Dont ever shop at Office!

mippy

I don't buy Office own-brand too often as they're too small for me, but I have used their site to buy trainers. When they had a sale a while ago I put in an order then got an e-mail telling me to call them to check my address. When I did, I was told that everything ordered was not in stock - I was in front of my laptop at the time and the website said it was. This was annoying, but what really irritated me was the way the person on the phone sounded like they really couldn't care less about my inconvenience.

jenniewb

Mistygoth wrote: »

I had a similar problem, I bought a pair of knee high boots from Evans in September 2008, wore them around twice a week for work- apart from a couple of weeks when I was on leave, and I noticed one of the soles had started to come off. I checked the other when I got home and that too was going the same way but not to the same extent as the left boot. I phoned them up the next day and asked if I could take them back. So i trooped off into town and they were debating whether they were wear and tear or not and asking how far I'd walked in them. I explained exactly how little walking I have done in them and as the manager was on a break, asked if I had anything else to do, I hadn't and said it was a special trip in. They wanted to get them fixed but I didn't want that as they were flat soles and I couldn't see a way to fix that wasn't glue- when I questioned what would happen if they failed again after being fixed, she said that would be managers discretion. I don't know what tipped her mind but she suddenly decided to give me a refund. I'm glad as I don't expect £70 leather boots to fall apart- especially as I have two other pairs of theirs (but with heels) that are a few years old and still going strong.

Just waiting for the refund to go into my bank account now so I can buy some other boots!

Seriously- if this ever happens to you at Evans, call the customer service team up- I used to work there- Evans are part of Arcadia and the team there are great for things like this- faulty items do get a refund, managers don't always know this:eek: so if they refuse you, just call customer services insted. Office may be a nightmare, but Arcadia in my experience are good.

JoolzS

This thread is a perfect example of why manufacturing has failed in this country - everyone wants to sue/complain.

A pair of boots from Office is never sold as being able to take the brunt of a British winter - but one buyer insists on it and threatens legal action. It just makes me want to cry.

Office boots are a fashion item - wear them every day if you want, but don't expect them to live up to serious winter weather. If they survive the winter - smile and enjoy it. If they don't survive - then write it off as a stupid decision to buy a pair of fashion boots when you could have bought real winter boots elsewhere.

When I was 18 and had to get two buses across town to get to work every day I bought practical rather than fashion. I'm now 42 and I still own one pair of my "get across town" boots. They aren't particularly comfortable, or fashionable - but they keep my feet warm and it's almost impossible to slip on an icy pavement in them.

Julie

lynzpower

JoolzS wrote: »

This thread is a perfect example of why manufacturing has failed in this country - everyone wants to sue/complain.

A pair of boots from Office is never sold as being able to take the brunt of a British winter - but one buyer insists on it and threatens legal action. It just makes me want to cry.

Office boots are a fashion item - wear them every day if you want, but don't expect them to live up to serious winter weather. If they survive the winter - smile and enjoy it. If they don't survive - then write it off as a stupid decision to buy a pair of fashion boots when you could have bought real winter boots elsewhere.

When I was 18 and had to get two buses across town to get to work every day I bought practical rather than fashion. I'm now 42 and I still own one pair of my "get across town" boots. They aren't particularly comfortable, or fashionable - but they keep my feet warm and it's almost impossible to slip on an icy pavement in them.

Julie

You have plainly got this wrong.

The shoes were not fit for purpose, as other posters have clearly stated.

No one would moan that they wore a pair of flip flops in the rain,and feet got wet as plainly most reaonsable people would think that.

If you think that a pair of boots from office is never sold as a winter item - are you joking? If they are not supposed to be watertight, then there
a) a should be a label on the box to state this
b) signage in the shop- these are not watertight
c) clear markings on website to state they are not watertight.
I have never seen such signage in office.

Imagine if you poaid 10k for a new roof and it let water in and your tradesman said " oh its not meant to be watertight". Its the same principle.

Posters here only have to "sue " ier take their claims to the SCC, IF the retailers ignore thier obligations, which clearly office have done here.

I suggest you familiarise yourself with the law that is designed to protect us. :A

bebebelle

Office have dreadful customer service, and every pair of their own brand shoes I have ever purchased have fallen to bits in weeks.

ThinkingOfLinking

jenniewb wrote: »

Seriously- if this ever happens to you at Evans, call the customer service team up- I used to work there- Evans are part of Arcadia and the team there are great for things like this- faulty items do get a refund, managers don't always know this:eek: so if they refuse you, just call customer services insted. Office may be a nightmare, but Arcadia in my experience are good.

I agree. This sounds SO random butI once bought a pair of socks from Topshop (also Arcadia group for those who don't know) which, when I opened them, had a fault, and I was able to return them for an exchange with no problems. Some places get really funny about socks even if faulty....New Look were also good when this happened.

BatulN

Hi all

Just came across this discussion. I suggest if anyone has a complaint about office shoes, send them recorded delivery to head office with an un- emotional and plai stated letter explaining your rights and expectations as a consumer even if you don't have a receipt.

I did this with some Keds that I bought which started falling apart at the seams after a couple wears and two office stores stated it wasn't their problem with a male manager at Bluewater claiming I had washed them (???) so I wrote to their head office and got a prompt refund!
Hope this helps!

suicidal_blonde

I've just had a pair of shoes delivered from office. The right shoe has clearly been in one of their shops and been tried on a hundred times. The shoes are tan suede - although from the amount of wear the one shoe has had its turned a completely different colour!

Office's online service is awful. You have to pay for returns which most other retailers offer a free returns service. And if you take it to the shop you dont get an immediate refund - you have to wait for them to send it back for you before you get your money back.

This isnt the first problem ive had with them - I placed an order a few months back only to be told a few days later that the item was out of stock. So why are they advertising it on the website?

Very poor customer service all round.

oojeyboojey

JoolzS wrote: »

This thread is a perfect example of why manufacturing has failed in this country - everyone wants to sue/complain.

A pair of boots from Office is never sold as being able to take the brunt of a British winter - but one buyer insists on it and threatens legal action. It just makes me want to cry.

Office boots are a fashion item - wear them every day if you want, but don't expect them to live up to serious winter weather. If they survive the winter - smile and enjoy it. If they don't survive - then write it off as a stupid decision to buy a pair of fashion boots when you could have bought real winter boots elsewhere.

When I was 18 and had to get two buses across town to get to work every day I bought practical rather than fashion. I'm now 42 and I still own one pair of my "get across town" boots. They aren't particularly comfortable, or fashionable - but they keep my feet warm and it's almost impossible to slip on an icy pavement in them.

Julie

I find your viewpoint hard to understand. I think this thread is a perfect example of how poor customer service and manufacturing standards have let people down. Shoppers are well within their rights to complain if goods they purchased aren’t fit for purpose.

I wouldn’t call going for a stroll in light rain “bearing the brunt of a British winter” – it’s not like she was trekking through the snow and ice or something. “Fashion” boots should still be able to be worn under normal circumstances – they’re not works of art, just less sturdy and more pretty than “practical” boots. Rain is normal in the UK, so yes I do think it’s perfectly reasonable to expect a pair of leather boots to be able to keep rain off your feet!

In real life, shoe shops don’t sell two categories of products: “practical – ugly, but will work in all conditions” or “fashion – looks pretty but will disintegrate if you actually use it”. What most people find is that sometimes, a pair of shoes will be well-made, with adhesives that actually stay stuck and watertight, soles that don’t wear out, and nails that don’t stick into your feet. Other times, the shoes might start coming apart where stitching isn’t robust enough, or start letting water in through gaps in the adhesives, or have other faults. The point here is that when the shoe fails, it’s because of a fault. I own over 40 pairs of shoes – there is little to no correlation between which have given me years of good service and which have started falling to pieces. In fact, one of the most sturdy examples is a pair of cheap, flimsy-looking pretty sandals that have withstood over 5 years of hard wear without the soles wearing down at all.

I think the term “fashion” is used as an excuse for poor workmanship. “Fashion” shoes often cost a bundle more than what most people would think of as “practical” shoes, so in my opinion, there is no reason why poor quality should be put up with simply because of the way the shoes look.



As far as I am concerned, when I buy a pair of pretty "fashion" boots from a high street retailer like Office, I expect the shoes to retain their integrity for at least a year of normal use, with the exception of the sole and heel which might need to be replaced. I don't think this is unreasonable.

me4bargains

suicidal_blonde wrote: »

I've just had a pair of shoes delivered from office. The right shoe has clearly been in one of their shops and been tried on a hundred times. The shoes are tan suede - although from the amount of wear the one shoe has had its turned a completely different colour!

Office's online service is awful. You have to pay for returns which most other retailers offer a free returns service. And if you take it to the shop you dont get an immediate refund - you have to wait for them to send it back for you before you get your money back.

This isnt the first problem ive had with them - I placed an order a few months back only to be told a few days later that the item was out of stock. So why are they advertising it on the website?

Very poor customer service all round.

I agree. I too ordered four pairs of shoes off their website in the sale.
And the only one that turned up was a £5 pair. The postage was £5 for all four pairs so i was really miffed because I wouldn't have bothered ordering one pair and pay £5 postage.
I called the head office to find out what happened to my other pairs and the guy I spoke to was eitehr drugged up to the eye balls or couldn't have cared less.
He just said if you haven't recieved it we're sold out!
I wouldn't buy from their shop either because if you chagne your mind they only give exchanges.