Whatever Happened To Customer Service?

I worked in customer service roles all my life, until I stopped working back in 2010, and I'd like to think that the people who asked for my help went away satisfied and that I was a good reflection on the companies I worked for. I know I was valued in my last position as I was given an all expenses trip to Montreux in Switzerland one year, and an all expenses paid weekend theatre break in London another year. We had targets in different areas to meet and the company used to reward the top performers, measured by these targets, very well. Unfortunately, the company I worked for got taken over by another company who didn't value their staff, nor did they look after their customers. The company's customer service rating plummeted and I ended up leaving.

I know that customer service these days isn't what it used to be but here are just three examples of poor service I've had since moving house.

I bought a light fitting from Next and when I took it out of the box, one of the shades was chipped. I returned it to the store but they didn't have another in stock so I ordered one online to be delivered to the store. Above is a photo showing how it was received. There was no product box included, the light fitting was just stuffed inside a cardboard box, the shades were encased in polystyrene which was broken and taped together, and the envelopes containing screws were open and the instruction leaflet was missing so I couldn't even check I had everything that I should. 

I called Next and they said they'd send another one out to my home address. I told the advisor that I'd moved house since I last had a delivery from them so she said she'd change my address and place the order. I received an email saying that my address had been changed and then I received another email saying that the order had been placed and it would be delivered to my old address.

I called Next again. They asked for certain numbers from my card in order to identify me (they hadn't asked for any security details from me on the previous call), but then said the numbers I was providing were wrong (I had the card in front of me). The advisor I was speaking to said she wouldn't be able to change my address but would cancel the delivery to my old address which was scheduled for the following day.

The next day, I received an email containing a photo of the parcel outside the back door of my old property. I called Next again and was told they'd arrange a collection of the parcel, though who with I've no idea as they have no contact details for the people who now live at my old address.

Mick ended up going into the store and asking them to order another light fitting for us to collect from the store, so I do in fact have the light fitting now but the query regarding collection of the parcel which was sent to my old address is ongoing. They've already credited my account with £20 as a gesture of goodwill, and they've now removed the value of the item which was sent to my old address from my account, but I know they haven't yet collected it as I'm getting an email every day informing me that they're going to attempt to collect it. I told the advisor right at the start of the query that the new occupants of that address are out at work all day but they haven't listened.

I had eight dining chairs delivered from Ikea. There were supposed to be covers for each of the chairs included in the order but there were only six. Mick called their customer service department and the advisor said she'd post two out and we received an email to this effect. When they hadn't arrived by the following week Mick called back and was told that they hadn't actually been ordered, even though he'd received an email saying they had. She was just about to place the order for them when their computer system crashed, meaning that Mick had to call a third time and go through it all again.

The chair covers still hadn't arrived yesterday and though they promised us a £20 gift card as a gesture of goodwill, this hadn't been received either. Mick called them again and was told they hadn't been sent out and that it looks as though there's a stock issue. I looked online where it shows there's plenty of these chair covers available in their stores. Why advisors try to blag their way through a conversation with lies I'll never know because it's so easy to find them out and trip them up. Mick asked to speak to a manager and was told she didn't have the facility to transfer the call so he asked for a manager to call him back. We're still waiting for the manager to call, along with the chair covers and the £20 gesture of goodwill gift card.

I called my pension company on the 4th of May (I kept a note of everyone I informed, how and when as I knew I couldn't trust them all to get it right) to inform them of my change of address. On Wednesday, over two months later, I received my annual pension statement redirected from my old address. I called them and was advised that they had updated my address but that it hadn't been changed in time to take effect on this statement. What? Two months isn't enough time for them to update their systems? I told the advisor that it's concerning that financial correspondence is being sent to the wrong address two months after they've been informed of a new address. She said she'd raise my concerns with the relevant department and I'd receive a callback.

Someone called me back that same afternoon and said they're looking into the matter and offered me a payment of £50 as a gesture of goodwill, though this hasn't credited my account as yet.

It's all very well being given, or in two of the cases above, not being given even though promised, goodwill gestures but what I really want is decent customer service. Companies rush their new employees through their training these days instead of investing in this area. Just think of the money they'd save if advisors were confident in what they were doing and mistakes weren't being made. The three instances I've detailed above all happened in the space of a week, it cost us time and the company money to sort each problem out and each one could have been very easily avoided. 

There are so many people who don't take any sort of pride in their work either. You should have heard that very first advisor at Next, she sounded thoroughly uninterested, either that or my call had just woken her up.

I get to the point where I just can't be bothered dealing with yet another problem, and unfortunately, it happens all too often. I'll finish off with Eleanor's favourite saying. Why can't anyone just do their job properly?