House of Fraser in Carlisle

poor service and store felt closed

House of fraser in Carlisle is probably one of the most unprofessional and unfriendly department stores I've had the misfortune to visit and I shall not be going back !!

I was told at the checkout that the gift card I had was not valid for purchasing a PlayStation 5 console. I paid over 500£ in cash and I was scammed because I could have done it.

Our regular coffee spot while out walking the dog, who loves it too. Great coffee, friendly staff and wonderful window seats where w can so and watch the world go by.

Subject: Excellent Customer Service Experience Dear Craig I am writing this email to express my utmost satisfaction and appreciation for the exceptional customer service I received recently. I believe it is important to acknowledge and commend outstanding service, and I am delighted to share my positive experience with you. From the moment I contacted your company, I was impressed by the level of professionalism and personalized attention I received. Your prompt response to my inquiries and willingness to go above and beyond my expectations truly stood out. Not only did you address all of my concerns and answer my questions thoroughly, but you also demonstrated genuine empathy and understanding. Your patience, kindness, and willingness to listen made the entire interaction a pleasant and stress-free experience for me. Additionally, your knowledge and expertise in the products/services offered were evident throughout our conversation. It was refreshing to receive advice and guidance tailored specifically to my needs, which ultimately helped me make an informed decision. I firmly believe that exceptional customer service deserves recognition, and I will not hesitate to recommend your company to friends, family, and colleagues based on my positive encounter. Once again, thank you for the outstanding service you provided. Please pass on my appreciation to your team, as the positive impression they leave on customers is a testament to their commitment to excellence. Best regards Mikey

Fantastic shop , better than online with a great coffee shop.

Good shop not the cheapest but you can get value in there shops for high end brands.

I was served by Craig yesterday on the YSL counter and he could not have been friendlier or more helpful. A great experience!

From once an iconic store, to something that resembles a flea market.

A very strange place. It feels like a pop up in a half derelict building.

Would just like to share , visited house of Fraser carlisle today 8/9/23 to purchase gifts for a team member and unfortunately no staff to accommodate me but a lovely girl from the pink makeup counter who apologised to me that she was new but would try to help me the best she could, which I may add she did! However if your going to open your store at 9.30 am then at least have staff ready to assist custom in your store, this is not what I was expecting from a premium store, the place looks like it’s closing down , no staff and obviously no management to help , the place will not last much longer under these conditions absolutely not what you would expect from a House of Fraser, clearly a recruitment issue and poor management, thankyou to the kind lady who helped me , good to see someone at least with great customer service, and a £210 sale .

One of the better kept HoF stores. A pleasant shopping experience with friendly staff. Georgia at the Dior concession was amazing and a real asset to the company.

OK shop not much of an atmosphere instore ideal for wedding clothing not much in the way of shoes

Went into the Carlisle store 21/8/2023 with a view to buying make up for an upcoming wedding. Also needed a new perfume Dressed casually in jeans and a T shirt. Totally ignored by all staff on the shop floor. Even given a glare by 2 of the women on the floor. Along with a look up and down from the man behind one of the counters Went across the street to boots and got sorted with a smile and some good advice. Think the staff need a lesson in not judging a book by its cover. £210 well spent in boots.

A bit tired now compared to years ago. Most of the clothing is very expensive so just had a walk round and left.

I love this shop and would have given it 5 stars but their return policy is absolutely s***! It's only an exchange or gift card (no cash refunds!)

Great shopping experience in revamped store. Glad to see it back on the up in Carlisle. Friendly helpful assistants. Great perfume department.

I still like house of fraser as its the only department store still open in carlisle,

Are you being served? Sadly no..

Poor, dirty entrance, looking for mens knitwear, nothing to see!! Waste of time, very disappointing.

The atmosphere in here is absolutely dreadful. It gives the impression of an old, neglected department store, once glorious, but now literally dying on its feet. Their automatic entrance door has been broken for a year, the place is half empty, there is no piped music to indicate any sort of upbeat sense of life or cheer, and it's largely empty. Last time I went in, about a year ago, I bought shoes and was served by a person who was scruffy and cheerless, and when I had to go back because something was missing from my purchase, she was rude, and her colleague virtually ignored me. I felt humiliated, and so I made the rare decision to complain to management because I thought they should know how customers were being treated in their store. Well... The "manager" berated me for complaining, and in response to my observation that staff were hard to find in the first place because they wore jeans, jumpers and trainers and no name badges, so it was impossible to differentiate staff from customers, she accused me of discrimination!!!! That wasn't the point I was making at all, but she made a big deal of it, and when I eventually managed to get a word in edgewise again, and told her I'd been coming to HoF for more than thirty years but was not likely to come back after that day, she just shrugged and told me if that was my decision it was fine because they didn't need my custom anyway!! I left the store and stood in the street, asking myself what the hell had just happened?? Anyway, I decided yesterday to brave another attempt, because they had big notices of "sale". No displays to entice people in, just signs, and the door was still broken! So the same lack of welcome, then, and again the place was like the grave. Quiet, you could hear a pin drop, and really not much on offer compared with how it used to be. I left again, after a cursory look around the "sale" and this time I know I won't go back in there. It's such a shame. At one time HoF was an exciting and special place to shop. Some of us, I know, can remember the joy of shopping in there, greeted by well dressed, knowledgeable and cheerful staff who had real pride of working in the place, because it was worth being proud of back then. It isn't anymore. It feels as if it's staggering to its grave. Shoppers want a happy experience that encourages them to spend. HoF doesn't offer that except to the very brave, and I'm not brave enough to try again.

Nice and spaced for a good look around products.

Really like the difference House of Fraser makes to the shopping trip to Carlisle - wouldn't be the same without it.

Bit of a trek to the top floor to find the object we were looking for. Plenty of suitcases on the floor with a variety of makes and also many different sizes. Unfortunately no assistants on the floor to offer help. After trying a number of cases chose the one to use and made our way down a floor to pay. The checkout was straight forward but we weren't told anything about warranty or registering the product with the manufacturer. The lack of help available was an issue.

Coffee not as I expected after asking Barista for extra hot. However coffee good!

Only visited Caffe nero within shop

This place saved the day,we couldn't find a jacket for my son that didn't look like a black bag! There was lots of choice and I made a purchase

Great selection of top brand designerwear. Always worth a visit when I'm in Carlisle

Cafe still very pleasant and we'll run

Not like it used to be but it's worth the occasional look as you can sometimes find a bargain.

Caution,,, thieves, they will steal your money before your eyes They are theives and unprofessional. I bought some clothes from their branch in Loch Lomond and when I got home I realised they charged me twice for the same T-shirt which worth £48. I tried to contact them via their email and I thought they will easily solve my problem by checking their cameras. However, they simply replied they can’t do anything about it!. So I went back to thier branch in city center glasgow with the receipt because loch lomond branch is very far from my apartment. When I met the manager, she told me if I had the clothes with me she would’ve helped me so I went back home and brought all the clothes the next day. Sadly another incompetent manager told she can’t help me and I have to go back to their brach in Loch Lomond. I told her I can’t because my flight back home early morning next day and she said I can’t do anything about it. So simply they are saying yes we took your money and will not give it back to you. It is a 100% thier fault so I thought they will solve it and return my money in a blink of an eye but instead they played me and made me make all these journeys and losing so much money on gas and stressed me out for nothing…literally nothing.

Lovely selection of items friendly staff

Good selection of clothing staff always Willing to help got my true religion jeans from here will be definitely shopping here again at some point 5/5

Café Nero. Good coffee, loud noise.

You can get lost and layout changed which was confusing to get your head around some areas have switched places too but still love to grab a few bargains on designer side great prices.

First time visiting and won't be in s hurry to go back. The store looks tired and dingey. Wasn't impressed at all

I visited the Dior counter where I was helped by extremely knowledgeable young girl, Georgia. She did my makeup and was able to explain and advise on application. Also advised on sun cream and cleanser, both if which I purchased. I do enjoy visiting a department store. The downside of this store is the ladies bathroom on 2nd floor. It really needs a refurb, there is wallpaper missing/ripped on walls and just seems very run down. Cafe Nero on ground floor is a bonus too.

Best place for men's clothing in Carlisle

Ok, if you're into sportswear. But 5 stars for Caffe Nero, always good coffee and excellent chai latte. There's usually plenty of seating to choose from with a few tables outside weather permitting.

Tried on 2 dresses for size bought the smaller one. Arrived home to find the larger one in bag. Had to make a 60 mile journey to exchange dresses and no apology given what so ever. Could not get through on telephone at all

Large store with plenty of stock

Nothing of value really. All very expensive compared to on line outlets unfortunately.

My purchase was fantastic but unfortunately the staff member was more focused on telling me over and over that there was no cash refunds and I would only be able to swap the product for another item of the same value, this was highlighted by the staff member explains they would circle the statement on the bottom of the receipt to prove I had this explained to myself. Come on H of F, you sell high-end brands ... Where's the high end customer service expectations ? Ps love my purchase and don't feel the need to return it 🤣

Always love a HoF. Nice in store Café Nero too

Dull and very uninviting. Needs money spent on it.

Some very tempting clothes in here 🤔

Good sale but not many sizes. Got help off a very helpful lady

Ignored by staff in store and ignored by customer service on email. Disappointing shopping experience

It was an old style store, but great potential, just needs some TLC really and updating, these stores are iconic and few and far between but immensely satisfying to look around, let's make sure they don't all disappear for good.

Great store, very friendly staff

Unhelpful staff member when looking for an item, asked specifically where I'd find the brand, couldn't be bothered and kept asking me to repeat it. Staff upstairs were a little better but tbh customer service training is definitely needed...not somewhere I'd go back in a hurry, unless it's the cafe as staff in there are lovely

All a bit of a jumble over multiple floors. Looking more like Sports direct every day.

Looked shabby, no incentive to explore. Poor window displays. Disappointing 😕

Very wide selection of designer clothing, would probably leave moths flying out my wallet if I let it. Only slight issue was due to heavy rainfall lots of leaks

Good choice of brands. Now Debenham has gone this will be the main choice of decent brands

Caught when there was a sale, bagged myself a bargain

Very poor selection of ladies clothes, more or less all sports gear

Looked like a closing down store

High end shopping...big brands under one roof.

It's changed a lot in the takeover I.e sports direct all descent nicer clothing has gone....all sports gear now

Classic department store showing its age but reasonable selection of branded clothes and shoes.

Only used the Costa coffee ship

Very helpful young lady in the men's department

Variety of brands,nicely set out downstairs. Upstairs not so organised .

Lack of staff.but good range of clothes

Had Nero coffee. Was severed well by our barasistor.

Only went for a look, nowt much in there for me

Weak and Luke warm hot chocolate

We used the cafe was lovely food lovely staff but poor lass was rushed off her feet with only one serving at dinner time, peak time, and we went to use the toilets cudnt believe the state of them they were disgusting health hazard if you ask me looked like they hadnt been cleaned in years shame used to be a lovely store they are obv trying to cut costs

Great shopping experience, got all I needed, first class service on the makeup counter

We only used the cafe which was excellent.

Nothing like it used to be just a large jumble sale.Ashley sure knows how to run a business into the ground.

More like a junked-up SportsDirect.com now. Shame.

Not the place it was. High prices, lots of tat.

Friendly helpful staff with a good selection of goods 1 happy customer:-)

No Christmas decorations, interior like an old dirty wharehouse

Sports direct gets 2 stars...house of Fraser 3 stars!

It's okay for a dated department store, too dark and getting too dingy to see their wonderful wares now.

Fast becoming a shadow of the great store chain it once was.

Not as good as it used to be, more limited range and looking slightly tired now

What a wonderful department store

It was the best choice of shops

It's an iconic and classic building, located in a central part of town with plenty of parking and public transport around. The store has good quality merchandise for sale, although the brand is not quite what it was due to the Mike Ashley effect being noticeable

Le café est bon, le magasin a de jolies marques, sympa

Only went in to go to cafe Nero

Coffe shop is good but just full of sports direct junk inbetween bigger brands.

Great mens clothing dept. Armani, paul & shark, Ted Baker ,cp company,boss, amongst others

Lovely store, helpful, friendly staff.

Sad to see it now used to be a much nicer shop

Sadly going down market and downhill. Increasingly becoming Sports Direct plus. Nowhere near the amount of choice and quality as before.

The staff were very helpful and the food was great

Getting smaller and smaller inside

Enjoyed coffee in the restaurant and small play area for my little grandaughter

Far too expensive,seems to be used more for it's restaurant, poor.

Like everything else Ashly touches its gone to the dogs, staff are still helpful but the store is like the Marie Celeste

A funny shaped shop but some good bargains

Staff was not to friendly and never approached us just stood there talking to each other

Shop is, a, dump upstairs. Cafe great, staff lovely. Spacious.

Great sales at the moment but if you want exercise stuff or older lady clothes.

Tidy spacious store with a broad selection of goods. Just needs a few more customers.