Name and praise companies and businesses with excellent customer service

[BrezhnevsLuxuriantEyebrows]

Following on from the thread about appalling experiences with companies that people would never use again for various reasons, I'd like to put a positive spin on it and 'name and praise' companies that DO care very much about their customers, deliver top quality service and take ownership of problems when they do arise and actually fix them; and thus deserve to be 'exposed' in a very positive way to others who may or may not wish to give them a try.

If you've been really impressed by a company that you feel values your custom - whether a big company, a small one or even just a local business to you that you believe deserves credit, feel free to share it here.

Needless to say, this is intended for wholly unconnected third-party customers - not for the businesses themselves or their associates/connected parties to advertise and blow their own trumpets!!

Garmin. My watch developed a fault and I called their customer services, not knowing that it had just gone out of warranty. A lovely guy spent ages patiently trying to help me fix it remotely, doing all sorts of diagnostics, etc.
That only partially worked so I was sent a new one (after returning the old one) without a quibble.

Jet2. It is always reassuring to see their (many and easily identifiable) staff at an airport and you know you will be shown exactly where to go and helped with what to do! And they are so friendly. Call centre staff really good too.

I had two very good conversations with British Gas customer services this week too. Probably the company most complained about on the other thread. Perhaps they are upping their game?

Ocado
AO
First Direct
Jet2 good on selling, arrival / departure reps, but horrendous for onsite issues, took 3 days to find a rep and get an answer, even ringing provided numbers!!

Same! (See my previous post).
Though I said £35. Maybe it was more!?!

Love this! Popping in to our local shop today for a browse.

I guess with big companies it is always going to depend on who you're actually dealing with, but I had excellent service from Zurich Assurance a few years ago when I claimed on my Income Protection policy. They were very efficient but also actually seemed to care which was a very refreshing contrast to most of the other organisations I had to deal with at the same time.
Also, and it galls me to admit this as a long time NHS employee, but I was blown away by the quality of service I received at our nearest Nuffield Hospital. Not specifically the clinical care, though that was excellent, but the way everything just ran like clockwork, from booking my first outpatient appointment to being discharged from post op physio, and communication was excellent throughout.

Shark - when my hoover broke just before Christmas they got me a replacement Christmas eve no quibbles. Photo of broken hoover, new one on way.

First Direct - always been easy to deal with.

Trailfinders. Just so straightforward, during the mess that was Covid and any trip since.

Octopus, phone always answered by a human being who knows what they are talking about. When the smart meter fitters did not turn up and i complained they sent me a huge bouquet, a written apology and a new appointment

Ooh, very impressed with Blade & Rose today. I had never heard of them before as it's a long time since I've bought baby clothes, but I saw an ad on Facebook on Tuesday for some outfits that I thought were really cute. I'm always a bit reticent about those kind of ads as so many are scams but reviews looked good so I ordered an outfit for my grandson, fairly late on Tuesday night. It's been delivered just now and it's lovely - good quality, reasonably priced and very fast delivery so I'm very pleased.

I'm so pleased to hear that. The woman I spoke to (I think she was German perhaps) was incredible. It was almost like talking to a friend and she solved the problem with ease.

Disney world Orlando. Every single member of staff, every day are absolutely fantastic no matter what their job is.

Yes, I agree. Even the security guys doing the bag searches are full of joy, one of the ones we got was singing throughout the search and friendly with our young son. A massive contrast to the usual grumpy/aggressive looking security guys at other events.

My elderly mum is with First Direct and they are fantastic with her.

I tried to open a new account with them during Covid and they said they weren’t taking on new customers during the pandemic because they wanted to concentrate their business on supporting existing customers, which I thought said a lot.

I disagree with John Lewis. I had such dreadful customer service over a lost expensive order that I will never shop with them again.

The POA Team at Lloyds are fantastic as were the bereavement team when my Mum died, they spoke to me when my father was in no state to answer their questions etc.

When you have to register POA you soon find out who has a good customer service team.

Ratton Pantry for baking and Italian ingredients. Great customer service, every item is beautifully packaged and good value-super swift delivery.
Lusso for tiles and bathrooms great customer service and lovely products.
Jones the Bootmaker.
Velux windows

As I was reading this thread an Amazon delivery arrived. Both the box and the item were severely damaged. The driver reported it and retained the package. I contacted customer services who were already aware and the refund should e in my account within 5 days.

I was actually going to say that the garage we use is truly amazing. They were recommended to us about 30 years ago and we have used them ever since, despite the fact it is about a 40 minute drive away. On one occasion we had asked them to steam clean the engine after an oil leak. When DH got home I asked to see the newly cleaned engine and immediately spotted that the battery was new. We checked the invoice and we hadn't been charged for it. We contacted the garage to let them know and they told us that the office lady had phoned to tell us the car was ready whilst the mechanic was carrying out the final check, so didn't know that one of the battery cells was dead. They replaced the battery no cost to us because they considered it was their error!
On another occasion, DC took their car there after being quoted over £500 for a small job which required an out of stock part. Our garage got the correct part within a day and did the whole job for <£100!
So, a massive shout-out to TJ Atkinson of Ingatestone.

Britannia Rescue

My car failed on the M5 with my very elderly parents and me inside. I limped into the services and rang Britannia

The call handler was very concerned that we were safe ( we were). It was going to be a complicated recovery and he called back every 20 minutes or so to check we were OK and within half an hour, despite it being a Sunday afternoon, he had a recovery truck on its way to us that would take us the whole way home rather than in relays.

My DH had a knee replacement a few years ago and he was recommended to hire a Hilotherm which is like an upmarket icepack.

The company was excellent. It arrived when they said it would, we were able to extend the hire and they collected it when they said they would. All very stress-free which is what you want when you are recovering from a major operation.

Trailfinders - actually got through to real people who made the effort to keep me updated and were totally across my booking.
First Direct - great customer service
Zest Car Rental - again great customer service
Orchard Claims - asked for a lot of documents but dealt with claim swiftly and efficiently.

bottom line for me is - can I speak to a human who gives the impression they care?

I had a great experience with Emma Bridgewater, who were amazing with my delivery to the Highlands and Islands. The woman on the phone was so nice.

An online retailer called https://www.nextdaymattress.co.uk I ordered at 11.30am and the new mattress was in situ by 10am the next day, they kept me posted on the delivery, I paid an extra £30 they took away the old mattress and all packaging and got the next mattress on the bed. It is a very good mattress,l too and was competitively priced.

Ughh wrong url sorry folks https://www.mattressnextday.co.uk/delivery?utm_source=googleads&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=793205479&utm_term=mattressnextday&utm_content=808636251038&ad_id=808636251038&um_campaign_id=793205479&um_cl=EAIaIQobChMI-em-uoTElgMVu5JQBh197gY0EAAYASAAEgKcmvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=793205479&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-em-uoTElgMVu5JQBh197gY0EAAYASAAEgKcmvD_BwE

Ocado are head and shoulders above all the others - I speak from experience here

Gillman’s appliance store in Gloucestershire. They have been so helpful on two entirely separate occasions that they’ve earned my undying loyalty. All their employees are so lovely, from the person who takes your order on the phone to the people who come and install/remove/repair stuff. They’re just fantastic.

Currys at Clifton Moor York. I'd ordered a new dryer online and measured it because I didn't have a massive space. Unfortunately I didn't measure the door it had to go into, we live in a park home so the doors are a lot smaller. Anyway I tried to return it online and i'm not good at that, they wanted a video to show it was still wrapped i wasn't sure I'd done it right. Spoke to two different customer service folk on the phone and struggled to
Get them to understand what I needed. So I went into the currys hoping they could help. One young man ordered me the one I actually needed and a lady rang the customer services to get the other one returned, she was on the phone for 20 minutes and sorted it without making me feel an idiot. I know it's their job nut they were both unusually helpful.

Sadly I can’t think of one company or business with excellent customer service.
The AA man was very nice when he arrived. There wasn’t too long a wait.