Six in ten shoppers get bad service
£450 million to £960m, and is expected to be worth more than£1 billion in Britain by 2015.
Shampoos, shaving gels, moisturisers and styling products have all become common sights in bathrooms across the land, as men are no longer content with raiding their wives’ and girlfriends’ beauty cabinets.
Beauty salons have reported a significant rise in the number of Scots men using their services, with 1,300 jobs expected to be created over the next year to cater for this growing demand of metrosexuals.
Of the men surveyed, 53
per cent claimed to undergo some regular form of beauty regime.
This ranges from pampering and preening (15 per cent pluck or wax unruly eyebrows, 7 per cent wear concealer to cover blemishes, 7 per cent dye their hair and 1 in 20 use fake tan) to more extreme and concerning measures to looking good.
These include using steroids (2 per cent), slimming pills (3 per cent) and protein powder to bulk up (8 per cent).
Worryingly, men are more likely than women to find using steroids or protein powder to bulk up acceptable, with 23 per cent of males saying it was fine to use steroids and 44 per cent thinking it was acceptable to use protein formula in order to gain muscle mass.
While many of the methods men use are perfectly harmless, some men are gambling with their health by using harmful or illegal ways to boost the way they look.
Pharmacists can advise on a range of health issues, including grooming products, but more importantly are aware of the dangers of using medication or drugs for purposes other than that for which they are licensed. WHEN it comes to customer service, UK consumers are consistently getting a raw deal, new research has revealed.
Shoppers are regularly forced to waste time queuing or being kept on hold, while many experience poor customer service on a regular basis.
Shockingly, almost six in ten consumers (59 per cent) say that they often encounter poor attitude from staff in shops and businesses. But in spite of this, almost three-quarters of us are prepared to let companies get away with it.
Just one third of consumers said that UK shoppers are on the receiving end of good customer service, yet only a quarter will complain without fail when they have a problem (27 per cent).
The findings suggest that official complaints statistics could only represent the tip of the iceberg, with many consumers simply choosing to walk away. One in ten (10 per cent) rarely or never complain, while three in ten (30 per cent) will only occasionally complain, even though they have a legitimate concern. Most said they feel there’s no point complaining as it won’t make any difference (60 per cent), but 58 per cent are put off doing so because of the hassle involved.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com, said: “What this tells us is that the number of complaints received by companies is actually just the tip of the iceberg.
“Consumers regularly receive shoddy service, but often feel unable or unwilling to complain. This is bad for consumers and bad for the companies too as, without this vital feedback, they lose the chance to listen and improve and could easily end up seeing their customers disappearing out of their door and into the arms of a rival.”