M&S bosses have answered their customers following complaints about a reduction in the number of staffed tills.

Earlier this month, customers at the foodhall in Banbury Road spoke out following the "removal" of a number of 'manned' tills.

Customers immediately complained they were not fans of self-pay tills.

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Steven Bliss, a regular M&S customer from Woodstock, wrote a letter of complaint to M&S chairman Archie Norman and copied his letter to the Oxford Mail.

He said he would not shop at the Summertown store again until the staffed tills were restored.

(Image: Google) He wrote: "I have been shopping at M&S Summertown for years and it has usually been a good experience. The range and quality of the food is good, though prices are high.

"The staff were almost always friendly and helpful, and you never had to wait too long to find a checkout. You have now ruined this."

He added: "The area for self-pay has been vastly expanded. You used to have about five checkouts with conveyor belts, of which two or three were always staffed."

Paul Dean, another customer who lives in Oxford, added: "I was astonished, on visiting the Summertown M&S this week, to see that there is now only one staffed checkout, all the others being self-service.

(Image: M&S) "Apart from the fact that many people still prefer a conversation with a human being to an  ‘interaction’ with a machine - which frequently malfunctions, requiring the intervention of a staff member who might otherwise be on a checkout - has the management thought of what is likely to happen as the Christmas trade intensifies?"

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A spokesman for M&S said: "Over 70 per cent of transactions are self-service - however we know they aren't for everyone and are committed to help customers shop the way they want.

"That's why at our Summertown store, we have three manned belted tills available alongside self-service tills with a dedicated colleague host on hand to help, so customers have plenty of choice when paying."

M&S is launching its festive recruitment with plans to hire more than 11,000 extra workers – 1,000 more than last year.

The group said the additional customer service staff will be hired to offer support in stores across the UK, from serving on the shop floor to stocking shelves and helping with the food-to-order service.

The vacancies span both its food and clothing and home division.

The group will be recruiting from tomorrow and new staff will be brought in from mid-November.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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