The M&S foodhall in Banbury Road attracts thousands of customers each week for their weekly shop.
But a recent switch involving reducing the number of staffed checkout tills has angered some shoppers.
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Steven Bliss, a regular M&S customer from Woodstock, has written a letter of complaint to M&S chairman Archie Norman and copied his letter to the Oxford Mail.
He said he would not shop there again until the staffed tills which were removed were restored.
He wrote: “I have been shopping at M&S Summertown for years and it has usually been a good experience. The range and quality of the food is good, though prices are high.
“The staff were almost always friendly and helpful (an important point when many of the customers are elderly), and you never had to wait too long to find a checkout. You have now ruined this.”
(Image: Google) He added: “The area for self-pay has been vastly expanded. You used to have about five checkouts with conveyor belts, of which two or three were always staffed. There is now only one, plus someone at a small counter for small purchases. There are of course now long queues to pay. And you have lost (or will lose) valuable and long-serving staff, who were good with customers – the staff I spoke to yesterday were appalled at what you’ve done and told me to raise it with ‘the people upstairs’.
“Many people don’t like to self-pay at supermarkets, especially if they are elderly or have done a large shop. At the very least you will cause them inconvenience and put them off shopping at your store. At worst you will lose their custom altogether. I used to do a large weekend shop (£50-100) at your store at least twice a month. I will never do it again until you put back the checkouts that you have removed. You have lost £2,000 a year of my business, and probably many other people’s.
“M&S used to care about its customers and staff. Now you only seem to care about cutting costs.”
Paul Dean, another customer who lives in Oxford, added in his letter: “I was astonished, on visiting the Summertown M&S this week, to see that there is now only one staffed checkout, all the others being self-service.
“Endless queues, frayed tempers, snail’s-pace shopping, adding up to a very negative impression of the company.”
Other supermarket chains in recent years have also switched to more self-pay tills while retaining some staffed checkout tills.
Marks & Spencer press office has been contacted for comment.
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About the author
Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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