Official Nintendo Wii announcement: ARGOS ARE HEARTLESS CONTRACT BUSTERS!

Aluminium_2

peterbaker wrote:

Edit: Now then, what's this?:
Post Count: 4
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Interesting statistics those ...So Aluminium, what really pulls your chain ? ... I can only think boys and girls that he or she is just hoping to be so outrageous as to get the Japaness knotweed pulled up by the roots again...can't think why, can we boys and girls?...go ahead...Japanese knotweed is darned awkward stuff once you've introduced it, and I think it's going to be rather fruitless you continuing to con us into thinking it's all rooted in innocuous, indiginous, reasonable stuff ... but you're welcome to try:-)

At a guess, 4 of my posts were in your previous thread, which was deleted. I imagine that's why there's a discrepancy.

I couldn't be bothered to read your whole post since the amusement came mainly from your pleas on behalf of Phillip, the poor multi-lingual international shopper with a predisposition to crying and after a couple of paragraphs and a skim through it seemed that wasn't on the menu :mad:. Can't we have more Phillip news? I think it's annoying that you've changed your stance from being the unhinged carer for an innocent 13 year old to that of consumer avenger taking down multi national corporations for the little people.

So yeah, if you want mine and others' posts to generate interest in your thread, more laughs please.

Incidentally, one part of your post I did catch was the part about keeping Argos' ruined (actually unsullied except in the eyes of the unhinged) name on the front page. You're right, a portion of those Argos bargain hunters will have seen it. They will however have acted exactly as normally, if Argos had the best price for a product they wanted you can guarantee that they went and purchased it from Argos.

In fact, if Argos do start reading here (from behind the sofa, no doubt) perhaps they'll stop issuing so many gift vouchers to people since it seems alot of people have clocked that complaints = gift vouchers and are telling each other to complain even when there is no significant grievance (which ties in nicely). Seems you might be diminishing the chances of people on here getting free stuff. I'd be terrified*.

By the way, if you could try and organise a copy of "Wii Play" to be freed up for my deaf, dumb, blind friend (he sure plays a mean pinball and we want to see how he gets on with billiards but don't trust him with a cue so thought the Wii version might be best) that'd be dandy, my preorder didn't come through because demand outrstripped supply. David cried and cried when I told him about it (through a language of morse code pokes to the shoulder) but I haven't the strength of character to ineffectively complain and bleat about it on the internet.

*not terrified or concerned or particularly interested. Well, a little bit interested.

andrewk_2

peterbaker wrote:

Meanwhile Argos have continued to be heartless of course - despite their words on the telephone, not even the slightest acknowledgement of anything has occurred. I am afraid Argos can't be trusted to do the smallest things in the name of real courtesy... On Thursday, I agreed with a chap in Escalations Department of Home Retail Group plc (Argos) that he would send a written apology by letter or email... On Friday he agreed he could send an email instead. But actually, no email arrived

If they can't even keep their promise to deliver an e-mail, you have to doubt their credentials when it comes to delivering anything else. You'd have thought that the Escalations Department would at least know the value of keeping to promises - and, from your case alone, what happens when they don't keep to them. (Unless, of course, Escalations Department is responsible for maintaining the moving stairs. Ho ho.)

That's getting to the point - we don't like crooks, right? It ain't clever to make money out of tricking people, right?

Is it tricking people? I don't know. I have heard a strong rumour, though, that Argos started selling Wii preorders before their allocation was confirmed. It's only those companies who sold preorders before finding out how many consoles they'd get that have let people down. If that rumour's true, then they've been tricking people and lying to them about why they can't deliver.

Is that malice, greed or incompetence on Argos's part? I'd say the latter two.

peterbaker

So then, now that you have all sobered up and realised that Argos = Atrocious, what do we tell Philip?

I just spoke with one of the two Andrews in the Escalations Dept. at Home Retail Group - the nice chap - he sounds like the rug has been pulled completely from under him. Someone has pointed out to him how long he spent on the phone last week dealing with this case and he's not allowed to do it again. It isn't a priority for him. The priority is sorting out the mess of all the phone calls coming in.

He didn't send the email because they got some information that meant the dates in his email were wrong and he didnt want to have to apologise again so he isn't going to send the email until the order has been dispatched now.

Andrew says he cannot afford to spend time on the phone to me today because I am not the customer. I am only the shipping address and the contact number on the account. Oh what wonderful lessons his bosses have taught him this weekend. "Andrew you should never have spoken to Mr Baker in the first place - you are not allowed to because of Data Protection legislation."

I told him I was very sorry that he had been nobbled. He did not deny it.
That's what happens to nice guys who work for malicious, greedy incompetent corporates.

So, no more information from Argos except that reading between the lines, they ain't going to keep to any schedule right now because they don't have it under control at all.

I have asked him to request that his CRM (Manager) Sarah calls me today. He said he couldn't guarantee she would call.

What DO we tell Philip? (remember that he will never understand how a promise made for money can be broken and the decision defended).

He can be tempted to listen well and would recognise a personal apology put by someone like Andrew in real not nobbled mode. Thats what Andrew the nice guy and I cooked up last week. Andrew tells me he even sat down with Sarah and tried to make the international call on Thursday evening using the office landline and a company mobile, but they were stuffed by an international call bar on both.

As we now know this morning, Andrew even drafted the second best special thing which was a written personal apology to Philips personal email address. But that got no further than 'Drafts', and he is now being castigated in the office.

He's not allowed to follow through because there is so much uncertainty at Argos about when they might now be able to deliver.

I wonder if E.UK are being helpful to Argos behind the scenes now or if Caroline has directed the opposite because she doesn't like their information being broadcast to customers?

So maybe Caroline at Woolworth Group Plc would now like to send P a personal apology? How should it read? I have just sent her his email address just in case.

Edit: Pleased to report just received a very upbeat delivery notification call from Argos. Philips Wii will be delivered IN time (if not ON time) afterall. Andrew made it happen. Good man.

nonemoreemo

You sound a bit defeated, Peter - even if your capacity to churn out screeds of outrage on demand remains undiminished. I do hope you won't give up! At this rate you'll have an apology from Argos by the time Nintendo's next console is released.

peterbaker

nonemoreemo wrote:

You sound a bit defeated, Peter - even if your capacity to churn out screeds of outrage on demand remains undiminished. I do hope you won't give up! At this rate you'll have an apology from Argos by the time Nintendo's next console is released.

Well before I edited my last post (your post crossed with my edit) I WAS feeling a bit resigned. Defeated? No. I think I achieved all I set out to do, don't you? Getting on for 8,000 Views of the two threads now. Just didn't think it would take quite so long to make them see sense... but hey, good prevailed, and MY reputation is intact! Result!

Edit: I see your post count was also skewed irretrievably by the loss of the first thread too!
Join Date: Dec 2006
Post Count: 2
Thanked 10 Times in 3 Posts
Your middle initial isn't A is it? :-)

nonemoreemo

peterbaker wrote:

Well before I edited my last post (your post crossed with my edit) I WAS feeling a bit resigned. Defeated? No. I think I achieved all I set out to do, don't you? Getting on for 8,000 Views of the two threads now. Just didn't think it would take quite so long to make them see sense... but hey, good prevailed, and MY reputation is intact! Result!

So Phillip gets his Wii in the second batch, just like everybody else, which is exactly what would have happened if you'd done, er, nothing at all. All that footstamping, posturing and forum posting for nothing, Peter! What a shame.

Sinkingindebt_2

:rotfl: I have nothing to say apart from, yes Peter be proud, you ARE a man that gets things done!

NOT.

gamma

wow peterbaker - talk about going off on a tangent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring

peterbaker

I like the WikiP reminder about saving the hunted fox - personally I don't mind twisting, turning or barking up in any direction if I get what I am after in the end!

Do bear in mind that I said clearly in the other thread what I was seeking to achieve:
1) To embarrass Argos so that they would think very carefully about breaking promises like this again.
2) To persuade them that they couldn't disappoint Philip of all people because he just wouldn't understand how they could be so heartless as to break the promise they gave him in person in return for his savings. I.e. to re-secure Philips order so he at least would still receive it on time.

(I hope I've remembered this more or less accurately - unfortunately I can't go back and check because the thread disappeared completely on Friday lunchtime, didn't it?)

I now have a high level of confidence that I will receive the Wii on Wednesday. I could not have got that level of confidence any other way, could I?

WikiP wrote:

"saving a hunted fox by dragging a red herring across its trail to cause the pursuing hounds to lose the true scent and follow the false trail of herring odour instead."

I was hunting the smelly fox in this one, and that odour still lingers in the air, doesn't it?

Plenty of red-herrings drawn across my trail thats for sure, but I didn't really stop to sniff them.

I trust that later this week P will be able to agree that his Wii smells much nicer than fox or herring!

Fingers crossed for Wednesday then!

gamma

Indeed Fingers crossed! - I await with bated herring breath