Ah come on now, you’re accusing me of lying about something I haven’t said at all about the employee in this case. Not sure why you’re doing that. It’s untrue of you to claim I said the employee in this incident “hovered round…” I wrote that M&S isn’t the kind of place where that sort of hovering interaction ever happens between staff and customers. The vibe from companies that encourage cold approaches, where they pretend to be busy while asking things like “are you looking for anything in particular?” “Let me know if you need any help” “warm out today isn’t it” etc.
As I previously said, the devil is in the detail with this incident. To reiterate for absolute clarity the employee in this case was NOT hovering around looking to help customers and chat to them. Again, as previously referenced, he walked up to a child from behind while she appeared to be alone browsing bras in the lingerie department - a department he wasn’t assigned to - and got her attention with “can I help you with anything” or a similar question. As many said on the first thread, it would be peculiar for any employee to do that. You don’t think there’s anything odd, weird, inappropriate, with it. Many do, hence the publicity.
In terms of the rest of your post, the entire incident comes from the mum’s word that a) a male staff member approached her 14 year old daughter in the lingerie department asking if she wanted him to help her while she was looking at bras b) the child appeared to be alone c) the company emailed apologising and confirmed he shouldn’t have been there. Additional details the mum has given on her X account say she wasn’t visible to the employee and she has requested the cctv footage from the store.
I’m not sure what you’re arguing about in terms of these three points. It seems to be point b mainly but it seems odd to dispute that the employee couldn’t see the mum when you obviously weren’t there? If you’re wrong that the mum, who the entire story comes from, is lying about point b, is point a ok with you? So if she’s wrong about point b, is it still ok for male staff to approach women and children who are together to ask the child specifically if they want help with bras? Why do you keep suggesting that M&S is somewhere that staff go up to customers and ask if they want help with xyz when it isn’t and never has been? Or, let’s say this staff member believes that, unlike other staff, they should do that, why choose to do it to a child looking at underwear on a floor they don’t actually cover. Why not in home or clothes sections where they work?
M&S’s “operating model” as you present it appears to be along the lines of “male staff can and should ask children about their underwear needs - approach girls with a polite ‘can I help you’ while they’re browsing alone or with grown ups”. Is that what you think is ok and normal? That’s why people want clarity and there’s talk about boycotts.
Giving you the benefit of the doubt that you feel like someone has been identified in public for just being ‘helpful’. You think the mum is just an extremely driven bigot who’s gone to the extent of using her own child to push a personal anti-trans view by lying about what happened. Ok, so if that was the case the pertinent question is still there regardless - is it fine for male staff to approach children, teen girls, in the lingerie section to ask if they want help while they are browsing underwear? Do you think that’s ok for the girls in question? Maybe you do but that’s the what you and M&S seem unwilling answer.