At the London flagship store of Grace Bros, a reorganisation within forces the male staff of the Menswear Department, Mr Grainger, Mr Humphries and Mr Lucas, to share their floor space with the Ladies Wear Department, staffed by Mrs Slocombe and Miss Brahms. It's not long before Grainger and Slocombe are arguing over the floor's centre display, requiring the floor walker Captain Peacock to find a way to defuse the situation, and seeking a decision from the floor's manager Mr Rumbold. Note: This
Lucas is eager to spend an evening after work with Brahms, but doesn't want the senior staff knowing. To achieve this, he writes a secret love note addressing her as "Sexy Knickers". However, the note causes misunderstandings when it is accidentally dropped near Peacock, who hands it over to Slocombe assuming she dropped it, whereupon she reads it and assumes Peacock wants to date her.
Sales figures for both clothing departments are falling, so Rumbold is eager to insist the floor staff stay behind after closing time to learn about sales technique. Lucas is nervous he might lose his job because he's struggled with sales, and is quite surprised when his nervous smile is suggested as a way for him to win over customers during the training session.
A transport strike in London worries the floor staff over how to get to and from their jobs at the store. After putting forward their concerns to Rumbold, the floor manager decides they should sleep overnight within the store, much to the staff's surprise, especially when he suggest they find suitable nightwear stock to use. However, they are not entirely delighted that they must make use of sleep-in tents for the night. Note: Guest stars Colin Bean and Pamela Manson.
As part of a new promotion at the store, Grace Brothers hires an attractive saleswoman to sell a new unisex line of perfume and scents, dubbed "His and Hers", within the clothing departments. The floor staff become upset when the saleswoman undercuts their own sales with special promotional freebies for passing customers, leading them to work together to sabotage the new venture. Note: Guest stars Joanna Lumley.
On the day staff receive their wages, with Peacock's being delayed, a customer finds she has lost a diamond from a piece of her jewellery. With a reward for its return, all the staff initially agree to split the money being offered. However, in reality, the staff prove greedy and eager to claim the reward for themselves, especially when each group, including Rumbold, thinks they have found the missing stone on the floor. Note: Guest stars Janet Davies and Elizabeth Larner.
Grainger is set to celebrate his 65th birthday, and the staff are chipping in with birthday dinner he shall receive that evening on the floor. At the same time, Rumbold is placed in difficult position of handing him a traditional cuckoo clock as a present, as it's usually given by Young Mr Grace to retiring staff. This soon prompts questions about whether Grainger is set to be dismissed from the store. Note: Guest stars John Ringham.
Due to issues securing fuel for Grace Bros', Rumbold informs the staff that the store's central heating is being turned off despite the bitterly cold weather outside. Eager to keep warm, the staff ignore warnings not to waste electricity by using various appliances during opening hours, unaware that Rumbold himself is using an electric fire secretly in his office.
After both departments make a total loss of £600 for the previous week, Rumbold forms a "think tank" to come up with ways to increase sales. He soon pounces on an idea by Peacock to hold a fashion show, with the floor staff assigned to become models showing off the store's clothing range. However, the idea soon has its problems, especially when Mr Grace is made to witness them perform it.
With shoplifting on the increase at stores across London, Grace Bros' makes plans to trial-run a new CCTV system. Both the Gents and Ladies department are delighted to find themselves on camera, until Lucas discovers Rumbold can use the system to spy on them. Unwilling to maintain the system, he and Humphries scheme to get Rumbold to remove the CCTV from their floor.
Mr Grace is eager to have the whole store redecorated, but needs to shut it down for two weeks in August for the work to be carried out. To this end, he requests the staff take their holidays that month during that period. Peacock soon hears complaints from his colleagues, when they reveal the offer of £5 "inconvenience money" to do so is not enough to convince them, until Rumbold ups the offer with something less appealing. Note: Guest stars John Clegg.
Rumbold is informed that one of the board of directors for Grace Bros is retiring due to ill health, meaning he could be considered for the position. For Peacock, he delights at taking over as floor manager, while Grainger and Slocombe both want to replace him as floor walker if this happens. Meanwhile, Humphries reveals he can read palms, and does so for Peaccock and Slocombe, knowing his readings often come true. Filmed: 21 February 1975
After Grainger comes back to his department late from his coffee break, both Rumbold and Peacock institute a new rule requiring staff to sign out when taking a break and sign in when returning, to avoid future tardiness. When the floor staff refuse to do so, and Grainger is fined for his lateness, the group turn to Mr Mash to unionize them and get the management to drop the rule, although Grainger becomes concerned it could cause problems. Filmed: 28 February 1975
As a reward for 20 years of employment, Peacock is awarded the key to the executive lavatory, with Rumbold also offering him the right to have his lunch break in the executive dining room. Grainger is annoyed over this, as he has worked longer than Peacock. Meanwhile, the floor staff become annoyed when they learn that their lunch hour is being delayed until 2pm, due to concerns it eats away at sales. Note: Guest stars Donald Hewlett, Michael Knowles, and Jeffrey Segal. Filmed: 7 March 1975
Lucas is eager to get out of work to see a new girlfriend, and tries to pretend he has come down with a cold. In contrast, Slocombe refuses to go home despite having a cold, much to the displeasure of Brahms, who refuses to work with her. To remedy this, Peacock has Brahms and Lucas switch departments for the day, unaware the junior male assistant will do anything to get out of work, faking an illness or injury with Mr Mash's help. Note: Guest stars Pamela Cundell and Gordon Peters. Filmed: 14 M
Mr Grace has the department store engaged in a "German Week" as another of his ideas to attract customers. As a result all the departments, including the Gents and Ladies, sell only German goods. However, after two days on their floor, Rumbold finds they have made little money, so both he and the staff decide to give their departments a more German feel, which includes dancing and serving German wine. Note: Guest stars Joanna Lumley. Filmed: 21 March 1975
Mr Grace announces to the floor staff how he intends to soon get married, ending his status as a widower of 40 years. After he invites Slocombe to see him for tea, her colleagues, including Peacock and Rumbold, presume she is to become engaged to the elderly owner. Naturally, they are eager not to anger her and do anything to appease her, unaware that Mr Grace merely seeks her advice regarding proposing to another in the store. Note: Guest stars John Clegg. Filmed: 28 March 1975
Mr Grace informs the floor staff that he can only afford to have one of their departments redecorated. After a discussion and a coin toss, Slocombe finds that she and Brahms must temporaily relocate to Menswear while their department undergoes decorating. The resultant relocation soon causes friction between the staff not only on where items are displayed and stored, but also on sales to customers. Filmed: 4 April 1975