Black friday is here

[nick mercedes]

What did Mr Cheese say?

 

[neilrr]

I've just forwarded the email & a link this thread to Mr Wagman a few minutes ago.

I'll update as & when.

 

[neilrr]

This is the email I sent to Robert L. Wagman, President & Chief Executive Officer of LQK Corp, ECP's parent company.

Hello Mr Wagman,

I trust this finds you well.

I am writing directly to you so that you can see how your UK Customer Service department is operating. I've lived half my life in the USA & know US companies have a higher customer service standard than UK companies, but I wonder if you are aware how very poor your UK ECP CS dept is?

Please read this email thread from the beginning & click onto the link on mbclub.co.uk ECP posted regarding this offer - http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/parts-maintenance-servicing/217171-black-friday-here.html

Seems to me ECP got it wrong from the get go here & then sought to muddy the waters on your offer before just not responding at all! All to avoid honouring an offer that would have cost ECP the grand sum of about $USD10.

One thing that this has thrown up that may interest you is the commonly held view that ECP regularly raises it's prices before announcing a sale offer or promotion. This is widely viewed as a cynical attempt to hoodwink your customers & has resulted in many shunning your company. A quick google search supports the contention this perception ECP is trying to cheat its customers is the prevailing one on car forums & amongst independent repair facilities in the UK.

Did you know that?

Regards.

48 minutes later I received this email from[FONT=&quot]Faridah Jivani[/FONT], [FONT=&quot]ECP's Customer Service Manager.

[/FONT]Dear Mr neilrr

Please accept my heartfelt apologies, on all the inconveniences caused, related to the oil offer . I would like to personally apologize & offer, you my best services, to mutually resolve the issue.

Request you, to please contact me on 02034740500 or alternatively provide me with the best contactable number & preferred time, as a reply to the email.

Looking forward, to your positive response & I assure to bring a smile on your face. Thanking you for your patience / support.

Regards

So I called Faridah.

The long & short of it was ECP was very sorry, it was a silly mistake they & would honour the offer. I said that wasn't much of a concession as that was what they should have been doing in the first place & they should give me the oil! They couldn't do that but would knock 25% off the total price. OK says I, send me a Paypal invoice.

Invoice arrives, invoice will not allow me to pay it. I called Paypal, the fault was the way ECP has their account configured. Paypal were happy to pay, I had the funds in my PP acct., just ECP were blocking their own invoice.

So I sent Faridah an email.

Hi Faridah,

Paypal will not allow me to pay this request. Please see the screen grab.

Regards,

neilrr

The next day I sent her another email

Good morning Faridah.

Any we any closer to sorting this out?

I spent half an hour on the phone to Paypal who told me the problem is not with them but at your end. The funds are available in my PP account & PP is happy to pay your invoice but ECP is blocking the transaction.

Frankly, with the time & aggravation involved in this, all caused by ECP's mistake & refusal to honour it's own promotion I'm beginning to think you should be paying me, not me paying you!

Let me know what's going on please

Regards.

3 days later I sent her another email.

Faridah,

To say I am deeply unimpressed with the level of customer service provided by ECP is a huge understatement.

Can you please let me know today what is going on with this?

Regards

Response came there none so the next day I wrote to the CEO, Robert Wagman, again.

Hello again Mr Wagman,

As you may recall I had reason to contact you on Dec. 8th regarding a problem with ECP Customer Service that I was getting nowhere with (see my email to you in blue below).


"8 Dec 12:15 (5 days ago)

Hello Mr Wagman,

I trust this finds you well.

I am writing directly to you so that you can see how your UK Customer Service department is operating. I've lived half my life in the USA & know US companies have a higher customer service standard than UK companies, but I wonder if you are aware how very poor your UK ECP CS dept is?

Please read this email thread from the beginning & click onto the link on mbclub.co.uk ECP posted regarding this offer - http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/parts-maintenance-servicing/217171-black-friday-here.html

Seems to me ECP got it wrong from the get go here & then sought to muddy the waters on your offer before just not responding at all! All to avoid honouring an offer that would have cost ECP the grand sum of about $USD10.

One thing that this has thrown up that may interest you is the commonly held view that ECP regularly raises it's prices before announcing a sale offer or promotion. This is widely viewed as a cynical attempt to hoodwink your customers & has resulted in many shunning your company. A quick google search supports the contention this perception ECP is trying to cheat its customers is the prevailing one on car forums & amongst independent repair facilities in the UK.

Did you know that?

Regards"


I did not hear back form you but did hear from[FONT=&quot] Faridah Jivani[/FONT], [FONT=&quot]Customer Service Manager[/FONT][FONT=&quot] within the hour[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]I'm guessing that was too much of a coincidence to be anything other than at the instigation of your office.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]She requested I contact her by phone to resolve this issue, which I did immediately. We worked out a deal where ECP would honour the offer it had posted on mbclub.co.uk & knock 25% off the total. So far so good.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Faridah then sent me a Paypal request which doesn't work. Paypal tells me the fault is at your end, they are willing to pay with funds I have in my account but ECP is blocking payment. 5 days & 3 emails later I have still not had a reply from Faridah Jivani to sort this out & am still without the oil I have been trying to buy from ECP for what feels like forever.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If ECP CS in the UK [FONT=&quot]is[/FONT] this bad when they know the prod to sort out a problem has come from very high on high at LKQ, in fact as high as you can get in the corporate structure, how bad do you think they are likely to be when you are not involved?
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You can see all of the emails in the thread attached. Read from the bottom up.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Regards.

Faridah was on the phone to me in no time at all, though without reading any of my emails so still unaware of the problem with ECP's invoice. She sent me a new invoice which worked & I collected the oil this afternoon.

[FONT=&quot]A lot of faff for what sho[FONT=&quot]uld have be[FONT=&quot]en a five minute online tr[FONT=&quot]ansaction [FONT=&quot]&[/FONT] I suspect many people would have given up. I felt ECP were in the wrong on the[FONT=&quot] clar[FONT=&quot]ity of their promotion,[/FONT][/FONT] in the wrong on the way they handled it & I just refused to let them get away with it. [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

[/FONT]

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I admire your tenacity Neil, but what a palaver!

If you ever wanted to know about the level customer service from ECP it's all pretty much wrapped up in that email.

 

[Flackadder]

This is the email I sent to Robert L. Wagman, President & Chief Executive Officer of LQK Corp, ECP's parent company.

Hello Mr Wagman,

I trust this finds you well.

I am writing directly to you so that you can see how your UK Customer Service department is operating. I've lived half my life in the USA & know US companies have a higher customer service standard than UK companies, but I wonder if you are aware how very poor your UK ECP CS dept is?

-----------------------------------------------------------------



Hope you are okay with me 'borrowing' a few of these choice phrases when I write to CEO Mercedes Germany later today. I am finding that Customer Services Mercedes UK are........blinkered by their own presumed importance.

 

[neilrr]

SPX,

Got to keep them honest!

Flack,

Knock yourself out if you can use any of it.

 

[neilrr]

Two things I forgot to put in the long post a couple up.

While ECP's Customer Service manager Faridah Jivani said she would honour the OIL50 offer for me she made no mention of anyone else, of honouring it for mbclub members & I'm shamed to say I did not ask. Indicates to me the extent of their sorrow stopped at being called out on this by one individual & they had no intention of announcing their error & rerunning the offer here.

To do with the raising prices before a promotion she said that was out of their hands, the price rises were down to their suppliers raising the price ECP paid. Seems an unlikely coincidence given that it has been occurring so regularly but she said they would be doing less of that in the future.

 

[Flackadder]

Not the best...he will get the jist I am sure.

To CEO Mercedes Germany

---------------
Good morning, sir.


Hope this email finds you well.

I am writing directly to you, so you can see how your poorly your Customer Servises are working here in the UK. And having lived for 6 years earlier during my life in Germany, I know, that Customer Services in your country are among the best in the world.

I would like to bring your attention to: 'Ref: FM-1-9149273599 where I have put forward the saga of my air-conditioning issues. You will note, I am sure, that Mercedes were unable on my first two visits to find a fault, so on my third visit I decided to show Mercedes what and where the fault was. You may also note also, that after Mercedes were the last people to touch the bolts on my engine under cover, it proceded to fall down.

Worse, when I instructed Craig (in service) to contact one warrenty company for me, he decided it was quite alright to contact another and to commit a fraudulent claim on my behalf! A serious issue that Craig was uninterested in sorting out and was left to me to explain to two warrenty companies that I was not 'shopping around for best deal', I was, in-fact, trying to save myself from possible legal action against me. Something that I am in the last few days of completing.

The reply from Mercedes Customer Services UK show to me that they never entirely read my first email and really do not care in the slightest of the trouble they have caused and the bad name I could receive.

All I was asking as a small token of goodwill to help me forget the unforgiveable errors was, maybe, a Sat-Nav update. Something of very little cost to Mercedes, but something that would make me very happy.

I am confident you will investigate this issue and act accordingly.

Therefore, as it is the season of good will, I wish you a Merry Christmas.

 

[Doodle]

I wouldn't go into what you want, certainly not on the opening letter. That's likely to read like a threat of blackmail.

 

[Flackadder]

Point taken

 

[bob6600]

Good result Neil. I either let them go or take them all the way, and usually win. I've had to get the Ombudsman involved before and it cost the company involved a full refund and £100 for my trouble.

The disappointing part is that ECP could have contacted you or posted here, at least showing that they are trying to resolve this for you, a member of a forum they support.