Bad customer service

Just rung the estate agent again, no record of me or current situation! Seemed to think I could just pop round so explained, for the third time, that I didn't live nearby and made an appointment for next week. It is confirmed if she doesn't call back. Ummmm think I will check before I leave home!

JL are usually excellent, likewise Waitrose, perhaps one could argue that they should be as they are not the cheapest, but good customer service should not be dictated by money, but by good staff training and the company's ethos.
If staff are well treated, they are perhaps more likely to treat the customer well?

I've just tried to ring a companies customer service number. An automated voice asked me to enter my "conference password and press the hash key" ??? I didn't know I had one and had to find another number to call
How the heck do they expect a new customer to call.
If I wasn't an existing customer how the heck

DD placed an order with John Lewis over Easter which involved a couple of phone calls. She said both calls were answered instantly and the people she spoke to couldn't have been more helpful. She had previously tried to order from Boots, but nobody was answering their phones at all!

Nonie I echo your experience in both situations. I had six months of hassle trying to sort a problem out with Vodafone, never spoke to the same person twice and never got the same explanation twice either. No one completed the process so I had to go back and try again over and over. I suppose the point is that we stay because we pay so little which probably explains a lot.

As for the house viewing - we had the same experience again. Excuses, excuses! Estate agents charge so much that you'd think they'd put themselves out, wouldn't you. We sold our house in two days using an online agent and found the traditional method when viewing a bit frustrating. However, now we are in the process of buying somewhere the real agent has been very helpful and useful even though he's actually working on behalf of the vendor. I think we are making them earn their fee but why should we worry?

I would so like to hear someone admit a mistake and apologise but as someone else pointed out, sorry is an admission of guilt and in this litigious society it's not advised...sad, but true.

nonnie do that. The sellers won't know how inept the agents are unless you tell them. They will be told that there has been no interest. Meanwhile, the sellers are waiting for an offer and you and god knows how many other people are waiting too, but the agents still get their fee.

When we sold our little house in the Borders, we contacted the agents to accept as soon as we received a satisfactory offer after a survey, then waited for them to ring us to say it was a done deal. And waited and waited. After two weeks the people who made the offer contacted us to ask whether they could come round and see us, which we gladly agreed to. Turned out they had been waiting too, to see whether their offer had been accepted, and worrying in case they had lost the house. They thought we were delaying, we thought they were delaying, while the agents did damn all. We fixed all the details ourselves over cups of coffee and a leisurely tour around for another look. They have now been happily settled in for four years, and have a dog, a cat and chickens.

They had to ring up Vodafone as the staff in the shop coiuldnt deal with it. They were dreading that after time spent last evening talking to India, Birmingham, South Africa twice. Belfast twice and Scotland. Within one minute today the girl totally got the picture and sorted them out in a very short time. As this is the second really bad episode of incompetence and frankly lieing they have bought out the contract and gone to another provider. But an expensive way out.

Been with Vodafone a very long time and only stay with them because I negotiated a really good deal for both our phones. All done with online chat and I have kept the record because they keep texting me about my usage and quoting wrong figures for my package. I think their service is terrible and no better in the shops.

Our M & S is brilliant, always polite and always willing to have an appropriate chat.

First thing yesterday I tried to make an appointment to view a house quite a long way from here. Agent didn't call back so I called again, said she would call back, didn't so I called again and after hearing all about how busy they were and how the person I was speaking to wasn't responsible for no one calling me back I got nowhere. I feel like writing to the vendor and telling them I wasn't able to view their house because their agent is rubbish. They knew I lived a long way away and would only be in the area yesterday.

I would normally agree with you about Vodafone but yesterday they sorted out a problem for me straight away and on an old phone with only a sim contract.

But the security to get on to Vodafone web site is a real pain in the ....

I could start about vodafone but as this is a public forum, I don't like using bad language and you would all be bored out your skulls I will refrain. Ex DiL and GD have just left to go to the shop to do battle.

I wasn't even that bothered and would've happily choosen another pair. But I didn't even get the chance to say this as she already slammed my money onto the counter. I should've said something but tbh I was quite gobsmacked.

I think sorry is an overused word. Everyone seems to think they can do what they like and then say sorry afterwards. The government specialise in this.

I think they should get it right first time and not have to be sorry.

Not sure about this one, if you work all day every day in a store on the returns counter, saying 'I'm sorry' ( on behalf of the store) to every customer, could become very wearing ( although you have every right to expect politeness).Perhaps the training also includes not saying the words 'I'm sorry' as that implies fault ( and sometimes customers are unreasonable in returning an item.) The assistant should ask ' How may I help?' And a smile would be nice, and then you could explain the problem and reason for return.I agree that M&S seem to be the worst culprits for simply saying nothing and then going into a confab with other assistants whilst glancing suspiciously your way...

Where possible I would use EBay. Even from the Uk, using the advanced search you can specify where the item is located and select the local postage from the psatl rates on the sellers page.
EBay sellers all have a rating, only use those with 99.5% or better. Sellers are very keen to not get negative feedback and in my experience always sort out problems.

All my immediate family live in Australia, I live in UK, and I often order things online to be delivered to them. One item I ordered for Christmas arrived late and in bad condition, I rang the company and was told I should have ordered earlier and an email has gone unanswered!

I worked in retail and when a customer had a complaint I always let them tell me all the problem - without interrupting and then said I am sorry you are disappointed in your purchase. I would then go on to explore how this could be rectified or explained to their satisfaction as it takes five times more money to recruit new customers than it does to keep existing ones. Usually if empathy was shown and some decision made to rectify, exchange or solve the problem I could turn a complaint into a good experience. People will tell several people how bad they were treated but never tell anyone how well they were treated initially.

I used to work in customer service & we were always told to say thing like I'm sorry you feel that way way or I understand you think you have a problem because if you said I'm sorry that was wrong you are opening the company up to being sued

In this case I would have said I'm sorry you felt you had to return this

I know what you mean. Had to take a pair of gloves back to M&S as they were faulty. The assistant didn't utter a single word to me. Just gave me my money back without even asking if I would like a replacement. Complained to M&S about it but not sure if anything was done. I avoid her like the plague now as she makes me feel uncomfortable