Debs UPDATED (Debenhams)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Debenhams
Date:	30/05/01 (688 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's the best

Disadvantages: Some of the price tags show this.....BUT you get what you pay for so it's worth it

First, a confession. I've been working in Debenahms in Manchester since moving to the city to start uni last September, so although I know what I'm talking about, it might come across in a slightly biased way.

Debenhams really IS Britain's favourite department store, as any member of staff will tell you. It's a great place to shop because it has everything : although the individual branches may vary, the basic components of each store are as follows :

there will be at least one (although often more) restaurant which will offer a wide range of food and drink and sensible prices. In the Manchester store we have 3 customer eateries, Cafe Venue ("the continetal cafe bar" on the ground floor), an Internet Cafe on the Mezzanine level, next to the branch of Regis hairdressers, and a standard restaurant on the top floor.

there will be well stocked departments offering clothes for men, women and children as well as a home department selling everything from designer forks to bed linen. On the designer front, many of the designs from famous names such as Jasper Conran, Pierce Fionda and Antoni and Allison are unique to the store.

there might well be a sports department stocked not only with appropriate attire but also equipment (from dumbells to tredmills) and diet supplements.

there will be a Customer Accounts dept (where I work) where you can pay off you store card (and, at the moment, also pay off cards for stores such as Dorothy Perkins, Burtons and Top Shop) and they might well also be a gift wrapping service. If you're from outside the EU (and reading this? Maybe not that likely....) this is also the dept where you can apply for your VAT refund.

Debenhams offers extras that other stores do not, such as a personal shopper service which is completely free and puts the customer under no obligation to buy, and a wedding gift service which lets you set a wedding list based on any items in the
store and is constantly up dated so you don't get the same gift twice..

They have numerous concessions, as for example Lewises and Kendals do (or did in the case of Lewises on Market St which is no more), but there choice is much wider : it would not be unusual to find Top Shop, Jane Norman, Oasis, Kookai, Wilson, Dorma, Sheridan, Gateway and Thomas Cook all under one roof, along with much much more. Speaking of Thomas Cook, customers can use their store cards to book holidays at the in store branch which frees up credit on other cards for different things.

As for the cards, customers reciever 10% off purchases for an entire week, and not just the first thing they buy like in some other stores. Account holders also get first pick of sale bargains, special preview evenings and discounts throughout the year. (As the small print says, account opening is subject to status and full written details are available on request.). Gold Card holders can also take advantage of a convenient coffee lounge with free drinks, a discount in the restaurant, free delivery, free alterations and free gift bag / gift wrapping among other things.

All in all, a great place to while away a few hours if not longer. And don't miss Megadays - the bi-annual sales in which some items are reduced by as much as 75%.

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