Shuropody

flossy_splodge

Oh how bad has customer service become?
I phoned this company as I wanted to complain about the rudeness of a store manager. I asked for the director in charge of customer services.
The girl (Rebecca)on the end of the phone said 'I'm sorry he's not available but I'll be dealing with this matter so can I take your details'? I said' no, can you give me the directors name so I can write in' to which the response was 'I'll just have to check, not sure who that is'!!!!!! So how on earth did the silly little girl know 'he' wasn't available if she didn't even know who it was I was asking for details of??
Twice in the conversation she talked over me as she had assumed she knew what I was going to say and in each case she was wrong. When I pointed out to her that she had not listened, I merely got an 'oh'.
When will companies realise that the staff that are customer facing, be it by phone or in person, need to be competent, articulate and inspire confidence in their wish to and ability to resolve a problem.
That's another company off my shopping list. Such a shame as I had received excellent customer service in branch on the managers day off and my gripe was the unpleasant manner of the manager, the following day, not the staff.
In times of recession I would have thought all companies would be taking great care to retain their existing customer base.
Grr :mad:

dickydonkin

flossy_splodge wrote: »

That's another company off my shopping list. Such a shame as I had received excellent customer service in branch on the managers day off and my gripe was the unpleasant manner of the manager, the following day, not the staff.
:mad:

Frustrating I'm sure - but if you have received excellent customer services in the past, are you going to defect because of one bad experience?

I would give the company some time to respond and if you still get no satisfaction, then you then can decide if you wish to take your custom elsewhere.

It is akin to using an airline frequently, you should base your opinions on overall service (past and present) and after using the service many times - as opposed to stop using an airline because of the attitude of one member of cabin crew on a particular flight.

flossy_splodge

dickydonkin wrote: »

Frustrating I'm sure - but if you have received excellent customer services in the past, are you going to defect because of one bad experience?

I would give the company some time to respond and if you still get no satisfaction, then you then can decide if you wish to take your custom elsewhere.

It is akin to using an airline frequently, you should base your opinions on overall service (past and present) and after using the service many times - as opposed to stop using an airline because of the attitude of one member of cabin crew on a particular flight.

I understand your point but don't think it's quite right.
It was the Head Office I was trying to communicate with. My experience has left me concerned that if this is how they respond at the beginning of the process there's not much hope it would be better if I had a product complaint.

I assisted my father in purchasing a quite expensive pair of shoes that he needed and now worry that should there be a problem I've little hope of being heard.
Bad service in a branch doesn't really upset me as it's normal in the UK but I do expect much much better from a head office.

no1catman

Rebecca doesn't need to know who the 'Director' is, to know he is not available for the simple reason that he/she does not take customer service calls.
That's what 'Rebecca' and her colleagues are paid to do.
Whether she's good or bad at it we can't judge because we didn't hear the conversation.
Perhaps you put her off her 'stroke' by immediately asking for the 'Director' before she had a chance!

flossy_splodge

no1catman wrote: »

Rebecca doesn't need to know who the 'Director' is, to know he is not available for the simple reason that he/she does not take customer service calls.
That's what 'Rebecca' and her colleagues are paid to do.
Whether she's good or bad at it we can't judge because we didn't hear the conversation.
Perhaps you put her off her 'stroke' by immediately asking for the 'Director' before she had a chance!

What a load of bunkum.
She's paid to keep customers happy. If she doesn't have the skill or the training to carry out these duties perhaps she should move over and allow someone who does, to have a paid job.

mynameistallulah

flossy_splodge wrote: »

What a load of bunkum.
She's paid to keep customers happy. If she doesn't have the skill or the training to carry out these duties perhaps she should move over and allow someone who does, to have a paid job.

Not "bunkum" at all - she is paid to be a gatekeeper, there is no reason for you to speak to a director so she offered to pass your details to a more suitable party. That is exactly what she is paid to do.

I would suggest that the only thing that will stop you achieving a satisfactory outcome is your attitude. Referring to someone as a "silly little girl", whether to her face or to others, and then telling someone that they are talking "bunkum", when they are in fact both correct is pretty poor form.

dickydonkin

Maybe if you try the contact us page from their website, you might get a more satisfactory response.

phillips1984

mynameistallulah wrote: »

Not "bunkum" at all - she is paid to be a gatekeeper, there is no reason for you to speak to a director so she offered to pass your details to a more suitable party. That is exactly what she is paid to do.

I would suggest that the only thing that will stop you achieving a satisfactory outcome is your attitude. Referring to someone as a "silly little girl", whether to her face or to others, and then telling someone that they are talking "bunkum", when they are in fact both correct is pretty poor form.

Interestingly I used to work for the company in question at their head office. Unfortunately as we are in time of recession, companies often opt out of employing customer service persons and instead ask whoever answers a call to deal with it. Rebecca no longer works for Shuropody also, however when she did, she was a member of the Human resource team, and not the non existent customer services department you speak of.


I can also confirm that there is no director that deals with customer service complaints at the company. Most often what is advised, is that the person taking the call, which as a Merchandiser (my actual job) I often did. They take the customers details, speak to one of the area managers (these are not office based) who will then deal with the member of staff in question, investigate the claim, and then offer some form of compensation to the customer.


I am sure that Rebecca would have done this had she been given the opportunity.


Furthermore, in this difficult and very competitive market that retail is, when your employer advises you as a member of staff that you are not to pass customer service calls onto any directors, in order to sustain your employment and your income, it is difficult to ignore their orders.


One final point, having worked with Rebecca for some time, I can confirm she is an incredibly polite, intelligent and hard working university graduate and member of staff, and it is very small minded of you to refer to her as a silly little girl.


In fact it is very rude to do so. Which is somewhat hypercritical.

hannerrbabes

I don't think that with your attitude FlossySplodge, you are ever going to receive a satisfactory response.

JReacher1

It's a very old thread this but it does make me laugh when people phone a call centre and ask to speak to the director. They then get annoyed when they're not instantly put through!

Bantex_2

Directors of medium sized companies do not speak to small fry customers.