Mary Queen of Shops BBC2
- Thread starter Upchuck
- Start date
Only if you have the money
Each of her outfits is a mortgage payment!Fabulous shoes too.
Oh it was sooo good tonight. Mary gave that Lucy some good advice and a whole lot of help. When Lucy said that previously her shop had looked like it had been set up by a lunatic I thought it was very telling as it was quite obvious Lucy had gotten lost somewhere.
The transformation of the boutique and the young designers room was fantastic. I was dreading going to work tomorrow and facing the mundanity of my life but once again Mary Queen of Shops has motivated and inspired.
5 stars!!
The transformation of the boutique and the young designers room was fantastic. I was dreading going to work tomorrow and facing the mundanity of my life but once again Mary Queen of Shops has motivated and inspired.
5 stars!!
I wasnt feeling the woman tonight- well not until the end anyway.
She was so vague and in her own space- I was rather put off by her 'not quite there' air.
My favourites this season have been Balhamboo last week (I loved the woman!) and Burts Gents outfitters (I loved them all!)
She was so vague and in her own space- I was rather put off by her 'not quite there' air.
My favourites this season have been Balhamboo last week (I loved the woman!) and Burts Gents outfitters (I loved them all!)
Yeah they were good, but I really enjoyed last night as she seemed like a nice woman and the young women from the area seemed enthusiastic. I like how Mary focuses on the business always. I read 4500 businesses applied for help in series 2! Zut alors
zoooo
zero tolerance for walkers
To be honest, I would have been happy going in that shop even before they changed it. Of course, I probably wouldn't have bought anything, and it was clearly way better and more profitable etc, afterwards.
I just love weird old eccentric junk shop-y places. I was praying they wouldn't get rid of that feel entirely.
I just love weird old eccentric junk shop-y places. I was praying they wouldn't get rid of that feel entirely.
I liked last night's episode but felt it was a slight slap in the face for people who watched the show lat season, and a bit of a boast. I don't want to see what happens to the shops too long after. That is the responsibility of the retailers.
Still, Mary remains the Queen.
Still, Mary remains the Queen.
It was a bit boastful wasnt it? It sat oddly with me, after all we KNOW she knows her stuff, we dont need it hammering home that it was HER special attentions which saved these businesses.
I thought it was a great demonstration of how most people are creatures of habit
It doesnt matter how brilliant the makeover was, people generally return to what they are most familiar with.
Goes for all transformation type shows too, whether it be What Not to Wear, Ground Force or You Are What You Eat. Once the initial excitement is over, people most often revert to type!
I thought it was a great demonstration of how most people are creatures of habit
It doesnt matter how brilliant the makeover was, people generally return to what they are most familiar with. Goes for all transformation type shows too, whether it be What Not to Wear, Ground Force or You Are What You Eat. Once the initial excitement is over, people most often revert to type!
Yes not the best 
. Lets home they don't repeat the memory lane experiment again. I don't blame Mary but she was ill advised.
. Lets home they don't repeat the memory lane experiment again. I don't blame Mary but she was ill advised.*bump*
Anyone know when the next series is on?
Anyone know when the next series is on?
pinkmonkey
2.4 hour party person
I've never seen the show, but I'm
at her outfits in Grazia every week, does she wear the same stuff? Just think she looks like a fashion victim, wearing something because its 'in'.I've never seen the show, but I'm
I reckon old Mary would be hard work in real life, but she comes across great on the show - charasmatic and with an older woman's sensuality. I think she gives shoppers hope too because in some episodes the shopkeepers dread fashion and clothes as much as some shoppers. It just makes me feel good, the show and all.
Mary Queen of Charity Shops
Anyone watch this? I got into the Queen of Shops series last year through a mate and watched this last night. Was not sure whether to laugh or cry at last night's offering. Felt like shouting at the screen at the chairty organisation paid staff as they seemed to be living in another world
Anyone watch this? I got into the Queen of Shops series last year through a mate and watched this last night. Was not sure whether to laugh or cry at last night's offering. Felt like shouting at the screen at the chairty organisation paid staff as they seemed to be living in another world
Iguana
Well-Known Member
I watched some of it as the shop I used to manage will be on the series at some point. I thought it was pretty sensationalist to be honest. They went to a shop in the type of area that even the really business orientated charities would have had a hard time making a big success out of.
I also think that Mary didn't have a full grasp of how to manage volunteers. Yes, some of the old school volunteers can be more of a liability than a help, but you have to respect them and their desire to help. Volunteers aren't staff and can't be treated as such. Any charity I've ever worked for sees the shops as a business and runs them accordingly, so it's not as if she is bringing any new ideas to the table. Oxfam's Kensington High St shop makes half a million a year, for example.
I also think that Mary didn't have a full grasp of how to manage volunteers. Yes, some of the old school volunteers can be more of a liability than a help, but you have to respect them and their desire to help. Volunteers aren't staff and can't be treated as such. Any charity I've ever worked for sees the shops as a business and runs them accordingly, so it's not as if she is bringing any new ideas to the table. Oxfam's Kensington High St shop makes half a million a year, for example.
5t3IIa
Registered User
How can they see the shop as a business and run it accordingly AND not treat the volunteers as staff?
Iguana
Well-Known Member
It's tough, really, really tough, but it's possible. The shops have a manager and sometimes a deputy or sales assistant, that's worked out based on how much extra revenue a paid staff member can generate. If the manager is good at their job, they will find away to treat the volunteers in a way that keeps the volunteer happy but which is also good for the business. It's down to how likable the manager is, if the volunteers really like the manager and feels the manager likes and respects them, they are more likely to be flexible.
Tbh, it can be a complete headfuck for the manager. It's a seriously tough job and the manager has to feel seriously passionate about the charity as it's not very well paid and there is a lot of unpaid over-time. The manager in turn has to have an area manager who understands the tight-rope the manager has to walk and support them rather than undermine them or expect too much.
I've done the job for years and I gave it up last year as I eventually got burnt out from it. It was all I could ever think about. The absolute worst is when you have a volunteer who you trust and rely on who turns out to be robbing the shop blind. Which is far more common than I ever would have imagined.
I found the attitude of the volunteers was similar to that I encountered during my sojurn in the public sector: people in the same place for yonks, flat black and white thinking, and mafiaesque conspiracy blocking/stalling tactics.
But I also love Mary. She inspires me and I like her style.
But I also love Mary. She inspires me and I like her style.
onenameshelley
is Major Morgan's bitch
Are you going to do lots of laughing and i told you so's about the manageress
Yes
