Please ignore the customers!

There's an increasing trend in High Street retail, to open early to the public on a Sunday to allow customers a certain amount of "browsing time". This is often done to get around the Sunday Trading laws in which shops over 3,000 square feet (that's the majority) are only allowed to open their tills for six hours on a Sunday, a law which came into force in 1994.

This trend has come to light recently, as for the first time since 2004, the 2010 Boxing Day holiday - traditionally a big Sales day for retail - fell on a Sunday in 2010.

According to The Telegraph, a spokesman for Debenhams said they had drafted in extra staff, and were opening far more tills than normal, to cope with the expected queues of shoppers. "We're not breaking any laws, and we need to make sure we serve our customers."

Quite right too, but we have learned from a reliable source that in at least one branch of Debenhams, staff have been instructed to avoid all contact with the public during this browsing time.

I wonder how that feels to the customer who needs a bit of advice and help to make a buying decision? Is it really serving the customer? I don't think so!

Let's hope that Debenhams' mystery shopper company doesn't send its people in to their stores early on a Sunday morning!