{"id":231646,"date":"2023-04-19T09:09:27","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T08:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/?p=231646"},"modified":"2023-04-19T17:11:17","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T16:11:17","slug":"do-consumers-have-unrealistic-expectation-of-retail-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/do-consumers-have-unrealistic-expectation-of-retail-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Do consumers have unrealistic expectation of retail service?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Retailers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the pandemic was the catalyst to make stores more efficient. Stores had to slim down costs and make the consumer do more of the leg work in order to survive. While on the other, the post-pandemic return to stores has created a number of grumbles about service. People complaining they have to process their own goods, scanning and putting items into bags themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While retailers have been intent on making efficiencies - and by efficiencies it usually means the number of staff and man-hours reduced - self-service tills have been rolled out in stores that were previously manned. Now, many stores, at times, have only self-service tills. While consumers have accepted it in grocery stores, there is some pushback on clothing retailers, particularly amongst the older generations and those who remember shopping before the internet.<\/p>\n Retailers are thinking about the offline experience too much like online. For them, it\u2019s all about speed, getting things into the basket and paid for as quickly as possible. And while for some items, and, at certain times, people want to shop like that, at others, they don\u2019t, and many stores are no longer giving people the option.<\/p>\n Marks & Spencer, in particular, is in the firing line. Recent tweets include:<\/p>\n @lulubaker<\/strong> \u2013 Self service tills at M&S in the Gyle a total disaster. Older customers completely baffled. Constant queues for returns. Sort it out\u00a0#marksandspencer<\/a>. This is NOT good customer service.<\/p>\n @alisaurus <\/strong>\u2013 I\u00a0don't know if it's lockdown or the increase in self service checkouts, but a lot more people interact with me as if I'm a machine rather than a human.\u00a0 The only upside is that you now look amazingly polite when you just say please and thank you.<\/p>\n @DebGreenwoodTV<\/strong> \u2013 Dear\u00a0@marksandspencer<\/a>\u00a0, if you can\u2019t be bothered having proper checkouts anymore, please can you make sure that your scanners like your barcodes? Everyone around me needed to call a \u201ccolleague\u201d at least once. With me it was 3 times. No wonder the High St is dying. So frustrating.<\/p>\n @DavidBrewis15<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0@marksandspencer<\/a>\u00a0M&S Windsor on a Saturday morning - 9 sets of people all waiting for the one till you\u2019ve got open, most elderly, most with trolleys. Totally useless. Meanwhile, a solitary assistant implores people to use the self-service tills, which nobody wants.<\/p>\n