Vent - M&S Customer Services

Swattie

Don't think I should have to use up my limited inclusive minutes on my mobile contract making multiple 10-20 minute calls to M&S.

I said I would send evidence of my call costs to M&S to be reimbursed but was told it was their policy not to reimburse calls for any reason.

wealdroam

Swattie wrote: »

Don't think I should have to use up my limited inclusive minutes on my mobile contract making multiple 10-20 minute calls to M&S.

I said I would send evidence of my call costs to M&S to be reimbursed but was told it was their policy not to reimburse calls for any reason.

As you are seeking a remedy 'under their warranty', you must abide by the terms of that warranty.

For example, if the warranty does not cover the reimbursement of customer's phone calls, then that's a cost you have to bear.

AJXX

Swattie wrote: »

Don't think I should have to use up my limited inclusive minutes on my mobile contract making multiple 10-20 minute calls to M&S.

I said I would send evidence of my call costs to M&S to be reimbursed but was told it was their policy not to reimburse calls for any reason.

I'd agree with their policy to be honest. You seem very unreasonable.

You have to call places to get things done - fact of life. According to their website you could have emailed or sent them a letter, therefore by calling you have not mitigated your losses.

Also, get another phone supplier as you're being royally shafted if you are really paying that much for 03 calls!

AJXX

Kaye1 wrote: »

I had an very minor issue yesterday- ordered a 5 pack of school socks, one had a hole in.
Rang customer services, they said take it back to store. Nope- 30 minutes drive away. Could they just send me a replacement? No.
Could I take them to the Post Office? No, another 15 minute drive.


They wanted the whole 10 socks back, even though some had been worn. I said this was wasteful as they couldn't sell the socks, so likely would just get thrown away. Could they just refund me the cost of 1 pair of socks? (£1.20)


I stressed I wasn't after a freebie, just a replacement sock or refund for 1 pair. I asked them repeatedly what would happen to the other 9 perfectly good socks. No real answer.


So my point to them was this- are you going to thrown away 9 good socks just because 1 had a hole in? Yes, as far as I could see.


They say they are trying to be environmentally friendly but this isn't.


It's not so much the lack of help it is the wastefulness of throwing away 9 good socks because 1 has a hole. Not the end of the world but irksome nevertheless.


We are regular customers but for the sake of £1.20 they are prepared to see us go elsewhere.

One has to question why you thought customer services would refund you £1.20 over the phone off hand.

It's not unreasonable to ask to take them back to the shop, that's what most people would do, the fact the shop is 30 mins away is hardly M&S's fault is it?

It's common practice that for a refund/exchange you have to return the item in full. I certainly would not have expected them to say yes to this which is a very unusual request.

Let's hope you don't have the same telephone supplier as the OP as that call will have cost you more than £1.20!

lisaJC

I work in customer services ( not m&s ) and there is no way we can refund over the phone sadly, but I would have asked you to call in at your leisure, when your passing and not make a special journey ad refund the 1 pair as a gesture of goodwill xxx

Kaye1

I was more than happy to return the socks before I got the refund- my mistake, I phrased it badly.


My main gripe was they were going to throw away 9 good socks because of one small hole.


As I live in a very rural area, we are never 'just passing' anywhere!


I stressed that I didn't just want cash- I just thought it was really wasteful to throw away all those socks because of one small hole.
I've given up with M&S, tried to sew up the hole, it looked like a right dogs' ear! I've put the socks in the sewing box and we will make sock puppets with that pair.


It's not the end of the world, just galling that M&S didn't seem to have any flexibility. We buy all of our school uniforms there (they are really good for children with eczema) so they could see from the screen we are fairly high spenders. I think as the previous poster said, the gesture of goodwill would have gone a long way.


Not the end of the world and luckily all of our calls are included in a phone package.


My personal experience is that you used to phone up M&S customer service and they couldn't do enough to help- now they just seem glued to a script. Modern life I suppose.

daytona0

Kaye1 wrote: »

I was more than happy to return the socks before I got the refund- my mistake, I phrased it badly.


My main gripe was they were going to throw away 9 good socks because of one small hole.

Well, a few possible things:

- They may be able to sell the 9 socks in a "discounted" section (although, for hygiene reasons, it may not be possible to do that)

- You have no evidence that they simply chuck them away, or maybe they recycle them? Who knows... Oh and the minimum wage monkey likely won't know because they'll be on a 'need to know' basis in regards to item returns. They will be told that a customer needs to return the item to address X, but they won't have a clue what happens beyond that! That is likely why you didn't get a straight answer (especially if you were being a bit argumentative too, nothing worse than having a go at someone when they don't have a clue themselves but obviously cannot admit to that).

- If you are so concerned about their possible lack of recycling then don't buy from them in the first place!.


- They are legally entitled to ask for the item back if they are going to refund you. This allows them to check if the item is inherently faulty (as apposed to simple wear and tear, in which case you can keep your holy sock) and also to ensure that it is the correct item (and not a sock you got from the local tip).

As I live in a very rural area, we are never 'just passing' anywhere!

Yes, but that ultimately boils down to you choosing to live in a rural area*. It isn't the companies' fault!


*in extremely exceptional circumstances this may be unavoidable for you.

tried to sew up the hole, it looked like a right dogs' ear! I've put the socks in the sewing box and we will make sock puppets with that pair.

I love it! A practical solution!!! It is refreshing to see that you have attempted to either fix the item yourself or to use it for something else entirely.

It's not the end of the world, just galling that M&S didn't seem to have any flexibility.

Seemed pretty flexible to me... They need their item back if they are going to refund you, and they gave you the option to either post it in or go to the store. Seems fairly flexible to me!

What isn't flexible is refusing to send the item back because you live in a rural area. ESPECIALLY when you would also end up with a free sock in the process, of which may have been damaged BY YOU (or may have other uses for it, as per your previous paragraph).

We buy all of our school uniforms there (they are really good for children with eczema) so they could see from the screen we are fairly high spenders. I think as the previous poster said, the gesture of goodwill would have gone a long way.

Once a year? Every 2 years? From personal experience a lot of customers do overstate their perceived value to companies. You sound like a casual/infrequent shopper and as such you are unfortunately low value to the retailer. You only become high value when you spend money 1-2 times a week, or large purchases every month etc OR if you kick up a storm on social media/email etc.

My personal experience is that you used to phone up M&S customer service and they couldn't do enough to help- now they just seem glued to a script. Modern life I suppose.

They weren't unreasonable with you! The 'script' you talk about is just the normal stance they have with most customers (unless you deviate by being really nice, which may result in extra CS, or by being really cranky, which may result in less CS). In my opinion what you have described was good customer service, you were informed of what to do and you refused.

Kaye1

daytona0 wrote: »

Well, a few possible things:






I love it! A practical solution!!! It is refreshing to see that you have attempted to either fix the item yourself or to use it for something else entirely.





Once a year? Every 2 years? From personal experience a lot of customers do overstate their perceived value to companies. You sound like a casual/infrequent shopper and as such you are unfortunately low value to the retailer. You only become high value when you spend money 1-2 times a week, or large purchases every month etc OR if you kick up a storm on social media/email etc.

You have no idea. You don't know how many children I have. As noted, their school clothes are good for children with eczema. So I pay a premium for that. A pair of trousers in Morrisons is £3-4, M&S usually £11ish for the ones good for sensitive skin.


In the last school year, we have been through several pairs of school shoes. Two school dresses (1 got ripped), three pairs of trousers, PE Kits, (shorts, tshirt, tracksuit and trainers) full sets of vests, knickers and socks (high cotton content helps with skin issues).


School cardigan, coats (x2). Summer sandles.


Any you have made some very valid and useful points, the point about where I choose to live is ridiculous.


And the assumption that you know how much I spend is made up. We have a M&S delivery at least once a month- as previously stated- their clothes are good for skin conditions. And children grow. All the time. I choose to buy from them, yes, and each order is at least £100 per time. Yep, my choice.

And for your info, I am one of the customers who are asked by email to give thoughts and responses to new ranges/websites each month. Last week I was asked to give responses to their new range of shoes- so I would say I am a valued customer.

As noted, I can go elsewhere. In fact, it would save me lots of money but their skin sensitive clothes are at the moment, very useful for us.


I have made a small point on social media, not a massive fuss. I have re-used the sock.


But the business point is this- by refusing to show a little flexibilty, SOME people choose to shop elsewhere. Not me, but as M&S trading results show, people are choosing to go elsewhere in their droves.


They are forward thinking enough to have clothes especially for children with sensitive skin, yet a £1.20 sock seems to have caused a hiccough.


So thank you for taking the time to dismantle my life choices, thank you for making massive assumptions about how I spend my money and how I react to this issue.

daytona0

Kaye1 wrote: »

You have no idea. You don't know how many children I have. As noted, their school clothes are good for children with eczema. So I pay a premium for that. A pair of trousers in Morrisons is £3-4, M&S usually £11ish for the ones good for sensitive skin.

In the last school year, we have been through several pairs of school shoes. Two school dresses (1 got ripped), three pairs of trousers, PE Kits, (shorts, tshirt, tracksuit and trainers) full sets of vests, knickers and socks (high cotton content helps with skin issues).




School cardigan, coats (x2). Summer sandles.


Any you have made some very valid and useful points, the point about where I choose to live is ridiculous.


And the assumption that you know how much I spend is made up. We have a M&S delivery at least once a month- as previously stated- their clothes are good for skin conditions. And children grow. All the time. I choose to buy from them, yes, and each order is at least £100 per time. Yep, my choice.

And for your info, I am one of the customers who are asked by email to give thoughts and responses to new ranges/websites each month. Last week I was asked to give responses to their new range of shoes- so I would say I am a valued customer.

As noted, I can go elsewhere. In fact, it would save me lots of money but their skin sensitive clothes are at the moment, very useful for us.


I have made a small point on social media, not a massive fuss. I have re-used the sock.


But the business point is this- by refusing to show a little flexibilty, SOME people choose to shop elsewhere. Not me, but as M&S trading results show, people are choosing to go elsewhere in their droves.


They are forward thinking enough to have clothes especially for children with sensitive skin, yet a £1.20 sock seems to have caused a hiccough.


So thank you for taking the time to dismantle my life choices, thank you for making massive assumptions about how I spend my money and how I react to this issue.

The only thing I take back is the point about you sounding like a casual shopper, you seem to be quite loyal to the brand if you are making monthly purchases (I did cover that as a scenario). Maybe they should have been a bit more flexible with you, but even so as it stands I think everything sounded fine.

About where you live.... Unless in exceptional circumstances it is your decision to live in location Y and that just so happens to be 15/30 minutes out in the sticks. It is nobody's fault, but you have to accept that you are the one who wants to live 15/30 minutes away from a post office/shop and as such that is an inconvenience you will have to accept. If you don't want to travel to there then it will be you who is being inflexible.

You never fully addressed the whole recycling thing, considering the idea of binning a few socks seemed to grind your gears! I mean, you've recycled the sock yourself (which I admire a lot) but we can't assume that they are simply going to bin it, and even if they are going to bin it then can we not consider shopping elsewhere with a company who WOULD recycle such items?

The good thing about "dismantling" a post is that you address all of the points. As you said, "Any you have made some very valid and useful points", so even if I was a bit trigger happy with how valued you may have been to M+S you seem to have taken something out of it!

Hermione_Granger

Kaye1 wrote: »

I had an very minor issue yesterday- ordered a 5 pack of school socks, one had a hole in.

What I find surprising is that after about a dozen replies, not one person has said anything along the lines of:
"Of course the sock has a hole in it. You'd not be able to get your foot in it otherwise"