Did anyone write to M &S Re changing rooms?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Baroness Nicolson wants evidence rather than heresay...

twitter.com/Baroness_Nichol/status/1262437703217528838?s=19

some threads:

February 2020
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3828165-M-S-are-at-it-again-Theyre-back-to-having-men-and-women-changing-rooms-but

April 2018
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3225608-Marks-Spencer-protest

February 2018
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3156818-M-S-changing-room-policy

I have just emailed her my letter and the dreadful response from M&S.

What email address did you use. I have an email too but I'm not on Twitter

I DMed them - they ignored me. However I didn’t have quite a discussion with John Lewis on the same topic.

I wrote to Steve Rowe and copied in the M&S chairman asking this list of eight questions:

1. Why were fitting rooms sex segregated in the first place?
2. What has changed to make single sex fitting rooms unnecessary now?
3. What are you doing as a company to ensure the safety and privacy of women within your mixed sex fitting rooms?
4. How are you ensuring that there will be no voyeurism, no hidden cameras?
5. Will you be expecting your staff to be able to distinguish between male bodied people who genuinely identify as female and male bodied people who wish to access female spaces for other reasons?
6. Why does the safety, dignity and privacy of female bodied people take second place to the demands of male bodied people?
7. What will your provision be for women who do not feel comfortable in mixed sex fitting rooms?
8. If women are no longer allowed to object to the presence of a male bodied person in areas where we’re undressed and vulnerable, then what boundaries are women permitted to hold in your stores? Do we have to wait until someone has been assaulted or spied upon before we can complain?

I got an obvious cut and paste reply from M&S customer services using different sizes of text which for me just highlighted the lack of interest or care taken in the correspondence. Their reply was the standard blah about allowing customers to use whatever fitting room felt most comfortable. Not a single one of my questions was addressed.

I emailed again asking if they could at least explain what had changed to make single sex fitting rooms unnecessary and received the following answer:

“Thank you very much for your email to XXXXX. I hope you do not mind I am replying on her behalf.
I am very sorry you are disappointed with our reply and our position. I have noted all of your further points for review. We value your feedback and have shared your views with our team for their consideration.
Unfortunately, as we have fully outlined our current position, we are not able to add anything further to what we have already advised you with regards to our fitting room policy.
Thank you again for contacting us. With my best wishes.”

I took this to be a polite way of saying they were not interested in the safety and well-being of female bodied customers and did not want to be contacted on the subject again.

I’m not on twitter but could forward the email correspondence to Baroness Nicholson, does anyone have the appropriate email address?

I think my initial letter to JL got to about question 22! Then the follow up has a further 8 or so.

Didn’t answer any of them though.

I’ve replied to one of her tweets but can’t find an email address.

Yes I did. Got some guff about ''striving to be inclusive'' and they'll address inappropriate behaviour as and when it happens.

I'm not on twitter but I can forward it along if she has an email account we can send it too.

The FWR thread earlier today 'Good News' includes the email address Liz Truss used to write to the Baroness.

twitter.com/Baroness_Nichol/status/1262442579733422081

She says M&S have been 'misbriefed' and she will write.

Almost amusing use of the word ‘misbriefed’ for a seller of knickers. I hope she looks at JL - I have my emails to and from them!

People have added their replies from JL on the twitter thread, so I hope she looks at them too.

This was my response from them. What is the Baronesses email address? I am not on Twitter.

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

As a business, we strive to be inclusive and therefore, we allow customers the choice of which fitting room they feel comfortable to use, in respect of how they identify themselves. This is an approach other retailers and leisure facilities have also adopted.

We understand your concerns and I want to make it clear that if any customer was to act inappropriately or cause intentional offence, the necessary action would be taken.

Thank you again for your email.

Kind regards

Liz Coady

Executive Team"

The FWR thread earlier today 'Good News' includes the email address Liz Truss used to write to the Baroness.

Perhaps this could be posted here again, so we don't have to go looking? However, I'll go look now and post if I find it.

I got told that ‘this is the final word on the matter young lady, and I won’t say anymore. Good day to you.’ (I paraphrase)

Sorry, didn't find the email address on that other thread and it's a long one, just skimmed as I have to start the day.

If anyone has her email address to hand, please post it!

Yes I emailed twice, with very specific questions, and was fobbed off both times. Same generic response as above, plus the follow up "we are not talking to you about this any more" response.

I'm not on twitter but I'd forward the emails to the baroness if someone can post an email?

If anyone on twitter wants to draw her attention to the centre parcs spa communal changing rooms that would be good. I've emailed them two or three times now but they have ignored me. I'm pretty sure there's a thread on here that has a transcript of a phone call about it that she might find interesting as well.

Copy of letter with email here

Thank you for the email address. I will be very happy to forward the email I wrote to M&S and the bog standard bog off reply I got from them that didn't address a single one of my questions.

Thank you for this.

I have forwarded the email I sent to John Lewis to which I received no reply.

I’ll send her my emails too from JL - they were quite long!

I have refused to buy from JL since then and only cut through the store as a shortcut. I walk past the ‘men’s’ changing room and once enjoyed watching a woman march her husband (I assume) in with a lot of trousers - it was like watching rats streaming out of a sinking ship as men bailed out.

Actually same when I was waiting for someone outside the JL men’s loos - a man marched in with his daughter (she looked about 8 or 9) - it was like someone had rung the fire alarm or something (men don’t want to be peeing with a little girl in the room - who knew?).

@Lordfrontpaw

Interesting isn’t it - most men wouldn’t dream of sharing such facilities with young girls - and yet the ones who do are supposedly the ones we don’t have to worry about.

Most men would run a mile - you only have to look at when you are out somewhere and a child is lost.

Men stand well back and are generally worried about being accused of taking an unnatural interest in a child - whereas a woman will go over, crouch down and speak to the child, calm them, get help, help them find their adult ‘WHO ARE YOU WITH? OH MUMMY? DID MUMMY GET LOST THEN? OH DEAR! LETS SEE IF I CAN SEE HER. WHAT DOES SHE LOOK LIKE??’ (I tend to do a stage voice to hopefully alert the kids parent.

Well, that was jolly quick!

I've just received this from Ms Willmott, personal assistant to the Baroness.

"Dear Ms. xxxxxxxx,

Thank you very much indeed for sending through the helpful information below. I forwarded this to the Baroness this morning and she has asked me to let you know that she will be using this.

Kind regards"

Every little helps.

Teds, did you use the @parliament_uk email address? It seems an unusual format.