Companies that aren't useless at customer service!

[NoEffingWay]

Lots of threads about companies that are truly shite at remembering that it's not about attracting customers actually looking after them. I have some exceptions.

N.b I work in the public sector on an appalling salary so none of these are based on working for them, or even being an especially attractive customer .

First Direct Bank-actually answer the phone within a few rings, no AI or options to go through. They actually make banking easy, and the app works without having to go through 65 different screens.

M&S-I have really enjoyed shopping in m&s this year, the clothes have been decent, the food hall is my happy place, and the home stuff is good quality. The staff seem well trained and happy enough. My toastie was lacking in toastiness the other day, and they were on it like a lion on a gazelle! Tbh, they won me over by giving me free chocolate on the sparks app the other week .

Octopus also a vote here; I have a smart meter but had a knock for a manual reading. The person accidentally entered it hugely incorrectly and I had a HUGE bill. Octopus not only sorted it, but were amazingly empathetic and explained fully what had happened.
Hastings direct sorted my car insurance renewal with minimal fuss and Monzo again are always super helpful including with a chargeback.

I'm going to start by saying that Mercedes were absolutely shit during COVID when I lost my job due to the pandemic and had to speak to them about my finance payments while having a mental health breakdown BUT...

Two week's ago they contacted me out of the blue (I paid my car off two year's ago) and said it had been drawn to their attention that they might have been shit and so they were doing a case review and would I mind filling out a survey about my experience to see if they felt I was due any compensation.

Came back yesterday and said - "So sorry, we were shit, we should have done XYZ and we didn't. We're sending you £1k compensation for being dickheads and it will be in your account in 10 days".

They could easily have just done something for the people that complained - but proactively contacting me and then giving a decent amount of compensation means I'm would actually buy another Merc now (having sworn off them forever before).

Their original service was shocking but the recovery has exceeded expectations.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Ocado yet. Their customer service is always impressively good.

John Lewis used to be amazing but they're a bit more hit and miss these days.

Leeds Building Society have the best customer service I've ever experienced.

They are my mortgage provider and I haven't been a straightforward customer (I was in arrears throughout COVID, had a mental health breakdown and now have the managing estate agent of our new build estate trying to get them to repossess our property because I refuse to pay fines for an admin error made by them...long story).

Anyway, throughout all of that they've been really supportive, lovely and proactive.

I can't see myself ever switching providers TBH even if there are cheaper deals when the time comes.

I'll also add...

Ocado: Lovely friendly delivery drivers. Rarely any missing items or bizarre substitutions. On the odd occasion that anything does go amiss it's sorted out immediately.

Waitrose: Best in-person food shopping. Staff always pleasant and never had any reason to complain.

RBS: I know some people don't agree but I've banked with them for 20 years and they've always been great. Love the soft lilt of the Aviemore accents too.

Trooli: New broadband provider, very good at keeping us up-to-date on installation.

Starling Bank: Never had reason to contact them but love their banking app which makes everything so straightforward, especially being able to set up 'saving spaces' and automatic round up savings so easily.

Nothing 'over and above' but all of the following have always been good service when purchasing and returning: Fat Face, Boden, Mint Velvet, White Stuff, BrandAlley.

M&S generally good but I don't like that you can't just return items purchased online to your local store and get a refund there and then.

(actually a shout out to my local Fat Face and White Stuff stores who coo over my dog and give her biscuits)

The Works. I don't shop in there that often but very branch I have visited has had staff that are cheerful, friendly and super helpful.

On the plus side.... octopus Energy. Always a human bean to talk to, not some chat bot or a zillion options on the menu. On the negative side......studio catalogue. Absolutely crap customer service. Been trying to return a damaged item for two months..... endless emails, still no returns. Grrrr

I agree with Ocado and Timpson, they really are so helpful and ‘human’. Shell are the worst on the planet (obviously in so many ways!) but I’ve had a mix up with them since June and it’s taken so many emails and phone calls from me and I’m praying it’s resolved this year….

I had a pair of Sony headphones that had stopped working - they were out of warranty and more than two years old, so I sent them back and asked for a quote for repairs.

They couldn't repair them, so sent a BRAND NEW PAIR of £400+ headphones at no cost - astonishing!

Another Octopus fan!!

This is really useful information. My local co-op has had the same staff forever, they really seem to get everything sorted and like each other. During covid, when the world had gone a bit bananas, sometimes I would be so grateful for the opportunity to go to the co-op for essentials and have a normal conversation.

Octopus.

we had a fucking nightmare with British Gas for our electrify and gas and we were trying to export our solar power through Scottish Power. It took over a year and we didn’t receive a penny from them

when I was able to switch to octopus, they set us up within a week. Then when I asked them about solar exports they gave me a short 5 min form to complete and they confirmed it was all done. The same
process had taken 9 months with Scottish power…. And I recieved my first export payment within a month. Compared to the “service” I had been receiving I was utterly amazed.

Thought of this thread and come back to say Shoe Zone have been cracking. Bought some wellies online, free next day delivery. Realised I’d bought the wrong size and emailed a few hours later to see if I could cancel, but it was already dispatched. Took them back to a local store, refund done in less than a minute and email straight in to say money gone back to my PayPal.

Just very smooth, and tbh better service than a lot of far more ‘premium’ stores.

Nationwide insurance are one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. I have never claimed in 30 years of having a home. Can’t say too much as it will be outing. The assesser came around to look at all th damage, said ground floor needed replacing, new kitchen, new utility room , sitting, dining room and hall needed flooring, plaster and new ceilings. Electrics needed replacing as not safe. Nationwide offered £6000.00 for work, minus excess, despite sending in quotes , average £22000.00. Will not send assessors report to me. Dealing with 16 year old using buzz words. This has been going on since July. Certainly cannot recommend this company.
I have been told Direct Line and John Lewis have excellent home insurance.

I binned off First Direct over a decade ago. Was an existing mortgage customer but wouldn't offer us a new mortgage as I was on mat. leave - their reasoning: I might not go back to work. Despite explaining that a man could take the decision to not return to work at any time, they still said no. We found an alternative provider and moved our accounts over, bought the big house and never missed a mortgage payment. So First Direct the sexist twats are a big no from me.

I think the Gov.uk website is brilliant- they make it so easy to understand quite complex government policies / procedures. It all tick boxes and is super fast. I use it loads for tax, passports, childcare etc. if something doesn’t work well you give feedback and they improve it. It’s won awards. We are SO lucky in this country to have such an efficient and reliable online service- speaking to people in other countries who tear their hair out with bureaucratic processes. Don’t think we stop and appreciate it enough.

Costco- they take stuff back for a full refund, no time limit, no quibbles.

Nando’s- Always great service in my local restaurant, quick efficient and polite. I think they must treat their employees well as they look after their customers so well.

John Lewis and Waterstones in store customer service is always excellent. Those two shops alone keep me visiting the town centre. The John Lewis website and online ordering experience is very smooth and efficient.

Also shout out to Argos for pick up in Sainsburys store. Great staff and prefer to Amazon now as I can buy within a couple of clicks and pick up via a short bike ride the same day. They can also get items they don’t have in stock within a few hours.

Interesting to see so much love for Octopus. They installed a smart meter in June, it has never worked, I’m still waiting for them to fix it because they’ve never turned up when they said they would. I’ve got a huge amount of credit with them but they won’t refund any of it as they can’t generate me a bill as the meter doesn’t work. As soon as they do eventually fix it I’ll be leaving them.

When I was in Fortnum & Masons, the sales assistants were falling over themselves to offer help. And they kept calling me Ma'am! It made my tired, scruffy self feel like a VIP.

I know it's all a bit of a gimmick for the tourists but it's so rare to experience good old-fashioned customer service like that these days.

Oh my god ... almost word for word, right down to the sum offered and the dates ... I've been trying to sort out a home insurance claim where I feel the company just want me to shut up and go away. It wasn't Nationwide, but a lesser known company (am scared to say too much too as it's very likely to go to the Ombudsman) but the whole experience has been a nightmare. Communication has been appalling and what I was told was needed and how it'd be sorted at the start of the claim process almost 6 months ago now is completely different to the recent "settlement" they've tried to fob me off with.

In complete contrast I've also had the almost unbelievable joy of dealing with another home insurance claim on behalf of my elderly mother whose home was severely damaged by flooding a year ago. However....I have nothing but praise for her insurers, who are LV.

They have made every effort to minimise what has been an extremely stressful and worrying process. Communication has been reliable and regular - as it should be. I have been kept fully in the loop at every stage of the process and the three main points of contact have been courteous and professional (loss adjustor, surveyor and building firm boss). They have been more than fair in their financial settlement for damaged contents and have voluntarily offered generous cash sums in lieu of replacing certain fixtures which were no longer required (but nonetheless had been insured). Overall, it's been an awful period but it would have been ten times worse had LV not taken the approach they have. The whole point of insurance is supposed to be mitigation against all the various effects of disaster and LV have actively demonstrated that.

Being able to contrast their professionalism against my own insurers really has brought into sharp focus how dreadful they are.

Shark vacuums

May just be an Irish company but Argento customer service was excellent a few weeks back. Two of their staff members went above and beyond and sorted an issue out for me in no time.

The same day I lost my bank card and nationwide were amazing. The member of staff was so lovely and as it was so close to Christmas said she'd speed it up and I got ia replacement card only 2 days later.

On the shit side are Evri, Sports Direct and George at Asda.....

NFU for insurance, both car and home. You can actually talk to a knowledgeable person, they do their best to help you with complex situations and don't automatically say no if you have an unusual home ( stream in garden, previous subsidence)

Halifax - after years banking with Barclays and becoming increasingly disillusioned (e.g. having my card cloned, £700+ removed from my account and having to point out to them that it was highly improbable that I'd legitimately made withdrawals at cashpoints in Bradford and Tunisia within 30 minutes of each other) I married DH and he took my surname. Went to my bank to change the title on my account - just the title - queued for a counter (no other staff), then had to stand and wait for someone to come out from 'the back', then spent 35 minutes being interrogated about why my name hadn't changed and wasn't that weird and why bother getting married then...? Walked into Halifax where DH banked and got greeted pleasantly, ushered to a desk, absolutely no problem at all, quick look at the marriage certificate and a couple of household bills, all done within 5 minutes. Never had anything but excellent service from them since switching.

Agree about Octopus.

Unlike almost all other utility providers.