Marks and Spencer
Reviews and Complaints

I have visited several of your stores in recent weeks and months and been disappointed by there only being self-service checkout in the clothing section. The staff stood there manning the self-service checkouts have often been rude when I have asked for assistance and just say "we've gone digital". I find self-service tills confusing to use and the beeps and noises can cause me to have panic attacks.

I feel I have to write to you to let you know how very disappointed I was with the Classic Steak & Ale Puff Pastry Pie. There was very little Steak or Gravy filling, in fact it was one of the driest and tasteless pies I have ever tried.

I spend a great deal of time and money in my local Marks and Spencer, which is situated in Hollingbury, Brighton, Sussex, and usually I am very happy with my purchases, but with the increasing rising costs I find the quality of the above pie to be totally unacceptable.

Ordered Coffee and toasted tea cake, when I found a table, started to drink my coffee while waiting for toasted tea cake, the coffee was barely warm, so went and ask for a replacement, still waiting for toasted tea cake, mean while by the time the toasted tea cake arrived the second cup of coffee had got cold, it took over twenty minutes for the tea cake to arrived, without any butter, knife or serviette, I was informed that I had to get them myself, but no cutlery apart from teaspoons are available to help yourself, very disappointed with the service I received, so I will think twice about going back again.

I was informed by the manager of the Cafe that they were short staffed.

For a busy Oxford Street branch on a Saturday I find this unacceptable.

Regarding order [protected], delivered to Dr P Lloyd at 6 Grosvenor Court, Mablethorpe, LN12 1BX on 26 June 2023 at approx 1300.

*No prior warning that delivery was on its way (it was supposed to be delivered on 27 June).

*Parcel thrown over a two-metre high gate that it is impossible to see over, and the courier, with total disregard for the contents of the parcel, could not have anticipated it's safe delivery to a safe place.

*The parcel landed in an unhygienic muddy puddle.

Needless to say, we will not be using M&S again.

We bought the pie on 15.6.23 and we’re very disappointed with the quality. The pastry on the top was solid, not puff at all. As if no butter had been added. The filling wasn’t so bad, although a bit more leek would have been nice. We have bought several of these pies in the past and always been happy with them. Has something changed with your supplier. Will certainly think twice before purchasing again.

I bought two food items in Oxford city centre M&S this afternoon and was charged £10.59. I declined a receipt, but as I walked away, I did a mental calculation and realised I’d been overcharged.

I was directed to the customer service desk, where I explained that my shopping came to £9.44, but I had somehow been charged £10.59. I was given a cash refund for the overcharged amount, but the staff member showed no interest in finding out how/why I had been overcharged. He simply shrugged it off.

This has left me wondering how many customers might unknowingly walk away not realising they’d been overcharged. I now have no confidence in M&S charging me the correct amount and will make a point of checking all future receipts.

Not good enough.

I received a Marks and Spencer gift card by post yesterday afternoon (12/06/2023) and within an hour went onto their website to place an order for some shoes for my daughter that she wants for her prom.

They were a pair of Leather Wedge Espadrilles Product code: T834169 in UK size 5.

The payment system debited the £50 gift card funds along with the £19 extra I paid from my bank card to complete the total order amount.

The screen then went blank and reverted back to the home page without a confirmation of said order. No email acknowledgment has been received since.

As you can see from the conversation between myself and the various M&S employees they have confirmed that the gift card has been debited but there is no trace of the order. This is apparently a ‘ghost order’ which happens so many times that they actually have a term for it.

Now instead of doing the right thing and either reimbursing me the funds or sending the order they are instead giving me the run around.

It would be very simple (after admitting that they can see the gift card was indeed used yesterday but there’s no order linked to it) to either refund the amount back onto the gift card and debit card, or to send the item I’ve informed them I ordered for collection at their Tamworth store.

I now believe that they are knowingly doing to this customers. There’s a reason that their TrustPilot score is now down to 1 star. So so many unhappy customers. It’s shocking!

I would like it noted that I intend to also report this incident to Trading Standards and my bank for fraud.

Order reference [protected].

I ordered a Muse 4 seater sofa on 9th January 2023 for delivery today.

I took a day off from work to receive the delivery.

To my disappointment the incorrect sofa had been loaded so I refused the delivery. The label on the packaging was correct but the contents were not. I had ordered peacock blue and the sofa that was sent was silver grey.

I then spoke to customer services to try to rectify the problem to be told the sofa I ordered is out of stock and then was told it's no longer available for purchase. I require it in the specific colour to match existing furniture I have bought in this range.

Considering I have waited 5 months for this order, I do not find this acceptable from a prestigious company such as yours. Added to this I have taken a days annual leave for what turns out to be no reason. Peacock blue and pale silver grey are vastly different colours!

I must add that the 2 delivery men this morning were excellent and very apologetic.

I am writing to express my disappointment at the way in which my daughter was treated at the above mentioned store.

Unfortunately, my daughter is disabled and uses a stick. She shops weekly at either the Borehamwood or Watford branch of M&S to do her shopping. She has a young family of 4 children and spends quite a bit of money in your store weekly.

On this particular day her mobility was difficult and she had to use her walking stick as an aid. It was Friday 28 May at approx 13:55. As she was about to queue to pay for her shopping she was pushed by someone but just thought they were in a rush so didn't take much notice. On going to pay for her shopping she reached into her pocket to get her mobile to make the payment and realised that it had been snatched. She was clearly distressed and a member of staff took her to see the manager. The manager, a said Caroline, was quite abrupt and told my daughter there was nothing she could do but that my daughter should call the police. Obviously my daughter was very distressed, anxious and visibly shaken. She did lodge it with the police and went back home feeling very shaken and it has left her not wanting to go back to M&S to do her shopping.

When she told me what had happened I was appalled to think that anyone could treat someone how my daughter was treated in a retail establishment such as M&S. I would have thought M&S would pride itself on reputation and customer service. Clearly this member of staff has got to the realms of a manager without knowing how to deal with the public. I've always thought that M&S staff are very courteous and very well trained. For a manager not to be empathetic especially to someone who is struggling to walk and using a stick is not something that one would expect of M&S. I feel that I want to bring this to your attention so that perhaps the said person could be trained in dealing with customers.

I await your response.

Having attempted all ways possible. Even calling cannot register for Internet Banking on PC, Laptop or Mobile App.

I have an activated credit card and once on the web site M&S say I already have an account and does not recognise wahtever username i enter. I do not have an Internet Banking account, maybe my husbands account is confusing the system?

Thank you

Kind regards Lynne

Hi M&S,

I recently bought and expensive silk bra and 4 pairs of knickers to match it, Order Number - [protected]. I've recently worn it and discovered that the boning bows at either side. Other than that the fit is perfect, see pictures. In addition, the straps keep falling out. As it was brought as a set, I would like a refund on the bra and all 4 pairs of knickers please.

Regards,

Janice Bryant

Mobile: [protected]

I just popped into the food hall to get a plain scone which I have always bought on my visits to CMK. I was however disappointed to but one, get home and only to find it was undercooked. I have always bought these scones and know them well. The dough inside was still brown and very unpleasant. I want to believe this was a one off as the scones have always been the best.

Good Afternoon

I would like to bring to your attention some really poor customer service I and others experienced at your Café @ Milton Keynes on Sat 25th March:

My wife and I visited Sat lunch time @ 12.50 – staff at the till took our order (tea / diet pepsi / ham and cheese toastie with side of chips, scampi meal and a cherry cake) and was polite and advised hot food was a 25 minute wait – we paid and accepted this and sat down. The café was busy and staff were doing a good job of clearing tables as customers left.

I noticed a number of other customers starting to look agitated as the delay in waiting time increased to what was advised – one couple complained to the Manager (Andy) and after 6-7 mins their food arrived

Somewhat frustrated at 13.43 when no food arrived, or any engagement from any staff to advise of continuing delays I approached Andy the Manager – where do I go to get a refund I asked – his curt reply – ‘at the till’ – I then asked if he wanted to know the reason why I wanted a refund – he said nothing, turned his back on me and walked away.

The till staff actioned my refund on the hot food only and at the same time at least 3 others were given a refund (as can be evidenced by the till processing refunds if you wish to validate)

My wife went to the rest rooms as I waited and came back to say they was in a terrible mess and well below any standards one would expect from M&S.

All in all a poor experience from a paying member of the public and in regards to the attitude and lack of customer service skills your manager demonstrated, one that I couldn’t knowingly ignore if this individual worked for me and this nature of incident was brought to my attention

M&S I believe your standards and ethos to be better than what I and my wife was exposed to ..

Regards

Sean Walters

I ordered the Rose & Lily bouquet for delivery to my mum on Mother's Day. It arrived on Friday 17th March and to say the flowers were poor is putting it mildly. The lilies were brown with heads and leaves dropping off. The roses were turning brown and drooping. When my mum tried to do her best for them, the petals of the roses were dropping off.

I contacted customer service for a replacement. They said they'd send one on Monday 20th March. Instead, they sent one to my sister in law! (I'd sent her one for her birthday the previous week.) Then I got an automated email saying a refund was being processed. I've received NO explanation as to why a replacement wasn't sent to my mum and why I'm getting a refund.

Your customer service is appalling! Your complete lack of interest or care in ruining my mums Mother's Day is beyond upsetting. My mum lives a 7 hour drive from me, I couldn't be there and I wanted to send her something nice. You send her dead flowers and couldn't give a damn!

I will NEVER buy flowers from you again. I will also do my utmost to never setting foot in an M&S store ever again. I've been a fan of M&S food for years and I don't mind paying more for quality and good customer service but your customer service is non existent so from now on I will shop at Waitrose.

Hello, I received flowers yesterday as a mother's day gift

I am not happy with the condition or quality of the blooms

On opening them they appeared ok ,but as I followed the instructions as how best to deal with them , they were a bit wilted,and some of lower stem flowers were a bit slimey .So I removed them , added the flower powder and trimmed the stems at an angle ,,,hoping that this morning they would have improved... Unfortunately not , more slimey lower blooms and no improvement

Very disappointed

Awaiting your reply

On the 12th March, I bought a roast chicken from the Food store at M&S Bangor at Bloomfield. The following day, on opening the food bag, I found that the chicken was overdone, with the skin burnt and in particular, the wings were badly burnt. I had also had a similar experience in February, purchasing a roast chicken on the 25th February, then finding it burnt and getting a refund of £6.50 on the 27th.

I believe there is a fundamental problem with your roasting process, as this cannot be a coincidence. I decided not to return the chicken this time, as I felt the time spent returning and the cost of diesel to get the refund was a waste of time. I decided therefore to take pictures and raise a complaint, as I am sure that other people have probably had the same experience.

Photographs attached.
Martin Mellor

Have shopped at the Marks and Spencers store in Winchester Road, Southampton for the past two years and when I shop much of the purchases come in plastic wrapping or packets. As the local council do do not have a recycling service I have to take the plastic afterwards to another supermarket and incur some inconvenience doing this as don't have a car.

Hello,

I wish to bring a situation to your attention.

On Sunday 12th March, I visited your store at rushden lakes, Northampton. After spending in your store. My friend and I always visit your cafe.

Today our experience wasn’t enjoyable. After ordering our hot food around 1pm, we found ourselves waiting much longer than usual. Almost 30 minutes. I had a jacket potato with beans and paid extra for a portion of cheese. When it arrived, there was barely any cheese, and the beans were much less than I have had before. My friend had the macaroni cheese. When that arrived, it was on its own, no garlic bread ( as advertised) also no explanation. My friend had to ask where it was, to be informed, we haven’t got any. No offer of an alternative, to which my friend had to ask again, what can you offer, as that’s what I’d paid for. A ciabatta roll was offered. No apology. When my friend went to eat her lunch, she found it was frozen in the middle! We called someone over to let them know, which was then replaced with another. Only to find it was still cold in the middle, hot around the edges. This time my friend ask to see a manager, he said they were having some issues with new staff. When you are serving hot food , it should be probed to check the core temperature. By then our hot drinks were cold. Which we did have replaced.

But the whole experience made us feel like we wished we hadn’t chosen to eat here. Last time we visited in January, the dishwasher wasn’t working, so paper cups and plates were being used. Almost 70% of the tables were full of rubbish. We had to clear our own table before we could sit down.

I don’t like to complain, but today’s experience has made me feel I don’t want to go there again.

I have worked in the same environment and I know the standards in food hygiene and preparing foods.

Communication is priority to letting customers know if you haven’t got a certain product, and surely alternatives should be put in place, instead of the customer having to ask?

There are times when companies have to train new staff, but there should be some specification to follow as to how a meal should be served and sent out to the customer.

I know we weren’t the only ones to complain today. Very poor quality of food service.

By the time we left, not one person came over to ask if everything was okay. One member of staff did apologise and said she would pass on our comments, and said about seeing if we could get a refund. No one returned to us. The person that was spoken to, about the complaint was seen leaving the premises (presumably on a break).

We came away feeling disappointed.

I hope these issues can be resolved, or else your cafe will be empty.

Thank you

Elaine.

received flowers via DPD on 4thMarch for my birthday from my sister. Iwas extremely upset as the flowers were very poor quliality.There were 5 hyacinths supposed to be pink but hardly any colour to them,4?what very floppy and already only fit for bin ,2stems with no flowers attached,leaves dry and crumbling,tulip leavesfloppy.Expect better from Marks,.Order no-[protected]. Product codeMSDSPR2931.S SUTCLIFFE

My partner brought a £25 bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape as a treat(far more than we would normally pay for a bottle of wine). On pouring the wine looked thin and on tasting the wine was very acidic and vinegar like. We have had £4.99 bottles from Aldi that taste much better!...This is especially disappointing as we value marks and spencers as a quality shop and have had wine around the £10 mark from there which has been very good. Please see attached picture of wine plus some of the other disappointing reviews on this product. We had no other wine to entertain with so were forced to drink this so can not return