Curry's poor service and attitude

philatio

Yikes.
Maybe you should get a job in Currys. You have the right temprement.

jclc

philatio wrote: »

Why should they apologize ? They didn't built the microwave.

They could empathize I suppose, but it's not reasonable to expect an apology.

You say you susbcribe to Which. Maybe you could try reading it ??

“but it's not reasonable to expect an apology” - I’m not sure if that comment deserves a response !! I could think of one, but I don’t think the forum rules would allow me to publish it.
Yes I do read Which - Maybe you should try reading my responses in this forum. If you had done so properly then you would have noted that on a couple of occasions I said that I don’t attach any blame to the retailer for the faulty product.
As I’ve said repeatedly my responses – all I wanted was a friendly face, and a caring attitude- that’s all, not too much to expect is it ?
An apology is NOT an admission of guilt as I said in a previous response, (just in case you missed that one as well) – it indicates that the retailer is expressing a caring attitude - first rule of customer care.

jclc

philatio wrote: »

Yikes.
Maybe you should get a job in Currys. You have the right temprement.

Temprement - correct spelling is “Temperament” by the way.
It means nature; character; personality; disposition.
Unlike my recent “Curry’s experience” I have a caring sympathetic nature. I believe in fairness and compassion. I would treat all customers in this way.

So at the interview if they sussed that out I’d fail at the first hurdle then.

Spank

One of the reasons why Currys has such a bad reputation is because of the type of attitude you received & as you knew this from years of Which reading i'm at a loss as to why your surprised by this.

It doesn't matter to them if you spent £20 or £20000 it will still be the same.


They are fulfilling their legal duties by repairing your microwave & that's all that you will get.


If you want a vent about your microwave go here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4987397 & let off some steam.

jclc

Spank wrote: »

One of the reasons why Currys has such a bad reputation is because of the type of attitude you received & as you knew this from years of Which reading i'm at a loss as to why your surprised by this.

It doesn't matter to them if you spent £20 or £20000 it will still be the same.


They are fulfilling their legal duties by repairing your microwave & that's all that you will get.


If you want a vent about your microwave go here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4987397 & let off some steam.

You are wondering why I choose Currys despite the poor Which reports....


True, I had read poor reports about Currys in Which. However, our local branch had received a facelift and had taken on staff from the nearby old Comet store (received excellent service from them in the past). I was in the market for a number of electrical items so visited Currys just to do a bit of window shopping. I had no plans to purchase at this stage - just looking at prices, comparing different models etc..etc.. During my visit I was pleasantly surprised at the marked improvement in customer service - staff were more knowledgeable about their products and seemed more welcoming. In the past this had not been the case. So I was prepared to give them a try. I knew about the poor Which reports, but not all stores are same - it just depends on the staff. Comet had poor reports, but I always found the service excellent at our old local branch. Perhaps this was one of a few stores that bucked the trend I thought.


Sticking to well known reputable brands which had a good history of reliability I reckoned it was a reasonably safe bet - and it proved to be the case with 5 purchases over a 12 month period. Desktop computer, a couple of laptops for my son and daughter, vacuum cleaner and web cam. All have given excellent service and the staff were friendly and helpful - all served with a smile !


It was only when I purchased my microwave and it broke down that I experienced the other face of the staff.
I know that they are, as you say just "fulfilling their legal duties" and this is only what I'm going to get, but the point I've been repeatedly making all along, and which appears to have been completely ignored by everyone, is that for the sake of good customer relations it should be done without sombre glum unsmiling faces that avoid eye contact and don't offer any apology - yes I know it's not their fault but a simple "sorry this has happened" wouldn't do any harm and would give the customer some satisfaction to know that they appeared to care.
Thanks for the link to the Panasonic thread - although my gripe isn't with them despite the fault with one of their products. I've a number of Panasonic products in my house and they have always given me excellent service and are very reliable. However, despite their good reliability record, you always get the odd rogue one - which I appear to have got! But that's life and it won't put me off purchasing that brand again.

stevemLS

So you would rather have insincere sympathy that actually having your issue dealt with.

Have a nice day (lol)

jclc

stevemLS wrote: »

So you would rather have insincere sympathy that actually having your issue dealt with.

Have a nice day (lol)

My issue IS being dealt with. I am just saying that they could vastly improve their customer interfacing skills.
I'm not stupid - I know a lot of what retailers do and say is all a "front". But being courteous and "appearing" to care is, as I've said so many times on this thread, just basic customer care practice.

Really2014

jclc wrote: »

I was polite and courteous to them

How do you think you have been with people on this forum? The same?

jclc

Really2014 wrote: »

How do you think you have been with people on this forum? The same?

I gather from your response you think otherwise ?
Maybe you are correct in considering some of my responses impolite - apologies, but I’m new to this forum, so I’m learning how it all works.

I think I’ve fallen into the trap of over-reacting to all of the self opinionated impolite drivel that’s been coming in my direction - and foolishly replied in the same manner.
Ah well, I’ll learn from this experience and maybe next time I’ll try to ignore it all.

It’s very easy to get drawn into a long discussion thread when you’re getting some of the jaw-dropping replies I’ve been getting ! I suppose you could say that’s a self opinionated remark -- Oops, here I go again !!

On a positive note, I’ve had a quite a few laughs at some of the silly responses I’ve received, so I suppose I should be thankful for that.

Getting_There_Slowly_2

Having worked for Dixons in the past id like to offer a little clarity here.

Some items have an "exchange under warranty" policy and that varies very little from one retailer to another. For example the ipod exchanged immediately by the wonderful Amazon quoted above would likely have been exchanged by Currys too. Whether or not you get an exchange or repair outside the first few weeks is driven by the cost of repair vs replacement for that particular product, and the deal struck between the supplier and retailer for supply of that product. It's complicated!

One frustration I have (I still work in retail) is that because of this, the more expensive the item, the less likely an exchange is. I now work in a DIY shop, and if you come in with a £25 drill faulty at eleven months old, it will be exchanged. Come in with a £150 drill and it will be sent off for repair for a couple of weeks, and sometimes what comes back isn't a repaired drill, but a quote for repair because they have diagnosed "fair wear and tear".

Both these situations are legal and arguably fair, but customers always expect an exchange and anything less tends to lead to disappointment. Of course as retailers, we hate that the customers who have spent the most money are receiving poorer service, but there is very little we can do about it, it's how the world works. Consumers should go in expecting a repair, and treat an exchange as a bonus, but exchange of product is viewed by many as an entitlement.

I also don't subscribe to the "in my day we always got an exchange" school of thought because it hasn't been true in the 28 years I've been in retail, and I don't believe it was before that either. In fact I believe the reverse to be true because items have become relatively cheaper over the years, making replacement a more cost effective alternative to repair in many more cases, and therefore more likely now than ever.

I totally agree on the point that shop workers are often poor at showing empathy, and Currys need to do a lot more training on this, and they have never been successful on this point. Many retailers are the same. Call centre workers are often better, I believe that's because companies like Amazon spend what they save on retail rent on staff training as well as lower prices. Spend your money and take your choice!