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John Lewis - surprised at such bad customer service
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That smacks to me as someone trying to pull a fast one. Surely the sales assistant is trained to check what they are selling.
The thing is there is no logical reason for anybody to pull a fast one. If it was taken to the main till bank and put behind there where there happened to be another box of identical shoes nearby, it's very easy to pick up the wrong one, especially if you haven't noticed there are two.
And furthermore, if a colleagues has been dealing with the customer previously, one would expect their colleagues to be competent enough at their job to not be checked on.
But unless we have CCTV footage of what happened, we shall never know.My laptop has turned up, has been repaired but I have to wait another week for it to be delivered to me. Then I have been given a 7 hour delivery slot. This is appalling customer service. Might as well go to Currys down the road next time.
Oh christ, this is why I'm frustrated. Not only has it taken far too long now, I know my managers would have authorised me to have booked it onto a taxi to get it to you ASAP, or even if the local ones didn't (depending on distance) everybody has the authority to waive the £19 charge for a two hour delivery slot due to service issues. I used to do it all the time.
Hell, depending on how close customers were to where we lived, my colleagues and I sometimes took detours on the way home to deliver stuff.
It's so easily avoidable, it boggles the mind.I agree. ex employee however seems to think it is unreasonable for a customer to be upset about such service.
I don't think that at all. There's a difference between being annoyed at service, and expecting a pointless gesture. Whenever I've complained to a company, I've always stated what happened, why this is bad, and what resolution I expect.
Without my 2am-ish alcohol impaired brain on, I would have exchanged the goods, offered a £20 voucher for the inconvenience, but I would not have made the phone call. I would, however, have established what OP wanted to achieve and acted accordingly when I was able to get out the back.
If he genuinely had concerns that fraud was taking place, then I would have emailed OS's branch security with the transaction details so they could investigate CCTV to see what happened.
The thing is, some customers want you to ring, not for practical reasons, but so they have a visible placebo, but you can't always get through, and then they get even more angry.
I can point to a lot of things going wrong with JL, but the main thing is that the customer service ideals are costing too much money, and trying to offer the same level of customer service without jettisoning cash is very tricky.
When I started, my manager stuck me with a guy who had been at my branch for 30 years, and I shadowed him for a week and was not let near a live customer until that week had finished, and I learnt a lot.
I didn't learn about using the systems (That came later) but I did learn that, whatever happens, send the customer away happy. We all had £100 goodwill self-authorisation. If somebody wanted something delivered next day and were getting stroppy, just do it.
The problem with this approach is that they'll tell their friends that if you go to john lewis, they'll do XYZ for free if you kick up a fuss.
Soon, people come to expect all these extras as a matter of course, because it's good customer service, but those extras, when sold, are where the profit is.
So where it used to be "send customers home happy whatever," it's now "send them home happy, no matter what, just bear in mind, we're laying off loads and loads of people because our business model is unsustainable as it is."
So the staff are now getting conflicting messages. Everything is being stripped back, meaning fewer shop floor staff, and more rigidity on how offers play out.
At the same time, the buying office is being very conservative, buying tiny amounts of stock, but it means that some of the biggest sellers that comet, currys and richer sounds have in abundance are like gold dust to JL.
Product training is being cut in favour of vague, touchy feely training about concepts of "building relationships." And that isn't needed.
What I did, and what some of the more experience members of my department did, was master the systems. Now you may wonder what that has to do with customer service, but if you understand the systems, where money is going when written off, or given away, then you understand what you can do within a profitable margin.
If a customer had a complaint, I knew what money I had to play with to sort it out and could very easily effect a sensible resolution, whereas those without that understanding would get flustered, make mistakes, annoy customers and end up costing the branch thousands - seriously.
It's not necessarily that JL is getting worse, but that the staff are floundering in a more complicated framework, one that was always there, but never previously enforced. Even some of the most experienced no longer know what to do, and some of the newer staff are getting bad direction from their mentors who are no more aware of what to do than they are.
In the eight years I was at JL, I did manage to find a balance, and could send people away happy and the store would sometimes lose perhaps £10, but gain a loyal customer, or occasionally would make money out of a complaint resolution, but they always went away satisfied.
Other colleagues would flat out refuse stuff, worrying about the financial implications, and of course lose everything, while others would throw money at the customer making them happy in the short term, but not actually solving the core issue, leading to even more costs later on.
It is tricky, and I don't know how JL will sort it out, because the reputation is becoming an albatross around its neck. How can you keep doing whatever customers want, when to do so will bleed you to death, and not doing so will lose customers?
So I do get quite defensive of JL sometimes, because despite the poor pay, and infuriatingly crazy attempts to save money, the majority of staff try to do the right thing, and I know I did, and everybody I worked with did. The problem is that doing the right thing, the right way, is so complicated now, and very few people understand the systems well enough to do it without bankrupting the company.
Some staff are rubbish, though, but trust me, they won't last.
Sorry for the long post, I'm off work today, and felt like venting myself :rotfl:
And I know, systems and internal troubles don't excuse poor customer service, but perhaps it will put into perspective why things are going as they are seeing as people ask what's going on with JL, and also, might put into perspective what bad customer service actually is.
Sometimes people have complained that, "yes, youre doing more than currys ever would, we didn't have to ask, and we are getting money back, a new TV and you originally charged less than them as well, but because youre JL, i expected even more. This is terrible customer service."
The above is something that I have had as a complaint before. Not in those exact words, but the prson did indeed claim that a £200 refund, an upgraded TV and a lower price than currys was poor, and that they'd go to currys next time, because they expected better...
Flora not getting a priority delivery after a big laptop delay? That is poor, and I cannot understand why somebody didn't just waive £19, because it's the right thing to do.0 -
Update, laptop delivered unexpectedly today instead of next Tuesday. Oh good methinks, then I find it has been returned without the box, instructions and charger unit! 3 phone calls later it is tracked down to a local store. The lady on the phone said her colleague will deliver it 8am in the morning on his way to work. I must set my alarm clock!!0
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frustratedexjlemployee wrote: »The thing is there is no logical reason for anybody to pull a fast one. If it was taken to the main till bank and put behind there where there happened to be another box of identical shoes nearby, it's very easy to pick up the wrong one, especially if you haven't noticed there are two.
And furthermore, if a colleagues has been dealing with the customer previously, one would expect their colleagues to be competent enough at their job to not be checked on.
But unless we have CCTV footage of what happened, we shall never know.
Oh christ, this is why I'm frustrated. Not only has it taken far too long now, I know my managers would have authorised me to have booked it onto a taxi to get it to you ASAP, or even if the local ones didn't (depending on distance) everybody has the authority to waive the £19 charge for a two hour delivery slot due to service issues. I used to do it all the time.
Hell, depending on how close customers were to where we lived, my colleagues and I sometimes took detours on the way home to deliver stuff.
It's so easily avoidable, it boggles the mind.
I don't think that at all. There's a difference between being annoyed at service, and expecting a pointless gesture. Whenever I've complained to a company, I've always stated what happened, why this is bad, and what resolution I expect.
Without my 2am-ish alcohol impaired brain on, I would have exchanged the goods, offered a £20 voucher for the inconvenience, but I would not have made the phone call. I would, however, have established what OP wanted to achieve and acted accordingly when I was able to get out the back.
If he genuinely had concerns that fraud was taking place, then I would have emailed OS's branch security with the transaction details so they could investigate CCTV to see what happened.
The thing is, some customers want you to ring, not for practical reasons, but so they have a visible placebo, but you can't always get through, and then they get even more angry.
I can point to a lot of things going wrong with JL, but the main thing is that the customer service ideals are costing too much money, and trying to offer the same level of customer service without jettisoning cash is very tricky.
When I started, my manager stuck me with a guy who had been at my branch for 30 years, and I shadowed him for a week and was not let near a live customer until that week had finished, and I learnt a lot.
I didn't learn about using the systems (That came later) but I did learn that, whatever happens, send the customer away happy. We all had £100 goodwill self-authorisation. If somebody wanted something delivered next day and were getting stroppy, just do it.
The problem with this approach is that they'll tell their friends that if you go to john lewis, they'll do XYZ for free if you kick up a fuss.
Soon, people come to expect all these extras as a matter of course, because it's good customer service, but those extras, when sold, are where the profit is.
So where it used to be "send customers home happy whatever," it's now "send them home happy, no matter what, just bear in mind, we're laying off loads and loads of people because our business model is unsustainable as it is."
So the staff are now getting conflicting messages. Everything is being stripped back, meaning fewer shop floor staff, and more rigidity on how offers play out.
At the same time, the buying office is being very conservative, buying tiny amounts of stock, but it means that some of the biggest sellers that comet, currys and richer sounds have in abundance are like gold dust to JL.
Product training is being cut in favour of vague, touchy feely training about concepts of "building relationships." And that isn't needed.
What I did, and what some of the more experience members of my department did, was master the systems. Now you may wonder what that has to do with customer service, but if you understand the systems, where money is going when written off, or given away, then you understand what you can do within a profitable margin.
If a customer had a complaint, I knew what money I had to play with to sort it out and could very easily effect a sensible resolution, whereas those without that understanding would get flustered, make mistakes, annoy customers and end up costing the branch thousands - seriously.
It's not necessarily that JL is getting worse, but that the staff are floundering in a more complicated framework, one that was always there, but never previously enforced. Even some of the most experienced no longer know what to do, and some of the newer staff are getting bad direction from their mentors who are no more aware of what to do than they are.
In the eight years I was at JL, I did manage to find a balance, and could send people away happy and the store would sometimes lose perhaps £10, but gain a loyal customer, or occasionally would make money out of a complaint resolution, but they always went away satisfied.
Other colleagues would flat out refuse stuff, worrying about the financial implications, and of course lose everything, while others would throw money at the customer making them happy in the short term, but not actually solving the core issue, leading to even more costs later on.
It is tricky, and I don't know how JL will sort it out, because the reputation is becoming an albatross around its neck. How can you keep doing whatever customers want, when to do so will bleed you to death, and not doing so will lose customers?
So I do get quite defensive of JL sometimes, because despite the poor pay, and infuriatingly crazy attempts to save money, the majority of staff try to do the right thing, and I know I did, and everybody I worked with did. The problem is that doing the right thing, the right way, is so complicated now, and very few people understand the systems well enough to do it without bankrupting the company.
Some staff are rubbish, though, but trust me, they won't last.
Sorry for the long post, I'm off work today, and felt like venting myself :rotfl:
And I know, systems and internal troubles don't excuse poor customer service, but perhaps it will put into perspective why things are going as they are seeing as people ask what's going on with JL, and also, might put into perspective what bad customer service actually is.
Sometimes people have complained that, "yes, youre doing more than currys ever would, we didn't have to ask, and we are getting money back, a new TV and you originally charged less than them as well, but because youre JL, i expected even more. This is terrible customer service."
The above is something that I have had as a complaint before. Not in those exact words, but the prson did indeed claim that a £200 refund, an upgraded TV and a lower price than currys was poor, and that they'd go to currys next time, because they expected better...
Flora not getting a priority delivery after a big laptop delay? That is poor, and I cannot understand why somebody didn't just waive £19, because it's the right thing to do.
I understand what you are saying although I don't agree with all your comments. I would however pick you up on the poor pay issue. Jl employees are probably the best paid of most retailer workers. They get an annual percentage of profits which other retail staff can only dream of!0 -
Another customer here who will never shop with John Lewis again. I bought my daughter a tumble dryer (JL own brand) and after eleven months it broke.
My daughter called John Lewis, who told her they could do nothing and to call the repairers on yet another 0845 number. My daughter took a day off work (we all know how that goes), but although the repairer pulled up outside, he drove off without calling! She called JL who said they could do nothing and to call the repairers (remember this is less than a year old). Another 25 minutes on the phone to the repairers, on a mobile, on an 0845 number and my daughter was told the engineer would call again that day. He didn't.
John Lewis said they can't do anything.
I called and was promised by (named person) she would oversee this and make sure it was sorted. My daughter was charged £25 for a Saturday call (she couldn't get any more time off work). The guy turned up, said he thought it may be ... but didn't have a part.
I called John Lewis and was PROMISED they would call the repairers first thing Monday and call me. Despite four calls to JL today (Monday) they have done nothing. Each time they promise to call me back, but don't.
This machine has been broken two and a half weeks, is less than a year old, and John Lewis just promises to do things, but doesn't.
Never, never again will I buy from them (bought online). The shop provided 25 years of good service, but this is it, never again. I hate being lied to and promised a call when they have no intention of calling back.
Appalling.0 -
How funny I was just fuming over John Lewis today...I decided against my better judgement to order some shoes from their website, it had 25% off and I popped them into my basket at the reduced price, and went through to pay for them but they came up as full price. I went back to look at the original page and the shoes were back up at full price, I assume their website had just automatically put them back up at a higher price (this was Sunday evening). I have written to them in the desperate hope they might let me have them at the reduced price but I am 100% they won't. Had I been literally one second faster I would have got them.
Mzg - did you write to their head office to complain? I think you need to put something in writing as this is ridiculous.0 -
Jl employees are probably the best paid of most retailer workers. They get an annual percentage of profits which other retail staff can only dream of!
I have a couple of friends who work for John Lewis who say the bonus might sound large but it doesn't mean anything when they don't even get paid £7 an hour to begin with! If you're only being paid nine grand a year, a 15% or whatever bonus isn't as great as it sounds.0 -
Elvisia, I have had numerous email exchanges, but today emailed a formal complaint to "head of customer service." It will no doubt go to regular customer service inbox. If I don't get a reply tomorrow, I will write to head office. Ridiculous is an understatement! (Daren't say what I was thinking)
PS Hope you get your shoes with the discount!0 -
Otherwise maybe speak to Consumer Direct (who are essentially Trading Standards) who can give some advice on what to do?0
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Elvisia, I have had numerous email exchanges, but today emailed a formal complaint to "head of customer service." It will no doubt go to regular customer service inbox. If I don't get a reply tomorrow, I will write to head office. Ridiculous is an understatement! (Daren't say what I was thinking)
PS Hope you get your shoes with the discount!
I had an issue with my dishwasher (in that the engineer who came to repair having known the issue because I had to give it to hotpoint when they called to see what was wrong, didnt know the issue and went off, telling me I'd get it fixed at best within 6 weeks) and contacted JL's head of customer services. Took three days to hear back, and got an upgrade to my dishwasher within a week, and they took the old one away rather than I wait til whenever hotpoint would have connected it.
I don't know if it's reasonable to expect a next day reply when each complaint can take an awful lot of time to deal with. I'm a mere shop floor grunt where I work, and when someone rings up with a complaint it can sometimes take well over an hour before the person even pauses for breath, let alone gives you a chance to actually respond to their complaint.There's only so many hours in the day, after all.0 -
OH heck, I truly understand it can take a while, but trust me, I've been lied to time after time by John Lewis customer service. Today, for instance, on my fourth call (after being promised on Saturday they would call me first thing Monday) I called four times. On the third time I was told they were actually on the phone to the repairers and would call me back. An hour later (6pm) no call, so I called customer service again and was told "oh we were on the phone to them but got cut off".
Unbelievable. I have emailed head of customer services, but don't really expect to get anywhere. I buy almost everything from John Lewis, but will never shop there again. They aren't in the slightest bit interested about the fact that the service guy failed to show twice, and then had the nerve to charge £25 for turning up on a Saturday. Nice way to get extra money methinks.
One customer service manager even promised to take over the case herself, and now won't answer my emails or calls ("she is busy")
One eleven month old broken dryer, with no sign of it getting repaired (broken for two and a half weeks):mad:0
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