Argos - Apalling!!!

chrispyphillips

Well. thought i would regale you all with a story that just happened to me!

Ordered a chest of drawers and 2 x bed side drawers in the week to be delivered today! Me n Mrs Chrispy both work full time and requested a saturday, but none were available on the system, so the lady said Friday was available.

Chrispy - "Will they ring me when they're on their way then?"
Argos - "Yes of course they will. They ring you when they're an hour away. You dont think they'd just turn up out of the blue do you?" Alarm bells!!!!!!

So at this point, feeling satisfied, I duly handed over my £150 and walked away with my delivery times on my receipt.

So... friday comes, and the mobile is in my hand all day, on loud! I'm a 10 minute walk away from the house, so there are no worries. But, lo and behold, there is no phonecall!!! Arrive home at 3:45 (took an hour or so off early) and came home to... NOTHING! no card or anything. So straight onto argos deliveries (via saynoto0870 ) and gave them my order number!

Chrispy - "Yes we were expecting delivery of them by 12 today and there is no sign of anything being delivered" (assuming they had been stolen!)
Argos - "I'm very Sorry Mr Phillips, but these are currently on stand by, see, they wont actually be delivered until a query is placed on them by the customer!!!"

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

What an APALLING, DREADFUL, and DISPICABLE way to run a huge business. basically, you order, we do nothing with the order, until you ring up to complain about it! Totally not acceptable in my eyes!

Then, I had another number to ring! there was a separate delivery of the bed side drawers, so spoke to another lady!

Chrispy - "Yes there was supposed to be 2 x bedside drawers delivered today."
Argos - "Was anyone in the property today Mr Phillips?"
Chrispy - "No, i;ve just arrived home now"
Argos - "I can see that the items were delivered at 7 minutes past 10 this morning!"
chrispy - "Well, theres nothing here, I was in work, and had no phone call to say they were being delivered"
Argos - "Did the people in the shop tell you you would be called? I'm sorry Sir but that does not happen with Argos, our drivers are not able to make phone calls and deliver at random times so cannot guarantee any set time delivery!!

WHY WAS I TOLD I'D GET A PHONE CALL THEN!!

I've really lost patience with this company now! I'm having another delivery next friday (if they can be bothered to show up) and i'm missing 2 sets of furniture, which I should have had!

Apalling way to run and operate a business. I know they're a catalogue shop, but for home deliveries, go elsewhere cos this type of service is the worst around!

pavlovs_dog

just to clarify a bit re the phone call and delivery situation...


delivery of small items (normally anything under 25kg, which can be safely lifted by one person - ie bedside chests), is not actually delivered by argos direct, but by an external logistics company. with such items, you will not get a phone call before delivery. time slot for such items is quoted as being any time between 7am-6pm.

with larger items (ie those over 25kg) these are delivered by argos direct because they require 2 man handling for health and safety reasons. for these deliveries, you will be offered a more specific timeslot for delivery, normally 7-12, 10-2pm, or 12- 6pm. in some circumstances, you may receive a call in advance from the driver to say that they are in the area, be with you soon, but this is not 100% guaranteed.

chrispyphillips

Do you work for them Pav?

I'm aware of the delivery situation, and know why there was 2 separate deliveries, but it still doesnt, and never will justify why i'm £150 down, with no furntiure, and an admission from Argos saying that I have to complain in order for them to deliver! That level of service is so questionable its amazing they can base a successful business around it!

bs0u0128

ive always had great delivery service from argos, i get a recorded call in the morning usually for big things to confirm theyll be delivered before x'o'clock that day, must be a regional thing :S

celtus

I recently worked for Argos Direct, and while i was there the Driver told me that we had to phone up the Customer around an hour before delivery and if there was anything that was over 35Kg (Heavy flatpack wardrobes spring to mind) we couldnt take them upstairs due to was "Health and Safety"...now just imagine an elderly Customer trying to get them upstairs?.. Be warned the Argos Catalogue does not give the exact weight of goods, it just says "over 20kg"

Another point to note is due the the way the vans are packed full of Customers goods, i'd always recommend you sign for goods "Unexamined" as accidents can and do occur whist in transit...i'll not go into detail...but i hope that guys fridge freezers ok?

gyzmo

celtus wrote:

Another point to note is due the the way the vans are packed full of Customers goods, i'd always recommend you sign for goods "Unexamined" as accidents can and do occur whist in transit...i'll not go into detail...but i hope that guys fridge freezers ok?

Just to make a point, you will not be deemed to have accepted the goods until a reasonableamount of time has passed for yout to examine them.

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT A DELIVERY NOTE STATES - legislation in this area cannot be excluded from a consumer contract. So if you see a warning that signing deems you have accepted the goods, then you can still sign the document but ignore the warning.

changkra

chrispyphillips wrote:

Well. thought i would regale you all with a story that just happened to me!

Ordered a chest of drawers and 2 x bed side drawers in the week to be delivered today! Me n Mrs Chrispy both work full time and requested a saturday, but none were available on the system, so the lady said Friday was available.

Chrispy - "Will they ring me when they're on their way then?"
Argos - "Yes of course they will. They ring you when they're an hour away. You dont think they'd just turn up out of the blue do you?" Alarm bells!!!!!!

So at this point, feeling satisfied, I duly handed over my £150 and walked away with my delivery times on my receipt.

So... friday comes, and the mobile is in my hand all day, on loud! I'm a 10 minute walk away from the house, so there are no worries. But, lo and behold, there is no phonecall!!! Arrive home at 3:45 (took an hour or so off early) and came home to... NOTHING! no card or anything. So straight onto argos deliveries (via saynoto0870 ) and gave them my order number!

Chrispy - "Yes we were expecting delivery of them by 12 today and there is no sign of anything being delivered" (assuming they had been stolen!)
Argos - "I'm very Sorry Mr Phillips, but these are currently on stand by, see, they wont actually be delivered until a query is placed on them by the customer!!!"

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

What an APALLING, DREADFUL, and DISPICABLE way to run a huge business. basically, you order, we do nothing with the order, until you ring up to complain about it! Totally not acceptable in my eyes!

Then, I had another number to ring! there was a separate delivery of the bed side drawers, so spoke to another lady!

Chrispy - "Yes there was supposed to be 2 x bedside drawers delivered today."
Argos - "Was anyone in the property today Mr Phillips?"
Chrispy - "No, i;ve just arrived home now"
Argos - "I can see that the items were delivered at 7 minutes past 10 this morning!"
chrispy - "Well, theres nothing here, I was in work, and had no phone call to say they were being delivered"
Argos - "Did the people in the shop tell you you would be called? I'm sorry Sir but that does not happen with Argos, our drivers are not able to make phone calls and deliver at random times so cannot guarantee any set time delivery!!

WHY WAS I TOLD I'D GET A PHONE CALL THEN!!

I've really lost patience with this company now! I'm having another delivery next friday (if they can be bothered to show up) and i'm missing 2 sets of furniture, which I should have had!

Apalling way to run and operate a business. I know they're a catalogue shop, but for home deliveries, go elsewhere cos this type of service is the worst around!

My son had 2 delivery's last Friday from Argos all from the same order. 1 came via a business delivery van and the other item being a mattress was delivered by the big big van. Why it all couldn't of come together we have no idea but they did phone him from a mobile to say they were on their way to deliver and was it convenient. So Argos delivery drivers DO phone before they deliver to tell you they are on their way.

pavlovs_dog

celtus wrote:

I recently worked for Argos Direct, and while i was there the Driver told me that we had to phone up the Customer around an hour before delivery and if there was anything that was over 35Kg (Heavy flatpack wardrobes spring to mind) we couldnt take them upstairs due to was "Health and Safety"...now just imagine an elderly Customer trying to get them upstairs?.. Be warned the Argos Catalogue does not give the exact weight of goods, it just says "over 20kg"

this is one of those grey areas. with all items, drivers can refuse to make a delivery if they feel that the nature of the access will put them at risk of injury.

with regards to taking things to any room of the house, this is down to driver discretion. some will, even at risk to themselves (especially if it helps an old dear or a heavily pregnant lady). others will not do it because they know they are not covered by the insurance if anything goes wrong.

celtus wrote:

Another point to note is due the the way the vans are packed full of Customers goods, i'd always recommend you sign for goods "Unexamined" as accidents can and do occur whist in transit...i'll not go into detail...but i hope that guys fridge freezers ok?

what gyzmo tells you is correct. cistomers are also protected by the 30 day money back guarantee in addition to their legal rights under the distance selling regulations. not to mention that a customer has a legal right to an undamaged item, as described, in full working order etc etc.

i'd be very surprised if there werent rules in place about delivering items which the drivers know have been compromised during delivery.


back on topic, hope everything gets sorted for you crispy :beer:

mspig

i lost faith in argos delivery years ago. I ordered one of those high beds with futon and desk underneath for my son to be delivered within 14 days. So 14 days comes and goes so i ring up and ask where it is, only to be told its out of stock at the moment but we have a delivery this week and you will get one as soon as the delivery arrives.
I wait another 7 days only to be told that the delivery of stock to them has not arrived as yet, but will be soon.
Another 7 days and by now i'm fed up so i ring them again to be told sorry no stock yet. I then asked for a refund and am told that i can't have one as i have to wait until the items turn up then turn them away at the door, only then can i have a refund.
It took from date of purchase 16 weeks to turn up.

Then when the driver arrived he said he couldn't bring the goods into the house as there have been some drivers done for going into houses with lone women. So i had a bed left on my doorstep and to top it all off i was 6mths pregnant at the time. Luckly i have good neighbours, who help me bring it in as husband was at work.

chrispyphillips

*****UPDATE*****

Thanks to all that posted their experiences. A few retorts if i may!

changkra wrote:

So Argos delivery drivers DO phone before they deliver to tell you they are on their way.

Well, they clearly didnt in my situation, as was expecting 2 deliveries and wasnt called once! I was then told, over the phone, that the drivers dont carry mobile phones with them! this is only the case for smaller delivery items, not the 'over 20kg' bracket, but I wasnt informed this in store! It remains to be seen if I do get a phone call or not!

bs0u0128 wrote:

ive always had great delivery service from argos, i get a recorded call in the morning usually for big things to confirm theyll be delivered before x'o'clock that day, must be a regional thing :S

:mad: Glad your experiences are better than mine. TBH I expected a bit of a problem as most deliveries etc are never straight forward, but nothing could prepare me for the 'We werent ever gonna deliver it until you rang us' line! That was a shocking new low for any company!

pavlovs_dog wrote:

back on topic, hope everything gets sorted for you crispy :beer:

Cheers Pav, things are looking up anyway.

Delivery of chest of drawers is scheduled for Thursday now, and as luck would have it, I'm off that day, so I dont have to take friday off (as I originally planned delivery for then!) and the bedside drawers couldnt be moved from Friday to Thursday, but the guy moved them to saturday for me, and the times are better as well, so dont have to wait in till potentially 6 o'clock now!

The things that got me was the fact that they would never be delivered till i rang them, the fact the woman tells me they call then i'm told they dont, and that the delivery driver alegedly leaves my goods in a 'secure' location, then the female on the phone tells me to check the wheelie bins!!! :wall:

On a separate note, the telephone staff I spoke to on all FIVE occassions were very friendly and helpful, although my email response was standard and not good enough, but that was to be expected also.

And the fact that woman in store says no saturday deliveries - well, i now have one, and the guy on phone says it can be left with neighbour to sign for it, even though 2 days earlier, female on phone says I'm the one who has to sign for it! I wish the right hand would talk to the left hand in these places!