Your best and worst customer service experiences [rant & praise]

shnaek

Carnacalla wrote: »

Well you're at least due the delivery costs back based on the fact that you paid for a service they didn't provide.

A small comfort alright, though I'd rather just deal with people that can actually do their job. I did demand a refund. Got a mail to say that a representative is looking into the refund.

MOH

Good

Never thought I'd say this as I've had problems with them before, but impressed with DHL.

Was expecting a delivery at work, got an email from someone at my former home address the far side of Dublin (which is still down as my billing address) just after lunchtime saying a package had been delivered for me. The courier had said something they didn't catch about it being delivered there instead of work for some reason.

Checked the tracking and it showed it having just been signed for by me at work. Been having problem with the crowd I ordered from, presumed they'd messed up and requested the change, so emailed DHL to confirm what happened before getting onto the retailer.

Had an email back inside an hour apologising profusely and saying the package shouldn't have been sent to the billing address without approval, and did I want them to collect it and redeliver. Before I got a chance to reply and say it was OK as I'd be able to pick it up the next day, got an email from former home saying the courier had come back and collected it, followed by one from DHL saying I'd have it the next day, apologising again.

Package was delivered lunchtime the next day, was in a long meeting, came out to find two missed calls and an email from DHL asking me had I received the delivery OK.

In fairness, it sounds like someone looked at the wrong address (no idea why the retailer also had my billing address on the exposed part of the delivery docket) and threw it in the wrong van, and then the courier tried to do me a favour by delivering it rather than bringing it back to the depot. But quite impressed with the level of DHLs follow-up

5rtytry56

STARBUCKS, within Cinema complex, Blanchardstown Shopping Mall.

Very warm friendly service from counterstaff (there was only 1) and nice Roast Vegetable Sandwich toasted to my liking!

kitchenkid

Airtricity final bill as I switched supplier was 40 euro in credit. Was promised refund on 4 February. On 8 February Airtricity took over 150 euro from my bank ac. I contacted them on that day and they promised to refund it. I rang today to say I got no refund and they told me the "accounts team cancelled the refund as your direct debit had yet to clear, will arrange for the amount to be refunded today and will be in your bank by friday next week.

Appalling experience. If I took somebody's money without reason for 2 weeks I would expect to be prosecuted for theft.

lukesmom

Hate saying this because back in my youth I spent a few very happy years working here but.....Tesco Navan

Cashiers with a puss that would turn milk sour. No 'hello how are you, nada' it's as if they would rather be anywhere else and perhaps they would. Then go! Give somebody else your job someone with a personality would be good.

There are a few lovely ladies on the registers in there but the ones that cannot be bothered to interact with you really let the place down.

dudara

Great service yesterday from both Bank of Ireland 365, Tesco Credit card and the Holiday Inn in Amsterdam Arena. Had to ring them all to sort out some stuff (left it all to Friday) but each interaction was great and all issues resolved.

Gorteen

My wife and I booked into Metropole hotel in Cork for a night. Lots of problems with room allocation and standards generally. I emailed complaint and the response was............. nothing! nada! silence!

I know it's only a single night........ but obviously customer service is not their strength.....

Miaireland

What is your question?

ben.schlomo

Gorteen wrote: »

My wife and I booked into Metropole hotel in Cork for a night. Lots of problems with room allocation and standards generally. I emailed complaint and the response was............. nothing! nada! silence!

I know it's only a single night........ but obviously customer service is not their strength.....

Was there nobody in the hotel to deal with your complaint at the time, little they can do after the fact.

Gorteen

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Was there nobody in the hotel to deal with your complaint at the time, little they can do after the fact.

The first problem was they had no record of our booking into the Metropole Hotel, even though I had a print out confirming our reservation.

Then the room they gave us was a double bed squeezed into a single room (one bedside locker, the other side of the bed pushed against the wall).

We asked for proper double room and eventually got one........ with peeling paint and signs of water ingress (damp).

Next morning discovered there was no hot water. (Water wasn't even luke-warm). Notified reception but we couldn't wait for plumber/maintenance as we had onward travel connections to make.

Wrote them an email a couple of days later which has been ignored. Not impressed, I have to admit!!!!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Good

Amazon. Excellent customer service as usual. I had purchased an item that went faulty inside a week. Free return and a replacement shipped before the defective one was even posted back. Unfortunately the replacement stopped working after two weeks. Returned free of charge and credit back to my account in four days. Pity the item was a dud but their follow up was excellent.

goz83

Rather than start a new thread, I figured the people following this one would be the same who would be interested in this post. Mods, feel free to separate into separate thread.

I totally Jinxed myself!

So my iPad Mini 3, which I bought new and sealed from someone who was given it as a company gift (it had the company name etched on it) over 9 months ago started to act all crazy on me.

The volume/mute indicator would randomly flash on/off without affecting the sound. This could happen even when the pad was lying idle for a while, on a flat surface. I ignored this though for several weeks, as it didn't bother me too much and wasn't happening often.

Then about 2 weeks ago, I woke up and took the pad from inside my bedroom locker and pressed the menu button. The screen was real blurry and faded. I hit the power button to blank the screen and then the menu button again and it was fine, but it kept happening.

I contacted apple by chat.
They asked me to do a full reset and set up the pad as a new one to see if it was a software issue. It wasn't.
They asked if I wanted it posted off, or if I wanted to drop it into an apple approved repair shop. I opted to post to apple.
The pad wasn't originally in my name and they fixed that.
They said I would receive a pad with brand new components (that maybe only parts of the MB would be from a recycled unit) which was perfectly fine with me.
They sent a courier to collect the pad on Monday. I got a replacement by courier today and have restored it with iTunes. Very happy customer here. It's like I have a brand new pad again (without the company etching on it)

Mod:Moved to Best/Worst customer experience thread

Xcellor

Having had various things delivered I have to say these lads are most courteous and helpful.

I had a washing machine delivered, they provided decent tracking details. Text message. Even a phone call an evening beforehand. When they arrived they asked did they want me to take the packaging away with them. They answered questions about the installation (despite not paying for this service). They were careful not to leave dirt or spill any water from the broken appliance.

I would 100% recommend Currys for this.

waterfaerie

I can't believe the experience I've just had with Flanagans Furniture. I'm posting here to let others know because I've never experienced anything so appalling from a retailer before.

We ordered two items from them back in January. On the website it said the items were in stock so we bought and paid for them straight away by credit card online.

The next day we got an email to confirm our order and it gave an estimated delivery date of the 26th of February. We thought that was a bit crazy since they are two small items. It's not like they are furniture items or anything special. But anyway we decided it was ok, we were not in a hurry, at least we had a date.

The 26th of February came and went. We left it for a bit because it did say it was an estimated delivery date. There was no communication from them at all to update us or anything. So after a week we rang up. They said they were waiting for one of the items, it was due in in the next day or so and that we would definitely have our order the following week. There was no apology or any explanation as to why they didn't communicate with us to let us know that there was going to be a delay. The girl was unfriendly and abrupt.

Another week went by and there was still no sign of our order. So we rang up again and were told a similar story. We were guaranteed a delivery by the next week. Again, no apology and no explanation for the lack of communication.

Another two weeks later and still no order. My husband rang up yesterday and didn't even bother talking to the girl who answered. He asked for the manager straight away. He was put through to a man who said the items were there and had been there for some time. He said he would send them out straight away and that we would get them today. Again, no apology or anything.

Today we still didn't receive our order. I rang up and asked for a tracking number. The girl said she would check and ring me back straight away. She never rang me back.

So a few hours later I rang again and she said she couldn't give me a tracking number because the courier had only just taken the order and that she couldn't get a tracking number until tomorrow. (She didn't apologise or say why she hadn't rung me back to tell me that.)

I told her that the manager said the items were sent yesterday. She told me that wasn't true because there was no manager working yesterday!

I asked to speak to a manager then and she said the manager was away sick and that I "was given misleading information" yesterday.

I told her that I was extremely unhappy, only partly due to the now ridiculously long delay, but mostly due to their attitude of constant fobbing off and lack of apology.

She said, in the most sarcastic tone imaginable, "well I'm very sorry" and she started going on about delays from their suppliers and couriers etc. I tried to tell her that that wasn't the point. My point was that they should have just communicated with us, we shouldn't have had to ring so many times and that I couldn't believe how unapologetic they were. Every time we rang them they were far less than friendly.

I did get quite irritated but I was polite, did not say anything offensive and I was persistent with my point. Several times she said "Jesus Christ" and "I don't have to listen to you moaning" and other things like that. I pointed out that I was being very reasonable, that I had actually been exceptionally patient up until now considering how long we have been waiting, and that I couldn't believe how rude she was being. Then she hung up.

My husband rang back straight away and got through to the same "manager" that he spoke to yesterday. There was no apology but he assured us we would get the order tomorrow.

I don't even care about the order now. If it doesn't come tomorrow we'll be going to the bank to get the money back on our card. I just can't believe how Flanagans have dealt with this.

Sorry for the rant but hopefully it will be helpful for others to know. Also, if anyone can advise me if there is anywhere I can report the company to officially, please let me know. We will be writing a letter of complaint to Flanagans but I get the impression they won't care.

Tl;dr - We are still awaiting our order after two months and several phone calls to unhelpful and unapologetic staff at Flanagans, including one exceptionally rude staff member. I'm less upset about the delay and more upset about their appalling communication and customer service.

dslamjack

Well, my wife and I are still in a state of shock after visiting Homestore + more in Airside retail park in Sword's yesterday.
On entering ,at the front door of the shop, we were greeted in a very polite warm and welcoming manner by a young man ,immaculate in appearance and of a very pleasant disposition.
We were only getting over that shock,when less than 5 meters in to the store we were greeted by another very cheerful and welcoming member of staff,who greeted us warmly and asked if he could be of assistance,he listened attentively and without distraction to my wife and to what she required.
He then proceeded to guide myself and my wife to the exact product's my wife was interested in purchasing and indicated to a spot nearby,where he would be if we required any further assistance.
I know the country is commemorating 1916,but it seem's like a hundred year's ago that myself or my wife encountered this level of excellent customer service in a major store or indeed any store.
Where this level of excellent customer service is provided it should be noted and the staff and management applauded,service of this kind is unfortunately as rare as hen's teeth,in a world where to a lot of business's,customers are a necessary evil that are only required and to be endured to keep them in business.
In conclusion,the manager/management who implemented/introduced this level of staff training at Homestore + more is to be congratulated.
People years ago used to say--''soap and water and good manners cost nothing'' like wise with good and excellent customer service,simple things like a warm welcome and attentive service do not have to impinge on the balance sheet,indeed they can only help supplement and improve a business's turnover.
Also neither my wife or I have absolutely no personal connection/interest or attachment to any staff or management of Homestore + more.
As I said above congratulations to the staff of Homestore + more -- Airside and keep up the good work and never let your standards slip... a rare commodity these days ... a Happy Customer.
Thank You.

robdonn

From a few years ago:

I called UPC to ask if I could get a discount on my internet bill as I have had a switch box of theirs dating back to the days of Chorus attached to my house. I was told that they could offer discounts/credit on tv services (which I did not have) but there were currently no systems in place to offer for Internet services. The guy on the phone told me that he had heard of plans to introduce such a system and that he would get back to me about it.

6 months later I received a phone call from the same guy, with no prodding or questioning from myself since the original call, saying that they could now offer discounts/credit on Internet only accounts. I received credit to my account which gave me free service for an entire year (I have the biggest internet bundle offered at the time) and now only pay about 20% of the full rate.

I've heard horror stories about people's dealings with UPC customer services, but this was definitely the best experience I've ever had from a company and if I had the cop-on at the time to note the guy's name I would have sent a massive letter of commendation to UPC.

Otis_taylor2

Just wanted to put in a good word for the customer service team at Decathlon. I ordered a bike online and got a bike i wasn't entirely happy with, along with some issues on the bike and a bike being slightly smaller in size for me. So i sent them an email and got a phone call from them the same day to arrange a return, so very spontaneous in replying. I got a brand new one delivered today! all done in the same week.

It was one of the best experiences i've had to deal with regarding returns.

uli84

WORST - Supervalu and Centra (Musgrave basically as MACE is not much better) - god forbid you have some sort of coupon/ Electric Ireland gift card/phone app offer or anything like that - their staff never know what to do with it and they look at me as if I was from a different planet. Can't be so hard to train the staff. Not to mention I was refused Superquinn clubcard few times - fair enough they are probably phased out now but I still haven't received a new one despite contacting Supervalu and I'm pretty sure their website says it still can be used.
Also a lot of misprice around the shops.

partnership

Just a warning for anyone about thinking about going to virgin media. I cancelled my contract recently and they still took extra money from my account. I have been trying to get this refunded for three weeks now with no success. Their customer service is appalling. If you are with them and are cancelling then make sure you cancel your direct debit with the bank.

dudara

OP - are you looking for specific consumer advice, in which case I can move it to the Talk to Virgin forum.

partnership

No I am fed up emailing and ringing them. The purpose of my post is to warn other people how bad they are. Incompetent dies not even cover how bad they are.

dudara

Merging into Best / Worst Customer Service thread then

dudara

Arbie

After 12+ years as a customer of NTL/UPC/Virgin, I finally cancelled a month ago. The problems began last year when their customer service suddenly went downhill. Absolutely impossible to get things sorted. They treated an elderly relative very poorly and I cancelled as a result. They then cut my service off early leaving me without service for several days. Very poor experience.

The_Conductor

Arbie wrote: »

After 12+ years as a customer of NTL/UPC/Virgin, I finally cancelled a month ago. The problems began last year when their customer service suddenly went downhill. Absolutely impossible to get things sorted. They treated an elderly relative very poorly and I cancelled as a result. They then cut my service off early leaving me without service for several days. Very poor experience.

When they were sending me a new cable modem- I had an agreement that I would package up the pre-existing modem and send it back to them. The delivery guy wouldn't hear of it though- and insisted on entering the property and pulling at wires and unplugging 6 different devices- before collecting the modem he was supposed to collect (along with its power supply and all the cables that were attached to it)- *and* my own wifi router that I had been using in bridge mode with the Cisco router.

I rang customer service- who were very apologetic and said they'd look into it and get back to me (they never did). I managed to find someone in Limerick to talk to- who also promised me they would check with returned equipment and send my router back to me- nope, never happened. I then used the chat facility- and got yet another promise that it would be investigated- and my router returned- also to no avail.

Nightline deliveries- who delivered the Virgin Compal box- refused to tell me who the driver was- shutting down any investigation in that direction by me.

I've now shelled out for a new Netgear R800 Nighthawk- as the wifi router NTL supply is incredibly poor (constantly dropping connections).

If there was any genuine competition out there- I'd leave Virgin/NTL in a heartbeat- and as soon as my contract is up- its what I intend to do.

Life is too short to spend 8-9 hours explaining the same thing again and again to a call centre in Manilla- to staff who don't understand an Irish accent, and keep breaking into Spanish of some sort (it was easier to understand their terrible Spanish- than their English)..........

I hate NTL/UPC/Virgin (whatever the hell they want to call themselves today).

TheChizler

Isn't that theft?

Dav

Hi folks.

I don't normally like to interrupt, but the folks from Virgin have seen this thread and have asked me to let you know that they're available to help on their Talk To forum if you've not already spoken to them (this is a direct line to their Irish team). I'm not saying you have to go there and talk to them or anything of the sort, just letting you know they're there if you didn't already.

Extrasupervery

Dell, Three Ireland, Wileyfox.

You'd lose the will to live trying to sort out what appears to be a simple issue.

Elemonator

Virgin Media seem to be having serious problems right now.

gusroo86

Virgin media without a doubt

Terrible customer service, am waiting on a call back from the 22nd of March, have spent at least 8hours onto their Philippines call centre chasing it up and have lodged complaints about complaints at this stage, advised I should be contacted in 48hrs still nothing. I have talked to maybe 15-20 ppl through various methods in the last mnt. In the interim if you don't pay your bill ( the only leverage you think you may have) they just cut your service. You have to wait for them to contact you regarding complaints I'm waiting nearly a mnt now and have lodges 4.

Regarding my experience to date with VM. I have experienced difficulty in logging a complaint on the 8th of April the customer service agent infact refused to take my complaint initially and said I had to do it online, the online method also proved difficult with 'page not found' etc., staff speak poor English which doesn't help.Refusal to escalate call to senior member of staff or manager was another area that proved onerous, refusal to issue a complaint case number has also happened,

VM should be aware at this stage the number of similar complaints especially on online forums even customers have went to the lengths of uploading conversations online on YouTube. VM should be ashamed.

I guess there in the business of frustrating there customers into accepting. You are constantly passed from one department to the next when you ring. It has improved impossible to talk to anyone in authority. Even tough they essentially break the terms of the contract you can't walk away as you could be blacklisted from a credit rating perspective from their incompetence, once something is out of the norm, ie a problem, there is no way out of it it seems, you keep having to pay and hope they fix it!

Chris_5339762

Fair play to Ryanair... booked flights ages ago for a trip to Brussels, was caught up in the move to Charleroi but ended up not going due to a nasty bout of tonsillitis.

Email in along with sick cert from work. Money back promised, waiting for it to hit the account. Absolutely painless.