The Bath Store - and you think MB customer service is hopeless

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Charles Morgan

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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. :wallbash:

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?
 
NEVER use The Bath Store......cheap and nasty one off bulk buying and it is unlikely that replacements will be available should you ever need them for whatever reason.

Mic
 
The thing with bathroom suites Charles is that the bath, basin and toilet are all pretty much the same give or take a few designs the real "stars" of a bathroom are the taps etc so I'd have a look around to see if you can buy them separately.
 
I am quite happy with cheap and nasty. It beats expensive and nasty any time!
 
The thing with bathroom suites Charles is that the bath, basin and toilet are all pretty much the same give or take a few designs the real "stars" of a bathroom are the taps etc so I'd have a look around to see if you can buy them separately.

I was going to order all the taps and stuff elsewhere anyway. Given how many other things I am sorting, I just wanted to bulk order the white goods in one place.

Evidently an ambitious requirement!
 
The thing with bathroom suites Charles is that the bath, basin and toilet are all pretty much the same give or take a few designs

Yes, I've found this - they are all bloody ugly! Where can you find a proper hotel-style simple bath, basin & loo design?

This approach where the company internal procedures is more important than the customer is spreading like wildfire. It's the reason I hate Euro Car Parts, Screwfix & places like that

Nick Froome
 
Q. What is a bath and why do you need one?

Unlike Louis XIV who had one bath as a child and hated it so much he never had another, on occasion I like a good soak.

Perhaps less so than Elizabeth I who had one bath a month, whether she needed it or not...
 
I know it might be too far too travel to the showroom and I'm not sure if they have a great website but it might be worth a try Pickfords bathrooms in Rotherham.

Been around since the 1950's, excellent customer service and in my experience unbeatable quality for the price.

Edit: (Useless fact alert) I bought an oil painting from there as well, don't know if they still sell them.
 
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If you think your having fun now Charles wait until you start picking tiles! If ever there was subject of " when do I stop spending" it's tiles. On the positive side by the time your refurb is finished you'll be an accomplished building project manager
 
der Verfahren über alles!

You vil obey, Tommy. Zey all do.
 
I went screaming from Topps Tiles in a state of nervous exhaustion. So I thought of wood downstairs.

The timber merchant had over 30 samples of oak alone. But couldn't give me a price list...

I refuse even to think of decoration after Mrs Job-Black-Rat's £130 wallpaper.
 
In a previous life I was a director of Graham Builders Merchants which had a fabulous bathrooms offer complete with showroom. There is a branch at Craddock Road, Reading.
Can't vouch for what they offer now, I left in 1996 and GBM was subsequently taken over by Jewson 4 years later, in spite of their best efforts I doubt they've completed screwed it up so they should be able to more than match your aspirations.
From memory they stocked Twyford, Armitage Shanks, Vernon Tutbury, Spring Ram, Ideal, Mira,
Aqualisa etc.
 
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This forums brilliant, from a thread about a poor bath shop to a history lesson in 6 posts

Love it
 
Yes Graham's were very good stevieb15
 
I shall check out the Graham's showroom tomorrow, as it is only 20 miles away and see if they have the appropriate tat. Thanks to the slab going in a week late because of the weather, I have a bit more time to sort a few things.

If that gets nowhere, will happily PM you tonysurf.
 
B&Q do a cheap metal, simple bath...can't beat it.


Metal baths are fine in summer.....cold in winter.
 

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