Dear John Lewis… Stop telling us to go online when we visit

Dear John Lewis… Stop telling us to go online when we visit your stores! And other tough but vital messages from Mail readers – the customers who love you most

In Wednesday’s Mail, Dame Helena Morrissey delivered an impassioned plea to beleaguered John Lewis to get back to basics, improve customer service and restore faith in the brand we all know and love.

Here, Mail readers — some of John Lewis’ most loyal customers — deliver their own blistering verdicts on how things have gone so badly wrong and the changes that must be made in order to tempt you back.

A family favourite

As a teenager I always thought it was posh because my mum only took us there when we needed something special and you knew you couldn’t go wrong with good old John Lewis.

Since getting married 40 years ago, I have been an avid and loyal shopper when it comes to buying bedding, fabric, cushions, kitchen utensils, towels, garden furniture and bathroom fittings. Shoppers want items that will last and bought from people who know what they’re doing. When Sharon White took over and started talking about hauling John Lewis into the 21st century, I was appalled. People don’t want John Lewis to change what has always set it apart from other High Street shops. We want to rely on it for good honest old-fashioned retailing, run by staff who want to help. It must get back to doing the basics, doing them well and better than its rivals.

Linsey Hardingham, Birmingham.

Readers are annoyed that John Lewis staff keep referring customers to their website instead of selling them goods in store 

I don’t feel valued

It’s two years since John Lewis shut its Tunbridge Wells Home store. If you can’t sell to an affluent, middle-class town, then things really have gone wrong.

I used to love to shop in-store and make a day of it with friends, but we’re all disillusioned with the experience now. Staff levels have been slashed to an absolute minimum which feels like a cynical ploy to shift us customers online.

Please try to appreciate the value of real shoppers who have money to spend and want to do so inside a beautiful store staffed by experience staff who enjoy their jobs.

Cathy Venus.

A sad former employee

I am a retired Waitrose partner of approximately 20 years’ service and I’m saddened at the way the company has gone downhill. Customer service is virtually non-existent. A few weeks ago I was in the Cambridge store to buy a sofa. There were three assistants in the furniture department and I asked them for help with fabrics and they just waved me towards a selection of swatches on a rail. As for my local Waitrose, it’s an embarrassment. Many of the price tickets are in the wrong place and the store is untidy. By comparison the local M&S is neat and well-stocked.

Gwenda Bowen.

I leave empty-handed

I am now in my 80s and have shopped at Peter Jones in Chelsea (the ‘mother ship’ as I call it) for over 40 years. But for the past four years whenever I go in to buy clothes I always come out empty-handed. It is now all brand names in little departments, so when looking for trousers you have to slog from one brand to another. Years ago Peter Jones used to put all the trousers and jumpers (regardless of brands) in one area. It made life so much easier.

And what has happened to the John Lewis own brand? For me they were always the classic style I loved. I generally hate shopping but Peter Jones was always a treat. Please listen to us.

Jacquie Isaac.

Former staff and customers have felt let down by changes in the iconic store 

So shambolic, I left

After recently completing a kitchen extension I visited John Lewis stores in both Cambridge and Norwich looking for a dining suite. I wanted good quality and not cheap. I found something I liked but when I went to order it, it wasn’t in stock. This went on for months.

I emailed customer service to ask why this was happening and they replied saying it was a regular occurrence. In the end I made my purchase at a smaller run local store. John Lewis is a shambles.

Angela Kett.

‘Hunt the assistant’

Upon entering a John Lewis store you immediately have to play the ‘hunt the assistant’ game. It’s not at all obvious who works there now that they have introduced a casual dress code.

Prior to the pandemic staff were smartly dressed in business suits or a uniform. You were greeted by confident partners who knew their products and answered all your questions.

I’ve been a customer for 50 years but John Lewis and Waitrose are losing their way and fast becoming has-beens.

Geoff Thomas.

Many Daily Mail readers want things to go back the way they were before the advent of online shopping, file photograph

They no longer care

Their biggest error is not recognising the value of their own staff. It used to be an absolute pleasure to visit a store knowing that a friendly greeting was guaranteed.

They each had their own department, knew their products and the service was second to none. There was real pride in being a John Lewis partner. Due to the number of concessions many are only concerned with their section and have no interest in other areas. Times change, we all accept that, but it feels that while us customers still care about John Lewis, they no longer care about us.

Sara Dearden.

Curtain calamity

My husband and I went into the flagship Oxford Street store to order some curtains. We have three lots of French windows and two bedroom windows. For the former we needed bespoke.

The staff in the curtain department could not have been less interested in serving us, they were offhand to the point of total indifference. However, as it’s so hard to choose materials online we went to the Westfield branch where we were served by a very helpful young lady, new to the department, who did everything for us.

Once the French windows were measured up and we received a quote (over £4,000), we went ahead. If you add the off-the-peg bedroom curtains, it’s another £350. For this substantial amount you would expect something verging on service, but no, not from John Lewis.

After numerous phone calls to chase up a delivery and fitting date (email unanswered), we discovered that the curtains were ready but the poles were lost. It took a whole week to solve.

It took four months in total, a long way from the six weeks we were quoted at the time of purchase.

A once-great brand has lost the plot and if it upsets its already unmotivated staff, there is no reason to continue shopping there.

Frances Jackson, Chiswick.

Some readers complain that the levels of customer service have suffered in recent years, file photograph 

Buckets to catch water!

I am a John Lewis enthusiast going back 55 years. I still have a receipt from 1969! I went into the Oxford store looking for a hairbrush and was told they don’t carry them as ‘there’s no call for that sort of thing’.

My local store, High Wycombe, has leaks in the roof with buckets dotted around to catch the water! Most frustrating of all is that its instore computer system is unable to deal with its online system. I suggest it takes a look at Next or Dunelm which operate far more efficiently.

S Ross, Bucks.

We want interaction

I know the focus is on profit per square metre of shop floor, but it’s no fun negotiating narrow islets between scented candles, sets of saucepans, lampshades and coffee grinders. Not to mention having to hurriedly hit reverse gear when someone comes towards you from the opposite direction.

Every store has to make visiting a pleasant experience. We know it’s easier to shop online and wait for delivery, but some of us want human interaction and a conversation that may just make someone’s day.

Rebecca Smithson.

It’s not Amazon

What’s with this obsession of delving into other areas of non-retail? Housing, furniture rental? It’s all but ruined the brand. What went wrong?

No stock, poor staffing and a drive to get everyone online. It used to be the place to shop in person, now they just seem to want to turn themselves into the next Amazon.

Joan Tibbs, Peterborough.

Bored, uninterested staff

I recently went to John Lewis in Cardiff to buy a blusher. Not a huge purchase but I was willing to spend up to £30. I naively thought the sales assistant might show a modicum of interest, but she could not have cared less.

I asked her to show me a selection of shades and she plonked them down on the counter and walked off. I ended up feeling guilty for disturbing her morning! The staff just seem uninterested and bored.

Julie Williams, Llanelli.

Poor service

It was always the go-to store for just about everything from clothes to white goods and furniture. Staff were engaged and customer service was second to none. Not any more. Our first bad experience was a few years ago with the carpet department. The area in question was wrongly measured so there was insufficient carpet when the fitter arrived. This happened a second time. After endless phone calls and emails I finally marched into their HQ in London.

The receptionist there put me through to a director who assured me he would deal with it straight away. Nothing happened.

Eventually I received £100 compensation. I am now wary of shopping there for anything complicated and many friends feel the same way.

Marionn O’Hanlon, Bath.

Catering for hipsters

Ever since my mother first dragged me into Pratts in Streatham in the 1950s, I have been a John Lewis and Waitrose customer and what fabulous stores they have both been. Unfortunately of late they have seen fit to try to be super trendy, woke, diverse and anything else that appeals to the young.

I’m not young (far from it), but I do have money to spend and a history of purchasing from John Lewis where I want quality goods and food at reasonable prices.

Now too much in John Lewis and Waitrose is being addressed towards a young, trendy customer. We’re not all vegans! Come on, wake up and look after the customers who have been supporting you for years.

Peter Brain.

Ignored by staff

Customer service is appalling. It’s a telephone service in Glasgow (despite it being listed as a London number) and they know nothing. They aren’t able to find out if your local store has an item in stock, they just tell you to go along and see for yourself. I was trying to avoid a wasted journey as my husband has a medical condition.

I’ve twice complained about the Waitrose staff in Kingston as the customer service desk have been so rude to me. On one occasion the lady on the desk was on a laptop and ignored me. Eventually she looked up and told me ‘press the green button’ (for service).

Eleanor Williams.

Other readers have complained that staff are now wearing casual clothes, file photograph

Casually dressed

They seem to have decided that the customer is no longer king. The quality and choice of goods is poor — especially furniture. And, a personal gripe for me, the staff are too casually dressed.

They also have petty, annoying rules. To give you an example, we wanted to buy a tumble dryer and needed the delivery person to lift and put it on a shelf and they refused. In the end I got a local independent firm to do it, which they did without a whimper.

John Lewis used to be a national treasure. Dame Sharon White needs to establish what is needed by the people who shop there so that it can rise from the ashes. I am a great champion of the brand and desperately want it restored to former glories.

Colin Wheal.

They want us all online

Sadly, they would much rather you shopped online. But not everyone wants to do this, especially with expensive white goods that you want to see and talk to a sales person about how they work.

They have not invested in staff core skills. They used to be the best in the business for quality, regular household items, knowledgeable staff and listening to the customer. No longer.

If they dumped many of the in-store concessions and brought back the famous Jonelle brand then customers would flock to the stores. Please start listening to us and stop getting your staff to order us online.

Caroline Wilson.

Dame Helena was right

I completely agree with Dame Helena Morrissey about tights. I tried two stores — Oxford and Cheltenham — looking for my favourite brand Wolford.

Staff (when you eventually track someone down) know nothing about tights or stock and direct you online.

I don’t shop online and I don’t want to start.

Sally Perkins.

Source: Read Full Article