Bosses at Bristol's biggest department store have apologised to customers after a series of maintenance issues caused closed escalators, lifts and revolving doors and leaks from ceilings being captured by large buckets on the shop floor.
Customers and staff at the John Lewis store at The Mall in Cribbs Causeway have also had no hot water in the toilets for weeks, as well as doors that do not open, lifts and escalators that do not work and water dripping through the four floors.
The store admitted it had had maintenance issues, and had struggled to fix them all quickly because of a nationwide lack of parts, and apologised to customers for any inconvenience they've experienced in their visits to the flagship store.
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One regular visitor to the John Lewis store provided photographs taken in the days since New Year, which show a range of issues some of which, they said, date from well before Christmas. The biggest issue is water getting into the building, which will be celebrating its 25th birthday on March 31, in 2023.
"Water is coming in on several floors and has been being collected in large black containers," said the visitor, who declined to be named. "The water is coming down right next to the laptop display tables in the audio department. The revolving door on the basement floor has been broken, the customer lifts broken, and every day there seems to be a new leak.
"(On Wednesday) it was on the ground floor and on the second floor by the lifts, but the biggest problem is the hot water. The partners' toilets and customer toilets have no hot running water as the both the boilers are broken, so customers have to use stone-cold water," they added.
A spokesperson for John Lewis played down the extent of the issues, and said the stormy weather recently had been a factor. "We've had a small number of maintenance issues, particularly following the recent stormy weather. The majority have been fixed and we are urgently working to make sure the remainder are repaired as quickly as possible.
"We're really sorry for any inconvenience, and appreciate customers' patience and understanding as we get the issues fixed," they added.
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