On Sunday I had two retail experiences that I am going to share with you – one was excellent and one was appalling. This post is a celebration and a name and shame.
AM
First up Halfords because, in chronological terms, my trip to the Daventry branch (338) was the first outing of the day.
By way of background, my son got a new bicycle in July; it was purchased from Halfords Daventry and the team at the branch duly built it for him. Part of the deal when you buy a bike in this way is that the branch will inspect it again a little while later and tighten everything up.
This Sunday morning, my lad and I got on our bikes and rode to Halfords for the re-inspection to take place. This visit had not been booked, we just turned up. The only issue with the Apollo mountain bike was squeaky brakes – in fact they made so much noise that my son was a bit embarrassed by the unwanted attention when applying them. The trip was the perfect opportunity to get the brakes looked at.
Upon arrival at the branch, we reported to the checkout nearest the door and asked for help. I was initially questioned about when I’d like to collect the bike; I got a raised eyebrow when I said “can you look at it now, whilst we wait?” but to the assistant’s credit, Scott said “okay” and moments later he set to work.
The first two adjustments failed to cure to squealing but Scott persisted and changed the brake blocks. Upon test these squealed too so the rims were polished again and the new blocks lightly sanded. The diligence paid off though because by test four, everything was hunky dory - one happy son and one happy dad.
Halfords encourages customer feedback and Scott gave me a card with the website details for “giveusasteer”. I have since visited the site and left glowing feedback because I genuinely felt I had received great service. Arguably though this post goes much further than website form filling, because you get to read the praise too.
It is an accepted fact that news of bad customer service will reach more than twice as many ears as news of good. In the case of this post, the good will reach as many ears as the bad and that feels more balanced to me.
PM
In the run up to lunchtime, Mrs Baldwin was very keen to take a trip out to Ikea. We have two branches in reasonable commuting distance from us but on this occasion Coventry (150) trumped Milton Keynes.
I have to be frank, like many blokes all over the country, I am a reluctant Ikea shopper. Going to Ikea is akin to a kind of punishment because I get bored and have little interest in/enthusiasm for anything that is on display. Occasionally though I go because Mrs Baldwin deserves the support and I like having a chance to evaluate the furniture that I am inevitably going to have to build.
On Sunday a chest of drawers and a desk for my son’s room were on the shopping list (along with lunch in the store restaurant).
Eventually, having meandered all around the store, we made it to the warehouse, collected our Brimnes chest and requested a Bjursta table/desk (which couldn’t be picked from the customer accessible warehouse area – for this you had to pick it up from a collection point the other side of the checkouts).
We subsequently parted with our cash and what had been a relatively painless experience to that point slowly, painfully slowly turned into a nightmare that had me so angry that not only have I complained to Ikea customer services, I am sharing my feedback with the wider world.
After arriving at the collection point at 13:37, we had to wait for more than an hour before we could leave with our Bjursta. Half the time, admittedly in fits and starts, the collection point was unattended so we had no one we could quiz about the whereabouts of our stuff.
In the amount of elapsed time, this piece of furniture could have been delivered from Ikea’s Milton Keynes or Wednesbury (Birmingham) stores – as it was it was just pulled from a shelf somewhere in the branch’s warehouse.
Once more than 45 minutes had passed, I started getting vocal in my discontent. But the assistants sporadically manning the collection desk just shrugged their shoulders with indifference, the security guard couldn’t help and my demand to see a manager initially resulted in me being told that I could go upstairs to Customer Returns to complain (where I could take a ticket and wait in another queue). I made it very clear that this was not acceptable and the indifferent assistant got on a phone and asked someone to come down.
Worse still, it turned out that the item we had been waiting for was behind the collection point service desk with the wrong paperwork on it; God only knows how long it had been there. I was saying to the assistant “look that item is the one we are waiting for”; he said “I can’t give you it because it looks like it’s a different order”. He eventually, and it has to be stated begrudgingly, relented under pressure and handed the item over.
After a further ten minute or more delay, I finally met a young manager (responding to the call his colleague had placed) – he said sorry but there was nothing he could do.
At this point I was so cross at being fobbed of again and again that I demanded to know the email address for making a formal complaint and the details of the store manager (Birgit Hartelius) and the head of customer services.
I have written to customer services too because my experience was so appalling that I feel duty bound to express my frustration in the strongest terms. My feedback around the collection point service (for order no. 464138) - inadequate process, inadequate staffing, inadequate customer service skills from those serving and no authority for junior management to take restorative action.
My house has Ikea furniture in every room; on this occasion I spent £112.20 at the checkouts, £11.55 in the restaurant and a further £16.30 in the food shop – yet I came out of the Coventry store angry enough to never set foot in an Ikea again. Even Mrs Baldwin who is a Family Card carrying fan of the brand and generally calmer than me was spitting chips and getting short-tempered with the Ikea staff; during the journey home she even mentioned that the restaurant was grubby and the ladies loos filthy. Not good!
For every customer that bothers to complain, 26 others remain silent. In Ikea Coventry’s case I wasn’t the only one pissed off at being treated with disdain and I’d be amazed if I was the only one prepared to vocalise it.
Watch this space because I will let you know what feedback I get from the process – the good thing about social media is that I expect to get one.
Halfords Daventry gets a big thumbs up, Ikea Coventry gets a big thumbs down.
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AM
First up Halfords because, in chronological terms, my trip to the Daventry branch (338) was the first outing of the day.
By way of background, my son got a new bicycle in July; it was purchased from Halfords Daventry and the team at the branch duly built it for him. Part of the deal when you buy a bike in this way is that the branch will inspect it again a little while later and tighten everything up.
This Sunday morning, my lad and I got on our bikes and rode to Halfords for the re-inspection to take place. This visit had not been booked, we just turned up. The only issue with the Apollo mountain bike was squeaky brakes – in fact they made so much noise that my son was a bit embarrassed by the unwanted attention when applying them. The trip was the perfect opportunity to get the brakes looked at.
Upon arrival at the branch, we reported to the checkout nearest the door and asked for help. I was initially questioned about when I’d like to collect the bike; I got a raised eyebrow when I said “can you look at it now, whilst we wait?” but to the assistant’s credit, Scott said “okay” and moments later he set to work.
The first two adjustments failed to cure to squealing but Scott persisted and changed the brake blocks. Upon test these squealed too so the rims were polished again and the new blocks lightly sanded. The diligence paid off though because by test four, everything was hunky dory - one happy son and one happy dad.
Halfords encourages customer feedback and Scott gave me a card with the website details for “giveusasteer”. I have since visited the site and left glowing feedback because I genuinely felt I had received great service. Arguably though this post goes much further than website form filling, because you get to read the praise too.
It is an accepted fact that news of bad customer service will reach more than twice as many ears as news of good. In the case of this post, the good will reach as many ears as the bad and that feels more balanced to me.
PM
In the run up to lunchtime, Mrs Baldwin was very keen to take a trip out to Ikea. We have two branches in reasonable commuting distance from us but on this occasion Coventry (150) trumped Milton Keynes.
I have to be frank, like many blokes all over the country, I am a reluctant Ikea shopper. Going to Ikea is akin to a kind of punishment because I get bored and have little interest in/enthusiasm for anything that is on display. Occasionally though I go because Mrs Baldwin deserves the support and I like having a chance to evaluate the furniture that I am inevitably going to have to build.
On Sunday a chest of drawers and a desk for my son’s room were on the shopping list (along with lunch in the store restaurant).
Eventually, having meandered all around the store, we made it to the warehouse, collected our Brimnes chest and requested a Bjursta table/desk (which couldn’t be picked from the customer accessible warehouse area – for this you had to pick it up from a collection point the other side of the checkouts).
We subsequently parted with our cash and what had been a relatively painless experience to that point slowly, painfully slowly turned into a nightmare that had me so angry that not only have I complained to Ikea customer services, I am sharing my feedback with the wider world.
After arriving at the collection point at 13:37, we had to wait for more than an hour before we could leave with our Bjursta. Half the time, admittedly in fits and starts, the collection point was unattended so we had no one we could quiz about the whereabouts of our stuff.
In the amount of elapsed time, this piece of furniture could have been delivered from Ikea’s Milton Keynes or Wednesbury (Birmingham) stores – as it was it was just pulled from a shelf somewhere in the branch’s warehouse.
Once more than 45 minutes had passed, I started getting vocal in my discontent. But the assistants sporadically manning the collection desk just shrugged their shoulders with indifference, the security guard couldn’t help and my demand to see a manager initially resulted in me being told that I could go upstairs to Customer Returns to complain (where I could take a ticket and wait in another queue). I made it very clear that this was not acceptable and the indifferent assistant got on a phone and asked someone to come down.
Worse still, it turned out that the item we had been waiting for was behind the collection point service desk with the wrong paperwork on it; God only knows how long it had been there. I was saying to the assistant “look that item is the one we are waiting for”; he said “I can’t give you it because it looks like it’s a different order”. He eventually, and it has to be stated begrudgingly, relented under pressure and handed the item over.
After a further ten minute or more delay, I finally met a young manager (responding to the call his colleague had placed) – he said sorry but there was nothing he could do.
At this point I was so cross at being fobbed of again and again that I demanded to know the email address for making a formal complaint and the details of the store manager (Birgit Hartelius) and the head of customer services.
I have written to customer services too because my experience was so appalling that I feel duty bound to express my frustration in the strongest terms. My feedback around the collection point service (for order no. 464138) - inadequate process, inadequate staffing, inadequate customer service skills from those serving and no authority for junior management to take restorative action.
My house has Ikea furniture in every room; on this occasion I spent £112.20 at the checkouts, £11.55 in the restaurant and a further £16.30 in the food shop – yet I came out of the Coventry store angry enough to never set foot in an Ikea again. Even Mrs Baldwin who is a Family Card carrying fan of the brand and generally calmer than me was spitting chips and getting short-tempered with the Ikea staff; during the journey home she even mentioned that the restaurant was grubby and the ladies loos filthy. Not good!
For every customer that bothers to complain, 26 others remain silent. In Ikea Coventry’s case I wasn’t the only one pissed off at being treated with disdain and I’d be amazed if I was the only one prepared to vocalise it.
Watch this space because I will let you know what feedback I get from the process – the good thing about social media is that I expect to get one.
Halfords Daventry gets a big thumbs up, Ikea Coventry gets a big thumbs down.
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