Marks and Sparks- not as stuck up as you would think

[Josquius]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/13/smiley-dinosaur-marks-and-spencer

A Marks & Spencer customer who demanded a "hand-drawn picture of a smiley dinosaur" after being overcharged for a sandwich was delighted to receive exactly that.

Bill Bennett fired off a letter demanding a refund after he was overcharged £1.10 for a salmon sandwich at an M&S store.

He was promised a £5 voucher as compensation – but when it failed to arrive, he asked for a hand-drawn picture of a smiley dinosaur instead, to cover the inconvenience.

To his surprise, M&S customer adviser Steve Jones sent the voucher and the child-like drawing through the post.

Jones included a note that read: "Please also find a picture of a smiling dinosaur, hand drawn. Unfortunately art was never my strong point, but I hope you will appreciate it."

Bennett, who works in a mobile phone shop in Taunton, Somerset, said: "I'm a bit of a prankster and write to companies asking weird, random questions. I can't believe M&S actually came up with the goods. It's awesome – the best customer service I've ever seen."

Stacy Skinner, store manager at M&S in Taunton, said: "We're always going the extra mile to make our customers happy, even when requests may be out of the ordinary."

It made me smile. 

[Valmy]

Wow that is a pretty decent drawing.  I lack the art skills for customer service.

[Iormlund]

[Martinus]

That's a cool story. 

[Martinus]

As usual, with the UK press, the best part are user comments under the article. Like this one from some funny, cheery chap:

Yes it's a cute story, nice and everything, but it leaves me with the bitter aftertaste that M&S has been granted free advertising space on The Guardian while the issue of supermarkets ripping off the public remains ignored.

Every singe time I go shopping and in every one of the major supermarket chains I always find misleading "offers", wrongly labelled products etc, and it's always to the advantage of the shop.

[Martinus]

Also, apparently they are now accusing the guy of plagiarising another picture. 

[Brazen]

Another example of lazy journalists reprinting wholesale from long-running blogs, in this case this one:

http://loonyletters.com/

http://loonyletters.com/ms-sandwiches/

It was also misrepresented this exchange as a genuine complaint, whereas the site is run by pen and paper trolls seeking to wind up customer services staff:

Here at Loony Letters, we have one simple task – to annoy as many companies and organisations as possible... and we've been doing it since 2003.

Our weapons? Paper, a pen (or a printer, if we're feeling lazy), envelopes, stamps, and a slightly contorted mind.

Join us as we navigate the world of businesses, public figures, and customer services teams, as we push the boundaries of sanity, and hopefully brighten a few office workers' days at the same time...

Pick a letter from the menu on the right to get started, or have a look at one of our favourites below...

[Gups]

Yeah, but the site says that this one was a genuine complaint.

[Brazen]

Yeah, but the site says that this one was a genuine complaint.

In which case I'm happy to stand corrected It's still what he does for entertainment though, and I'm disappointed in the over 100 worldwide publications to date that printed it or reprinted it referencing the Grauniad.

[Gups]

He does sound a boring sod. It's like being trolled by a nice but dull  old woman.

E.g. to Blair

Dear Mr Blair,

Lots of important buildings have names. I would like to know why the infamous 10 Downing Street (that's where you live) doesn't have a name.

One of the houses in my street has a name. It's called "Hitherwood".

What is your opinion on the idea of renaming 10 Downing Street? I have included a list below of a few suggestions if you need some help in this matter.

Silverbirches, Elmfield, The Priory, Bluebell Cottage, Blackdoor House.

Regards,

Bill Bennett

[garbon]

I'm still lost on this notion of selling "buyable" food (re: not stale food) in a place where you would buy clothing.

[Gups]

Don't supermarkets in the states sell clothing?

[DontSayBanana]

Don't supermarkets in the states sell clothing?

Mega-chains like Walmart or Target have both food sections and clothing sections, but "traditional" supermarkets, like the A&P family of stores or Acme, usually don't carry stuff like clothing.

[The Brain]

He does sound a boring sod. It's like being trolled by a nice but dull  old woman.

E.g. to Blair

Dear Mr Blair,

Lots of important buildings have names. I would like to know why the infamous 10 Downing Street (that's where you live) doesn't have a name.

One of the houses in my street has a name. It's called "Hitherwood".

What is your opinion on the idea of renaming 10 Downing Street? I have included a list below of a few suggestions if you need some help in this matter.

Silverbirches, Elmfield, The Priory, Bluebell Cottage, Blackdoor House.

Regards,

Bill Bennett

How does he come up with this zany hilarious stuff?

[Gups]

Yeah, that's true of most supermarkets here as well or it used to be until they started building stores the size of airports.

I actually don't know whether M&S started selling clothes or food first. As far as I remember they've always sold both, though some of their shops are now food only.