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

Uberbeamerman

Shout out to Irish Rail.
Needed help sorting an issue with the online booking system, emailed a general info email before I realise it'd prob be the new year before I got a response (it being a non specific irish rail email address). Went on FB and asked them directly on their page...they took my details and half an hour later the issue was sorted. Checking my emails an hour later and the first email address responded. Prompt pleasant service that made me smile.

athtrasna

Justice for the individual wrote: »

When you order on line you run the risk of bad service and the receipt of a bad product. In your case this has happened and then the follow-up service and communication from Boohoo was sloppy. I find from experience while dealing with the larger organisations that the personal touch is lost because each time you contact them you will end up dealing with a different customer service person each time. The best method is to get the full name of a particular person in the organisation and keep dealing with him/her and follow up each conversation with an e-mail.

In any case, for the sake of their reputation, they should be more professional in dealing with your short-shipment and bad quality of garment. Boohoo are based in Burnley and Manchester, so it is likely that the product you received may have originated from a low-cost manufacturing country on the Asian Continent, where most times they will use child-labour, hence the low-quality.
Most times we do not question the origin and labour conditions, as we are only interested in getting the best bargain possible and ignore the ethical implications.

Is it not better to try and shop local, as I would think that your local store, (small & large) will bargain with you and give you a good deal. The plus is that you can see what you buying and the business is kept in your local area to the benefit of the economy. These are the issues you must weigh up before ordering on line.

Good luck and I hope the issue is sorted out for you.

I am an experienced shopper both online and in bricks and mortar shops of all sizes. I do know how to shop, what I was doing, as per the title of this thread, was illustrating an example of poor customer service

ABajaninCork

I went to Woodies in Blackpool twice in two days looking for a couple of bits. The store is badly laid out, and the aisles poorly labelled (IMO).

Both times, I've had to interrupt staff from their nice chat ask staff for help. Both times, I felt they were rude and unhelpful. The first time I asked for help, I was rudely told 'No. We don't have it.' No apology and very abrupt manner.

This afternoon was the best though. The assistant sighed loudly, marched me over to an empty bin at the front of the store, then proceeded to talk to her colleague about the reduced poinsettias at the front of the store, ignoring me completely.

I need something else from a DIY store tomorrow. Although Blackpool's close, it's almost worth the drive and aggro to go to the Kinsale Road store or B & Q, where at least the staff are pleasant and helpful!

Anyone else had the dubious 'pleasure' of shopping in the Blackpool store? I've also posted this in the Cork City forum.

Ken.

Good

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I went to Woodies in Blackpool twice in two days looking for a couple of bits. The store is badly laid out, and the aisles poorly labelled (IMO).

Both times, I've had to interrupt staff from their nice chat ask staff for help. Both times, I felt they were rude and unhelpful. The first time I asked for help, I was rudely told 'No. We don't have it.' No apology and very abrupt manner.

This afternoon was the best though. The assistant sighed loudly, marched me over to an empty bin at the front of the store, then proceeded to talk to her colleague about the reduced poinsettias at the front of the store, ignoring me completely.

I need something else from a DIY store tomorrow. Although Blackpool's close, it's almost worth the drive and aggro to go to the Kinsale Road store or B & Q, where at least the staff are pleasant and helpful!

Anyone else had the dubious 'pleasure' of shopping in the Blackpool store? I've also posted this in the Cork City forum.

Its not just that woodies. It would be easier find the ark of the covenant than to find a staff member in the Newbridge(Co.Kildare) store.

Oh and just when you get to the point where you know stuff is yourself they change around the store.

The_Conductor

Its not just Woodies- B&Q Liffey Valley have a rather interesting interpretation of customer service too. Under counter fridges- no labels, ratings or descriptions- just sitting there happily, shrink wrapped, so you have to google them to find out what the hell you're looking at.

End of line products- sold as new- with the LED read-outs not working (and being told- 'well,what did you expect, its end of line'..........

As for finding anything- well, while they may have their layout done ok- it doesn't mean that the staff actually know where particular components might be (a cistern ballcock- is not with the screws and nails)..........

My policy is if I see an older staff member- ask them, they tend to know........

ABajaninCork

The_Conductor wrote: »

My policy is if I see an older staff member- ask them, they tend to know........

I agree with this. Both here and in the UK, B & Q have a active policy of recruiting older staff members. They tend to be pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable...

I needed some paint earlier this year, Wasn't sure which one would be best. Spoke to a lovely old gentleman in the Mahon Point store who spent ages explaining the different finishes, and asking me about the room to be painted. Spot on with the advice too!

Justice for the individual

I purchased a dishwasher from Power City, Coolmine, Blanchardstown at a cost of €399. While paying cash, the check-out girl was more occupied with discussing the boyfriend of some girl (he was going bald) instead of concentrating or paying any interest in treating me with any respect. I said to the other two girls she was having the discussion with, not to be talking to her as she was taking cash and needed her full concentration as she could make a mistake in counting the cash. They ignored me and continued with their three-way discussion.

Minutes later, I purchased another item and while paying, the three check-out girls were still discussing their social life, which was being overheard by anybody in the immediate vicinity. So obviously, they had not heeded my previous advice/complaint. They were Irish, and age bracket, early to mid-twenties.

These large stores should pay more attention to properly training their staff in the art of customer service and to show they have some regard for the customer who is giving the business which is paying their wages. In my examples I would blame the managers as the discussion among the staff, while dealing with me, and while dealing with others, was continuous.

It is fairly obvious that this couldn't care less attitude is very prevalent in a lot of stores and is tarnishing the genuine employee who strives to please the customer.

Wise Old Elf

Irishder wrote: »

Have to share this. I was in PCworld today buying a tablet, they had a good deal on the Samsung Tab 10.1. So after shopping around i said i would go in and pick one up. All fine, very helpful girl explaining the tablet and i said i'd take it. I was going to haggle for a free cover but said i wouldn't bother.

She came back with the tablet, i said thanks and took it off of her. She then started trying to sell me McAfee. I said no i'm fine thanks, she went on the real hard sell then said, i quote "9 out of 10 Apps have a virus". :eek: . I said do you even know what you are on about. She back tracked and said "Well 10 out of 100 have a virus" i just laughed and ok.

After this she tried to sell me insurance for 4.50 Euro a month, again i said no thanks. She was really starting to p!ss me off and said i need it if i have kids in the house, i said that why i have home insurance. To this she said "Yes but that has a 500 Excess" I couldn't believe she was my insurance broker as well and knew all details.

Think i'll stick to online shopping in the future.

Very late response to this, but I had EXACTLY the same experience in Curry's /PC World (can't remember which one!) in Limerick.

They really tried to push antivirus, cloud storage and insurance, on me. The chap even looked like he wasn't going to sell me it, until I asked him was he going to sell it, or was I going to have to go to another shop and buy it.

It kinda bugs me, as a lot of people will fall for it, but you can get free cloud storage from Dropbox, free AVG antivirus/cleanup app, and they probably won't fix the damn thing if you drop it anyway!

Going Forward

Justice for the individual wrote: »

I purchased a dishwasher from Power City, Coolmine, Blanchardstown at a cost of €399. While paying cash, the check-out girl was more occupied with discussing the boyfriend of some girl (he was going bald) instead of concentrating or paying any interest in treating me with any respect. I said to the other two girls she was having the discussion with, not to be talking to her as she was taking cash and needed her full concentration as she could make a mistake in counting the cash. They ignored me and continued with their three-way discussion.

Minutes later, I purchased another item and while paying, the three check-out girls were still discussing their social life, which was being overheard by anybody in the immediate vicinity. So obviously, they had not heeded my previous advice/complaint. They were Irish, and age bracket, early to mid-twenties.

These large stores should pay more attention to properly training their staff in the art of customer service and to show they have some regard for the customer who is giving the business which is paying their wages. In my examples I would blame the managers as the discussion among the staff, while dealing with me, and while dealing with others, was continuous.

It is fairly obvious that this couldn't care less attitude is very prevalent in a lot of stores and is tarnishing the genuine employee who strives to please the customer.

You'd wonder what "skills" these people have to be employed in customer service. Did they have an interview, were they trained, does anyone taking your money give a shi2?

Note to supervisors: These people are your store or brand ambassadors.

More proof that those under the age of 30 should be left packing the shelves and leave those with some empathy to deal with customers.

This sort of couldnt care less attitude really prompts shoppers into going online. :mad::mad:

I purchased some items directly from the manufacturer this year because I couldnt be arced emailing the local shop, knowing that I wouldnt get a reply.

uli84

Excellent service from HALFORDS. Reserved baby bike online, got immediate email confirmation of processing, after 1 or 2 hrs a phone call saying it is ready for collection, had the item home within 2 hrs and at great price too. Very happy customer & I hope they will survive in Ireland.

Steviemoyne

Bought a voucher for a present for Christmas, redeemable online. The code was scribbled out by the Gamestop employee who then wrote the code by hand.

Long story short code didn't work and upon contacting Gamestop twice outside of the holiday dates I have yet to get a reply and I'm also out money and a present (had to get a replacement item after the date).

Been in touch with Amazon and other email based support over the holiday period and had no problems contacting or getting a reply. Don't see why Gamestop can't do the same.

Edit: Oh should probably say, Gamestop are my worst customer service whereas Amazon are the best. Electronic Arts (EA) are close second for worst customer service received.

ibarelycare

Steviemoyne wrote: »

Bought a voucher for a present for Christmas, redeemable online. The code was scribbled out by the person selling who then wrote the code by hand.

Long story short code didn't work and upon contacting Gamestop twice outside of the holiday dates I have yet to get a reply and I'm also out money and a present (had to get a replacement item after the date).

Been in touch with Amazon and other email based support over the holiday period and had no problems contacting or getting a reply. Don't see why Gamestop can't do the same.

Edit: Oh should probably say, Gamestop are my worst customer service whereas Amazon are the best. Electronic Arts (EA) are close second for worst customer service received.

I don't understand. Who is the seller who hand wrote the code? Someone in Gamestop?

Steviemoyne

ibarelycare wrote: »

I don't understand. Who is the seller who hand wrote the code? Someone in Gamestop?

Aye, they meant to highlight it using a marker which instead made the code unreadable. This also meant that the site which the code was for was unwilling to provide customer support (because the original printed code could not be read). Edited to be more clear.

Fey!

Big thumbs up for Vodafone Broadband and Eircom Customer Supply.

I had to ring Vodafone broadband on December 28th (Saturday) as our broadband was gone. It turned out to be a problem with the router (I'm pretty sure it was a lightning strike, as it coincided with a big flash outside!!). The Vodafone customer service guy organised a line check as he was also seeing a line fault.

At 11:30am on December 30th (Monday) an Eircom engineer arrived to us. Very friendly and efficient. Line checked, no problems.

On December 31st (Tuesday) we got a failed delivery notice from An Post when we opened our shop. When we picked the package up it turned out to be the replacement router from Vodafone.

Fast, efficient, helpful and friendly service by both companies.

This is not fair on all An Post employees (we have always had great, helpful postmen who'd go out of their way to help you), but some of their special delivery guys need to concentrate a bit. We get packages thrown over our gate when we're closed where anyone can get at them, and the failed delivery notice mentioned above was handed in by a random stranger after lunch who had found it the other end of the street.

This is compounded by where some bureaucrat decided to locate the office from which you have to collect failed deliveries (getting it delivered again is pointless as they deliver before most shops in the area open). This office is located on the Tuam Road in a building off the main road. There is absolutely no public transport running within miles of it, and a taxi from the city centre to it would cost a return fare of around €15. To drive to it from the city centre took me an hour and a half to complete the return journey. Unfortunately you can't organise a pickup at the main post office in the city centre as An Post won't allow this.

The_Conductor

I know we like to take the piss out of DPD and their ineptness- but I'd like to say kudos to Karen and the gang in Naas for rejigging a failed collection (it was Christmas) and making it all as painfree as possible. Nice one guys.

gugleguy

Returned faulty helicopter to Maplins Mary Street D1 today bought in early Decemeber, without receipt. A couple of minutes later I got a different replacement product, a quadcopter. All in all, handled with minimum of song'n dance or fuss.

EIRE1922

My family and I, are regular weekly shopppers and have shopped with Dunnes Stores for over 25 years.

I was shopping in Dunnes Stores, St. Kieran's Street/Market Yard in Kilkenny City last Wednesday 8th of January 2014 at lunch time. Included in my purcheses I bought were four Cully & Sully Chicken & Veg Soup cartons for the advertised 'special offer' price of €2.00 Euro on the self. However, upon checking out at the til and after checking my customer receipt, I noticed that I was over charged by €0.49 cent per carton, so in total I was over charged by €1.96 for the 4 soups.

Upon noticing the decrepancy and before deciding to leave the store I went straight to the Customs Services Desk to seek a refund for the overcharged amount using my customer receipt. The staff member agreed that a refund was indeed due to me.

However, it turned out that the staff there were completely inadequate and could not provide me with a refund in a efficient time and manner. It seemed to me they just wanted to keep me waiting as long as possible, and did not really want to issue me with a refund that under Consumer Law I was and am I fully entitled to!

The level of Customer Service was terrible. I ended standing waiting for 10-15 minutes while '5' female members of staff could not decide whether or not if I was entitled to a full refund for just the amount overcharged or for the total cost of the soups. They did not seem to be able to make up their minds and were far too busy trying to figure out how to operate the refund system on the til, fiddling with keys and my customer receipt!

Then began a big rigmarole over whether or not Dunnes Stores was to keep the receipt, if I was entitled to retain my customer receipt or if it should then be photocopied. I felt I was entitled to receive it back in case I had any issue and may needed to return any of my other purchases in future.

At this stage my patience was shot, I was not going to wait another 5 minutes for the receipt to be then photocopied, so I decided to walk out and leave the store, leaving my receipt, the €1.96 refund due and one carton of the soup behind at the Customer Service desk.

Now, what I wish to know is why was the level of Customer Care so poor and why are staff not fully trained and up to date on how to refund on items? Why did it take 5 staff members to try and figure out how to make a simply refund €1.96? I would suggest that more adequate training be given to all members of staff to help them be more efficient in dealing with Customer refunds and complaints!

On several occasions shopping in Dunnes Stores, Kilkenny we have found that hat we end up being overcharged numerous times! It now seems to be a regular accurrence and I personally think that it is not really acceptable in this day and age to be overcharging customers and profiting from it!

The staff too are generally very unfriendly and spend far too much time yaking to each other!

wmpdd3

I agree the Dunnes customer service desk is a bit of a disaster and customers are made to feel like they are annoying staff by taking up their time.

and did not really want to issue me with a refund that under Consumer Law I was and am I fully entitled to!

There is no law here that you can quote, google 'invitation to treat'

Complain to the National Consumer Agency if you believe prices are often wrong.

dudara

EIRE1922 Have you sent this complaint to the store manger in Kilkenny as well as a copy to HQ?

EIRE1922

dudara wrote: »

EIRE1922 Have you sent this complaint to the store manger in Kilkenny as well as a copy to HQ?

Yes and no reply! Dunnes Stores think people will just ignore and forget about it if is only small amounts. They have been doing for years.

dudara

Posts moved to the Best/Worst Customer Service thread, as it wasn't related the topic of the original thread.

I don't think this is malicious on Dunnes' part. More due to the ineptitude of the staff. I personally don't shop in Dunnes (would actively avoid then actually) as I don't like the way they do business.

EIRE1922

dudara wrote: »

Posts moved to the Best/Worst Customer Service thread, as it wasn't related the topic of the original thread.

I don't think this is malicious on Dunnes' part. More due to the ineptitude of the staff. I personally don't shop in Dunnes (would actively avoid then actually) as I don't like the way they do business.

No true, it was not malice, however they have a real habit of overcharigng people and their customer service is truly shocking!

The funny thing is, the self was practically empty. So therefore I assume Dunnes Stores had overcharged every other customer who bought the soup that morning or afternoon. Customers would only have noticed they were overcharged if they had checked their receipts.

The moral of the story is: You should always check your receipts before you leave any store! But in Dunnes Stores case it does not matter, because they will try and make it as difficult as possible, not for you to get a partial or full refund (which your are fully entitled to under Consumer Law) if you do look to get your money back.

New Home

I've had great experiences with the Customer Service team at BookDepository. They do a fantastic job, they BELIEVE you when you say that something or other has gone wrong (not that many things would), they are prompt, courteous, and I've never had any problems with refunds or replacements. A few examples (I've been ordering them for years!): I had ordered a Nursery Rhymes paperback with a cd for my cousin's kids, but when it arrived the cd was broken in two (probably broken in the post) - when I contacted them they apologised and sent a replacement out immediately at no extra cost, and they didn't want me to return the old book or even to send proof of the damage by way of a photograph. Another time a fairly expensive box-set of books I had ordered arrived with a crushed corner, this didn't affect the books themselves in any way, just the box, so they offered me a 15% discount, or a replacement if I sent the old box-set back to them. Another time, due to a system glitch my order was processed and charged twice, I wrote to them and they immediately cancelled the duplication and refunded my card, no hassle. Finally, another time the books I had ordered were taking way too long to be delivered so I thought they'd been lost in the mail (again, the postal service, but this time it was the Italian one...), and when I got in touch they said no problem and they sent a whole new order out (maybe 5 or 6 books). One set was delivered, and after quite a while the second set arrived; I rang them to see what to do to return the extra books, and they just said "Keep them". No charge. THEY. ARE. THE. BEST. :cool:

Sam Mac

EIRE1922 wrote: »

My family and I, are regular weekly shopppers and have shopped with Dunnes Stores for over 25 years.

I was shopping in Dunnes Stores, St. Kieran's Street/Market Yard in Kilkenny City last Wednesday 8th of January 2014 at lunch time. Included in my purcheses I bought were four Cully & Sully Chicken & Veg Soup cartons for the advertised 'special offer' price of €2.00 Euro on the self. However, upon checking out at the til and after checking my customer receipt, I noticed that I was over charged by €0.49 cent per carton, so in total I was over charged by €1.96 for the 4 soups.

Upon noticing the decrepancy and before deciding to leave the store I went straight to the Customs Services Desk to seek a refund for the overcharged amount using my customer receipt. The staff member agreed that a refund was indeed due to me.

However, it turned out that the staff there were completely inadequate and could not provide me with a refund in a efficient time and manner. It seemed to me they just wanted to keep me waiting as long as possible, and did not really want to issue me with a refund that under Consumer Law I was and am I fully entitled to!

The level of Customer Service was terrible. I ended standing waiting for 10-15 minutes while '5' female members of staff could not decide whether or not if I was entitled to a full refund for just the amount overcharged or for the total cost of the soups. They did not seem to be able to make up their minds and were far too busy trying to figure out how to operate the refund system on the til, fiddling with keys and my customer receipt!

Then began a big rigmarole over whether or not Dunnes Stores was to keep the receipt, if I was entitled to retain my customer receipt or if it should then be photocopied. I felt I was entitled to receive it back in case I had any issue and may needed to return any of my other purchases in future.

At this stage my patience was shot, I was not going to wait another 5 minutes for the receipt to be then photocopied, so I decided to walk out and leave the store, leaving my receipt, the €1.96 refund due and one carton of the soup behind at the Customer Service desk.

Now, what I wish to know is why was the level of Customer Care so poor and why are staff not fully trained and up to date on how to refund on items? Why did it take 5 staff members to try and figure out how to make a simply refund €1.96? I would suggest that more adequate training be given to all members of staff to help them be more efficient in dealing with Customer refunds and complaints!

On several occasions shopping in Dunnes Stores, Kilkenny we have found that hat we end up being overcharged numerous times! It now seems to be a regular accurrence and I personally think that it is not really acceptable in this day and age to be overcharging customers and profiting from it!

The staff too are generally very unfriendly and spend far too much time yaking to each other!

Currys PC World are the same. I had to wait 20 mins for a refund on three occasions because none of the staff knew how.

norrie rugger

I'll just past in the mail that I have just sent to Vodafone Ireland, regarding their home broadband.
Never, never, never again will I deal with them

Hello,

I would like to, in writing, submit my disappointment and frustration; with the complete lack of service that I have received, from the Home Broadband team.
I appreciate that "complete lack of service" may seem like hyperbole but, when after 3 months I still have no internet service, I believe that it is appropriate.

In early/mid October 2013 I signed up for a Vodafone package and was soon given an engineer appointment, to install a line.
After taking an annual leave day from work, to be present, no engineer arrived or phoned. I obviously phoned to determine what had happened. There were apologies and assurances that this would be resolved.

For the next two months I was kept waiting for a new appointment, with several calls to customer care leading nowhere except for promises that a member of the new line installation team would contact me. This never happened.
In the run up to the Christmas season I was repeatedly told that I would have an appointment "soon" until one day, when I was told that there would be no "new" appointments until the new year. This was even though I was not a "new" appointment but awaiting my original visit from October.
Over several calls I asked to be put through to a team leader or centre manager (as per the Escalation policy set out on page http://www.vodafone.ie/aboutus/code/custcare/escalation/#), I was repeatedly told that no leader/manager was present and that they would call me back within 24 hours. Of course I never received a call back.

Moving to the new year and, on Friday 3rd January, I finally got a new appointment for an engineer on Wednesday 8th of January A.M.. Again, being gullible, I took yet another day of leave, from work, to await the installation of the line.
At 2 P.M. I called customer care to confirm that someone was indeed calling out. I was then informed that no one would be coming to me as storm damage had tied up the engineers (even though the storms had passed several days previously) and that she was sorry that no one had called me.
I was offered 3 months free, when a connection was finally made. This was really insulting as Vodafone is already offering this package to new customers, so it was obviously not a genuine good will offer.

Given the frustration that I was now feeling I again asked to speak to a Centre Manager but, this time, the operator point blank refused to transfer me to anyone else and stated that I would just have to wait for a new appointment. At this stage I decided that no internet was better than this level of service and cancelled the order. Even this was not a smooth operation as I was then informed that I had no choice but to allow a Vodafone determined appointment occur, as no other provider would accept my business, as a line order had already been placed. Needless to say I told them that I would not be accepting this and that, as no appointment had been adhered to or new one given, there was no order in train.

This entire fiasco has caused both my wife and I to completely lose faith in Vodafone and we will also be terminating our mobile contracts, at the earliest opportunity.
I will also print and mail this to the below, as per the final escalation point.

Customer and Channel Management,
Vodafone,
Second floor, Block B,
MountainView,
Leopardstown,
Dublin 18

Sincerely,
XXX

wmpdd3

I'd title your email a formal complaint and include what you want vodafone to do about the situation? Cancel the order, give you a better offer?

I'm pretty sure eircom will accept your order, no idea how long it will take for a new phone line though and you will be tired to them. Is it eircom or vodafone that was supplying the line?

Can you get upc??

norrie rugger

I've cancelled the order. The lines are installed by eircom (I imagine that they have no real push to install competitor lines) but the contract and customer service should have come from Vodafone.
Have titled the mail complaint, indeed

GarIT

Best Amazon. Anything wrong and the only question they will ask id if you would prefer a refund or replacement.

Worst Dell. Had to sue them twice to fix two different laptops that both broke between 12 and 14 months. Managers in Dell are adamant that Irish consumer law doesn't apply to them. The small claims court thought different.

Possedion

Word of advice to anyone using Meteor, there is no auto spend alert on their broadband services. I got hit for going over broadband usage by 3 Gig and got hit with a 77 EUR charge on top of my normal bill.

What an operator - imagine how high it could have went.
Never using them again. Customer service were a nightmare to deal with.

PeteK*

Possedion wrote: »

Word of advice to anyone using Meteor, there is no auto spend alert on their broadband services. I got hit for going over broadband usage by 3 Gig and got hit with a 77 EUR charge on top of my normal bill.

What an operator - imagine how high it could have went.
Never using them again. Customer service were a nightmare to deal with.

Do they not contact you at €130(?) or something?