Is John Lewis alienating its loyal customers?

I AGREE with every word of Ruth Sunderland’s report (Mail) about the disastrous overhaul of John Lewis’s home furnishings division. Customers can no longer phone a store directly, but are put through to a central hub and left on hold for ages. When it came to carpeting the whole house, we didn’t look anywhere else other than John Lewis. We were so trusting that if things went wrong, they would be put right. But when we found flaws in the carpet as it was being fitted, the central hub fobbed us off. What a contrast to the days of dealing with the wonderful staff in the stores. We paid our deposit in January, the carpet was laid in May and we are still waiting for an inspector to come and look at the flaws.

EILEEN FLETCHER, address supplied. WiTH well-known High Street names going to the wall, i pray that John lewis survives its drop in profits. i have joked to my boss that it would be easier to pay my wages directly to the department store and cut out the middle man because it’s my go-to shop for everything from fashion to household goods. my living room could have been transplanted from the furniture department. i value its ‘never knowingly undersold’ pledge.

M. SPRINGER, Reading, Berks.

JOHN LEWIS can’t blame its drop in profits on anything other than its own incompetence. I complained that the shopping experience at its Newcastle branch was alienating core customers like me. Customer relations replied that changes were ongoing in an effort to ‘modernise’ the company. Instead of following trends, such as price-matching its competitors, would it not be better if it leads the market? Changing logos and spending millions on TV adverts of children singing a Queen song won’t make any difference to the bottom line.