Do House of Fraser actually want to sell things? On several occasions I have asked assistants this question, because it appears to me that they don’t really care if they sell things or not. Normally I am a very patient person, with high tolerance levels. I do not complain easily and generally give people the benefit of the doubt. I’ve tried to like House of Fraser, honestly I have, but it has disappointed me on too many occasions. So it gives me great pleasure to give it one star!
House of Fraser is one of Britain’s largest department stores with over 50 shops. I can’t comment on all of them, and I’m sure that they have some good stores with helpful assistants. But I haven’t been in any of them! This op is based on my experiences in the following House of Fraser stores: London Oxford Street, London Kensington High Street (known as ‘Barkers’), Reading The Oracle and most of all, London Victoria Street (known as ‘Army and Navy’).
SECURITY I’ll start with your first impression … security guards. My mother-in-law came over last year from Barbados and was trailed for a whole hour by a security guard in the Oxford Street branch. She is a well-dressed, dignified, brown-skinned woman who was intent on spending lots of money for friends back home. She was so annoyed at the guard
standing over her shoulder the whole time watching her like a hawk, that she eventually put all the stuff she was about to pay for down and left. Since then I have often observed the guards in the House of Fraser to see if this was a one-off instance or a general policy. Maybe it is a coincidence, but I have never seen the security guards trail a white person around the store. This racist policy doesn’t seem to occur in the other large department stores, such as M&S, John Lewis etc.
LAYOUT Put simply, the layout of many House of Fraser stores is confusing and disorganised. Army & Navy in Victoria Street is a case in point, with women’s fashion divided up into two sections: ‘young/trendy/18-30 wear’ and older, more classic lines. But in reality, there is quite a crossover, and many women might like to wear the more classic clothes for work and the trendier stuff for going out. Yet, the two sections are in two completely different buildings (you have to cross a road to get to it).
Now onto my personal pet-hate about Army and Navy (I think it is true for all House of Fraser stores but I could be wrong) – you have to pay for the items you buy in the section of the store they are stocked. So if you want to buy a greeting card, a man’s tie and a woman’s skirt, you’d have to go to three counters and pay three times. Now, this gets really ridiculous when the women’s section is divided into over a dozen different ranges (Wallis, Principles, Viyella etc) and you have to pay at the relevant cash desk.
One lunch break I went in and chose a skirt I liked. I went to pay, but there was no-one at the relevant cash desk. So, I hunted around and eventually found one single assistant (manning the whole floor for women’s fashion). She refused to accept payment because it wasn’t the correct cash desk. When I pointed out there was no-one at the relevant desk, she said it wasn’t her problem. I asked to speak to her manager and she said there was no-one available. I would have waited but I was on my lunch break and already late for work. I just put the item down on her desk and uttered the (to-be-repeated-on-many-occasions-since): “Do you want to actually sell clothes? Because you don’t seem like you do”
ASSISTANTS As I’ve just mentioned, the assistants are often surly and it appears to me completely uninterested in retail. This is particularly true for the Victoria Street branch in London (I think Barkers and The Oracle store are much better). I’m not sure if they deliberately recruit people with attitude problems, or if these staff members develop them as a result of poor management. Whatever the reasons, disillusionment, apathy and boredom is written all over their faces.
I’ll give you an example of an inflexible, rude assistant, and hopefully you’ll see what I mean. Last year I wanted to buy a swimming costume in the Victoria Street branch. I picked one off the rack in the relevant section and asked to try it on. I was told the changing rooms were shut in this section, but to go to another section’s changing rooms. When I went to the next section, I was told they had also shut their changing rooms, but to go to the next section … and so on and so on … (six times!) Bear in mind, that the changing rooms weren’t busy, they were simply locked and unused. I was eventually told I could try on the swimming costume in the middle of the shop in a make-shift changing room. Basically a curtain that stretched around in a circle. The curtain didn’t shut (so not great fun trying on a swimming costume in full view of passing customers, some male!) and there was no mirror to view what it looked like. Nevertheless, I liked the costume and decided to buy it. As I was leaving the changing room, a nearby assistant started shouting at me. There was one pair of trousers in the makeshift changing room that a previous customer must have tried on, decided she didn’t want and left behind. The assistant demanded that I take back the trousers and hang them up in the relevant section. I explained that they weren’t my trousers and I’d only tried on a swimming costume. Her reply was: “I don’t care. Put them back. I’m too busy and I’m sick of all you people trying on clothes and not putting them back”. I tried staying calm and explaining that I too was busy (on my limited lunch break), reiterating they weren’t my trousers, explained that I had already had major hassle even finding a changing room. But she just kept shouting. This time I asked to see a manager again. She told me one was not available. I said I would wait. Eventually, she called for one to come down from upstairs.
Now under these circumstances, I’m sure you would expect an apology (the customer always being right etc), but this manager defended her staff and said they were too busy to take the trousers back and I should do it, even if they weren’t mine! Again, I uttered the famous line: “Do you actually want to sell things? Because I don’t think you do.”
I was so annoyed that I have never returned to the Victoria Street branch. I work in an all-female office and one by one, every single person has had similar experiences in the store. The store is now a running joke for us, as I’m sure it is for everyone who works/lives near Victoria Street.
CONCLUSION I’m trying to think of something positive to say about House of Fraser … it does have some good products and isn’t outrageously priced. John Lewis is cheaper however. If you want to find your nearest store, you can check out their website (www.houseoffraser.co.uk). On-line shopping is currently not available.
The real problem lies with their attitude to customers. I’m not sure if this is a national problem or is confined to isolated stores. I think they need to have a serious look at staffing, perhaps using mystery shoppers to weed out the ‘dead-wood’ (sorry, I know it sounds harsh but these people are really rude). Others might improve through motivation and retraining. And for those who already treat customers with respect (and there are a few assistants who do), they should be duly rewarded financially. I’m convinced there is a problem somewhere in middle-management, putting assistants under pressure through understaffing. But I can’t be sure of this, having not seen how the stores operate internally. Perhaps, the management should follow the lead of BBC2’s excellent programme ‘Back to the Floor’, and spend a week at the Victoria Street branch trailing around the assistants to see how they operate. I’m sure they’d be shocked at how the store is failing its customers.
P.S. I'm not sure that this is in the relevant section, since I'm not referring to the Glasgow branch, but they don't yet have House of Fraser in the national Shopping section on Ciao (I'll move it as soon as it appears) ... Thanks for reading and sorry for such a long rant!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
what appalling service! HoF in Swindon is quite nice, you can pay at any till you want so thats good. I find most of the staff are fine here, a lot of them are very pleasant, nice ladies. However a woman who works on the Elizabeth Arden counter is awful, she follows you around and is patronisng to young ladies like myself. Down in the concessions, a girl in Warehouse is rude as well. Thing is, a lot of these people aren't employed by House of Fraser but by the concessions in them. So if you complain about staff its probably best to the the the concession head office.
Ritchie1 25.05.2003 08:19
Maia..
I work in retail and i am absolutley flabbergasted at the service you recieved....
We are just never told to talk to people in any such way..You know im stuck for words on this one!
I have to say though i do find House of Fraser a slighly intimidating store for me to shop in...
Im sure you will fins a nicer place to shop xx
materialgirl 24.05.2003 22:45
things like that make me so angry. i'm usually a really patient person but if someone spoke to me like that i would probably have to slap them! i've only shopped in the glasgow frasers and although i've never had a particularly good experience with staff there, i've certainly never encountered anything like that x
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Advantages: Big variety of shops, easily accessible on public transport Disadvantages: Grubby pavements stuck with chewing gum, can get very busy, expensive parking fees
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May 5th, 2003
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