Poor customer service in Irish store shocker

Greentopia

sesna wrote: »

Greentopia reminds me of a customer ahead of me in a store at the weekend.

The neurotic middle-aged lady was demanding a refund on a disgusting used hairbrush (hair everywhere) because one of the bristles was coming loose. She had no receipt, declared the brush was over 6 months old, yet was not budging until she got her 6 euro refund :rolleyes:

Yeah because that's exactly like the experience I've written about here isn't it?:rolleyes:
I'm just like a batty oul wan looking for a refund on a used hair brush.
Christ on a stick.
Have you actually read any of my posts or did you just decide now seems a good moment to include that little anecdote?

Oh and BTW? Ad Hominum comments are a big debate FAIL. Just FYI.
kthx bye

spyderski

Greentopia wrote: »

Yeah because that's exactly like the experience I've written about here isn't it?:rolleyes:
I'm just like a batty oul wan looking for a refund on a used hair brush.
Christ on a stick.
Have you actually read any of my posts or did you just decide now seems a good moment to include that little anecdote?

Oh and BTW? Ad Hominum comments are a big debate FAIL. Just FYI.
kthx bye

"POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IN IRISH STORE SHOCKER" - Talk about a pejorative thread title. Knew where this was going before I started reading it!

I'm definitely going to buy something online from Spokes tomorrow, their online prices seem great!!!

Bye pet!

ThisRegard

Fair play to the op for sticking around so long in such a hostile thread and condescending posts like the one above.

sesna

Greentopia wrote: »

Yeah because that's exactly like the experience I've written about here isn't it?:rolleyes:
I'm just like a batty oul wan looking for a refund on a used hair brush.
Christ on a stick.
Have you actually read any of my posts or did you just decide now seems a good moment to include that little anecdote?

Oh and BTW? Ad Hominum comments are a big debate FAIL. Just FYI.
kthx bye

I simply compared your unrealistic sense of entitlement as a consumer to that of another customer I witnessed recently. No futher comparison was intended, personal or otherwise.

Also please don't refer to that lady in question as a batty oul one, she was simply distressed, anxious and misguided.

Chips Lovell

I don't think it's outrageous. I don't even think think it's poor customer service.

While I doubt he has a separate online warehourse or anything like that, in theory items bought in the shop will have a higher cost of sale since he needs staff there all the time to answer questions, help people etc. He's also got himself a captive audience, i.e. it usually isn't the case that you've got three or four bike shops on the same street so customers aren't going to be shopping around as much.

Would I do the same if I was running a bike shop? Probably not. But I wouldn't feel aggrieved I was a customer in your position. It's just the way he's decided to run his business. Like restaurants charging you more to sit on the terrace.

In my experience there are very few good bike shops in Ireland, but this is nothing compared to some of the carry on you might see.

kevvhayes wrote: »

the fact that you can walk in with a wheel and get it trued there and then on the spot stands for something!

That's if they know how to true wheels properly. Few of them do.

Greentopia wrote: »

Most bicycle shops are pretty intimidating places for a lot of women to go in this country and I've been ignored and made to feel that my business is generally unwelcome in many of the LBS' I've been in in.

It's not a gender thing in my experience. Men can often get the same treatment.

fergalr wrote: »

So there's a Local Bike Shop Fail being described in the OP. Its not a fail because the bike shop broke the law, or ripped anyone off. Its a fail because they made the OP unhappy enough about it to tell other people, when they could probably have made more sales, and profit by just engaging with the OP constructively, explaining the situation, and offering a deal or discount on future purchases, etc.

I don't know. I doubt this thread has damaged the shop's reputation. It seems to have drawn several testimonials out of the woodwork for it.

Captain Havoc

The other cost involved is that he probably has to take time away from repairing a bike, which is why he may encourage the locals to buy online.

--paul--

OP-no laws were broken,your wrong,complain to the national consumer agency and see what they say if u feel so aggrieved,they'll laugh down the phone at you,after all they might know what their talking about not you

borderlinemeath

ThisRegard wrote: »

My isn't there a lot of smart arsed and harsh replies this evening, it's getting more and more like afterhours.

The OP has a point, they're already selling the item at that price and would have done them no harm, in fact good business sense, to look after her with her subsequent purchase with a little discount. It's not like she went in asking them to match the online retailers. Now they have a post on the internet, no matter if you agree with it or not, complaining about them rather than someone telling us how good they are.

Why do some people equate giving the customer discount/what they want when they throw their toys out of the pram "Good business sense"?


Did the OP deal with a store manager or an owner? Or a staff member who doesn't have the authority to give out staff discount?
And why should the staff member apologise? He didn't do anything wrong.

OP while you may be annoyed the store/online shop did nothing wrong so you were not entitled to an apology or a partial refund of the difference - and stating that you feel that it's bad customer service is a bit self righteous entitlement I'm afraid. It's bad mouthing for the sake of feeling hard done by.

You state you get better service from UK/US stores (presumably online) so you must know exactly what you need and have a good knowledge of the products you purchase.
That isn't the case for everybody and these people buy in b&m stores like where you purchased. They deal with staff and sometimes take up a considerable amount of time of which the staff have to be paid.
So to have a premium in a b&m shop (particularly where a good amount of product knowledge is essential) is nothing new.

Sorry for your troubles but at the end of the day if it were me - I would have perhaps written to the store manager or owner asking for reasons why the b&m/online store prices differ rather than just speaking to somebody at the other end of the phone and expecting them to immediately refund you the difference.

Lando Griffin

A simple solution would have been to bring the item bought back to the store, and got a refund by stating it wont do your application, then go home and buy the same product on line saving yourself a good Euro 6.50.

BostonB

Greentopia wrote: »

...I'm a reasonable person and don't go looking for something for nothing but if this is the way it's going to be I'll stick to the few Irish shops I know won't rip me off or buy online from the U.K. or wherever I can get it cheapest and to hell with supporting local for the sake of it. :mad: ...

No point keeping customers you don't make a profit from. Its that simple.

HivemindXX

BostonB wrote: »

No point keeping customers you don't make a profit from. Its that simple.

Of course they'll still make a profit. The bike shop failed on this.

"Sorry, there are sometimes differences between the online and in-store prices. The online prices are handled by a different system so I can't just charge you that price. I can give you a 10% discount though, how's that?"

Bike shops give discounts all the time. That shouldn't be a problem for them and it would have transformed this customer relationship.

The OP seems reasonably sensible and this post seems more a reaction to the attitude of the sale person rather than the actual price differential. A lot of bike shop staff seem to suffer from the delusion that they are not primarily sales people.

The replies seem to be a bit more snide and condescending than usual. Sensa in particular ought to be ashamed of himself. He reminds me of a guy I read about. A morbidly obese virgin who sat in his parents basement desperately shoring up his self esteem by acting the big man on the internet. See what I did there?

SubLuminal

Doesn't matter if they're legally entitled to give the difference back or not, the LBS in question has just lost business because of the way they handled a customer complaint. Who knows how many hundreds of euros the op could have spent there in future if they'd said "oh we're sorry, we'll give you a voucher for the difference + 10% if you'd like to come back for a look around any time" - People on here can act indignant and stick up for the LBS but at the end of the day it doesnt matter who *is* right just who *feels* right and if the customer feels ripped off and let down then the shop has *failed*, won't get any more of the customers money and all the smugness in the world won't be worth much when the bank managers letters get nasty because nobody wants to shop at that place anymore..

IMHO the shop should have given the money back + a charm incentive, just think, the op could have been on here with a story about a great bike shop and reccomending we all go there - cheap advertising for the place if you ask me.

WhodahWoodah

Don't want to rock the boat any harder here than it already has been but I would have always totally expected online prices to be cheaper than the shop price. Sure you have the likes of UPC or Sky who actively advertise Order Online And Get Free Installation type deals. I realise that both of those are service providers and the OP bought an item but I'm still surprised that she was surprised about the price difference. Of course the online stuff is cheaper at Spokes-it's going to go directly from the warehouse to the consumer. It doesn't have to sit around in a shop that costs a lease and rates for whatever amount of time, or shown to the consumer by a staff member who must be paid wages. Tabloid post title, but not a shocker really.

Lumen

SubLuminal wrote: »

just think, the op could have been on here with a story about a great bike shop and reccomending we all go there - cheap advertising for the place if you ask me.

True, but the traditional "dissatisfied customers tell ten times more people than satisfied customers" theory breaks down somewhat when posting the complaint on the internet brings out a bunch of positive reviews from satisfied customers.

I've learned from this thread that Spokes maintain two price lists and that their internet prices are competitive. This is worth knowing since I live in Dublin.

c montgomery

The edge tri shop in cork has internet prices cheaper than store prices too.
I recently bought a pair of shoes there that were 10 cheaper on their site than the shop. When i asked about this they said no problem, you can have the internet price:) I then went on to get a furthur 10% off with my loyality card.

All in all a great shopping experience from a great shop:p

Joey the lips

Lando Griffin wrote: »

A simple solution would have been to bring the item bought back to the store, and got a refund by stating it wont do your application, then go home and buy the same product on line saving yourself a good Euro 6.50.

Thats incorrect... Fit for purpose or suitability is not the same as fit for application

c montgomery

Greentopia wrote: »

I usually do check, as I've stated. I've been buying from Ebay UK for years so yeah I know what's what there.
Thank's anyway €55 is a decent price. What I should've done is gone to Wiggle and got it for 56 with free shipping. I'll know better next time.

Your forgetting that you get local after sales assistance if something goes wrong with the unit.
So for example if the unit breakes you can bring it back to the shop and get a new one if its within warrenty within minutes where as with wiggle you have to ship it to them, wait a week or two and then get your replacement.
For me if the diffenence is only 6:50 or about 10% i will always go to the LBS rather than online.
Same goes for cycle clothing with regards to sizes. I bought a jersey from CRC but it was a bit too small. Rather than dealing with the hassle of sending it back i just wear a small jersey. Now i only buy jerseys i can try on 1st:)

Captain Havoc

HivemindXX wrote: »

The replies seem to be a bit more snide and condescending than usual. Sensa in particular ought to be ashamed of himself. He reminds me of a guy I read about. A morbidly obese virgin who sat in his parents basement desperately shoring up his self esteem by acting the big man on the internet. See what I did there?

Yes I do see what you did there, you earned yourself an infraction. I already gave a subtle warning in this thread. Keep it civil.

BostonB

HivemindXX wrote: »

Of course they'll still make a profit. The bike shop failed on this. ....

All the second guessing people motives is pointless. Someone who comes in quoting online prices to save €6 is lost to online shopping, and has no interest in supporting the lbs. The OP has already said as much.

Greentopia wrote: »

....I'll stick to the few Irish shops I know won't rip me off or buy online from the U.K. or wherever I can get it cheapest and to hell with supporting local for the sake of it. :mad: ...

You see the same thing on adverts. Almost every person who quotes online prices to drive the price down, almost always, doesn't buy the item. I'm sure the people in bike shops have had the same experience a hundred time over.

BostonB

I went looking for brake blocks recently and noticed the price of same set ranged from €6 to €12 in the varies LBS I tried. The online prices were widely different too.

End of story. You have to shop around. Online, or not.

BostonB

its not like the bike shops are struggling wither. With the success of the CTW scheme the lbs have never had it so good. That said, personally I think only certain local shops are worth supporting. A lot of them have poor customer service, or are completely ripping people off. with 50% markup over other LBS for the same item. Also theres no sense in buying things like lights, computers from a LBS. Something like clothes, or a helmet that you need to try on, or a bike that might need servicing, fitting, is entirely different.

ThisRegard

SubLuminal wrote: »

People on here can act indignant and stick up for the LBS

I can't help but think that in this instance had the store in question been Halfords, Tesco or some other big chain the replies would have been somewhat different.

LeoD

I think the OP has a valid argument. I'd be a bit put out off if the same happened me but I don't know how you made your argument to the shop for a refund. I'm surprised they weren't more helpful. I think their website could make it more clear that the online price is less than what you'll pay over the counter (the Market Price reference is a bit vague).

doozerie

The question being asked here, as I understand it, is: is it better for a business to give back money to an aggrieved customer where they are not legally obliged to (and generate goodwill by doing so), or should they not (and maintain the profit they earned on the sale)?

In my view, the answer depends on a lot of factors. In this case it would appear that giving the refund would have been the better option as it would appear they'd have kept a customer, but even if you take that view then the worst you could accuse the shop of is poor judgement rather than ripping someone off.

Offering a credit note would possibly have been a good compromise as the customer gets an opportunity to save cash in the long run while the shop doesn't have to dip into its own cash there and then and actually encourages the customer to shop with them again.

Pity that the animosity in this thread derailed what might have been an interesting discussion though.

fergalr

Greentopia wrote: »

+1
Excellent points and thank you for engaging me without resorting to puerile sarcasm.
The thought did cross my mind-what if I'd been an elite lycraced up (male) cyclist, would I have then gotten better service?

Most bicycle shops are pretty intimidating places for a lot of women to go in this country and I've been ignored and made to feel that my business is generally unwelcome in many of the LBS' I've been in in.
I get the feeling that unless I'm going to be a (preferably male) cycling enthusiast yaddering on about the weight of my expensive carbon fibre road bike and talk about cleats and what team jersey I wear then I'm not a "serious" cyclist and therefore not worthy of attention, I'm just one of those silly females who are clueless about cycling and wouldn't know what a cassette or a derailleur was if it bit me in the ass.
It's backward, patronising and condesending and the main reason I don't go into many bike shops here.
They're also often dark and dingy places that do not look or feel welcoming to most females.
Again somewhere like 2wheels have the right idea and the business savvy to know that females are a growing part of the market (look at the increasing number of sit up and beg bikes with lovely baskets on the front ridden by women in Dublin now for ex.) by having lots of attractive Dutch bikes outside the shop and a nice airy bright and clean shop inside.
That shop is catering for us too and listens to what ALL customers want and you're not treated as the silly wommin when you shop there.

BTW I have no connection with them, just a satisfied customer

Maybe someday we'll get to a stage where utility cycling and female cyclists will be as respected by bike mechanics and shop owners as the lycra crowd are now, as they are in other European countries like Denmark Netherlands and Germany and California as you suggest (and I have no problem with cyclists in lycra BTW, each to their own and all that, it's just not my thing).

Erm - I'm not sure where the male/female thing came from?

I definitely have seen some shops where the cyclists that look 'hardcore' get much better treatment than the ones that don't. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense to cater to your core demographic - but I've seen a really bad attitude towards apparently casual cyclists, in some dublin city center bike shops in particular, and watched the same sales people have totally different attitudes towards apparently hardcore cyclists.

But these shops have been just as condescending to male casual cyclists as female ones.

When I was saying in my post that the standard of customer service is very poor - its myself and mainly other males that I've mainly talked to about that, and we get poor customer service too. I've a few female friends that cycle too, and actually, they sometimes get *better* customer service than the guys do.

Maybe there are bike shops where the staff are biased against females just because they are female, but I'd be more inclined to think they condescend to all casual cyclists equally.


Also, this part of your post:

They're also often dark and dingy places that do not look or feel welcoming to most females.

This sort of implies you think guys are like some sort of subspecies that like getting their bike gear from dark dank caves.


And even if its true, you cant get away with saying that.

BostonB

Its highly unlikely they would have keep this customer based on the OP comments.

sesna

<snip>

Wonder where the inspiration for that detailed characterisation comes from.

Also you're entitled to your opinion, I wouldn't share your enormous sense of outrage though at a simple comparison.

BostonB

sesna wrote: »

Wonder where the inspiration for that detailed characterisation comes from.

Also you're entitled to your opinion, I wouldn't share your enormous sense of outrage though at a simple comparison.

You edited that and put my name in there. Because I never said that. Please correct it. Also it makes no sense to repeat something that has already earned an infraction for the person who actually said it. The mods intervention, is a warning to stop it.

Chips Lovell

Mod warning: Sesna: 1.) BostonB did not make that comment about you and 2.) the user who did has already been infracted. Let it go.

Selected

Cyclists are a pain in the butt.

Lumen

Selected wrote: »

Cyclists are a pain in the butt.

Acts 20:35 (King James Version):

"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

c montgomery

Selected wrote: »

Cyclists are a pain in the butt.

:P:P:P:P

doozerie

Selected wrote: »

Cyclists are a pain in the butt.

On the contrary, butts are a pain in the cyclist.

emtroche

BostonB wrote: »

You edited that and put my name in there. Because I never said that. Please correct it. Also it makes no sense to repeat something that has already earned an infraction for the person who actually said it. The mods intervention, is a warning to stop it.

This is bonkers!

Shelli2

OP, you should have tried the Consumer Issues forum with this one, you may have got some more constuctive replies instead of the sarcastic snide remarks!

I'm in agreement with the OP on this issue, while it may not be illegal, it most certainly is bad customer service. If the shop are charging a higher price than online, fine....BUT...it most certainly should be advertised as such.

Lots of the larger chains operate this way, stating online that the price is cheaper, or that the special offer is only available online, some even have the option of reserving a product at the online price and collecting in the shop and paying the lower price (not going to name any names, but I'm sure we all know who they are). Yes, as they are larger stores it's easier for them to offer lower prices, but at the very least the OP should have recieved and apology.

sesna

emtroche wrote: »

This is bonkers!

Relax, no malice was intended. Just sloppy editing on my behalf as I was trying to copy the

thing.

BostonB

Shelli2 wrote: »

OP, you should have tried the Consumer Issues forum with this one, you may have got some more constuctive replies instead of the sarcastic snide remarks!

I'm in agreement with the OP on this issue, while it may not be illegal, it most certainly is bad customer service. If the shop are charging a higher price than online, fine....BUT...it most certainly should be advertised as such.

Lots of the larger chains operate this way, stating online that the price is cheaper, or that the special offer is only available online, some even have the option of reserving a product at the online price and collecting in the shop and paying the lower price (not going to name any names, but I'm sure we all know who they are). Yes, as they are larger stores it's easier for them to offer lower prices, but at the very least the OP should have recieved and apology.

Which shops advertise in store that its cheaper on their online store?

DirkVoodoo

BostonB wrote: »

Which shops advertise in store that its cheaper on their online store?

We work hard to ensure we offer you the best prices possible. When you use our Reserve & Collect service you pay the price that is displayed on the website, even if it is cheaper than in-store.

Listed under Pricing on the "how to shop online" on the Halfords website. I guess that is to save the customer any hassle in price variations rather than an actively "cheaper online" policy.

sesna

BostonB wrote: »

Which shops advertise in store that its cheaper on their online store?

Wouldn't make much sense. You're in our store now about to buy something, but why not wait until you go home in a few hours by which time you will probably have changed your mind, or found the same thing somewhere else.

Shelli2

Halfords have "Online only offers" all the time, and specifically state for their reserve and collect option, that if the price online is lower than in the shop you pay the lower price. That's just one off the top of my head, there are others that I have seen too. I'm constantly getting emails from stores I have signed up to newsletters from encouraging me to buy from their online outlet with online only offers.

Shelli2

BostonB wrote: »

Which shops advertise in store that its cheaper on their online store?

I never said they advertised it in the shop, but on the website.

Doesn't help the OP, or anyone who buys in the shop without checking the online price first. But the OP already conceded to being at fault in that respect. I still think it was poor customer service for the store in question not to apologise, even if they were not going to offer a refund.

borderlinemeath

Shelli2 wrote: »

I never said they advertised it in the shop, but on the website.

Doesn't help the OP, or anyone who buys in the shop without checking the online price first. But the OP already conceded to being at fault in that respect. I still think it was poor customer service for the store in question not to apologise, even if they were not going to offer a refund.

But why should the shop apologise when it has done nothing wrong????

It's the customer who is at fault for not shopping around - not the stores fault for pricing differentials!
Lots and Lots of retailers do this. Should every store apologise for this?? I think not.

BostonB

That what I was wondering...

Shelli2 wrote: »

...... If the shop are charging a higher price than online, fine....BUT...it most certainly should be advertised as such....

Greentopia

spyderski wrote: »

"POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IN IRISH STORE SHOCKER"

Except I don't shout with caps lock on.

spyderski wrote: »

- Talk about a pejorative thread title. Knew where this was going before I started reading it!

Perjorative is the wrong word; as I said previously I was going more for wry humour. I wasn't disparaging or insulting anyone personally here. There are a number of guys working in that shop none of whom I named.
The final word "shocker" is the only word that could be said to be sardonic and I would remove it to better reflect the tone of my OP but it's too late now.

spyderski wrote: »

I'm definitely going to buy something online from Spokes tomorrow, their online prices seem great!!!

Bye pet!

It amuses me that you seem to think that you achieve anything other than to undermine the validity and persuasiveness of your viewpoints by such childish and sexist rubbish.

You've been hostile, patronising and now sexist to me in your posts so far without contributing anything of value to the discussion (what's wrong, don't like the wimmins coming onto your forum here? I can think of no other reason why you're being so hostile, as you don't know me from Adam) so if your rebuttal to this is going to be just more of the same then I'm not going to waste any more time on replying to you.

Gavin

OP has made her point and I don't think anything more constructive is going to appear