Contacting B&Q?

[Deleted User]

Exterminator said:

A great many companies have  managed to arrange home working for staff that can operate online and on the phone, clearly this is beyond the wit of B&Q

Shop employees are clearly not able to work from home, that's why 55% of their workforce have been furloughed on 80% of their wage (paid by the government). 

Clearly no one can operate from home "on the phone" and only a very limited number of staff will be responsible for updates on  the website. They are indeed still operating a delivery service, but they can obviously  only deliver what they actually have available. 

At the time of your purchase the company's supply chain will not yet have been impacted by the lockdown and they clearly took your money in good faith, not in order to  "run away" with it. 

 There is absolutely no reason to suspect that they will ultimately renege on fulfilling your order. 

If you refuse to accept the unique situation all businesses face at the moment, then force a refund through your Bank (which will also be similarly challenged by the way) and then try to find ANY company which will provide you with the complete new kitchen you require any time soon. 

Exterminator

Phone lines are very easy to divert and mobile phones have become quite popular recently, why can't people operate from home on the phone?

Shop staff didn't and don't cover online customer service, I haven't asked for them to work from home.

Government requests that workers work from home if at all possible, I still say that customer service is a roll which fits into this category, in fact I have one friend and one acquaintance who are doing exactly that, all they require is a quiet corner and the ability to log in.
.
As far as the supply chain is concerned, at the time of ordering I was assured everything was in stock apart from a few doors. I'm happy to wait a little longer for them.

Every company I am aware of has had to find a way to run at reduced capacity and this has obviously had a negative impact on service levels, B&Q is the only company I have come across who have simply stopped interacting with their customers at any level. It is that complete lack of two way contact which is my main complaint and something that many other retailers seem to be capable of in these times.

Exterminator

Oh, and by the way, in answer to your last point, AO can deliver all my appliances and Worktops Express can deliver all my worktops, Amazon has already delivered a boiler tap and several accessories. So yes, I can find other companies who will supply me any time soon! (All ordered on Thursday 2nd April)

[Deleted User]

Exterminator said:

Oh, and by the way, in answer to your last point, AO can deliver all my appliances and Worktops Express can deliver all my worktops,

So force the refund through your bank then as already advised. 

(How do you know those other companies won't also simply take your money and then tell you that they cannot deliver at the moment? You've also posted to a thread about IKEA delaying delivery for six weeks.. )

Exterminator

Because both of those companies (not Amazon, they never have) are operating customer service departments which I can talk to ( remember what I said my main complaint was?).
They have assured me the deliveries will go ahead and if they don't there is at least someone available to discuss it with.

If I go down the refund route I can't re-order elsewhere until that process is complete, going through the bank must surely take much longer than dealing with B&Q direct and therefore is unlikely to be sorted out on time...... I might have just figured out why they refuse to engage!

You're not a Kingfisher shareholder by any chance are you?

Exterminator

Moneyineptitude said:

 You've also posted to a thread about IKEA delaying delivery for six weeks.. )

Yes, you might have noticed in that thread that the OP had actually spoken to IKEA, sort of proves my point that it is still possible to converse with your customers don't you think.

DOH_a

It is a frustrating experience and I'm sure you are not the only person in the same boat. This is something beyond anybody's control so I am afraid you are going to do what the majority of others doing and wait to hear from them. As you are an existing customer with an existing order, they will get back to you but people have to be prioritised accordingly. Their website is also currently dealing with a mass amount of web traffic so this will not help. Just try and be patient.

[Deleted User]

Exterminator said:

Phone lines are very easy to divert and mobile phones have become quite popular recently, why can't people operate from home on the phone?

You're not a Kingfisher shareholder by any chance are you?

Are you seriously suggesting people should be deployed to answer the phone on behalf of their company from their own telephone?  What call lines do you propose "diverting" ? 

All of that sounds like a logistical and technical nightmare. 

 

[Deleted User]

Exterminator said:

 I operate an 0800 number in my own business, there is no actual phone it just diverts to my mobile.

That's very different to attempting to divert calls from  a huge national business  call centre to various  domestic phone lines. I'm certain there would also be insurmountable Data Protection issues too. 

This  would be a massive undertaking, even in this century! 

Regardless, I think you'll just have to accept that your purchases were  made at the most  inopportune time of the current era. 

 

sparkleworld

Hi, I work in the Customer Service dept of a DIY, dealing exactly with your type of situation.
It would be impossible for me to work from home as I would not only need for the calls to be diverted but I would also need access to the companies databases and computer systems to access your details. This would become a total nightmare due to data protection and all the problems that would arise in accessing the in-house programmes.

I can give you some insight to the problems being faced with Kitchen orders/ deliveries and this is only my companies difficulties, so may differ somewhat. 

A lot of the kitchens are manufactured in Italy,  This has, as you can appreciate, caused some logistical nightmares and until Italy start manufacturing again, companies are unable to give precise lead times on kitchen deliveries. 

Hope this helps you understand somewhat, and accept that the companies are trying their best to resolve these situations, but cannot give you what they don’t have.