John Lewis & Partners — Attraction in Dartford

I had been a long term fan of John Lewis, I had a Partnership, then a John Lewis Credit Card and a My John Lewis card. Over the years, we have bought everything from them from clothes, to jewellery, white goods and insurance. My last two visits to John Lewis Bluewater have been so bad that I am now going to give up on them. I live 15miles/half an hour away from the Bluewater store. Last Thursday I went shopping for some jeans and some birthday presents for my husband. Unless you are very large of very small, there was very little choice in the way of jeans. I like the And/Or range. The section advertises 6 different styles of jeans, but they had nothing of the nicest styles and almost all of the stock was 'Venice', which I didn't want. I was about to buy my husband a top from Kin, when one of the sales ladies pointed out that Rodd and Gunn had a really excellent offer of two normally £99 shirts for £69 each if bought together. There was only one colour in my husband's size that I was sure he would like, so I was going to stick with the Kin top. The sales lady told me that they were just about to get a huge new order in, so I could easily bring the other colour back if he didn't like it and change it for an alternative, so I took the offer. Sure enough, he didn't like the one colour, but loved the style, so I drove back to Bluewater today to exchange it. It was quite clear from the lack of stock that they have not had a huge delivery. I asked at the till how I could arrange to get the colour my husband wanted. Apparently the only way would be to order it online (meaning it would cost the full £99) and bring the other one back, which would be refunded as if the other top I bought was a single purchase (ie I would only get £39 back for it, the other top being £99). John Lewis could not order me one in, could not tell me when they might be getting more stock in or tell me if Oxford St or Peter Jones had it in stock. These are simple things that John Lewis used to be able to do. I feel completely duped. Apparently this is a franchise, but as a retailer, they should take some responsibility - why should I pay £198 for two tops that should be £138 just because they are not in control of their stock? Couldn't get a large size coffee percolator and none of the wallets in their men's section had easy to find pricing (I gave up looking). The loos next to the Place to Eat were awful. Grubby, and I discovered (too late!) that mine had no loo roll. Some of the wash basin taps are (still) broken and the hand driers are horribly grimy. I thought I would get my supermarket shop done in the attached Waitrose, to save time. That place is a nightmare, style over substance. Their baskets of veg had just 3 loose potatoes , a similar number of sweet potatoes and not a lot else. The pizzas at the front were on the sell by date (most supermarkets would discount) and even at the back, they only had a couple of days. It is really awkward to find anything. Couldn't find mascarpone anywhere. Finally found a member of staff to help and was told it was in 'the cheese room'. Still couldn't find it. Finally found another member of staff who said they no longer do mascarpone, or ricotta. What is the point of a fancy cheese room if you don't even stock the basics? At this stage, I was so utterly sick to death with John Lewis'/Waitrose lack of basic stock that I just dumped my trolley and walked out. Why support Waitrose with their higher prices when I would have to go to Sainsburys anyway? The whole experience both times has been just miserable and frustrating. People go to shops because they want to see the produce to buy and they want to get it there and then. You expect John Lewis to sort out their failings, not dump them on the consumer. I still have to find some way of replacing this top and really don't want any more wild goose chases or to spend any more money. Why would anybody bother to travel to this shop? It is pointless.. Never again. I have given it two stars, not one, because the staff...

Being a regular online and in store client for over 30 years, I have always associated John Lewis with quality goods and service albeit they no longer price match and you pay a premium for shopping there. I recently bought an expensive toy (£65) from the bluewater branch, athough i the box had alreadyv been opened but it was the last one on the shelf with no more stock due in. It seemed intact. But upon testing the toy, I was not entirely happy with the purchase as it was not suitably age appropriate for my grandchild, and returned it to the store within 3 days, in it's original packaging, unused, exactly as I had bought it, expecting a full refund as per the John Lewis promise (to refund any item if not entirely happy with it). I endured a 20 minute wait while an off hand unfriendly sales assistant went to find batteries to check the toy, then she insisted that as it was not faulty in her opinion, I could not have a refund, despite the sign over the checkout saying that one could return any item if not completely happy. When I pointed out the policy she insisted that did not apply unless the item was faulty. Then she wrote on the receipt that the item had been checked and was not refundable, presumably , in case I tried to return it again and it was a very awkward, embarrassing and belittling experience.

I later complained to management who apologised and agreed a refund but John Lewis, please take note that customers can buy most items you sell at least 15 percent chesper from Amazon and Very who deliver free of charge the next day, with no hassle returns so the least we expect from you is friendly polite customer service, sales assistants being knowledgeable about your policies and not to be treated as I was, on the shop floor

And again in 2024. I bought 3 sets of drawers, advertised as ready assembled. They arrived flat packed. Customer services offered to send someone to assemble these. Then cancelled., the reason given was that they did not offer this service. The units were reduced in price by 20 each. When I complained, I wasoffered the assembly service again and a refund of the price difference, , but had arranged to pay someone to do this bythen, as it had been 2 weeks. Because I could only provide a quote and not a receipt, the matter was closed and I remain out of pocket for costs of assembly plus the price drop.

Still not great...

I purchased a kettle in store at Bluewater Shopping centre. It had previously been replaced as it had developed a fault. I used my John Lewis card and all the transactions relating to the kettle and its replacements are shown. When I got home and opened the box I saw that the NEW, replacement stove top kettle was severely damaged. My local John Lewis has closed and it was a morning off work to drive all the way to Bluewater to change it. I rang customer services who told me as I had purchased it in store I had to drive back to store. I explained how far I had travelled. I was told I could return it by post and when it was checked over I would have a replacement sent. I pointed out that would leave my household for a week without a kettle. My call was escalated to customer services South Africa who immediately withdrew the option to return my faulty kettle by post and insisted I had to drive all the way back to the store and do the exchange in person. I live many miles from Bluewater. I said I had been offered the option to post the kettle. She said I could not. I asked if I could return it via Waitrose and was told no. If I'd bought it online I would have an order number and be able to return it on line. I just want a full refund now. This rule is absolutely ridiculous. I went in person, initially to Bluewater ( 2 years ago) as I had a Christmas list to purchase. I have not been since. It is a long way from my home. This faulty kettle is a John Lewis quality issue that me, as a customer, should not be inconvenienced over. John Lewis returns policy says faulty items purchased on line will be collected for free or can be posted with a pre paid label. I know of no other company I've dealt with that have treated me so badly when dealing with a faulty item. I already submitted a complaint via their internal form but have heard nothing. This is not the first time I've had issues with John Lewis. I thought I'd give them another chance - I will be taking my custom elsewhere...