Customers at Colchester’s new branch of B&M have taken to social media to complain about the quality of service since the store opened just over a week ago.

After welcoming customers on Saturday, March 26, some shoppers complained that long queues and faulty tills had caused mayhem inside the store – with some clients even having to put their shopping down and walk out.

On Facebook, one customer said they had been queueing for 20 minutes after a till stopped working.

On the day the store opened, Pauline Massey wrote: "It was a joke! 15 minutes shopping and then joined a checkout queue, still queueing 20 mins later. Then, down to three people in front of me [and] along comes an assistant telling us that the checkout had gone down (one was already down!).

“There was over 15 shoppers behind me [and] the queues were right to the back of the store.

“Gave up, put down my shopping and left – not in any hurry to go back.

“It would have been quicker to drive to the Harwich one.”

Another customer, Ann Burch wrote: “We went today it was a nightmare – put shopping down as queues were so long.”

But other customers at B&M were unhappy with the efficiency of the store long after the opening day, when teething problems are common.

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One customer said the lack of tills for the number of customers caused “absolute mayhem.”

He said: “There was a bit of a design flaw with your new Colchester store – it only has 6 tills – causing absolute mayhem in the store. Please feedback.”

Another shopper said she was told a till only accepted cash long after she had started queueing.

She said: “Your new Colchester store is a joke – queues are awful.

Stood in one queue only to find out halfway it’s cash only – [I] then join and wait in another for it to close – forced us to go to the back of another very long queue.”

B&M made no comment on the problems after being contacted on several occasions by the Gazette.

Have you had problems at the new B&M store? Let us know. Email daniel.rees@newsquest.co.uk.