Is M&S struggling with Click & Collect?

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Last Saturday (22nd November), I ordered two shirts from Marks and Spencer’s on a Click & Collect basis. I could have opted for a Monday collection but instead found Tuesday more convenient.

The shirts were due for collection by me on the 25th but on the 24th I was informed they wouldn’t be available for collection until Thursday the 27th. Clearly not a massive problem but not ideal. I didn’t need them in a rush. I didn’t think much of it.

Then we received a note from someone asking if Marks and Spencer’s delivery service was suffering issues. It seemed like a bit more than a coincidence. The email reads:

“I ordered some bits and pieces online last night (25th November), as you do, and was told delivery would be Friday. The 5th!!! Giving them today to pick/pack/despatch, that’s 7 working days! To be fair, they did flag at point of checkout that they have delivery problems, but still….

“I guess I should be more reasonable – it IS Christmas peak period after all, they’re bound to be busy. I should be more patient! The fact that they’ve had a year to prepare for the rush is neither here nor there. How much business are they losing with such ridiculous delivery turnaround times?”

So, two isolated cases. Or has anyone else had problems with Marks and Sparks recently on C&C or delivery?

6 Responses

  1. Same here. 7 items ordered 22nd for collection on 26th. I received two separate emails saying, “your order has been delayed by 48 hours” throughout the week. Then yesterday I received an email saying that some items were ready for collection, some had been delayed and one item had been cancelled.

    Frustrating, but the notifications have been good and I’m impressed with their site.

    Worth noting that the store don’t really seem to have a clue about Click & Collect. It’s hard to believe that in 2014, the technology one member of staff chose to use, was writing my name down on a bit of a cardboard that she’d just ripped off a box!

    I didn’t have to sign anything and later received another email asking me to collect goods I’d already collected.

  2. Never mind M & S – what about EBay? I went for a break to Norfolk at the beginning of November. On the Monday I ordered an item with ‘click and collect’ for the Hunstanton Argos given as Wednesday. On Wednesday I had not received a collection pin from EBay. Called at Argos store but no help there Spent until Friday (when I returned to Wales) re-contacting the seller and EBay with no result. Wasted a whole lot of time during what was meant to be a holiday. I received a refund from EBay last week with no explanation after opening a case. The seller does not to be at fault as they are still listing. As a bonus, the item is now no longer available. As the seller has to post the item to Argos before EBay then e-mails the seller that the order has arrived and provides a collection pin it is obviously going to be a longer process than a direct delivery. Obviously not worth it for anything but large items but if they are large isn’t it better to have them delivered to home in the first place?

  3. Sunday:
    Placed order, website said ready for collection on Tuesday after 12.
    Tuesday:
    At the shop they told me it hadn’t been dispatched. Used their order tracking when I got home, which was now saying Thursday.
    Wednesday:
    Their tracker is telling me “Collect by: Wed, 10th December” so it’s just been extended a total of 8 days.
    It was my first order with them, and probably my last.
    In contrast Amazon was telling me Prime delivery was 3 days (not exactly next day) but the items did arrive next day.

  4. The whole purpose of Click and Collect was not about fast delivery; its about moving stock and reducing inventory – if M&S , argos and the like can get you to pre order, for a deliver at a branch near you, they could make significant cost savings on inventory. Unfortunately, its a bit dead in the water, as the take up is low.

  5. A story about home delivery taking 10 days (as opposed to 5) has reached the BBC.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30374372

    I suspect that the problem lies in their fulfilment centres and not the couriers, although delays after dispatch will make the problem worse.

    It would also imply that the click and collect orders are processed as delivery orders (with the store’s address as the delivery destination) rather than using the store’s own stock (like non-ebay Argos click and collect).

    ——–

    I think food to order goes through a different delivery chain, the worst time for this is yet to come as lots of customers arrive to collect their Christmas dinner. When using this service a few years ago (not at Christmas) it seemed to be using an antiquated system, it took the member a staff a while to put the order into the slow computer system and some of the items were not available for collection. The staff were good at service recovery refunding the items and providing, free of charge, substitutes from the regular food range (packs of sandwiches which when cut in half became the same as the sandwiches on the platters we ordered).

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