I had the pleasure of shopping with 2 of my glamorous over 50 clients today. They had some special occasions coming up, including a wedding or two, and obviously wanted to look their best. Instead of sticking to the tried and tested Peterborough, we decided to opt for nearby Cambridge instead. The lure of the new shopping centre, housing the revamped John Lewis. L K Bennett, Hobbs and Phase Eight (all fairly good for our age group) along with the exclusive boutiques (which unfortunately, Peterborough does not have) meant it was a no-brainer really. The positive was that we managed to purchase some great outfits and accessories in 2.5 hours to suit both my ladies’ bodies, their budgets, their style preferences and were guaranteed to make heads turn at all the events. The negative? The service we received. It really was the worst I’ve ever encountered. In virtually every shop we waited endlessly for space in changing rooms and even longer to pay for our merchandise. Without exception, the staff looked miserable, didn’t know their stock and were more bothered about their tea breaks. John Lewis, the biggest culprit, had 1 member of staff on each till, 1 in the shoe department and 1 in the changing room, despite the shop being full of potential spenders. I can see why people who hate shopping throw their hands up in despair and either go home empty handed or take the first thing off the rack that looks OK. Do retailers really not care about their customers anymore or is it just my age prompting me to take more notice?