One of the High Street's big survivors - but no room for complacency (Marks and Spencers in general)

Member Name: dmandrew

Product:	Marks and Spencers in general
Date:	16/05/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reliable, good stock

Disadvantages: Tends to be pricey

I find myself getting drawn into M and S quite often, but there are many times when I come out with nothing except a little feeling of disappointment. Conversely, there are some occasions when I leave with my head held high, my bags full, and my wallet quite a bit lighter. So I have mixed feelings about this shop, with its long pedigree.

The food is great. There is plenty of choice, and the quality is excellent. Vegetables and fruit are always beautifully presented and they taste good. The meat is good, but if you have a really good local butcher then you should probably keep shopping there because there's nothing to beat personal service. We like the prepared canned meat - quite pricey at £2 a tin, but a brilliant stand-by when you need to rustle up a meal in 15 minutes. the cakes are good but pricey, and the same goes for the wine - I would advise looking elsewhere for that.

Many people go to Marks for the clothes. One great thing is the men's suits. There are not many styles on sale, but you can buy the jacket and trousers (they recommend you buy two pairs to even up the wear, which is both good salesmanship and good advice) separately, and try them on in the shop. In the bigger stores, the range is wide for clothes: it's a real eye-opener if you go to somewhere like M and S in Oxford Street for the first time, and see that a jumper you like is available in thirteen colours rather than just five. Another range I like in Marks is the Autograph socks. Wonderfully imaginative colours and designs, but not cheap. Ties are very good, and attractively displayed, often in a rainbow order of colours on a big wall. Shoes are OK, but the range is not as wide as I would like to see. Often, you are looking at £50 a pair. There are nice jackets and cashmere as well, but nothing is cheap.

M and S have sales, sometimes twice a year but these are quite disappointing. I like sales where everythng is reduced by at leats 10% and then there is a bargain rail. M and S just has a few bargain rails, and somehow the clothes on them never look as nice as those still displayed properly at full price.

For real reductions, though, you can go to the Outlet Stores. There are quite a lot of these around the country, and you can find them out on M and S's website. Here, everything is reduced by 30%, and there can be some realy crackerjack savings to be made on the rails - a £5 pair of trousers for £5 is typical.

M and S are famous for doing refunds, especially at Christmas time - so many gifts are given in an M and S bag with a receipt. Better still, they have done vouchers for a long time, and the latest version is electronic, so you can spend as much or as little of it as you want at a time, and save the rest for another day.

Marks also do mail order. I have found this frustrating quite recently when trying to order a lot of one item for a choir uniform. The website took the order and my money, announcing that the items were in stock in sufficient quantity, but then cancelled half. I had to keep reordering in small amounts, which took a couple of months, and I still ended up one short. for a big company, that was a poor showing.

Overall, though, I like Marks and will keep going back there, though I know I won't always spend money!

Summary: Worth going into, especially the Outlet Stores