<rant>
Why do some companies just go out of their way to poo all over their customers? Got issues with two large organisations at present: TomTom and Ikea.

I’ll not go into why Ikea are on my blacklist, I’ll end up ranting too much.

TomTom have some fantastic products but possibly the stupidest customer service personnel of any electronics firm. They make Dell’s enterprise support guys seem like Armstong, Aldwin & Collins.

Got a motorbike-specific TomTom for my bike, it blew up. Was replaced under warranty, after lots of whining and numerous trips to their repair people, with a newer version. This doesn’t fit my TomTom car mount though, so asked them to replace that too. They have sent to me, in separate envelopes, by special delivery, the following:

Bike mount
Bike power lead
Incorrect car mount suction cup
Bike mount
Bike mount hotshoe
Incorrect car mount
Incorrect car mount suction cup

Got two emails today saying they’re sending another incorrect car mount and suction cup tomorrow.

I’ve even sent them a link to the part on their own website. If this keeps going, by the middle of next week I think I’ll be able to set up a shop.

Dimwits!
</rant>

Armstong, Aldwin & Collins.

Who?

sum spacemen?

Post them some wee with a note kindly asking them to pour it into their shoes.

Don’t go there, having probs with rude bike shop worker while the owner is cool. I’m taking my business elsewhere.

Just using LBS who is awesome-couple quid more but the service is awesome.

Ikea are great.

I always beleive a customer never sees or experiences customer service until something goes wrong. Thats the time to ‘wow’ a customer.
At this point you can win a customer for life turning a bad experience. Shame lots of companies even now seem to think otherwise.

Yeh I have had a couple of good experiences recently but also some bad ones – British Gas were the worse. Evans Cycles mail order have been the best recently to be honest!

Been down this road before- you need the part number/product code. Makes life so much esier and hassle free, even if you have to do the legwork yourself.

Still, at least your problem seems to be incompetence based rather than the more usual (in this country) problem of being having to deal with a surly, sulky tosser.

Sell the wrong TomTom bits on ebay and buy the part you really need with the proceeds or ask a shop to exchange one for the other?

Best past and recently for me has been Edinburgh cycles in Manchester. Got alot of time for the staff and the manager there.

I quit working at the carphone warehouse customer service office due to NOT BEING allowed to help people!!! So when I questioned management about the companies policies and how UNFAIR they were I choose to leave as I couldn’t honestly keep **** the customers over anymore. I was constantly pulled up for giving out vouchers and refunding money due to the companies **** ups but the customer was in fact due said refunds and so on. So when you call into a call centre consider the poor bugger on the other end of the phone who is most likely getting shite from some jumped up little hitler who has no brains or common sense but can suck upper managements member! Put it this way at CPW my bonus was related to how quick I could deal with a call, so when you have a customer who is clearly pissed off but is going to cost you making bonus and in turn rent you may well fob them off which is a real shame. I now hate the idea of a call centre and would much rather deal with a company direct so I can at least see the same person if things go wrong.

I used a website to buy some shoes a few months ago, totally-shoes.co.uk, Merrell shoes so not something different to in the shop, but they had stock and shops didn’t.

20 quid cheaper, free next day delivery followed by an email a couple of days later asking if everything was ok with the order.

Bloody great service, better than the high street stores and no I don’t work with/for them 🙂

Why do some companies just go out of their way to poo all over their customers?

you’ve not dealt with the penzance (formerly penwith dcc) cornwall county council cashiers office then. with a 300quid plus council tax installement to pay it took me 2 days of calling (each time leaving messages on a machine that promised a call back) before getting through.