specific needs that i felt the Bugaboo would meet. The sales assistant gave me a quick demo of the model I was interested in and then gave me the hard sell on a Mothercare own brand pram which had none of the specific features I had said I needed and which I had expressed no interest in at all. I went elsewhere to buy the Bugaboo.

More recently, I ordered some kids clothes online for store collection. On collection I found that one item would be delivered at a later date but no estimated arrival date given. Some weeks later I received a very rude voicemail message saying that if I didn't pick my item up by x date it would be returned to the warehouse as they couldn't keep orders forever. Well, of course I don't expect them to but with no email, text or phone call to advise me that it had arrived, I couldn't very well know that it was awaiting collection.

Now it's just not a place I consider shopping at all, either in store or online.

[ComeLuckyApril]

Ours has a nice cafe and is good for a wander. Expensive unless in the sale though. And you have to pay to click and collect from online, so I didn't bother.

[BikeRunSki]

Maternity bra fitting was terrible!

[BikeRunSki]

They are always the most expensive for anything. My DC are 5 and 8 now, so my need for Mothercare is pretty limited now. For the last few years, I have mostly used them for the ELC shop in shop. I like the Little Bird clothing range, but sadly DC1 has been too big for it for years and dC2 is getting that way.

[SquedgieBeckenheim]

Got outdated advice there regarding car seats.
Generally difficult to find staff to help.
Generally over priced.
Do shop there sometimes though!

[Mumteedum]

Appalling online service. Awful clunky website and item was cancelled via email after waiting for it.

This was a few years ago to be fair but have looked online again since and didn't see much improvement.

Oh and yes, it's expensive for what it is.

[Easylikeasonntagmorgan]

I've never found the customer service good. Staff are always difficult to find and unhelpful/disinterested. Don't bother going there now.

[BadgeronaMoped]

I loved their sleepsuits, lots of packs with nice unisex designs, plus as a PP has mentioned, they go up to a size 2 - 3.
DS1 loves the Little Bird range, as do I, I also like their printed PJs with non-branded designs on.

I find their customer service very hit and miss.