John Lewis Direct - Useless?!

C_Ronaldo

What a complete farce, why couldnt JL just be honest with you

dmg24

RadoJo, thank you ever so much, that really is thoughtful of you. I can borrow a bag from my parents, it is just far too big and too heavy (15 kg baggage allowance for a ten night stay)!

With regards to the staff, it is just like they don't care. This seems to be a common response from the call centre. However, the story has developed over this afternoon ...

I finally received a phone call from JL (the first time they have called me, I hate to think what my phonebill will be). Unfortunately I could not take the call at the time, but they did leave a message ... to tell me that the bag is out of stock! Needless to say I was (am!) furious.

I called back into the call centre. Although it was before 5pm I was unable to speak to anybody in the Assist or CRM Teams. The agent that I spoke to initially (Sean), was very understanding and very apologetic, but could do nothing. His supervisor could not offer me any more help.

Whilst on the phone to the call centre I went into the Nottingham store (I was nearby anyway). They have stock of the bag in a different colour. The call centre supervisor asked to speak to the department manager in the store, and I do not know what was said on that call (this was still on my phone!). However, there was no positive outcome from that conversation.

By this point the store was closing. So I decided to buy the bag at full price, and tell the call centre supervisor to request a refund of the difference in price from somebody there who can make that decision. This cannot be done until Monday at the earliest.

I was quite rash in buying the bag, because I daren't use it in case they do refuse to refund me the difference. I just had to do something!

So after all this, I was so upset that I left the store, and had an asthma attack (relatively minor, but not what I needed in the middle of the street). I have just got home, and still feel absolutely shocking.

Thank you again for all your kind replies, and I will keep in touch with what happens.

RadoJo, it is people like you that restore my faith in human beings! x

smcaul

Don't even bother with the call centres, they are useless, not even part of JL, they are outsourced. I ended up dealing with JL head office, took a while to get the number and get through to Cust. Relations, but it was the only way to get things moving. Unfortunately I do not have the numbers or names of who I spoke to. But after my expierence of JL direct I will never use them again!!

dmg24

Thanks smcaul, I agree about the call centres, but my attempts to be put through to anywhere else just proved fruitless. When I did eventually get them to ask the CRM Team to call me, they didn't understand why I found 48 hours to be unacceptable, even when I kept saying the word 'Morocco' to them!

It seems our feelings of the call centre are shared by the store staff. The lady in store was very understanding, and clearly not at all surprised. As soon as I mentioned JL Direct, she quite obviously rolled her eyes!

The worst thing is that, for the sake of a £50 bag, they are losing a great deal more business. But they just don't seem bothered. Maybe an example of a company/ division getting too big for themselves?

binty

What are the delivery terms for standard delivery?

Are they still within the guidelines for that?

Am just wondering, but agree that customer service at JL Direct pretty poor.

viktory

I'd be livid - and gutted that I didn't use the 24 huor delivery - but then would they have delivered anyway?

Please keep us posted, TBH I'd be surprised if they refund the cost of the full price suitcase.

Have a good holiday.

dangeroussports

A bit risky when you ORIGINALLY erm ORIGINALLY placed the order.
We know you then tried to get it ordered next day once you spoke to them but it was a bit RISKY.

Hope you dont have any more asthma attacks. Have a good holiday and dont RISK anything.

dmg24

binty wrote: »

What are the delivery terms for standard delivery?

Are they still within the guidelines for that?

Am just wondering, but agree that customer service at JL Direct pretty poor.

They are now outside the terms for standard delivery also.

When they finally admitted that they do not have the bag, they did offer to keep my order on hold until they have more stock. However, when I spoke to the luggage department manager in the store, she said I will be waiting a long time ... they don't even make that bag anymore!

My main vent now is not that they did not deliver before Friday. Had they been honest I would have put it down to a bad experience, and a lesson to pay for more expensive delivery in future (although in this case, I still would not have got the bag, but at least I would have known)!

My points for complaint now are:

1) The fact that I was blatantly lied to, with JL having told me that the bag was on its way to me. I don't think there is ever an excuse for lying.

2) Their refusal to change my delivery to the next day service (by the agent who told me that the bag had not yet left the warehouse), even though I was quite willing to pay the extra.

3) I was told that there was definitely a bag in my local store, without them actually checking that this was true.

4) I was assured on several occasions that there was a bag available for me from JL Direct. Again, they just couldn't be bothered to check.

5) Once they admitted that they had no bag, they then offered to put my order on hold until they had more stock. Had they bothered to check, they would have found that this will never happen!

Reading that back, it really does make me wonder if they knew all along that there was no bag for me.

Hey ho, not worrying about it until I get back now! x

zappomatic

Standards have definitely slipped since they moved the call centre from Exeter to Scotland.

zebidee1

Just read all this, this morning. Nothing helpful to add I'm afraid but wanted to sympathise anyway.

Bad enough that the bag wont be arriving for your hols but this is made a million times worse that it's a (cheap) RADLEY bag! I'd be fuming ....Radley fan here .

Some companies have just completely lost touch with what good customer service actually means haven't they!?

Just keep breathing and focus on the lovely goodies you can buy in Morocco - thinking about those fetching curly toed slippers with pom poms on the top. :rotfl: