What does change in M&S returns policy tell us?
One of our colleagues tells a lovely story about the time he .
For reasons of privacy, I'm not going to tell you who it is.
And to protect the guilty, I'm also changing the identity of the woollen goods concerned. Let's just say it was a hat.
It was a Christmas gift. The official line is that it didn't quite fit. Ahem.
So he brought it back to his nearest M&S store. The staff said exchanging it would not be a problem.
That is, until they actually caught sight of the knitted item. Then there was much drawing of breath and sucking of teeth.
The problem was, none of the staff recognised it. Clearly it was M&S, as it had the label. But it didn't match any of the current range.
A manager was sent for. There was an impromptu huddle. Reference codes were typed into the all-knowing stock computer.
And - finally - eureka! The shiny, tasteful, attractive new Christmas gift turned out to be - ten years old.
Is it possible it languished on top of the wardrobe for years before being passed on? Could it have been passed on as a Christmas gift year after year, like a seasonal, slow-motion game of pass the parcel?
My colleague doesn't care. He got his refund.
The ability to bring things back, months after they were bought, and to get your money back just because you don't like them is a rare policy on the High Street. It's one of those things that endears Marks and Spencer to the great British public. It feels reassuringly dignified.
So a few eyebrows were raised when it emerged over the weekend that .
That's still more generous than many other stores. And the comments from viewers who follow me on Twitter () and suggest that people are fairly relaxed about it.
But the old 90-day deadline gave an impression of a store that was more interested in a long-term relationship with us than in a single commercial transaction - one that trusted us to treat it fairly.
Does the change in policy suggest that it has changed that view of us, too?