This is not just any old store.... (Marks and Spencers in general)

Member Name: wendz86

Product:	Marks and Spencers in general
Date:	06/02/09 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sells everything! Some good quality items

Disadvantages: Can be a little pricey

I love M & S mainly because it brings back a lot of childhood memories for me. A massive M & S was built in my home town when I was small and after that I have many memories of trudging round after my Mum through this store often getting lost as it was that big. My Mum used to buy me all my favourite Disney outfits from the store. I had everything Lion King from the knickers to the leggings.

Anyway moving on to the present day M & S has definitely strengthened its position within the high street market. In the last few years it has become a lot more attractive to a more younger and trendier market. It has also kept at what it is good at: providing good customer service.

M & S sells a very wide variety of goods. The main goods of the store are of course clothes. The store sells clothes for every age from babies to a more mature age group. It also sells clothes for men and women. Along with the clothes come shoes and accessories. There is a beauty section that sells make up and other beauty products. It has a food hall, which has pretty much everything you need for your weekly shop. It also has a home and furniture section that sells items for within the home. More recently it has had a technology section, which sells items from TVs to I-pods. It also often has a café and sometimes a restaurant. Another part of the store is the bureau de change where you can change money for your holiday.

I am going to start by looking at the clothing. M & S sell a wide range of different clothing as I previously stated. Some of this is split into different sections including Per Una, Autograph and Limited Collection. As well as this they also have all the basic M & S items. I can imagine that M & S is great for women to buy a lot of the basic items they need. It sells plain tops and jeans, which are great to add to your wardrobe. The sizing also tends to be quite good, they often do lengths on trousers which is useful when you are a bit shorter like myself. Per Una is one of the first sub brands that was created within recent years. This range has a lot of more interesting and bright and colourful items. I find this range is quite popular with people like my Mum. They also do some nice accessories including some nice pink slippers, which I own myself. Autograph is quite a classic range, which has some good work items. Limited Collection is personally my favourite section even though I can't always afford the price tag. Limited Collection is a more fashionable range but at the same time is still quite stylish and classy. I think bringing this range must have helped them to reach a younger audience.

As well as your normal clothes there is also a big lingerie section. I absolutely love M & S for its knickers and socks etc. You can get some gorgeous underwear from here. I also love the fact that they cater for a wide variety of back and cup sizes with bras. I am not an average size so this is one of the only places I can buy nice underwear. The underwear again ranges from your basics to more fancy pieces. There is also a trained bra fitting service that is available for those who need to check they are wearing the right size.

I have not really shopped in the menswear section but they do seem to sell a wide variety of items here as well. They have a lot of good shirts and suits for men who work in office type jobs. My dad nearly always buys his shirts from M & S. They also have a good range of casual wear for men as well. The menswear section may have become more popular due to the advertising done by Take That to make the menswear seem more fashionable. It certainly makes me look at it in a new light. This section has got trained suit fitters who can help fit and alter suits.

The children and baby section is also good. They have a good range of clothes for all ages. I often buy gifts for other peoples children from here as I think is good quality clothing. It is also fairly reasonably priced. They also sell school wear and this section is very busy around the end of the summer holidays.

The shoe section can be a bit hit or miss for me. Sometimes I have found some really nice shoes here, other times I cannot find anything. I have bought a couple of pairs of nice dolly shoes from here. I got some leopard print ones for £4 in the sale and they are great and have not fallen apart like many of my others. They also have the different ranges in the shoes. I have got some nice work shoes from here also, and people often comment on how much they like them. They are little patent shoes with a strap across and medium heal. One thing I particularly like about this section is that they do half sizes. I am a 5 ½ myself and this is the only store where I can get my exact size. They also do wide fit so this is useful for people with wide feet.

The accessory section is quite varied and sells everything from jewellery to bags to belts. I have purchased a few nice bags from here. They sell a few good items that would make great gifts.

I haven't really bought many items from the beauty section but they have got a good range of make up products and other pampering products.

The food section of the store has got a good range of food items. Everything in the store is M & S branded; you won't get any of your Heinz here. All the items though are made to a good quality and also taste lovely. It is quite expensive especially if you are doing your weekly shop there but I think if you have the money then it is worth it. They have everything you could need for a dinner party, and once you have hid the packets no one need know you didn't prepare it yourself! They also have some good takeaway type meals that I think are just as tasty as one from a takeaway shop. I work round the corner from an M & S and often pop in there to get my lunch. They have loads of choice from pastas to baguettes. They also have a bakery, which makes fresh bread and cakes everyday. Some Marks and Spencers have got a desk where you can order food as well. This is usually party food, they have some really good choices for this including sandwich platters and mini cones of fish and chips. At Christmas you can also order your turkey from this desk.

The home section has got lots of items that you can use in your home. This includes bedding, kitchen utensils, cushions and many more items. They often do 20% off events in this section, which are great if you need to buy some more expensive items. We got a lot of our kitchen utensils from M & S and they are still in very good condition. They also sell furniture and there are desks from which you can order this. I have not had any experience of doing this myself.

The technology section as I stated earlier sells many items. There are staff on hand that are trained to give you help in this department. The items are probably slightly more expensive than you may pay elsewhere but at least you know you are buying them somewhere where you will have no problems if it breaks.

The café in the store sells lots of food and drink items and is great to sit down and have a cup of tea and a cake especially if you have been having a busy day shopping. It is often very busy in here but they do serve you quite quickly.

The restaurant is quite a new part of the store but is like a real restaurant. You can have a proper meal here along with alcoholic drinks. I have not eaten here myself but you can often get two can dine for £10 meal deals where two people can have a starter, main course and share a bottle of wine. I think this is a great deal and I have been told by others that the food is very tasty.

The customer service department is very good. Marks and Spencers is known for being very lenient with its returning and refund rules. It has recently become a bit stricter but it is very reasonable. Any item returned with a receipt within 90 days can be refunded the way it was paid. Items returned with no receipt, often gifts, can be refunded in the form of a credit voucher so you can buy something else within the store.

The staff as a whole are very friendly and helpful. Many of them are specialist within their section, which makes them useful if you need help.

The layout of the store is good although it would be possible to get lost in the larger stores. It is generally very tidy. The only time it can be messy is when a sale is on as everyone seems to go a bit mental.

I have probably missed something out but this store has so much in it that I would be here all week talking about it. Overall though I think that it is a great store and has a lot of good items in it. Its only downfall is that it can sometimes be a bit pricey but you do have to pay for quality.

Summary: A great store