Zara is, without a doubt, one of the UK’s most popular high street stores – as proven by the lengthy queues that usually form inside its stores.
The Spanish retailer’s popularity always feels especially obvious here in Manchester too.
Most of us will know the pain of nipping into the Market Street shop to be faced with massive queues for the tills, the changing rooms, and for returns (and, after lockdown, to get into the building in the first place).
But there is a little trick that can save you time, and save your sanity.
Zara is a very popular shop, as its queues demonstrate. Credit: Zara
Way back in 2020, Zara quietly added a new feature to its app that makes shopping a lot more enjoyable – though based on the amount of people still queueing, not many know about it.
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You can actually use the app to book yourself a slot in a changing room, and even check how long the wait time is.
In the ‘Stores’ section of the app, you can find your nearest Zara, then click ‘Enter Store Mode’.
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The trick to skip Zara queues is genius. Credit: Tiktok @natalie_mcc
From here, you can book yourself a fitting room, seeing how long the estimated wait time is, then just march straight past the queues to try on your items.
That’s not all, either – you can also use the app to find the exact item you’re looking for in store.
It will show you what section of the shop your chosen fashion piece is located in.
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One TikTok user shared a stunned video revealing Zara’s queue-jumping trick.
In a video viewed 348k times, @natalie_mcc said: “There was a massive queue for the changing rooms – and I thought, ‘I can’t be bothered waiting in that’.
“And someone said you can book a time slot in the changing rooms, so I have gone onto the app, booked a slot – and then it will say it’s available now – and tell you when there’s a slot available.
“Now I only jumped a massive queue and walked straight into the changing rooms to try stuff on – if you’ve got the app, do that!”
One person commented on her video: “You’ve just changed my life.”
Another wrote: “Noooo don’t tell anyone, there won’t be any slots left!!”
Someone else said: “Yes! Used this for ages. You are guaranteed to encounter some death stares from the girls who think your jumping the queue.”
Featured image: Unsplash
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One in 10 Brits are fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
We’re in peak office Christmas party season right about now.
With just under two weeks to go until the big day itself is here, many businesses across the UK are treating their staff to night out to celebrate both the festive season and all of the hard work they have been putting in throughout the year… and as you can expect, these are usually quite eventful gatherings, shall we say.
But now, a survey by has shed light on just how ‘eventful’ they actually are, as a new survey has revealed that, apparently, one in ten Brits face some sort of disciplinary action or dismissal due to their behaviour at Christmas parties.
The study was conducted by After Drink, and included more than 2,000 participants.
During the research, it was highlighted that 89% of employees admitted to drinking alcohol at these events, Lad Bible reports – with 65% of these confessing that they drank “excessively”.
One in 10 Brits get fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party / Credit: Kraken Images | Mimi Thian (via Unsplash)
There are a multitude of incidents which could lead to disciplinary action in the workplace nowadays, but according to the survey, some of the common reasons following festive celebrations with colleagues included inappropriate comments (23%) and even getting into fights (21%).
16% of these incidents were because of drug use during the event, while inappropriate interactions with colleagues accounted for 14%.
Some of the legal reasons you can be fired from your place of work after a Christmas party include gross misconduct, drunken behaviour, and fighting of any kind.
Despite all these risks, however, Christmas parties still remain as popular as always, and a whopping 79% of respondents said they are planning to attend theirs this year.
Clearly, the moral of the story here is , enjoy yourself… but just not too much.
Featured Image – The OurWhiskey Company (via Pexels)
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Half of Mancs don’t know how to cook Christmas dinner, new survey reveals
Emily Sergeant
Christmas dinner is one of the key parts of any festive celebration.
No matter whether you choose to tuck into a traditional roast with all the trimmings and lashings of gravy, or you prefer to go for something a little different like a curry or a Chinese instead, your Christmas dinner is a chance to gather round with your loved ones and enjoy one of the heartiest meals you’ll likely have all year.
However, some shocking new figures have revealed that half of Manchester residents have no clue how to even cook a Christmas dinner.
Through a major study by the UK’s leading electrical retailer, AO.com, it was revealed that the majority of our city’s residents are “losing confidence” in preparing even the simplest of British dishes – with a traditional roast or Christmas dinner being one of them.
A new survey has revealed that half of Mancs don’t know how to cook Christmas dinner / Credit: Freepik | GoodFon
As part of its new campaign to get Brits back into the kitchen, AO found that just 57% of respondents reckon they would be able to make a roast dinner, 52% could whip up a classic shepherd’s pie, 58% could cook bangers and mash, merely 61% could prepare a full English breakfast, and again, only 57% could tackle fish and chips.
Classic desserts are clearly a struggle for us Mancs too, according to the survey, as only 19% of respondents said they’d feel confident cooking a Christmas pudding.
The survey also found that nationwide, it was Gen Z – those between the age of 16 and 27 – that are the least confident in their ability to cook great British classics, while on the other end of the spectrum, Baby Boomers are the most capable, proving that culinary confidence increases with age.
Our region’s residents are apparently ‘losing confidence’ at cooking simple British classics / Credit: Freepik
Commenting on the results, Jay Lockton, oven expert at AO.com, said: “Kitchens should be a place of creativity and joy, but our data shows that a lot of people in Manchester are losing confidence in preparing even the simplest of British dishes.
“Based on our findings, many younger people may be opting for convenience foods or takeaways due to their busy schedules and the perception that cooking from scratch is time-consuming or difficult.
Daisy Jackson -
29th July 2022 
