Mothercare - How crap are they?

run_Forrest_run

I was considering putting this in the Ranting & Raving section but I thought it would fit better in the Parenting forum.

Does anyone else think Mothercare is awful? OK, perhaps it depends on the shop in particular. I am referring to the Mahon Point one (Cork).

We had our second baby 2 weeks ago so I've been popping in to Mothercare recently to get some things and seriously, I've had enough.

1. Why does it take them an age at the checkout just to buy a piece of furniture, like a cot! First of all it takes them ages to get the item from the stockroom and then it takes them longer to check it out at the till!

2. They seem to only keep a small number of items in stock. I was talking to a staff member about a booster seat and I asked her straight out before I continued asking another question if they were sure they had it in stock and she told me they definitely had lots of the item in stock. OK, so I decided to go for it, after 10 minutes waiting she comes back to tell me they are out of stock and the display model is all they have. I then asked would be maybe give me a discount if I took the display model, no was the answer, I left it there and bought it in Smyths for €15 cheaper.

This was not the first time they have let me down on stock, I mean they spend time talking to you about the item, only to finally tell me they are out of stock, crazy way to run a business.

OK, rant over

daymobrew

Why continue to shop there?
I bought our car seat, buggy, cot and many other things at Symths. Good prices and you can check stock online before you go to the store.

Nevyn

Did you raise any of this with store manager?

run_Forrest_run

daymobrew wrote: »

Why continue to shop there?
I bought our car seat, buggy, cot and many other things at Symths. Good prices and you can check stock online before you go to the store.

well I don't, as I said, I went to Smyths. But I just asked the question to find out if this is a problem with other people.
Mind you, I do like their cellular blankets, ideal for newborns.

run_Forrest_run

Thaedydal wrote: »

Did you raise any of this with store manager?

No, I was under a lot of time constraints to put it mildly. I have seen the manager in the shop a few times also and she looks just as confused as the staff she's supposed to be managing.
There are other options open to the customer so prefer to take my business elsewhere rather than talk to a manager who will only pay lip service and that is another waste of my time (and theirs!).

foxy06

Have to agree. Their shop in Carrickmines has some lovely stock but its impossible to get anyones attention when buying large items. I saw a changing unit with no price and it took 3 people to find out what price it was. And it was 10 euro cheaper in Smyths. Haven't bought it yet but if I do it will be in smyths.

Ludo

In fairness, I have had nothing but good experiences with Mothercare in Mahon Point. We bought two car seats there at the same time. One of them became faulty and we almost had to cut child out but it eventually freed up. When we went back to them with it, they examined it for a few minutes and agreed it was faulty. We said we had no faith in this brand of seat now.

They immediately gave us two different model seats (more expensive models also) as a replacement for our two even though there was nothing wrong with one of them. Now, maybe we were lucky but to me that was excellent customer service and we will continue to shop there as long as what we want is at a reasonable price there.

stovelid

Bought a lot of stuff (buggy, bath, car seat, clothes) in the old Mothercare in Tallaght (now closed) and we found them very helpful.

Just our experience anyway.

Ddad

I remember going into mothercare in the Stephens green centre and they had no lift so you couldn't shop upstairs if you had another buggy bound child with you; more of a case of corporate thickness I think.

Cookie Jar

Ddad wrote: »

I remember going into mothercare in the Stephens green centre and they had no lift so you couldn't shop upstairs if you had another buggy bound child with you; more of a case of corporate thickness I think.

I really hate that.
It also takes them aa long time to complete a till transaction imo.