Are You Being Served?

A reorganization within the store forces the staff of the gentlemens ready-to-wear department to share their floor space with the Ladies Department. Mrs. Slocombe, head of the Ladies, and Mr. Grainger, head of the Gents, immediately come to loggerheads over control of the center floor display. Mr. Grainger refuses to take down his trousers and put Mrs. Slocombes underwear in its place. Undaunted, she goes over his head to Captain Peacock, and then to Mr. Rumbold.

The Department figures have taken a dive and so Mr. Rumbold decides to convene a sales conference amongst the staff. Since the meeting is taking place after hours and off the clock, no one is very motivated to provide any solutions. If something isnt done, someone might lose their job, and that someone is clearly Mr. Lucas.

Mr. Graingers trousers are missing, along with the central display. The staff learns that the space was freed up for the "His & Hers" fragrance display. Mrs. Slocombe is outraged that they went her to take down her underwear and put perfume there in its place. The glamorous salesgirl causes stirrings in the trouser department. When its discovered that free stockings and ties are given out with every scent purchase, both departments formulate a plan to oust the intruder.

Its Mr. Graingers 37th anniversary at Grace Brothers and the Department hosts a celebration dinner for him. Its a time of happiness, and dread, for if he receives a cuckoo clock then it means hes to be retired.

Sales are falling once again and so Mr. Rumbold calls together a "think tank", a suggestion he "borrowed" from Captain Peacock. The staff decide that a fashion show would be the answer, but when Young Mr. Grace wont cough up the dough to hire proper models, the staff are forced to put on the show themselves.

The Stores redecoration plans threaten to interfere in the staffs vacations. Everyone is now expected to take the same two weeks off and theres disagreements on how to handle it. Grace Brothers Tour Group Company offers some package deals, but they are far from First Class.

Mr. Grainger is 5 minutes late coming back from his coffee break and this sets in motion a management scheme to monitor all breaks. The staff must sign in and sign out when they leave and return to the department. The department staff revolt and union action is taken

Illnesses strike the Department, and Mr. Lucas decides to fake his to get the day off. His plan backfires as he is assigned to the Ladies Counter as a sort of "quarantine".

Grace Brothers hosts a week long sales event by selling only German goods. The staff, however, find that the German customers they are getting only want British goods. Captain Peacock objects to the "uniform" hes expected to wear and Mrs. Slocombe gets into the German wines.

An after-hours staff meeting produces an idea to introduce background music and a recorded voice; the only question is--whose voice?

When Mr. Grace decides to open the store early, the staff set out to sabotage the new policy.

Mr. Grainger is selected to fill in for Mr. Rumbold while he is away; the staff wonder whether they should take advantage of Mr. Graingers good nature, only to discover to their horror that he doesnt have one when he sacks Mrs. Slocombe.

After Mrs. Slocombe starts dropping hints that its her birthday, the staff calculate that she is 50 and plan an appropriate party.

When the mechanical Father Christmas proves that it cant be trusted, Mr. Grace offers a bonus for one of the staff to portray the store Santa. Meanwhile, Mr. Humphries and Mr. Lucas attempt to help Mr. Grainger prepare for a song-and-dance show at an old-folks home.

When Mr. Grace announces that he plans on temporarily reorganizing the departments, the staff are indignant, but find that work can be a lot of fun...if youre working in the toy department.

Young Mr. Grace returns from a trip to the U.S. with a host of new sales techniques that he is eager to implement.

Mr. Graingers temper has become extremely short. The staff, in a private meeting with Mr. Rumbold, decide he must go. However, when he wins the lottery, his bad mood vanishes and he makes his peace with the staff and stays on.

The staff prepare for a visit by the Queen. The visit is abruptly ended when Mrs. Slocombe accidentally pushes a flower pot out the window, nearly hitting the Royal Couple.

Mrs. Slocombe thinks shes finally got her man, a bouzouki player in a Greek restaurant. The staff plan a reception at the store to help keep costs down, and her American uncle plans on giving the happy couple a house. Before they can leave for the church, however, the best man arrives with bad news, forcing Mr. Tebbs to don the garb of a Greek vicar and Mr. Humphries that of the bridegroom.

A new display of perfume arrives from Bliss, but there is no Bliss Girl to man the counter. Mrs. Slocombe refuses the position, so Mr. Humphries becomes the Bliss Girl for the day.

Mr. Goldberg is hired as a junior after having recently run his own small tailoring business. To Captain Peacocks chagrin, the staff learn that Mr. Goldberg had served under the Captain but recalls those army days differently.

By permission of Mr. Grace, Mrs. Slocombe moves into a display apartment in Grace Brothers, because her new home is occupied by squatters. Due to a transport strike, Mr. Humphries seeks to join her in her new accommodations.

Captain Peacock is challenged to a boxing match by a member of another department. He backs out, and Mr. "Hugger" Humphries is "elected" to take his place in a wrestling match. He loses that match, but Mrs. Slocombe enters the ring and defeats the challenger.

Mr. Goldberg runs an agency to get the staff better jobs. After Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold become aware of this, Mr. Humphries and Mrs. Slocombe are given raises, and decide to stay with the store.

The staff contract a strange tropical illness, Marines Disease, from Mr. Humphries. They are quarantined in the basement until the disease is past.

Mr. Humphries is made editor of the new staff magazine. The 1st Floor staff is not pleased with the stories he writes about them causing friction in the relations between floors.

Old Mr. Grace becomes convinced that Mr. Humphries is his long-lost son. Mrs. Humphries (also played by Mr. Inman) arrives, and shows that she has never had relations with Mr. Grace.

Mrs. Slocombe has dreams in which she and Mr. Humphries become romantically embroiled. When she attempts to turn fantasy into reality, the situation becomes most difficult to handle.

Mrs. Slocombe sells her home-made perfume. After a misunderstanding, Mrs. Peacock finds Captain Peacock without his pants (perfume had spilled on them) and the ill-fated trousers in the hands of Mr. Rumbolds secretary.

When the handsome golf pro from Sports comes to the floor for a demonstration, he accidentally hits Mrs. Slocombe. She then thinks shes a little girl, wrecking havoc on the store as she cavorts around the department.

Bad news. Grace Brothers may be bought by the Japanese. The staff take their problems to Number Ten, where they speak with President Reagan by phone. Mrs. Thatcher gets fashion tips from Mr. Humphries.

Mrs. Slocombe is forcibly retired from her position. Mr. Humphries and Captain Peacock get her job back, but they are retired in the same manner. They end the show as the cleaner and the lift operator.

When the store is robbed late one night, the staff determine to capture the burglars themselves.

When Old Mr. Grace decides to allow the staff to use the store for after-hours money-making, they decide to open a nightclub. However, the advertising campaign has some rather unexpected results.

This episode we find Mr. Spooner is about to be discovered by a record company. One problem is that his voice keeps giving out. Mr. Humphries gives him a tonic and he recoveres for a little while. While auditioning on tv with Grace Brothers Staff, his voice gives out.