Marks & Spencer

This store still has it’s ‘brand new’ feel about it and everything is well presented.
I was in with my friend so we spent a while browsing the kids clothes, which are upstairs. There is a small range of toys and books as well as clothes, and they had a good age range of every item we looked at.
The café is excellent, very spacious, and I did indeed feel like a millionaire when I had my seasonal special ‘millionaire mocha’ which came with oodles of cream and gold dusted chocolate sprinkles, as well as a tasty chocolate and coffee combination which made me feel very indulgent. I will be seeking out that drink again. the view from the Fort café is quite good as they have a large glass front which looks out over the newly expanded area of the retail park; great for people watching.

I am a self-​confessed lover of the Great British High Street stores — fortunately they’re not only situated on the high street anymore which saves us having to fight through the masses to browse!
First and foremost, I love the M&S brand and image. It gives me the impression that I’m gaining experience of a higher standard of living compared to my working class roots — a little slice of quality without the ridiculous premium that some other retailers slap on their goods!
My boyfriend and I visited this store with our friend to pick up some school clothes and to have a browse while we were in the area. This brand new store is immaculate, well laid out and offers a glance at a different standard of M&S store in comparison to those back home in Dundee and Aberdeen. It was clean, well-​stocked and uncluttered with clear brand identity throughout each department. There’s also a café (we visited this on a previous occasion) that overlooks the car park and provides reasonably priced good quality meals, snacks and refreshments.
The food court in this branch is HUGE. Great selection of the great quality products that I absolutely adore from M&S. I’d highly recommend trying out the Victoria Sponge Muffin available from the bakery — delicious!
Knowing what we needed, we headed straight to the kids clothing section. A quick look identified two colleagues manning the till points, both tasked with combatting the influx of customers ready to pay for their selections.
My friend needed some help, for which the colleague dutifully obliged — though when briefly stopped by another customer her response was short, rude and completely unprofessional.
There were plenty staff available in this department she could have delegated to but they were busy… In the main aisles… Congregated together… Chatting. «About what?» I hear you ask; they weren’t discussing work or even exchanging hair and make-​up tips, which i’d have ignored, but were in fact gossiping about the very customers around them. The same customers who purchase the goods they’re employed to sell, which in turn pays their wages — the customers who are their bread and butter. We all play the retail game, we know how it works… Save the bitching for outside work or, better yet, don’t do it at all.
It’s not often that I’d find myself annoyed about something that didn’t directly affect me, but I felt angry about their attitude… As if the colleagues believed they were in fact of a better class than the customers. I wanted to leave, but needed to make management aware of the issue. I sought out the customer service team, who seems to be conveniently hidden out of sight in the menswear department on the 1^st floor. They have been hidden so well that M&S offer a gold medal for anyone who manages to successfully navigate their way around the store to that location. Two members of the management team appeared and requested that I walk with them to pinpoint which individuals engaged in the conversation (unnecessary given I was able to categorically state that the only people who didn’t were the two checkout operators) before apologising and offering complementary coffee by way of a goodwill gesture which I politely declined. I wasn’t looking for goodwill, though the sentiment was appreciated.
As with any new store there are obvious teething issues, but on both this occasion and my previous visit my boyfriend and I witnessed staff failing to put the customer first. Dismissing a customer simply devalues their worth and will detrimentally affect their loyalty to the M&S brand in the longer term. This branch has the potential to be a great store, the bricks and mortar are definitely there — as is the brand spanking new food court filled with delicious treats — so all it needs now is great customer service standards that are supported by the senior team!
The only way is up for this M&S branch — definitely within reach of 5 stars!

Brand new shiny M&S at Glasgow Fort. Has everything you would expect from a medium sized M&S including a rather decent café, food court, kids department, interesting homeware, men and women’s clothing and a collection point for online shopping.
Staff seemed to be a little bemused when I was in but I’m sure that’s just teething problems and they’ll be seasoned pros in no time.