As the kid who used to turn up at PE sporting XL 2000 trainers, the sight of Marks and Spencer…read moreshould be enough to send me into a cold sweat. But you know, sometime after the age of 16 I started to appreciate this place for what it is. We all know what Marks and Spencer do; good clothes, great food, annoyingly mesmerising TV adverts and fantastic Christmas gifts, and even if I didn't appreciate it when I was the laughing stock of my Nike Air-sporting chums, its quintessential Britishness is in with the bricks of the UK. What stands out about this particular store, however, is that even now I recognise the same old faces working in the enormous customer service desk from the days of returning unwanted Christmas gift after unwanted Christmas gift. With the city centre of Glasgow changing rapidly, it's reassuring to have a little bit of my childhood sitting there on Argyle Street, even if "check the nick of Paul's trainees!" echos through my head each time I'm in there.

I'm sitting here with a friend in a the cafe. Do Scotland a favour please. Instead of selling only…read moreAmerican soft drinks in the cafe, like Coca Cola. Why are you not selling Irn Bru? Support companies in this country. Apart from my moan. The staff are friendly.

John Lewis Glasgow is one of the largest department stores in the city, located at the top of…read moreBuchanan Street, as a part of Buchanan Galleries. The store may not be as modern as some of the newer John Lewis stores, but it makes up for it by having a nice selection of items you'd expect to find in a John Lewis from clothing to fragrances and technology. There is also an Optician and a Cafe inside. The store was still tidy and presented well. The store stretches over five floors, including a basement. There are toilets on two floors which is handy and I often find these both quieter and cleaner than the ones actually inside the shopping centre. There weren't too many staff members around the floor, although due to the size, it would be difficult to have someone everywhere. The staff seemed friendly when I did find someone. I do think it's a waste for such a big department store in a big city to be closing at 6 pm, other than on Thursdays, when they close at 7 pm. It just seems way too early, although it is in line with some smaller stores nearby, there are shops open later so I can't see why John Lewis can't either. One of my favourite stores in the city, I do prefer this to other department stores nearby. I do prefer the John Lewis in Edinburgh though, which after John Lewis in Aberdeen closed is their only other branch in Scotland. 4*

John Lewis use Evri courier service. The courier left my package on the doorstep - in Central…read moreLondon. Utterly negligent. Of course it was stolen. John Lewis Customer telephone complaints gave the now typical runaround - long wait time etc - before trying to claim it had been delivered to a neighbour. No. Different package. Then washed hands of it and told me complain to my credit card company. I buy everything on Amex for this eventuality, so I have indeed complained. Used to be a great store. Sad to see it fall into disgraceful decline.

If there's one place I can't be trusted, it's here (my poor (literally) credit card is squirming…read morejust at the mention of the place!). Forever my go to shop in Glasgow, Frasers is a one-shop wonder where you can pretty much buy everything under one roof, which is perfect for me as I'm quite a lazy shopper! Aesthetically Frasers is such a grand department store, and you appreciate this the most when entering off Buchanan Street via the beauty hall where the grand staircase greets you and draws your eye up the several floors and balconies above, and eventually to the domed glass roof, so so stunning. Even more so at Christmas time when it's awash with twinkly fairy lights :-) In terms of shopping, there are hundreds of brands to choose from varying from high-street to high end and covering women, men, children, home and beauty so it's fairly easy to lose an afternoon in here without even realising! You can also shop online and use their free click and collect service which I find super handy, and saves waiting in for the postie when you need those new shoes tomorrow and not a day later! Much as it pains me, I do have a few niggly points with Frasers: - ladies changing rooms are few and far between for the size of store and usually involve a lengthy wait. - the heat can be unbearable, so much so that a friend has almost fainted on me after only being in for half an hour! - it's notoriously hard to find someone at a till to pay...about 90% of the time I have to go off looking for someone, which is crazy as shops are normally dying to rob you of your hard earned cash! Still, I keep going back as I'm a sucker for its prettiness (and they give me reward vouchers for spending on their credit card lol).

I placed an online order with HoF and paid for next-day delivery. I received a confirmation from…read moreEvri that the package was out for delivery, but then I received an update from them one hour before the delivery time slot indicating that they could not deliver the package until the next business day. Four days on, Evri cannot locate the package. Today, I attempted to contact HoF customer service, which is an exercise in frustration. I requested a full refund but have only been refunded the delivery charges. Had I known that HoF uses Evri I would have never placed the order. I certainly would never order from HoF. I honestly can't say whose customer service is worse - HoF's or Evri's. They're both terrible. Unless you enjoy being gaslighted (by both HoF and Evri), I would highly discourage anyone from making an online purchase from HoF.

Ordered a gazebo on 18th Nov well in time for a party on 2nd Dec. Advertised 3-5 working day…read moredelivery. 9 days passed and it's now 27th November and no delivery and no update on the tracking. This company use XDP who are notoriously known for losing or damaging parcels (if I'd known this at the time or ordering I would not have ordered with this company), just take a look at XDP's reviews. Why any business still uses this courier, they are shockingly bad. Contacted customer service, firstly there is no contact number to speak to anyone, only enquiries by email and then they take forever to reply, so no way of getting in touch urgently. Sent an email on 27th Nov at 11:09am, explained the situation and that I need the item delivered by Friday that week (3 days time) and need this resolved quickly. I receive a generic auto response from a Miss Dayle Jones over 24 hours later the next day at 3:09pm stating they've received my enquiry. I respond stating I need this dealt with quickly, and if I am not going to receive the item by Friday then I need my order cancelled and refunded immediately. I also state my concerns regarding XDP that they are a notoriously poor courier and that I have no faith that the parcel will arrive at all. It then takes another day before I receive a response from Dayle. 2 days already wasted. Even though I had explained that I need the item by Friday and that if that can't be sorted I need a refund, and that I don't trust XDP, brain dead Dayle just states the obvious that the tracking of the parcel hasn't updated and is lost, and asks if I'd like a replacement sent which would be delivered in 5 working days with the same courier! Well 5 working days isn't going to get it to me by Friday is it dippy Dayle? Since it's now Wednesday 29th after you've taken 2 days to even response, and I need the item by Friday 1st in 2 days time. I respond to the email stating the obvious, that sending it on a 5 working day service is not going to get it to me on the day I need it by as already stated in the previous emails. I state that unless they can compensate for the delay by sending it via a next day service using a different courier to get it to me on time, I request yet again a immediate refund and cancellation of my order. Another day passes and I receive no response. I send a chaser email on Thursday 30th. And another day passes and still no response. SO now on Friday 1st December I end up contacting my credit card provider and initiate a section 75 chargeback to get my money back (Amex had my funds back in my account in no time at all). Another email sent to dippy Dayle stating I've still not received a response and a section 75 chargeback has been processed, and state that negative feedback will be left. Another 3 days pass before dippy Dayle responds on 4th December stating "The refund has now been processed, the funds will return to your account in the next few days. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter". The funds are already in my account you clown thanks to the section 75 chargeback as stated in the previous email. No apology, no acknowledgement of the diabolically useless brain dead service and no acknowledgement that I stated I'd be leaving negative reviews. Stating "thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter" just takes the p1ss. Miss Dayle Jones, you are either exceptionally thick or you have a don't give a dam attitude, either way you are utterly useless. Ordered elsewhere cheaper and with next day delivery included free. Was with me by early next morning on the Friday in time for when it was needed. First time I'd ever heard of TJ Hughes, rubbish service, definitely avoid this lot.

Awful experience.... I ordered a dinnerset off their eBay…read morepage. I questioned them on the price as it states £21.99 and crossed out was £18.00. why would they put the price up. They said it was a technical error and would refuse to refund me the extra £3. On their actual website the price for the dinner plates are £18 and £21.99 was crossed out. I got my delivery however plates were smashed. I showed them proof of this however they said they refunded me, so I checked my PayPal account no refund made. I questioned them and showed them proof of my PayPal account via screenshot which showed NO refund. When I challenged them to show me proof of refund to my PayPal they decided to block me on eBay. This shows you how immature, childish and pathetic this company is. So overall because I asked to see proof of refund they blocked me. I would AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS

This shop needs a total revamp or new management. It is a complete shambles. It is trying to be too…read moremany different knids of shops (chemist, clothes, toy, multimedia, DIY) and is failing at them all. Most of it looks like a jumble sale, but they are still charging full price for broken items etc. How this shop make money I don't know. And the staff are dumplings, they don't know what they sell or where anything is! It will be a sometime before I venture in there again.

This is a pretty big branch of Debenhams that I always seem to get lost in. I'm not sure where all…read morethe lifts, escalators and stairs are but I'm sure they move every time I go in. I also think that there are at least two entrances and exits but there could easily be many more hidden away. Across the floors they have cosmetics and gifts, men and women's fashion and homewear, as well as a cafe, services for weddings, bra fittings and alterations, a travel money centre, a Clarins skin spa and, most importantly to me, a personal shopper service. This is why I go to Debenhams. I'm not good at shopping but they have a free personal shopping service. The personal shoppers aren't on comission, so there's no pressure to buy. You just tell them what you're shopping for (for example a general wardrobe update or a special occasion), and your sizes and colour preferences. They make you a cup of coffee and then wander out into the store to find things for you to try. You try them in your own private changing room and, if you decide you do want to buy something at the end of your session then you skip the queue when you go to pay for it. Sure, the rest is good too (except when you get lost) but this service alone makes Debenhams worth a visit for me.

I'm not much of a department store shopper - I tend to know what I want when I'm shopping, and…read morebrowsing a huge store isn't really my style - all that walking and trying to navigate stress me out more than I'd like to admit. That being said, I actually really enjoyed having a relaxed wander around Debenhams this week. They were having an exclusive shopping night on Monday so the store was a lot quieter than it would normally be (and they were dishing out the complimentary fizz which is always nice). I think this store must have been done up a bit since last time I visited as it was a lot brighter and more slick than I remember. The beauty and perfume areas are particularly lovely. Some areas of the store seemed understocked or had less of a range than I'd expect - in children's toys there wasn't loads for kids under 1, and there was only one shelf of thick winter tights. On the other hand, there was a massive area for Baker by Ted Baker (kids clothing range) and loads of sheer tights. I'm not quite sure for the reasons behind these decisions, but just keep in mind that you might not be able to find everything you want here. Staff were happy and friendly, even while being subjected to hours of Christmas music. We did nearly get overcharged in one transaction but that's because their sale didn't technically start until the next day, and the sales assistant happily fixed it up without any fuss. Tip: With the 5p bag charge it might be worthwhile asking for their largest bag if you're buying a few items, rather than getting multiple smaller bags. Or bring your own!

Gigantic store with seemingly every type of good imaginable. Where else can you get a bottle of…read morewine, a flat panel TV, a new t-shirt, and some fresh vegetables all in one place? Also, it's in a mall.

Look, I love Primark. I know we have them in the U.S. now (been to Boston and Philly). But it's not…read morethe same as going to one in the UK. They've got incredible selections at crazy affordable prices. Spacious and clean. Good service.

There is a lady named TRINA who works in primark argyle Street glasgow and this lady was polite,,…read moreshowed me all 3 floors for what I was looking for and went that extra mile to help me while carrying my basket and helping me with sizes etc and then helped me to the paying tills,, She also served me too with a smile and manners and so polite, If you were to ask me (SHE DESERVES A PROMOTION AND A PAY RISE FOR WHAT EHE DONE FOR ME100%) thanks so much TRINA

I used to work in the East End of Glasgow and could not believe it when I came across this little…read moreboutique! It sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the greasy spoon cafés and sun bed centres! It looks really lovely inside with nice dark wooden flooring and everything is so neat and tidy. If you have ever seen the episode of Cribs where they look at Mariah Carey's New York apartment, Cocoberry looks like her dressing room! You feel like you are really in a giant, well organized wardrobe rather than a shop! Imagine my disappointment then when I had a look at the actual stock itself and was pretty disappointed. I thought I might find something really unusual and quirky. Maybe I'm getting old but I just found a lot of it pretty trashy. There was the odd nice little dress but nothing which said, "BUY ME! BUY ME NOW!" The dresses were exactly the same in style as you could find in any high street chain store, except more expensive. Loads of girls will love Cocoberry and I really can see why. The dresses they sell look like dresses I see girls wearing in clubs and bars on a Saturday night. Unfortunately I am just a 1950s Betty through and through and didn't find anything to suit my personal taste.

Cocoberry is a beautiful little boutique in the unlikeliest of locations. Situated on Duke Street…read moreamongst the many charity shops and hairdressers, this place is a little corner of loveliness selling very pretty dresses and accessories. Lovely their stock may be, however I find this place a little pricey for it's less than glamorous location. However, I think Cocoberry might be positioning itself as a little corner of cool amongst the dingy Dennistoun streets, perhaps as the ultimate place to treat yourself to that to-die-for dress, a place to splurge and indulge in some serious retail therapy. Throwing swipe at the credit crunch, this place offers the ultimate in tempting attire, making it a very clever coco indeed.