Timpsons - woeful customer service

mrbobuk

Hi all

I just want to register my disappoint at Timpson whom use the tagline "Great Service by Great People" of the shoe repair fame etc. in respect of their services I've used recently.

The below is in connection with two levels of service and the subsequent dissatisfaction I've felt recently by this retailer and want to know if anyone else has had similar experiences, especially in respect of the Passport Photo service (which is expensive and useless from my experience) as well as the watch repair service.

I actually emailed Timpson nearly a month ago and as yet, have had zero response. I really feel cheated out of over £30 for my passport photos and the cost of the watch repair. I'd never ever use this organisation ever again. Disappointing, as I thought that this company represented values which clearly are missing from the service and the customer services division.

Here's the gripe and confirmation from Timpson that my complaint had been received:

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Thanks for contacting Timpson!

Your email is important to us and we'll get back to you just as soon as we can.
Kind regards
Timpson - Customer Support Team

Below is a copy of your query
Date: 27 Aug 2017 18:36:50


Timpson Customer Support

First Name
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Last Name
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Email
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Post Code/Location
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Phone Number
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Order Number
Do not have them at hand

Store Visited
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Reason For Query
Photo Gifts / Processing

Please Provide Details Of Your Query
Hello

I've decided to write to customer services/complaints to state how disgusted I feel at two levels of service I've received from Timpsons in Removed for privacy. Back around May time, we visited the kiosk in Removed for privacy, to get a set of family photos for our passports. I think the total of 2 adults and 2 children's photos came to around £32 which was excessive to say the least. During the visit, I indicated to the member of staff that some of the photos had shadows and I didn't think they would be accepted by the Passport Office. The member of staff (I don't have his name now), stated I could come back and get new photos or a refund if they were declined. I paid nevertheless with my credit card and took the photos. Some time later and surprise, surprise, the passport office sent back the photos (withholding the original x2 supplied for each of my family members, so a total of x8 photos) stating that the were not acceptable due to the shadows. I duly went back to the Timpson's store to advise of this. As we had to get the passports issue quickly, I went to a local Co-op store and used a much cheaper and reliable service using the photo kiosk which was around a 30% cheaper than Timpson's. The Timpson's service was a joke to be honest. A digital camera on a white screen with with mixed results. When I visited back, the store attendant (whom was different) would not issue me a refund as he said I did not have all the photos. I was a little annoyed to say the slightest. He stated that others had problems with the photos too for passports at which point I thought why are you still providing the service. Disgruntled I went away and just took the hit on the £32 for the photos. Not cheap and a worthless service, in all honesty.

Then, fairly recently, my wife had her watch battery replaced at, you guessed it, the same store. It was advertised I think with a year's warranty. It lasted a couple of months and she decided to go back and get this swapped out. Again she was refused a refund due to her not having the card stamped or some such rule, which in all honesty, most people would not really take much notice of.

That's two appalling service experiences in my mind. I remember listing to the founder of Timpson's on Desert Island Discs this year and thinking, what a great business. Good ethics, fair, reliable, good customer fulfilment. No. None of this. Disappointing, shoddy products and zero customer service. To be honest, I feel pretty much cheated. I don't have the receipt for the photos but I paid by credit card, so I know there is an audit trail. My wife too, for a small service, the customer care was lacking. I read on the Internet that other people have experienced problems at this store.

I feel so greaved by this, that I'm considering putting this whole email, calling out Timpson's on Trust Pilot. I feel that cheesed off. I'm willing for someone at Timpson's to perhaps redress this and see if any confidence can be restored.

I'll await some feedback.

Thank you.

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I realise I didn't have my receipt for the photos on the first visit and the repair card for my wife's watch on the second but I stated that the photos were on my CC and it would be recorded. They just weren't interested.

I'll never use them again and for any passport photos, I'd not recommend the service, it's unreliable from my experience.

Rant over!

IAmWales

Your passport photos were not accepted due to shadows. They said you could have a refund but you didn't have proof of purchase or the photos. You could have remedied this by taking proof of purchase and confirmation from the passport office.

Your wife returned for a replacement battery because the first one did not last a year. She failed to take evidence of the original fitting with her. Problem remedied by taking proof of purchase/ original fitting.

The rest is waffle. Stick to the facts, not fluff.

trishandbubs

Easy remedy for this find your receipts and take them in so you can have your refund. There will be signs around staying you need proof of purchase (credit card statement will only show you purchased something not what). Think of it from the shops point of view how many time do you think people will say that the photos weren't accepted and want a refund?

DoaM

trishandbubs wrote: »

(credit card statement will only show you purchased something not what)

If OP took Timpsons to court about this then the court would judge based on the balance of probabilities. If the CC statement showed a payment to Timpsons on X date for Y amount, and X and Y matched what had been purchased, the court would likely find that the CC statement was adequate proof of purchase.

Therefore I disagree with your assertion ... in most cases a CC or bank statement is adequate proof of purchase. You do not need a receipt ... indeed any business is not obliged to even issue a receipt to a consumer.

takman

Firstly to complain about the price of the photos is ridiculous. You agreed to pay that price and could have gone to CO-OP instead the first time. Nobody forced you to go there and pay that price.

But your real complaint seems to be that you went back to the shop saying the photos were no good and didn't bring any proof with you. You didn't even bring the receipt (which you should have kept considering you questioned of the photos would be accepted when you first saw them). So you could have simply used the photos and were trying it on to get your money back.

The second part of your complaint seems to be a similar issue with no proof that your wife had no proof the watch battery was replaced by them. So why would they refund/replace a battery that they may have never fitted.

The issue with the passports photos also didn't seem to bother your wife too much if she went to the same store afterwards to get a new battery in her watch.

Joe_Horner

Much as it pains me to back Timpsons in any way, where the watch battery's concerned they're in the right, although they possibly could have handled it better.

Believe it or not, it's not unusual for people to try it on over things like batteries - I get at least one every month or two who'll swear blind that I fitted a battery when they have no receipt and it's a brand I've never stocked. So it can be bit of a sore point.

That said, it's entirely possible that the battery was ok and there was simply a bit of tarnish on the battery contacts - a quick and not particularly technical check to make which should[/i[ be within the abilities of anyone changing batteries professionally. If they didn't check that, and check whether the battery was actually low, before asking for the receipt then it's not a great approach.

Virtually every case of a prematurely dead battery, if you're using fresh stock and a recognised brand, will turn out to be a fault with the watch rather than the battery. The simple test for that if you don't have a microammeter to hand, or don't know how to use one, is to replace the cell, put a date sticker inside, and see if a second one dies quickly. One faulty cell is very rare indeed, two in a row just isn't going to happen from a reputable brand!

The cost price of a cell is minimal in the great scheme of things and- depending on the customer's attitude - is usually worth it even without proof of purchase because it'll almost always result in a repair when the watch turns out to be faulty!

Passport photos I know nothing about.

mrbobuk

@IamWales and @Takman

I absolutely don't agree with either of you. IamWales, there's no 'fluff' or 'waffle' about it. Sometimes, service is so bad, that it's better in my view to call it out and not use that service again, than go back. Clearly, at this store, others had indicated problems with the passport photo service than just us (this was disclosed by the member of staff as "we've been having problems with the passport photos" when we returned).

It still doesn't clear up the appalling lack of response from Timpson to a customer service communication. That for me, reduces the experience down to almost zero. No excuse for not responding in a month.

I'd like to thank IamWales and Takman again for the 'constructive' replies - real winners those - I'm glad there are people on this forum who can elegantly construct a non-brash response with content that's useful and from the consumer perspective! Thank you DoaM for that.

I'll never use Timpson again!

Cheers

takman

mrbobuk wrote: »

@IamWales and @Takman

I absolutely don't agree with either of you. IamWales, there's no 'fluff' or 'waffle' about it. Sometimes, service is so bad, that it's better in my view to call it out and not use that service again, than go back. Clearly, at this store, others had indicated problems with the passport photo service than just us (this was disclosed by the member of staff as "we've been having problems with the passport photos" when we returned).

It still doesn't clear up the appalling lack of response from Timpson to a customer service communication. That for me, reduces the experience down to almost zero. No excuse for not responding in a month.

I'd like to thank IamWales and Takman again for the 'constructive' replies - real winners those - I'm glad there are people on this forum who can elegantly construct a non-brash response with content that's useful and from the consumer perspective! Thank you DoaM for that.

I'll never use Timpson again!

Cheers

So basically you don't like our replies because we don't agree with you otherwise you would have been able to say exactly what you disagreed with. Everything i said in my post is reasonable and everyone who reads your complaint will see that.

It's interesting how you liked DoaM's post when they were not even responding to you. What they said is correct but you didn't even take in a credit card statement as proof of purchase; you took nothing!.

mrbobuk

No, I simply don't agree with your response. Simple as that.

Gers

My experience of Timpsons has been excellent. I've only used them twice, both times the staff were professional and skilled.

Once was for a broken zip on an old handbag, not the actual zip bit but the wee part which the puller fits. Chap fixed it in five minutes. Then more recently I took a lock off an old and very expensive wardrobe as the key broke. Timpsons made a new key which fits perfectly - it's a non-standard key and fairly small.

One bad experience doesn't make the whole organisation poor and, conversely, two good experiences doesn't necessarily reflect on all staff.

takman

mrbobuk wrote: »

No, I simply don't agree with your response. Simple as that.

Well if it was a logical reason then you would be able to explain why you don't agree. Currently the reason seems to be that you don't like it because i'm not agreeing with you!.