Charles Morgan
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2010
- Messages
- 8,206
- Car
- Mercedes 250CE W114, Alfa Romeo GT Coupe 3.2 V6
I am renovating my house. As part of that I have two bathrooms and a cloakroom to replace, so I have spent the last couple of weeks going round, pricing things up and generally getting specs of the internet. In total, I planned to spend about £3000 on fittings. The Bath Store has the best collection under one roof, so I go into the Bath Store in Slough to order, having taken all the prices off the website which is advertising numerous sales.
Within a minute of starting the order it is obvious that every price they are quoting back to me is the non-sale price. After 5 items I give up bothering to order, saying that I am going to do it off the internet, but wish to speak to customer services as to why I am not getting a sale price in a branch that is advertising that it is in a sale. They write the number out in longhand. The more useful person girl in the store offers to go through my order and she will give me a discount, but by this stage I can't see the point of slogging through with this.
I call the number given. It takes me through to Edinburgh City Council.
I check the number written, check the website (yes my prices were correct), they have missed off a zero. I ring the correct one.
Finally get through (being charged at 14p a minute) and highlight the issue. The operative says that the Slough shop is a franchise, despite bearing the name of the Bath Store, so I have to speak to the franchise. (which gave me the Bath Store customer service number). They will have nothing to do with it - I must follow the correct process of ringing the franchise. So I point out it is their name on the store and are they aware that the prices being quoted are different to the sale price. They say they will come back to me when they have found out whether their franchise is required to follow the company's prices.
At which point I lose the will to live - I wish to order some stuff, but not from a company that really isn't interested, other than in telling me to follow a process that has nothing to do with helping me. I ask for the details of the chief executive, as I am sure he would be interested to hear how his operation is not delivering, and the customer services person says he won't be interested as he has set up this process of complaining to the franchise. I make the observation that a happy customer has to be more important than the process and get the priceless observation back.
"The process is more important than a happy customer."
I kid you not.
So off to find someone else. Anyone here in the bathroom supplies business?
Within a minute of starting the order it is obvious that every price they are quoting back to me is the non-sale price. After 5 items I give up bothering to order, saying that I am going to do it off the internet, but wish to speak to customer services as to why I am not getting a sale price in a branch that is advertising that it is in a sale. They write the number out in longhand. The more useful person girl in the store offers to go through my order and she will give me a discount, but by this stage I can't see the point of slogging through with this.
I call the number given. It takes me through to Edinburgh City Council.
I check the number written, check the website (yes my prices were correct), they have missed off a zero. I ring the correct one.
Finally get through (being charged at 14p a minute) and highlight the issue. The operative says that the Slough shop is a franchise, despite bearing the name of the Bath Store, so I have to speak to the franchise. (which gave me the Bath Store customer service number). They will have nothing to do with it - I must follow the correct process of ringing the franchise. So I point out it is their name on the store and are they aware that the prices being quoted are different to the sale price. They say they will come back to me when they have found out whether their franchise is required to follow the company's prices.
At which point I lose the will to live - I wish to order some stuff, but not from a company that really isn't interested, other than in telling me to follow a process that has nothing to do with helping me. I ask for the details of the chief executive, as I am sure he would be interested to hear how his operation is not delivering, and the customer services person says he won't be interested as he has set up this process of complaining to the franchise. I make the observation that a happy customer has to be more important than the process and get the priceless observation back.
"The process is more important than a happy customer."
I kid you not.
So off to find someone else. Anyone here in the bathroom supplies business?
