Made a polite complaint, company now going crazy!

polr

Not sure if I am posting this in the correct place but...

I made a polite complaint to a lcoal coffee shop recently and got a two page rant back calling me "petty" and "short sighted". At the end of the letter they told me they had displayed my complaint in the shop (fine by me) along with their response (great, anyone reading it would think 'wow') but I believe they have printed it in full including displaying my personal contact details which are in my signature (I can't check for a few days). It's had my full name, phone number and mobile along with my email address.

I've said to them I am fine with the email going up on the wall as I feel it's justified but that they must remove my personal details as I do not authorise their display. Does anyone know if I can enforce this personal info to be removed? I'd have thought the data protection act/ common sense would disallow it but not sure they will care and I don't want to have to go to a lawyer but I also do not want phone numbers etc on display where 'who knows who' will see them/use them!

timbo58

Consult the ICO, they govern the DPA.
AFAIAA unless you have specified it's ok, then things like full name AND PII (personally identifiable data) such as phone number, address etc are NOT ok for this company to publish.

Steve059

I think you need to check whether or not they've actually posted the letters and, if they have, whether or not they've blanked out your personal details.

If they've posted it with with your personal details shown, then take a photo, and then write to the company, asking them to blank out your personal details and also escalate the matter to the ICO.

Chickabiddybex

Any chance you'll share the letters? Curiosity overcomes me!

Jeff_Bridges_hair

And name and shame the coffee shop!

Caitlin_Bree

I'll have a Rooney on it being Costa. I have yet to meet a manager of theirs that isn't a total nork.

Money-Saving-King

Chickabiddybex wrote: »

Any chance you'll share the letters? Curiosity overcomes me!

Yeah same here. Obviously op feel free to remove any of your details but I'm fascinated to see what it said!

bod1467

Caitlin_Bree wrote: »

I'll have a Rooney on it being Costa. I have yet to meet a manager of theirs that isn't a total nork.

And I'd have to state the opposite - we've never had a bad experience in a Costa outlet.

Anyway - I have my doubts that this will be a chain/franchise place. Such companies tend to have well-laid-out rules regarding code of conduct, and printing and displaying a complaint and response probably contravenes such rules (leaving the "brand" exposed to negative publicity).

C_Mababejive

Maybe you could relate the story to the Daily Mail and see how the coffee shop feels about it then ?

EDIT..was this a small local independent and not a high street chain? If so then surely one would simply not go in their any more if dissatisfied with it? They have no corporate profile to uphold/defend and so would be more...ermm...contemptuous of such complaints..

Computersaysno

We've gotta see this....come on get them posted!!!!

I doubt the shop would be stupid enough to publish full address etc...but then again...

polr

Thanks for your replies, I'm only worried about personal info being displayed so will head down tomorrow when I'm not on my own to check it out.

Yup, it's tiny, local coffee shop and I won't be going there again (never had problems with Costa!) which is a shame as I'd much rather support a local company and they are attached to a driving range which my husband uses - I pop down for a coffee while he plays and wait for him to finish - in my opinion these businesses compliment each other (we've used them all a lot in the past) but they have a problem with people using them as a 'waiting room' which I would effectively be doing - we drive down together so I can't always leave the second I finish but it's not like i sit there for hours either - usually aroung the 30-45 mins mark

My reason for mailing is that they had an off putting sign up basically saying 'we'll take your money but move on ASAP' which I thought was a little rude so I wrote to say I thought it might put people off visiting and to say we'd felt unwelcome so went elsewhere. If I could work out how to upload an image I would!

Their response (with my comments in bold):

In response to your comments about the notices on the tables.

We have had no choice but to try and deal with the problem of people sitting with one cup of tea/coffee for 2-3 hours, even when the coffee shop and car park are full. The longest being 4 hours with a coffee and tap water. // Fair enough, but the sign was worded for anyone who went in and didn't explain this.

We discussed this problem with many of our regular customers, who both approved and encouraged the notices. The sign on Table 2 was the first draft, which unfortunately appears to be the table you were sitting at. The signs on all the other tables read:
"Welcome to our coffee shop. We hope you enjoy your visit. As you can see we are only a small premises so can you please be considerate as to the length of time you stay regardless of how busy the coffee shop is. Our car park services three businesses and must be cleared regularly. Hope to see you again soon." // Again, much better and if I'd read this version I wouldn't have thought anything more of it

While the first draft might have been more brutally honest, the fact remains, as a business we must address such issues. // If they'd stopped here I also wouldn't have thought much more about this...

As it has transpired, the people for whom the signs were intended continue to be ignorant of them and still use the premises as a waiting/meeting room.
We definitely do not have a petty attitude, we are simply trying to make our business work.
Many people, like yourself, seem to assume that our business is a concession.
It is not. // I'd wrongly assumed this as it's attached to a golf range - think this is what annoyed them the most TBH

We have to pay full rent, rates, electric, gas, water, and refuse before we even get to paying staff wages, just as we would if we were on any High Street.
Therefore we can not afford to allow people to use it as they have previously been doing.

That is why it's changed hands so many times, as no one can make it work.
You said that you used to come down a lot when the previous owner was here, hopefully it is now obvious to you why she had to leave. // Thought this was a little uncalled for, I know the previous owner!

As for The World of Golf it is treble the size and is one business. They make money collectively as long as someone in each party spends in at least one area. We make nothing of off the Range or the Pro Shop and they make nothing of us, which is why we have to address the issue of people staying so long, taking up parking spaces and reducing the number of people who can visit all three businesses, not just ours. // I'd compared them to there and said I'd never had problems waiting for my husband to use the range while I had a coffee before, certainly never seen a sign there saying "thank you for not staying long"

There are only 26 seats in the shop and if we don't get a turnover of seats during the day then there is no way our business can survive. The history of all those who have tried before us and failed, in both the Coffee Shop and the Pro Shop, support this.

As for your suggestion that you had to drag out a coffee till it got cold etc. then decided not to have lunch is very strange. // The sign said you had to leave the second your plates were cleared away, as I was waiting on two others I didn't want to be in the position of having an empty cup cleared away and being asked to leave as it was implied you would be. I thought it was either sit and make it last or risk a scene.

On reception you were asked how many was in your party so we could seat you efficiently, you did not say 3. // No, because I assumed I could change tables later - I never said this was an issue so nto sure why they picked up on it unless they've had a few complaints and mixed me up.

You were then asked if you would like lunch menus, you said 'No'. // Didn't happen so I do think they mixed me up with someone else for this.

You however implied in your email you wanted lunch but changed your mind due to how you were made to feel.
This makes little sense as you could not have been immediately offended as soon as you were greeted by our waitress. And if you had said , there is three of us we are going to have lunch later and requested a coffee while you waited, you would have been seated accordingly and you would not have felt 'uncomfortable' and had to drag your coffee out while you attended to your diary and waited for your two friends, as all would have been aware you did indeed intend to use our business for its intended purpose. // I didn't see the sign until half way through my coffee, while having my coffee I noticed it and became aware that I may be outstaying my welcome as I fell into the 'waiting' group that they complained about in the original sign (I'd been there 30-40 mins). When my friends joined me I pointed it out to them and we made the joint decision to go elsewhere as we all felt it might be better due to the wording.

As for the two ladies who were moved from a table of 4 to a table of 2, they were very happy with the service and enjoyed there lunch with no petty complaints. The reason they were asked to move is due to the fact we only have 3 tables of four and we must keep them for larger parties. You remain the only one to date who has been offended by this, and it wasn't even you that was re seated. Many premises I have visited do this to maximise there seating potential. Some even go as far as to put up signs saying 'please wait to be seated'. This was an extremely petty observation. // These ladies were NOT happy in the least, they maybe didn't complain to him but they were complaining that's for sure! I'm simply mentioned it in my email to back up that I felt uncomfortable and this didn't help matters - they weren't asked to move politely.

Hopefully you understand where we are coming from. // Yup, but I did at the start of the letter without calling me petty!

It is unfortunate that you could not have spoke to one of the team when you were in the shop, rather than having to resort to sending an email. // I'm glad I didn't I'm 8.5 months pregnant and if the tone of this is anything to go by I wouldn't have wanted to speak to him plus I'm assuming it was him in that day and he did not look a happy man!

Your email and our reply is now on display in the shop as we feel it is relevant that all parties have a say. Judging by our repeat business, you are in a minority. // I don't know why 'all parties need a say' - to whome? It's a matter that is between them and myself so unless they put it up on their premises no one would have been any the wiser! I guess it's one way to guarantee no further complaints...

We are well known for our warm welcome and our personal approach in the way we get to know our regulars and indeed how they have come to share parts of their lives with us.

It remains a disappointment however that someone who is in business themselves has the ability to be so short sighted. // Don't quite get his point with this, does he mean as I run a business I should never complain?! My objection was to how harsh the sign was, I completely understand their reasoning.

I'm sure you would not allow anything to harm your business. Either People or Inefficiency. // I wouldn't but then I wouldn't respond to a customer complaing calling them petty and short-sighted as I know customers are what keep us all in business.

Yours sincerely,
Shane and Michele