You shouldn’t water rinse after mouthwash, so doing that first seems bizarre to me
I appreciate we’ve all learned a bit more about oral hygiene but if we can move a bit more on topic it’d be really appreciated 
Regarding the purpose of this Topic, we’re really just seeking a bit of insight in to what journeys you’ve all been on where a situation hasn’t gone to plan and the company you were dealing with it nailed their response.
9 Likes
John Lewis really stuffed up delivering a parcel to Waitrose for me to pick up last week
I got all the texts and emails to say it was there at Waitrose, and the JL website showed the same, but the Waitrose system said it was still being shipped and it was not in their store room
(I will leave aside that the JL system then said I signed for it with ID while I was still asleep the next day!)
Anyhow I rang them up and they admitted something had gone terribly wrong. Unfortunately they did not have all the items in stock (which were gifts), but they promptly wrote off the original delivery, provided an immediate refund of the difference, and the re-delivery was there the next day
That they did not fight me on any of the points (I was the “victim” here and done all the right things), took it upon themselves, and handled it promptly was much appreciated
1 Like
I bought a ~£80 tp-link device from a Argos, long story short it had the wrong specs listed , as did the manufactures website as well as all the other retailers who must have copy pasted.
I contacted Argos who said they’d refund me but I had to take it to store because I had bought it in store (needed it quickly) , which was quite a faff.
I was a bit miffed with tp-link because it wasn’t just listed wrong in their specs at the bottom of their page but also in the products main page in the nice and big fancy graphics, interestingly enough if you went to random country’s local sites tp-link.com/UK /fr /de etc , some had the correct specs and some didn’t.
I contacted them and I was expecting a ‘sorry’ and please return to the retailer, but they offered to swap it out for the model that supported the specs I wanted which costs more than double the price, so I obviously took them up on it. I was surprised they could do that and it wasn’t a computer says no situation.
4 Likes
I had a Superdry parka coat, I was in there and the zip broke as I went to put it back on as I trying something else on.
A member of staff saw it, I think they thought I’d just broken one of their coats and when I explained, they swapped it for another one right there. I had no receipt, no proof of purchase (it actually came from ASOS) and I was really impressed with that.
Not sure if you want the bad too, but I really hate it when a company offers a tiny % discount that is readily available as a sorry. I’ve had two expensive (£150+) Sonicare toothbrushes, both die just outside their warranty. First I thought was bad luck, now I think it’s bad design. I think they are great when they work but now I’ll just buy another brand, if they given me a half price replacement or something meaningful, they may have kept me as a customer.
5 Likes
A tale of two supermarkets:
Waitrose. Had ordered a delivery for my mother, and she said the driver wasn’t very helpful when delivering. On top of which, I found that a curious picking choice (we couldn’t pick an alternative for this) meant I overpaid for what I got as a multi-item discount no longer applied.
They apologised straight away, refunded not just the product I’d complained about being overcharged for but also some related products too, and gave me a discount code for my next order as an apology. This was over and beyond what I was expecting, and meant they kept me as a customer.
Asda. Waited up all evening and most of the night for a delivery that never arrived. When I complained, they emailed me the next day to say “That would have been returned to the shop.” No apology, no information about if I would get my shopping later. Complained again, they said the system would refund me in a few days. Still barely a sorry, no offer of any kind, and when I asked them to escalate my complaint I suspect they escalated it into a bin. Have never ordered from them since and never will again.
5 Likes
Two coffee shops, three doors apart. Different days. The order is a take out medium hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows with caramel syrup. But they don’t have any marshmallows.
Costa - “we haven’t got any marshmallows”. Inside I am screaming 'well don’t f**king charge me for them then, are you stupid?" No apology or alternative offered - just a blunt statement.
Independent shop - “I’m so sorry, we have run out of marshmallows today, would you like it without for free?”
Also, where I live, that is a £1.50 difference for the same drink three doors apart - when did Costa get so expensive?!
1 Like
Do Costa charge for marshmallows?!
Thing is that a lot of tills aren’t set up for partial discounts. It’s either all or nothing. Though an example of good customer service that works in smaller, independent cafes, if Costa gave all hot chocolates away free whenever they ran out of marshmallows they would be looking at large costs, globally.
So it’s good customer service but I personally wouldn’t expect a whole hot chocolate free just because it didn’t come with marshmallows.
But that’s a good point for Monzo I would say - good customer service can often vary depending on the company’s dynamics, size etc. Some can afford to do things others wouldn’t be able to.
Yes, they charge for marshmallows - they are an optional extra just like shots of syrup. I wouldn’t dream of expecting a free drink, but I wasn’t prepared to pay for something they didn’t have. Perhaps I phrased it badly.
3 Likes
Wow. Well then colour me confused why they would even think to charge you for that!
Actually Costa are the company that do the most irritating thing in asking “would you like to try XYZ beans today instead?” but do not tell you it’s 20p extra, but rely on the fact that once you get to the payment part it feels silly to quibble over 20p.
1 Like
Can’t agree about size - if anything from small independent shops to Apple to Amex can provide good service, I don’t think anyone can hide behind size. Struggles with scaling, sure - that should be a short term problem though.
3 Likes
For a business giving good customer service, equipping the frontline staff with the tools to keep their customers happy is an important first step. The poor customer service here was possibly in part caused by systems which don’t do that.
I think what made the inidpendent place exceptional was that - you are right you don’t expect the whole thing free. So when it happens, it’s a small moment of delight that keeps you coming back.
5 Likes
Customer service in the way of being polite etc, sure.
But many companies couldn’t afford to give almost instant refunds in the same way that, say, Amazon do. There is absolutely a size and financial aspect to customer service.
3 Likes
My business (running pubs) resisted accepting Amex for a long time, but this wasn’t because of “nobody fucks with our cardmembers”. It was two things, really:
- They were relatively expensive to accept, costing more than other debit and credit cards
- Amounts received through Amex were paid into our bank account with their fees already deducted, which made them a pain to reconcile with the tills each day
A couple of years ago they fixed both of those things; they are now on average slightly cheaper for us to accept than other cards, and money is paid into our bank account without charges being deducted. Their fees are taken monthly by direct debit, which is much easier to deal with.
7 Likes
A very good point. I don’t know how specific shops work but many won’t have customised systems so it won’t be as simple as just adding something.
But then again, if you value customer service it’s maybe an investment required.
2 Likes
In this case, the sensible thing would’ve been to refund the order and put it through again without the marshmallows.
I suspect a training or managerial issue - either the staff member lacked the training to do anything other than follow instructions like a robot, or refunds have to be done by a manager and their manager is on the unapproachable-hostile scale.
Absolutely. At the time I wrote that post I wasn’t aware there was an additional charge for marshmallows though.
2 Likes
Exactly, it’s a strategic decision. Providing good customer service at scale does involve a lot more things than people think - tooling (eg tills in this case), training, clear policies, good hiring and management for example. But if it’s a priority for the business they will manage it (eg Amex, Monzo) whereas if they are more concerned about the margins / want to save money they probably won’t, or it’ll be pot luck.
And sure some will say ‘our short term margins are more important’, but those can surely expect some harsh criticism when their service isn’t up to scratch!
2 Likes
I’m testing out the CS from FriendsFest.
Ordered a Hugsy for my girlfriend for Christmas. Arrived today, it’s got FRIENDS on the label on the outside which instantly gives it away, but worse than that, the packing label hasn’t perforated in the right place so tells you what’s in the box.
Would have got away with it, had they not left it on the doorstep and she found the box.
Surprise ruined. Email complaint sent.
I have had two differing experiences with British Telecom and British Gas.
BT have been crediting me in full for my wife and my mobiles due to next to no signal at home despite their coverage maps saying we should have excellent signal. This is while a new mast had to be built and then integrated into our local area. They have kept me in the loop and have retained a very happy customer (on FTP broadband - 900MB speed) now the issue is resolved.
BG on the other hand have been a nightmare with a misleading BG Rewards offer of 100 free days energy not actually being what it appears and 3 months late coupled with an app that stopped showing usage since mid September - one very unhappy customer as a result!
Both companies I went for formal complaints BT excellent BG awful.
2 Likes