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

The_Conductor

Fiolina wrote: »

The manager is as bad (maybe that's where the staff get it from). I didn't speak to him on this occassion as I was in a hurry. I had spoken to him before about another issue and got the impression he couldn't give a damn. He's one of these kind of guys who likes parading around the shop floor, having the "banter" with the staff. Totally useless. I think I just won't bother going back there again.

Sounds like Maynooth....... :mad:

Fiolina

ivytwine wrote: »

As a daughter of one of those 'Dunnes oul wans' it's not an easy job. How do you act around customers, Fiolina?

I know some cashiers are rude but as a veteran of the other side of the counter I am astonished that a lot of people don't realise how they act when they are in a shop and how difficult they make shop worker's lives...

Sorry Fiolina, playing devil's advocate :P

I totally understand that.

I worked in the hotel industry for years and have dealt with many customers/guests. I would have to say I am always polite, say please and thanks etc as I know what it can be like to deal with unreasonable people. The way some customers treat staff is appalling and undeserved most of the time.
I'm not tarring all of the older staff with the same brush, a lot of them are lovely but these two I came across were just plain rude.

Fred Swanson

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Fiolina

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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It's a shame, given that they're one of the few Irish supermarkets left.

kult

Westwood Clotarf - direct debit did not go out from my account despite money was left on the account. They wanted me to pay extra 12.70 admin fee to take the money out of my account again. I told them that it was not my mistake and bank has no logs of anyone trying to take money of the account. Told them I can pay in cash now they did not listen. General Manager K.P. came down and solve this problem very quickly, cancelled my membership after 8 years in ww, told me I was barred from the premises and called security to escort me out of the premises.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Good

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Can't agree with that generalisation. There are two Dunne's near me. One has staff who show little manners but the other has lovely helpful friendly staff. Guess which one I use?

Daemos

What a shambles this lot are

1st delivery: Box was so damaged it looked like it went through a mulcher, it was a miracle nothing was damaged or missing
2nd delivery: Never arrived, turned out they somehow forgot to take payment for it. How this is possible with an automated system is beyond me. Eventually arrived 2 months after it should have done
3rd delivery: Charged the incorrect price, meaning I wouldn't receive everything I should have. Had to ring them up to get it sorted

By this stage I should also have received a free subscription gift, but due to their abysmal customer service, it took them months to reveal it was delayed due to manufacturing delays. No problem, things happen, but a bit of clarity would have been nice

Finally, it seemed they got their act together, with no problems at all with the 4th and 5th deliveries. But lo and behold, when the 6th delivery came around - or rather, failed to - they got up to their old tricks again

No sign of the 6th delivery, called them up, has apparently been lost in the post, and they'll send out replacements. That was 2 weeks ago. Today I receive a box from them, seems suspiciously light, and what do you know, they only sent me one of the two things I was expecting

I'm not even surprised any more, it's just one screw-up after another. Once the subscription gift finally arrives, I can't wait to get away from this lot and stop giving them money

Melendez

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ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Good

Melendez wrote: »

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You've lost me there! It's company policy to employ rude staff in some branches???

Melendez

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ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Good

Melendez wrote: »

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But I did not generalise at all! Anyway, off topic looming so I'll leave you to whatever interpretation you made of it. It's not important.

ivytwine

Fiolina wrote: »

I totally understand that.

I worked in the hotel industry for years and have dealt with many customers/guests. I would have to say I am always polite, say please and thanks etc as I know what it can be like to deal with unreasonable people. The way some customers treat staff is appalling and undeserved most of the time.
I'm not tarring all of the older staff with the same brush, a lot of them are lovely but these two I came across were just plain rude.

Glad to hear it, always nice to meet another counter vet There are some rude staff in the Dunnes where my mother works, but some of the younger ones are worse there!

I just wouldn't bother with the place again, or just go in there with low expectations.

Imho, it is poorly managed as a whole, some of the managers are alright but across Ireland their systems and such aren't great.

razzler

Morale is at an all time low in Dunnes, hours are being cut back for regular staff, some only get 15-20hrs per week while new staff are being continuously recruited for min wage and Dunnes only has to pay Job bridge staff €50 per week (they get their dole as well). So it's difficult for staff to have the desire to do a good job and give good customer service when their employer doesn't give them a wage they can live on, while business is booming. Customers shopping elsewhere may be what Dunnes needs to give them a wake up call, that good staff as well as customers need to be valued.

Fred Swanson

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anewme

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Disgraceful!

Is that jobbridge thing not finished yet? Should be wound up.

ivytwine

anewme wrote: »

Disgraceful!

Is that jobbridge thing not finished yet? Should be wound up.

Not bloody likely when it's massaging the Live Register figures nicely. It's an absolute outrage.

But that's for another thread!

Corruptedmorals

Dunnes prioritise sales, not customer service. It's up to the staff member to be polite. I always managed it, no matter what. It's definitely true that younger staff are generally more courteous..it's because they haven't been there long enough to be made bitter and because unlike older staff, it's a job to get them through college usually, not a tunnel stretching before them that they can't get out of.

I find myself at the self checkouts in Dunnes and Tesco more often that not.

Good customer service: Monsoon. Very friendly.

Ken.

Good

I've complained before on here about Woodies Newbridge but yesterday and today they've gone above and beyond. I went in to get some wallpaper. They didn't have what I needed in stock so the manager rang the Naas store. They had 17 rolls so he collected it for me this morning on his way in and rang me to let me know what time he'd be in at today. Very nice service from them

wmpdd3

That's unusual, you'd wonder if the manager is so customer focused, where all the bad practices come from.

LillySV

I called into Pc World Galway on sunday with my fiancee to look at tablets and spoke with one of the sales team there about the different tablets... i pointed out to him that there was two prices up on the shelf for the same nexus 7 32gb tablet, € 289 and €299 and he agreed that it was €289 as is advertised on their website! As i was in a rush to go somewhere, i left my fiancee in the shop to make the final decision and headed off in my own car..I came back to my house later that evening to find out that she had decided to purchase the nexus 7 32gb tablet after and when going to pay for the item, the sales guy then said it was actually €299 and that she would have to pay that..blabbered on that as there was two prices there and neither were physically stuck to the item, the system price would have to be taken and then said something about invitation to treat!! My fiancee foolishly paid over the price!!!Im absolutely raging!!!!!Does PC world galway have a system of setting up double prices to try fool innocent customers!! the price for this item countrywide in pc world is €289 as according to their website!! yet he insisted on chargin an extra tenner!..i cant believe the neck of the person that dealt so poorly with my fiancee!! As regards the "invitation to treat" remark, how the fcuk does that apply to sticking up a price for the item countrywide then chargin an extra tenner!!I can see why the place does be quiet...i wont ever make the mistake of buying anything there again!

PanBrian

I have had a bad experience with PC world in their Cork Mahon store. Bought a new laptop...within days it broke down (not my fault) and they said they would repair...to cut a long story short, they lost the laptop and it took me months to get a refund. Like you, I will not be dealing with them again.

LillySV

PanBrian wrote: »

I have had a bad experience with PC world in their Cork Mahon store. Bought a new laptop...within days it broke down (not my fault) and they said they would repair...to cut a long story short, they lost the laptop and it took me months to get a refund. Like you, I will not be dealing with them again.

unbelievable..did you look into legal advice or make a complaint to naational consumer agency?

WallyGUFC

Was your fiancée forced to buy it at that price? Why didn't he insist he wouldn't pay the extra tenner?

LillySV

the fiancee was a "she"- im the man! ;p (i am using her profile here though )
I had confirmed the price with the sales guy as i had noticed the two prices...and i was aware it was €289 online so had no doubts...i said to girlfriend that i thought it was best one and i was on a hurry to go see someone so i left her to decide on what she wanted...she decided the same and thats when the sales guy changed his tune

pleasant Co.

Moved from galway city

Sam Mac

pleasant Co. wrote: »

Moved from galway city

who put it there?

dudara

Ultimately, the choice was hers on whether to pay or not. If you feel that PC World are misleading, you can report to the National Consumer Agency.

Pricing of Goods & Services in Ireland

ned14

Having worked in a similar shop before, in my experience this is what we would have done. If the price is displayed in error, the price displayed is the price you pay. If there are 2 prices on show (Which can easily happen since prices change so often, trust me), and the customer had spotted the lower one, I would always have sold for the lower price displayed. From the customers perspective, it could have been viewed as a special offer. I would immediately remove the price to prevent this from happening again (naturally).

The only exception to this is if the price displayed is obviously an error, for example the incorrect model number, or an obvious mistake in price (€4.99 instead of €499). As far as I am aware, the "invitation to treat" only applies to adverts posted external to the shop (Print, online etc. and is subject to E&OE normally). The point of sale is at the price tag in front of the item.

Post in the Currys/PC World forum, chances are they will at least offer a gift voucher for the €10, if not offer to make the refund.

I'm by no means an expert but this is what was explained to me by my manager at the time.

Michael D Not Higgins

Could this be a case of the online price being a discount? (perhaps not as the lower price was on display in the shop too)

Sam Mac

Had a horrible experience in Argos, Mahon Point.

Had an issue with a laptop I bought and the manager couldn't have been more unhelpful.

Not to mention the constant smirk on his face during the entire conversation. Just a rude, obnoxious guy.

Will be contacting head office to make a complaint.