Marks and Spencer refused refund with receipt!!

cpu

phil_c wrote:

Can the OP post on here the UPC / Barcode number of the shoes. I will be more then happy to check exactly how many pairs we sold as a business and how many have been returned faulty.

I would have thought this would be completely irrelevent. I don't think anyone is suggesting that this product line as a whole is of poor quality, just this particular pair.

Anything could have happened during the making of this pair that didn't happen with the others, a stitch being missed or not enough glue being applied for example.

What is more surprising to me isn't the fact the shoes have developed a fault ( these things happen in life), but the way in which M&S have handled the situation. Replacing or refunding a £17 pair of shoes would have done little to dent their profits, but they have chosen to take a rigid stance on this instead of using their good business sense and upholding good customer relations.

I could understand their stance if the item in question was of high value, but it's not and to place £17 over PR is foolish. Especially given that the shoes would have cost M&S themselves, a fraction of the sale price.

hollydays

Agree totally,also think any Managers or staff reading this thread would do well to note its very rude to say to a customer "we have not had any others back" .I am surprised as i would have thought this should have been taught in training.Phil c what say you?

edda

Funnily enough, when I suffered from a case of food poisoning from an M&S ready meal last year, the letter I got back stated 'no one else had complained of the same problem'.

Are what %age of complaints from sales does M&S start to react - or think they have a problem?

andyrules

Spot on mrcow and agree totally with last 3 posts.

Surely, by law of averages, there is always going to be at least one 'rogue' product in every run, particularly when some or most of the item is assembled manually? (Am assuming there's an element of human input with shoe manufacture - correct me if I'm wrong) Possibly there's more likelihood of that than a whole bad batch. phil c, ever heard of the 'Friday afternoon' product? ie the one that went wrong? Why should honest (and often loyal) customers pick up the tab for that? Something is wrong if a pair of shoes manufactured for a child falls to pieces so quickly. I bought some cheap boots from Tesco 3 years ago (20 quid), worn them every day from October-April, they are still going strong. if phil c's approach to the issue is representative of M&S policy then that illustrates the point many posters on here are saying - M&S CS is pants.

Moreover, even if M&S finally do acknowledge responsibility, they should now offer a refund as I'm assuming the OP has had to replace her child's shoes elsewhere.

Turning_into_scrooge

My father before he retired was a senior technologist which basically meant he checked the quality of goods if an item was brought back with a complaint such as the OP. All items were immediately taken off sale and checked for faults and re tested as well, the buyers could not buy the goods unless he said yes the quality was OK, he didn't work for M&S another clothing company but if he said take it off sale due to one complaint it was taken off sale and checked. The OP has every right to be annoyed at this situation especially as the shoes were worn for such a short time. I would of expected a pair of school shoes to las 3 -4 months which if i remember correctly is average growing time. Stand up for your rights and complain like hell as these goods are not fit for the purpose bought for.

rammy007

[Can the OP post on here the UPC / Barcode number of the shoes. I will be more then happy to check exactly how many pairs we sold as a business and how many have been returned faulty.

And how exactly are you going to do this?I bet your bosses will love the fact that you are posting on here!

uktim29

hollydays wrote:

Agree totally,also think any Managers or staff reading this thread would do well to note its very rude to say to a customer "we have not had any others back" .I am surprised as i would have thought this should have been taught in training.Phil c what say you?

I think it would really depend on the overall conversation bwtween the customer and the member of staff.

I've had people bring items back often suggesting that the entire line/batch may be faulty. In that sort of case it's just natural (factual not rude) to inform the customer of how many have/have not been brought back.

fwhorn

Phil_C please can you answer the following Questions.

Do you work for M+S?
and if so
How long have you worked for M+S
What department do you work in?
Are you speaking on behalf of M+S?
Do you think this Thread is good Advertising for M+S?
Do M+S actually have their own branded washing powder? if so Who makes it?
Are there lessons to be learnt? and if so what?

If you do work for M+S then you should recognise that there is a problem, with your after service and your look behind the label may not be working. Or maybe that the staff are not fully aware or even trained on this new push.

I do not believe that the customer is always right, but they are always the customer. The overall response to this post is in support of the people who have had problems with M+S, and what they are saying is that they have looked behind the label and found the items to be lacking in quality. I find the majority of the posters on this site are genuine people, and that some firms look on here if there is a problem (neat ideas). So rather than patronise us, embrace us and use this forum as a barometer and not for telling your customers that they are wrong and that M+S is right.

rammy007

fwhorn wrote:

Phil_C please can you answer the following Questions.

Do you work for M+S?
and if so
How long have you worked for M+S
What department do you work in?
Are you speaking on behalf of M+S?
Do you think this Thread is good Advertising for M+S?
Do M+S actually have their own branded washing powder? if so Who makes it?
Are there lessons to be learnt? and if so what?

If you do work for M+S then you should recognise that there is a problem, with your after service and your look behind the label may not be working. Or maybe that the staff are not fully aware or even trained on this new push.

I do not believe that the customer is always right, but they are always the customer. The overall response to this post is in support of the people who have had problems with M+S, and what they are saying is that they have looked behind the label and found the items to be lacking in quality. I find the majority of the posters on this site are genuine people, and that some firms look on here if there is a problem (neat ideas). So rather than patronise us, embrace us and use this forum as a barometer and not for telling your customers that they are wrong and that M+S is right.

Perhaps he is Stuart Rose really!Seems a bit too loyal for a student a friend of mine who has worked there years is P***ed off with the place.

trippy

I had a similar problem with a pair of shoes from Clarks. They were for my daughter who just started school in Sept. Two weeks ago I had to take them as they were falling apart. They cost me £28. Unfortunately I bought them at the end of July and although I kept them in the box until the first day of school in Sept, I couldn't prove it.

But they said they would measure my daughter's feet and if she needed the same size shoe they would replace them. But if her size had gone up they would give me 50% off a new pair.

In the end I was satisfied with the outcome as I got a new pair of shoes that will last a bit longer than the last and I appreciated Clarks' goodwill gesture. I think it might have helped that I always buy the kids' shoes from that store so the manager sort-of knows me.

I had to take my son's shoes back when he was 18 mo as the rivets had started coming out. They just replaced them and he got a bigger sized pair!

But it does disappoint me that the quality is lacking. I know that we as consumers should accept the if we drive the prices down then quality will be affected. But I pay through the nose for Clarks shoes and the price has never come down, so the quality shouldn't be effected.