Marks and Spencer - incompetent web design muppets

[daz300]

all links work for me on IE 6.

[nffc]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Fair enough. What I'm trying to arrive at of course is an estimate of how much M&S might have saved by corner-cutting on their browser compatibility, and how much they are going to lose as a result of non-PC/IE users getting no joy from the site.

Don't be silly, practically every computer has IE installed and not many people don't use it.

I use Firefox for 99.9% of my web browsing, and if a site doesn't work properly, I just open IE and use that. Hardly apocalyptic, is it? Though I do prefer Firefox.

Originally Posted by nffc

Don't be silly, practically every computer has IE installed and not many people don't use it.

I use Firefox for 99.9% of my web browsing, and if a site doesn't work properly, I just open IE and use that. Hardly apocalyptic, is it? Though I do prefer Firefox.

How's it silly? I prefer to do business with companies that I know can do a thorough, professional job. The proof of the pudding's in the eating ... I went elsewhere as a result of this, do you think I'm the only one? There are some real Firefox obsessives out there.

Anyway, I had a reply from them:

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your suggestions for our website.

We regularly review and update our website and we are grateful for the comments and suggestions of our customers. Wherever possible, we make changes to the website based on what the feedback we receive. I will forward your email to our e-commerce team for their consideration.

Thank you again for taking the trouble to contact us.

Kind Regards

Should I write back and ask them to correct 'Chistmas' as well?

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

ha ha ha, your going to order your cake from someone else because M&S cant follow the W3C standards or spell.

I'm sure that when they manage to achieve both of these actions the cake will taste better as well.

Originally Posted by Wicked_and_Crazy

ha ha ha, your going to order your cake form someone else because M&S cant follow the W3C standards or spell.

I'm sure that when they manage to achieve both of these actions the cake will taste better as well.

My, you're sore this evening Gary. Got bitten on the bum by a passing troll did we?

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by Chris T

My, you're sore this evening Gary. Got bitten on the bum by a passing troll did we?

my point was, if they supply the cake you want, why let a web site cause you to change your order?.

Nose Face Spite Cut?

[nffc]

Originally Posted by Chris T

How's it silly? I prefer to do business with companies that I know can do a thorough, professional job. The proof of the pudding's in the eating ... I went elsewhere as a result of this, do you think I'm the only one? There are some real Firefox obsessives out there.

Not really, my point really is, you have more than one browser on your PC, there is more than one browser out there. Firefox pwns most browsers especially IE6, so what? It still works properly in other browsers, TBH, I think whilst it's annoying the site doesn't work in one browser, you could easily just use another without causing a fuss out of seemingly nothing. Not many people use firefox anyway and how many of them would a) want to buy a cake from M+S, b) find it doesn't work in Fx and c) care enough to boycott them and send a moaning email about it... To be honest, IMHO I think you're over-reacting slightly.

And in any case, it all works on my version.

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by nffc

Not really, my point really is, you have more than one browser on your PC, there is more than one browser out there. Firefox pwns most browsers especially IE6, so what? It still works properly in other browsers, TBH, I think whilst it's annoying the site doesn't work in one browser, you could easily just use another without causing a fuss out of seemingly nothing. Not many people use firefox anyway and how many of them would a) want to buy a cake from M+S, b) find it doesn't work in Fx and c) care enough to boycott them and send a moaning email about it... To be honest, IMHO I think you're over-reacting slightly.

And in any case, it all works on my version.

my thoughts entirely.

Seems like its you Chris thats being the troll bitting people on the bum

[basa]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

Works in Opera 8.5..

Confirmed .. Opera 8.5 navigated all of the site. Spelling was still bad though !!

[GeoffW]

I think it has more to do with the unprofessional image M&S gives to its web customers than the loss of any particular sales. What they are saying to FF users is "our web site has been poorly constructed", so you draw your own conclusions about the company.

(BTW I can recommend FF's open page in IE extension)

[Graham]

Originally Posted by nffc

I use Firefox for 99.9% of my web browsing, and if a site doesn't work properly, I just open IE and use that. Hardly apocalyptic, is it?

And so do I (although I use Netscape 7.2).

However when I run IE I immediately run Adaware after it and clear out all the crap that turns up on my system which *doesn't* appear when I use Netscape.

[Stuart]

I actually sort of agree with Chris. M&S (as with ALL companies who trade on the web) should ensure that their website is either fully compliant with standards, or at least works with multiple browsers.

I realise that if all browsers were standards compliant, then making the site standards compliant should ensure the site works correctly on all browsers.

However, I don't think any browser is 100% standards compliant (IIRC, Opera gets closest, but it's far from perfect). That's why people should test their websites on multiple browsers.

[handyman]

Originally Posted by nffc

To be honest, IMHO I think you're over-reacting slightly.
.

I think the same thing.

I don't have a problem with people wanting to use different os's (linux/unix) or different browsers like FF. What really get's me wound up is that its thier choice to use it in the first place and then they wimp and whine that it does not work with everything. I'm sure thier software does the job for them just fine but no need to throw wobbler when it does not.

Don't get me startd on the apple people

No one has any justification to winge about a what a company does because its your choice what you spend your money on so simply go elsewhere. If its too expensive don't log onto a web site and whine just find somewhere else.

[Pia]

I completely agree with Chris on this one.

Marks and Spencers is a huge national company, so why shouldn't they have a website that works with every browser?

Most other companies manage it okay, so why not them? Especially with the increasing number of people moving over to Firefox now.

If i wanted a certain cake from a certain store, and was having problems getting it- i too would inform the comapny to give them the chance to rectify it. After all, how can they fix something they seemingly don't know about?

If you went to the store in person, but the only automatic door was broken at the main entrance, so you had to walk round the backway, would you be happy?
Most of all, how would you know that there was another way in (round the back) if nobody told you?

I bet a lot of people have tried ordering on there, but are not as techie as some people so automatically gave up thinking there was no other way round it.

[nffc]

Originally Posted by Pia

Marks and Spencers is a huge national company, so why shouldn't they have a website that works with every browser?

Because there are more browsers than the big 4 (Safari, all the Linux ones, the minor ones) and to test the site on all of them would be neither economical nor anything otherwise described as frivolous.

There IS a choice of browser, they are catering for the vast majority by writing a site most of the people who load it, will use IE, and the rest will have the knowhow to use IE if FX doesn't work.

Yes, it is a pain, but some people need to get an idea of the perspective involved.