John Lewis in Trouble

[TrainedByCatsToBeScathing]

John Lewis are struggling, even the Waitrose side of things. 11,000 out of a workforce of 80,000 is a lot, I’m sad for their mostly female sales force and there’s many reasons for their problems particularly with them not adapting quickly to the challenge from online sales.

However I was a very regular shopper in my local John Lewis and I stopped completely after their patronising offensive response to my query about single sex changing rooms a few years ago. I’d buy furniture, white goods, kitchenware, electronics, carpet, clothes, toys, haberdashery, cosmetics, shoes even jewellery (I was shocked when I realised how much I defaulted to John Lewis as it took a little while to switch to alternatives some of my loyalty was convenience). Obviously I’m just one shopper but it never seemed a good idea to piss off loyal customers as when trading conditions are challenging you need those customers even more.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13082653/John-Lewis-threatens-staff-disciplinary-action-unacceptable-comments-internal-intranet-retail-giant-considers-cutting-11-000-jobs-bid-recover-230m-losses.html

Back when JL weren't stupid, I bought landline phones - a set of a base unit with answering machine and a handset. Later I wanted a further handset for another room, which I knew from the manufacturer's website was available.

Back I went to JL, found an assistant and asked. No, they didn't sell the single handset. I could have another pack if base unit and handset if I wanted. No, I didn't. I went home and bought a single handset from a supplier on the internet.

Maybe stock though if you were an employee?

Haahahahaha! They don’t own any shares!

Sorry, but I don't feel I would be seeking out Tristan for any kind of nursery ware or starting a family advice.

How very short sighted of you.

but what do I expect here?

No disrespect to Tristan, but Tristan is childfree, even if he is raising a dog with his partner.
He has not walked the walk.

The idea that the customers might actually be right appears to be cutting through. The Identity Project has unexpectedly closed in the Oxford St Event Space. It was meant to run till the end of the month.

But have they managed to stock up on basics? I might have to go in just to see if I can actually now get a pair black (not fishnet) tights, baby sleepsuits (for an actual baby not a cosplaying adult) and a basic toaster

https://x.com/cityboy446bc/status/1758883070290104479?s=46&t=L-moZWFCgm4ZDc07DxTMGg

AO are brilliant!

“now staff wear whatever they like and often look too casual and sometimes a bit shabby”

I was wondering what was different and why I couldn’t ’see’ or mistaking staff for customers. Now it all makes sense!

Giving up Ocado was a big mistake, as was Heston. I thought they should have controlled some of his seasonal creations a bit but my family and I miss his fresh stocks, pates, prawn cocktail and sandwiches.

I’ve just come from a shop at M&S and served the food to the family and we would agree that Waitrose is much better. Less packaged, fresher, less sweet and processed.

This boycott is so difficult and disruptive but I am so upset.

I agree that staff seem bored, disengaged and uninformed. I struggle to find anyone to ask these days. There seem to be no staff on the shop floor apart from those on tills. The stock is shockingly sparse. There is a couldn’t care less attitude
and often borderline rudeness.

I don’t think it’s because she is black because there are many black and Asian women that they do like.

It’s because they feel she is unqualified and out of her depth. Her previous job was head of Ofcom and before that a career civil servant. She has never run a commercial business before of any size!

Why on earth was she given the job ??!!

What on earth is wrong with having a uniform?

Everywhere has a uniform. Good grief, Home Bargains staff have uniform shirts and jackets, and a dress code for their other garments and shoes.

As has been pointed out, it makes it possible to spot staff members when you have a question.

Home Bargains seem to run a tight ship compared to JL. Staff stacking shelves in my local ones are always polite. Everything is price marked and they open new tills if needed. I never been told "it is not my job" in there.

There's a theory called the Glass Cliff where a failing business is handed to a woman so she can be blamed when it goes wrong (falls of the cliff). Yahoo is a famous example.

It's to save money . I believe in M and S the staff can wear non uniform as long as it's M and S clothing .

So how does one tell the staff wearing M&S clothing from the customers wearing M&S clothing?

Go round staring at everyone's chest searching for a badge?

I was in Asda yesterday, no tills open and my bag wouldn't tare on the self checkout, looked around for staff to help but found it difficult as they weren't in an easily recognised uniform, I thought Asda wore green tops but the staff member that helped me wasn't and the only way I knew it was a staff member was because she had a lanyard on. When she came over I thought at first I had made a mistake and she was a shopper and sort of apologised.

M and S have cut their staff to the bone and have a lot of staff on temporary contracts. They clamp down heavily on staff sickness too . It tends to be younger staff in there too who presumably don't have health or childcare issues so therefore are totally flexible and can have their days / hours altered without any problems.

They went back to basics and started to deliver quality clothing instead of blurred sizing such as 12/14 and stopped skimping on cut . They put the needs of the business first .

Many long-standing familiar faces have disappeared from my local branch, and when I mentioned this to a cashier she said that a lot of people have left. It struck me yesterday that the place looked rundown - rubbish on the floor, shelves not stocked and a generally gloomy atmosphere - although after a busy Saturday is probably not the best time to judge. It just seemed that no-one's bothered any more.

Indeed, when you see a whole double wide shelf of 600ml double cream getting discounted because it’s all expiring the next day, you know major things are going wrong.

It had been displayed with other ingredients for pancake day or similar in those weird end of row cabinets nowhere near the other creams, completely confusing everyone.

This is not an isolated incident.

I learned, many years ago that when things look a bit shaky in the economics department, never cut back on quality. You wont get new customers and you'll drive the old ones away (they never come back). I feel as though JLP is putting the blame for Covid/Ukraine economic difficulties onto customers. I just feel a bit ripped off. I think their buyers are a poor bunch and JLP have lost sight of who their demographic is - hey you lot, it's us, the ones with the cash.

It used to be great going into clothing and getting nice quality stuff. The last time we went, there was so much stuff for the very young but not for those of us who have a modern heart but lack the body.

It's all very sad, we will be gutted if it can't be turned around. Dump DEI, focus on customers.

If you feel contempt for your customers, you can only sell to them if you have a USP that draws them in anyway, usually price - Ryanair being the obvious example.

But JL's USP was the antithesis of Ryanair. It was all about people paying for quality, reliability, and good customer service. They have abandoned all three of those. So what's the point of them now?

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow yes exactly. I use Ryanair extensively because it is very cheap and I need to get from Ireland to the UK and back regularly, and it gets me there safely. That's all I need in those circumstances. I have no need of frills, food on board etc, I just need to go to work.

I used to shop in John Lewis (and Waitrose) for precisely the opposite reason, I didn't need most of the things I was buying there, but they were things that were nice to have. I could have gone for cheaper alternatives in other shops, but I liked the things there (mainly clothes and kitchenware in John Lewis) and I liked the atmosphere of the shops. And for non-necessary but nice things I was buying, I trusted them not to rip me off. After a negative experience in a Waitrose in London recently, and reading this thread about John Lewis I won't be bothering again.

Absolutely spot on. As soon as Waitrose got rid of their free coffee and cheap newspaper, started increasing the size of their Essentials range and reducing it’s prices, then actively trying to compete with the likes of Aldi and Lidl etc I knew they didn’t know what they were doing, didn’t know who they were as a business and had lost the plot.

Losing lines like their French crepes, was that a business decision or a consequence of the difficulties with Brexit?

Either way, all these decisions were disastrous for the shopping experience. It suddenly felt cheap and disappointing and not so special. Waitrose went from a shop for foodies and cooks to just a supermarket. It used to be a delight to spend too much money.

I do wonder is Sharon White a cook and/or a foodie? Or is she someone who can take it or leave it and has other priorities?