Health and Safety at the Work Place 1974 – The Health and Safety at Work act is an act passed in 1974 that set basic principles which have to be followed by employees and employers to ensure a safe working environment. The act was created to make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of people at work and for protecting others against risks to health and safety in connection with activities performed by people at work. Marks and Spencer must comply with this law by ensuring a safe working environment. This means making sure that the M&S stores are a safe place of work and protecting others against risks to health of safety.
Control of Information
Data Protection Act 1998– The Data Protection act places restrictions on organisations that collect or hold data which can identify a living person. Data collected by any person or organisation may only be used for specific purposes for which they were collected. Personal data may only be kept for an appropriate length of time and must not be disclosed to other parties without the consent of the data owner. Marks and Spencer must comply with this act by making sure that any personal information on customers/employees is not given out. For example, if a customer gives M&S their personal details for a specific use they must not disclose any of it to anyone else. The details may only be used for what they were taken for.
Computer Misuse Act 1990 – The Computer Misuse Act is an act that was passed in 1990. The Act makes it illegal to hack into computers. The Act introduced three new offences: unauthorized access to computer material (for example out of curiosity), unauthorized modification of computer material (for example to introduce a virus) and unauthorized access with intent to facilitate the commission of a crime (for example fraud or blackmail). Marks and Spencer must comply with this law by making sure that computer material isn’t accessed for the wrong reasons like out of curiosity. An example of this would be if a customer places an order for a product and they leave personal information (such as name, number, address, card details etc), Marks and Spencer are not allowed to use the information for anything else but the ordering of the product. Another example being that an employee should not log into a managers account to find out information on a certain customer etc.
Sale of Products
Sale of Goods Act 1979 – The Sale of Goods Act lays down several conditions that all goods sold by a trader must meet. These conditions are that the goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. “As described” refers to any advert or verbal description made by the trader. “Satisfactory quality” covers minor and cosmetic defects as well as substantial problems. It also means that products must last a reasonable time. But it doesn't give you any rights if a fault was obvious or pointed out to you at point of sale. “Fit for purpose” covers not only the obvious purpose of an item but any purpose you queried and were given assurances about by the trader. Marks and Spencer must make sure that all products being sold are as described and of satisfactory quality. If a customer buys a product it must be labelled correctly to fill the “as described” criteria.
Supply of Goods & Service Act 1982 – The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires traders to provide services to a proper standard of workmanship. In addition to this, if a definite completion date or a price has not been fixed then the work must be completed within a reasonable time and for a reasonable charge. Also, any material used or goods supplied in providing the service must be of satisfactory quality. Marks and Spencer must make sure to comply with these rules, to fix any completion dates or prices that are incorrect.
Labelling of Products
Weights and Measures Act 1985 – The Act establishes a hierarchy of standards of weight, length, area, volume and capacity. The weight and correct labelling of all goods sold by quantity, is also controlled and the Service is involved in ensuring that consumers do not receive short weight, or measure and, in respect of pre-packed goods, that the EEC Average Quantity System is rigorously observed. This act means that Marks and Spencer must make sure that the quantity of the product is clearly stated on the product packaging and has the correct quantity as it states. For example, if a product is labelled as 500g it must weigh exactly that amount.
Trade Description Act 1968 – The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 is an Act which prevents manufacturers, retailers or service industry providers from misleading consumers as to what they are spending their money on. Applying a false trade description to goods is an absolute offence. I.e., provided it is shown that the description was applied and was false the offence is proved and the accused has to prove certain defences in order to escape conviction. Marks and Spencer has to comply with these rules by making sure that all products have a correct description and no misleading information is given.
Observations of Customer Service
Results from the Marks and Spencer survey I conducted showed that most people visit Marks and Spencer on a weekly basis. I also found that the majority of people think that the level of customer service they receive is high and not one person said that it was bad. When asked if people found employees helpful, friendly and professional, most agreed that they were and no one said they found them the opposite. The quality of Marks and Spencer products was agreed to be of a high standard. Many people said that Marks and Spencer prices were too high however there were a few that are satisfied with them.
Marks and Spencer Complaints
It is important for Marks and Spencer to deal with customer complaints to make sure that they do not lose customers or gain a bad reputation. Below there are examples of complaints that M&S could receive and how M&S could deal with these complaints.
Complaint 1: A customer goes into their local Marks and Spencer store and asks a member of staff for help. The member of staff is rude to the customer.
How M&S could deal with this complaint: Marks and Spencer should firstly apologise to the customer. If they know which employee it was then that employee should also apologise to the customer for being rude. Marks and Spencer should offer a gift voucher to the customer to make sure the customer is satisfied with Marks and Spencer’s customer service and continues to shop there.
Complaint 2: A customer buys lunch from the Marks and Spencer food department and customer gets food poisoning after eating the product. Customer then finds out that the product was past it’s sell by date.
How M&S could deal with this complaint: To make sure that the customer is satisfied Marks and Spencer must give an apology to the customer. Not only this but Marks and Spencer should also offer a full refund and a voucher to show they are sorry. They should make sure that in future this problem will not occur again.
Complaint 3: A customer buys a pair of shoes and the heel breaks off after a few hours of wearing them. Customer is appalled at the quality of the product and writes a complaint to Marks and Spencer demanding a refund.
How M&S could deal with this complaint: To ensure that the customer is happy, Marks and Spencer should first apologise to the customer. They should offer a refund or exchange for the shoes and perhaps offer a gift voucher to make sure the customer keeps shopping at Marks and Spencer.