Adam started this topic @ 20:41 on 22/07/2004
Hi All
Courts the furniture retailer has proved that even a large company can screw up orders and online orders can be even worse.
Everyone here worries about getting everything right for every customer but Courts don't seem to give a damn!
An email below from me to Courts might make interesting reading...
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You have ignored my email (below).
You did not answer your phone to me despite being on hold for 20 minutes.
You ignored my request to be contacted with regards to my recent order.
Once again you did not answer your phone to me.
As a result, the order I had made on your site is now formally cancelled.
A copy of this email is available to Barclaycard should you try and request payment and they have been instructed not to pay any request from Courts.
Your company has acted disgracefully and I will ensure as many people know about this as possible.
I will forward the URL of every site on which I talk about this level of disservice.
Adam Fahn
----- Forwarded message from ********** -----
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 17:32:16 +0000
From: **********
Reply-To: **********
Subject: Silentnight Bed Reference
To: CustomerServiceDepartment@courts.plc.uk
Dear Courts
I have had a terrible service at your Chadwell Heath Store that has left me
searching the internet to purchase my bed elsewhere.
1) I went to the Courts store and looked around and staff were pleasant and
helpful and also listened to my needs. We settled on a Silent Night "Options"
bed.
2) After a month or so I went back to order from Sharon who remembered me and
she passed my to Danielle, a part time worker to complete. We sat down and
negotiated the deal. She went to check with a manager and came back and
offered me free delivery.
I felt this was fair as a delivery charge slapped on at the end was a bit of a
surprise as I could hardly stick it on the back of my motor bike.
As I accepted this, we applied for interest free credit which was rejected,
partly due to me not being registered to vote anywhere.
I agreed to pay in full and I was then told the bed had to be collected or
delivered within 3 or 4 weeks. This was a problem as my flat would not have
been built for at least 4 weeks.
3) I went back yesterday (10th July) to order but I had just missed Danielle.
4) My FOURTH visit to your store today saw me speak to Sharon again but I was
clearly not believed that an offer had been made and accepted of free delivery.
I spoke to a stuck up manager who asked "Why should I offer free delivery?"
the answer of "because it was promised to me" did not enter her head.
So I left the 4th time empty handed and with £500 in cash in my pocket.
I looked at the Silent Night website only to find that the "options" range
does not exist.
Could you please tell me which bed this is so that I can order it from an
alternative online retailer.
If you wish to stand by your offer of free delivery and also through in a
matress protector I will continue my transaction with you.
Thank you
Adam Fahn
Tel: 0871 717 8880
Beware and let your money do the speaking when it comes to customer service!
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www.youcangetit.co.uk - Business services and community. Do you get it?
RE: Courts - Large company screw up
Clementine | 23/07/2004 09:21 AM
Adam,
Courts can be a nightmare. I see it in a similar light to PC World - if you know what you want and the price is right go and buy it. Don't kid yourself that you are going to get great customer service, or that you are going to get help from a nice pleasant expert on internal soft furnishings - it just ain't gonna happen. It's all about what I want, me, and my money. I'd prefer it if the staff were not even there.
On a slightly different note, but still about Courts, about 3 years ago me and the wife bought a suite for the lounge (nice sofas and armchairs) which came to around £2K. We paid for this with a debit card and the furniture was duly delivered about a few weeks later or whatever. About a month after we had paid for the suite they took the same amount out of our bank account. When I called fuming on the phone they told me that they had been receiving calls all day about this as the head office had repeated EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION IN THE LAST MONTH. This means every single customer that had bought on a card from Courts would have been charged again.
They did credit the funds about 4 days later and said they would be writing letters to apologise - but I never received a thing.
Great isn't it?
Clem.
(Sorry went on a bit there).
RE: Courts - Large company screw up
Adam | 23/07/2004 10:09 AM
Clem
Help me get some support for my consumer site www.companyreference.co.uk I also have somebastardstolemydomainname.org.uk for cyber squatters (neither live yet).
Company reference has a system in place to ensure fairness and to stop us being sued. There are sections on the site so if you are looking for a sofa you can look around at good and bad points.
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www.youcangetit.co.uk - Business services and community. Do you get it?
RE: Courts - Large company screw up
Adam | 23/07/2004 01:41 PM
Natasha on Shell had a similar problem. Customer service is an area where the small businessman can excel.
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www.youcangetit.co.uk - Business services and community. Do you get it?
RE: Courts - Large company screw up
Clementine | 23/07/2004 02:00 PM
I have actually listed customer service as a unique selling proposition for my company.
I am sick of the customer being treated like sh@te when it us putting money in people's pockets.
The customer IS the most important person.
Clem.
RE: Courts - Large company screw up
Babel | 23/07/2004 02:04 PM
I agree Adam it should be a place where the small businesses could make an improvement, I've had problems with loads of on-line orders from big companies -but unfortunately the smaller folk aren't much better yet - I've been let down on 2 orders made a month ago from smaller vendors - it's a real pain in the butt