Excellent customer service from Maplins

Ms-Pacman

I have to admit I'm the first to complain if I get bad service but realised after shopping in the Milton Keynes Maplins that good customer service often gets ignored.

My bf and I went to the Milton Keynes store to get a specific type of cable for xbox360 and went to their customer counter at the back. The young lad who served us went through the catalogue to find the one I was after then did a check to see if it was in stock. Unfortunately it wasn't and before we said anything he asked where abouts did we live as they had stores in northampton and Bedford. We said Bedford so he offered to phone the Bedford store to see if there was in - and yes there was.
He asked them to keep it aside and made them wait whilst he got all ourdetails and they gave us up to a week to collect it - although we did go there on the same day.

My main point that is ok yes this is what they should do anyway, but this lad was quite young, friendly and he asked the right questions to give the excellent service..

Excellent, will deficately use Maplins again

smcaul

I agree that most Maplin staff seem to have this type of attitude. I think it comes down to most of them actually have an interest in what they sell (could be called a bit nerdy I suppose) and this really makes a difference.

eira

I have long been a keen Maplins fan until this week and I can honestly say that I will never shop there again. Daughter's laptop needed a new mains charger.So I went to my local Maplins, explained what the laptop was used for (basically just in her bedroom ) I was sold a travel charger -for travel so presumably meant to be quite robust. it came with international plugs and a range of adaptors.The blurb said it could be used in the car and there were 'no restrictions on use'. I bought it in April. Over the months the mains plug wore loose as did the plug into the laptop.

I took it back in the packing complete with receipt-and that's when the trouble started. I note that there are other complaints about Maplins returns policy- and this was unbelivable.The item had to be tested in store (and all this in front of a line of customers) before they grudgingly conceeded that there was a fault.Then they said it was broken/ then that it had to be returned to their 'technical dept' before I got a refund -if any.I quoted the Sale of Goods Act and 'fit for purpose' and got presented with a 100 page plus catalogue and a small part of the small print at the very back that explained their 'Returns' policy. I then pointed out their receipt which said that 'this does not affect your statutory rights'.

They then filled in a returns form on which the implication was that the item was damaged and I had alleged that this was during manufacture !!!!! Which wasn't what had been said but I could see the way the ship was sailing. I modified the form with my version of events and initialled my contribution. it took a further ten minutes ( with a lot of two staff members scuttling round the back ) to prise out the name of a customer complaints advisor. I got two names but no job titles so I am suspicious of who or what these people do .

I was forced to buy another charger as daughter had no access to the laptop-it cost nearly £20 more.Totally dreadful- I think the key is that if the thing you buy works you're ok but God help you if you need to return anything. I had intended to buy other things that day but walked out empty handed except for the charger.


I must admit (as I have moaned on about on other threads) that customer service is coming top of my requirements-you can lose a small fortune in phone calls etc to companies who seem to have no conception of customer service. My grandmother ran a small shop and her motto always was 'look after the customer, never forget -that's where your bread and butter comes from'

eira

Got the broken bits back from Maplins yesterday. The 'engineer's report' alleged that the connection to the laptop had 'melted' as the 'wrong connection' had been used. So much for taking the laptop down to the 'specialist store' for 'specialist advice'.

I was advised on what connection to buy, the salesman put in the plug and the connection--- Suppose I should count myself lucky it didn't result in the ruin of the laptop.

Needless to say that's a shop struck off my list-I'll just count myself lucky I didn't but anything more expensive