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Post by mick on May 12, 2023 8:22:16 GMT
I notice that members here seem to have a lot of trouble with various suppliers. Here are a few experiences of my own.
1. British Gas. I don't buy fuel from them, but do have their 'Homecover' insurance. During a recent routine service they spotted a leak in the hot tank. They replaced it within a few days. Another time I called them out because my D-in-Law reported a smell of burning in the airing cupboard. They were there the same day and replace two motorised valves, one of which had failed and the other because it 'might fail'. They have never missed a date and always give their approximate arrival time by text.
2. EDF. I do buy my fuel from them. I have never had any sort of issue with them. The nearest I came was when they wanted to give me a rebate (built up because I'd reduced usage) and I said I didn't want it because I was soon to be hit with increases when my fixed expired. They couldn't do that and had to give me the money back.
3. LV car insurance. I left them last year (I'm what's known as a 'rate tart'). I thought that I'd try them again this year. Spoke to a delightful young woman who clearly knew their product very well, had access to my previous details, and made the process of going back to them a real pleasure, especially as she was able to offer me a truly excellent price. Miles lower than the comparison sites.
4. Amazon (and their delivery folk). I have never, ever, been let down in any way. On the very rare occasion that I've wanted to return something it's been quick and easy and I've had the refund as soon as the post office scans the return label - long before Amazon could have received the return.
I won't go on.
Am I just lucky?
Mick
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Post by geoffr on May 12, 2023 8:40:31 GMT
I notice that members here seem to have a lot of trouble with various suppliers. Here are a few experiences of my own.
1. British Gas. I don't buy fuel from them, but do have their 'Homecover' insurance. During a recent routine service they spotted a leak in the hot tank. They replaced it within a few days. Another time I called them out because my D-in-Law reported a smell of burning in the airing cupboard. They were there the same day and replace two motorised valves, one of which had failed and the other because it 'might fail'. They have never missed a date and always give their approximate arrival time by text.
2. EDF. I do buy my fuel from them. I have never had any sort of issue with them. The nearest I came was when they wanted to give me a rebate (built up because I'd reduced usage) and I said I didn't want it because I was soon to be hit with increases when my fixed expired. They couldn't do that and had to give me the money back.
3. LV car insurance. I left them last year (I'm what's known as a 'rate tart'). I thought that I'd try them again this year. Spoke to a delightful young woman who clearly knew their product very well, had access to my previous details, and made the process of going back to them a real pleasure, especially as she was able to offer me a truly excellent price. Miles lower than the comparison sites.
4. Amazon (and their delivery folk). I have never, ever, been let down in any way. On the very rare occasion that I've wanted to return something it's been quick and easy and I've had the refund as soon as the post office scans the return label - long before Amazon could have received the return.
I won't go on.
Am I just lucky?
Mick
Short answer: No
Long answer: It is far more common for people who have a problem to complain that it is for those with good experience to complement. Thus there are far more posts/threads/letters of complaint than of complement. What you don't see either is the majority whose experience is just business as usual.
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Post by peterob on May 12, 2023 8:42:43 GMT
I suspect you have a typical experience. Some people complain, vocally. The worst experiences of the hard done by get disseminated.
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Post by kate on May 12, 2023 9:53:32 GMT
I'm still in credit on the gas bill now produced. Less than one month's payment but likely to rise during the summer months at this rate. No news on the electricity side which has been shunted off to a separate BG account. Hopefully that is OK too, but I doubt it.
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Post by Fenris on May 12, 2023 9:55:23 GMT
If someone has bad service, they'll shout about it to everyone they know and then scream about it to everyone they don't know on social media. If someone has good service, they might tell a couple of people. Sadly that's how it works  |
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Post by don on May 12, 2023 10:18:22 GMT
Nope I’d say it’s the norm, we only ever hear about the horror stories
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Post by JohnY on May 12, 2023 11:57:13 GMT
Nope I’d say it’s the norm, we only ever hear about the horror stories Yes it is the norm but no we do very occasionally hear the good stories as proved by mick. |
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Post by mick on May 13, 2023 8:43:09 GMT
I'm delighted to have received such replies. I was starting to think that I was the odd man out!!
Do you think that, had I been slagging off a company, I would have got more replies than this?
Do you think it possible that a customer can bring on bad service him or herself through attitude, demeanour, style of speech etc?
Thinking back to some holiday jobs, working in a shop, I remember that some customers were very much more pleasant than others. I didn't consciously give them more attention but maybe it happened.
Mick
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Post by dreampolice on May 13, 2023 8:55:42 GMT
Do you think it possible that a customer can bring on bad service him or herself through attitude, demeanour, style of speech etc? Mick Absolutely, no doubt whatsoever. If someone spoke to you like a POS, would you do your best to be helpful and accommodating? Of course not. Not saying you have to be rude back but they'd get the absolute minimum. |
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Post by Kath on May 13, 2023 9:09:06 GMT
It's the same premise that drives newspaper headlines. Things just doing what they're meant to do are not newsworthy! So people don't share when things go according to plan because they expect them to go that way and when they do there's not much emotional impact. You expected a parcel to arrive and it did. You paid for gas to be piped to your house and it was. You ordered your steak medium rare and it came medium rare. Quiet satsifaction all round. When thigns go wrong though, there's an emotional impact. You are cross, frustrated, you might be cold or hungry as well or you may now not have enough time to find a replacement hat for your second cousin's friend's wedding. At the very least you are irritated and you can't bear being irritated on your own so you share that irritation with anyone who will listen. Or read.
We had an issue with our power suppliers recently. I'm pretty sure I've moaned about how we transferred from Ovo to British Gas but even though we've called and written several times and had agreement from Ovo that we did in fact transfer, we are still getting demands for payment for gas that they are not supplying us with. Have I mentioned that British Gas handled their side of the equations perfectly and have been supplying us iwth gas at the rate agreed on our tariff during this time? No.
When we moved to this flat, some nitpicker somewhere in the mortgage process insisted that for mortgage purposes our new home had no value because we were looking to borrow iwth Virgin and Virgin won't lend against properties above retail. I probably ranted and raved about this at the time. Did I mention that there was a very lovely person at Virgin who sorted it out in the end? Probably not.
To redress the balance somewhat, I haven't had an issue with Amazon deliveries in over two years. Their option to have things delivered to a locker at our local supermarket has been brilliant. Returns have been very simple.
The man in our local Timpsons repaired my boots in super quick time and gave them a lovely polish too. He even complimented me on my choice of footwear.
A recent client paid me for his photoshoot at about 6am this morning, approximately four hours after I'd sent the invoice. Speedy!
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Post by mick on May 13, 2023 9:43:38 GMT
Kath,
how did you know that I was going to my second cousin's friend's wedding? I’ve decided to forgo the hat!!!
I guess that all you say is common sense, really. I doubt that many organisations have a"how to screw up the customer department" and I doubt that the average employee of said organisation is very different from you and me (probably less intelligent than you!) and I doubt that they get out of bed vowing to mess up someone's day.
Having said that if you read some of the language used to criticise any mistakes that a company makes, the language goes much further than one might expect. Not just this forum. I read, but don't contribute to, a forum dealing with matters local to me. The language there if someone gets bad service is truly awful!!
Enough of that. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
Mick
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Post by Kath on May 13, 2023 10:16:05 GMT
Kath, how did you know that I was going to my second cousin's friend's wedding? I’ve decided to forgo the hat!!! I guess that all you say is common sense, really. I doubt that many organisations have a"how to screw up the customer department" and I doubt that the average employee of said organisation is very different from you and me (probably less intelligent than you!) and I doubt that they get out of bed vowing to mess up someone's day. Having said that if you read some of the language used to criticise any mistakes that a company makes, the language goes much further than one might expect. Not just this forum. I read, but don't contribute to, a forum dealing with matters local to me. The language there if someone gets bad service is truly awful!! Enough of that. Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Mick It is my firm belief that there should be a new form of National Service whereby everyone has to do 6 months working in a 'service' industry - retail, catering and the like. If you've been on the recieving end of some of the abuse that you attract in these (often zero-contract hours) positions you would not treat people so badly and would find more effective ways to deal with things when they go wrong! |
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Post by lesleysm2 on May 13, 2023 21:24:05 GMT
I was told when I worked in retail that if a customer gets bad service they tell 8 people and if they get good service they tell 2 people
It has to be said there are some people whose hobby has to be "P***ing off retail staff" and sometimes they get mad because the staff can't help them I once had someone complain to my manager that I wouldn't take an order for the book they wanted even though they were happy to pay a deposit. The book was out of print which is beyond my control
Also there are some people working in customer services who simply shouldn't be there
Having worked 20 years in retail I regard it is every bit as skilled as any other job more than some
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Post by geoffr on May 13, 2023 21:35:46 GMT
I was told when I worked in retail that if a customer gets bad service they tell 8 people and if they get good service they tell 2 people It has to be said there are some people whose hobby has to be "P***ing off retail staff" and sometimes they get mad because the staff can't help them I once had someone complain to my manager that I wouldn't take an order for the book they wanted even though they were happy to pay a deposit. The book was out of print which is beyond my control Also there are some people working in customer services who simply shouldn't be there Having worked 20 years in retail I regard it is every bit as skilled as any other job more than some I once stopped a passenger from using the outside stairs on an air jetty. He was most indignant and threatened to report me to the chairman. I informed him that he was welcome to do so and that I would probably be commended for stopping him. He was elderly and the stairs were open and steep he wouldn’t have been able to hold on to the hand rails and his bag. He was the only person in 45 years to expect “special” treatment. I thought preventing him from falling down the stairs was special treatment. |
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Post by gray1720 on May 14, 2023 9:31:31 GMT
Kath, how did you know that I was going to my second cousin's friend's wedding? I’ve decided to forgo the hat!!! I guess that all you say is common sense, really. I doubt that many organisations have a"how to screw up the customer department" and I doubt that the average employee of said organisation is very different from you and me (probably less intelligent than you!) and I doubt that they get out of bed vowing to mess up someone's day. Having said that if you read some of the language used to criticise any mistakes that a company makes, the language goes much further than one might expect. Not just this forum. I read, but don't contribute to, a forum dealing with matters local to me. The language there if someone gets bad service is truly awful!! Enough of that. Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Mick It is my firm belief that there should be a new form of National Service whereby everyone has to do 6 months working in a 'service' industry - retail, catering and the like. If you've been on the recieving end of some of the abuse that you attract in these (often zero-contract hours) positions you would not treat people so badly and would find more effective ways to deal with things when they go wrong! Possibly the only sensible "Bring back National Service!" post I have ever read... |
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