Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be livid with this so called customer service from John Lewis

207 replies

ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 09:41

I'm trying to be organised, so I ordered some Christmas presents from John Lewis online. I got them delivered the other day, and when I opened up the package, two of the boxes were completely bashed up and had holes in them, so there is no way I can present them to someone as a gift.

I decided to email customer services to complain, as the items were just lolling around in a massive bag, so I felt it was JL's fault for them not being packaged correctly.

Here is what I got in return:

Dear Ms XX,

You do realise that it is only October. Therefore, you have 2 months to arrange Christmas presents. So calm down. I will be more than happy to arrange a replacement order to be sent to you. Please advise if you would like me to arrange a courier collection or packet post return for the damaged goods..

I look forward to your reply.

OP posts:
lucky1979 · 17/10/2010 14:13

I would have been cross enough about the rotten grammar and sentence structure in a professional setting, never mind the rudeness of the reply.

YANBU.

ruddynorah · 17/10/2010 14:13

No not really. It's obviously your way of dealing with things, your style. Just no need for it.

Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 14:16

OMG has no-one else hammed it up a bit when complaining about something so that you get what you deserve, which is an apology and a refund.

The stuff was not packaged well - JL have a right to know this so they can change the way things are packaged, and potentially save a lot of money in returns/exchanges.

If the items were not Christmas presents then I wouldn't have given a monkeys, but I pointed this out to them so that they would understand why there was an issue.

I used to work in retail management and if a customer complained we would ask them for all the facts so that we could offer a better retail experience and ensure it didn't happen again.

I was just offering it up front.

Not really sure what the problem with that is TBH.

OP posts:
Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 14:21

"No not really. It's obviously your way of dealing with things, your style. Just no need for it."

Grin

I wasn't talking to a friend or a colleague....I was emailing a generic customer services email address of a large national company.......Hmm

OP posts:
PuppyMonkey · 17/10/2010 14:22

Still didn't merit a "calm down" IMHO...

ruddynorah · 17/10/2010 14:23

No. Not over something so very trivial. I'd just ring up, hi my stuff arrived but it's been damaged in transit. Oh we are very sorry Mrs norah let us sort it out.. etc. See? Simples.

SpottyMuldoon · 17/10/2010 14:26

There is no problem. It shouldn't have mattered if you'd called them a bunch of incompetent buffoons (although that would be unreasonable) they should still just try and put the problem right and leave their personal opinions out of it.

If she (JL bod) has that response to a slightly stroppy email how the hell does she respond to the real arsewipes?

perfumedlife · 17/10/2010 14:32

What gets me about this reply is, how does customer 'service' person know you have two months to get organised? For all she knows you could be giving it to your mum to take on a trip to Oz next week as gifts when she is there. It is entirely inappropriate to answer you back with cheek.

I waited in all day for a Tesco delivery last week, really needed the food and wine for dinner party that evening. No text to say they were late, finally got through on phone and was told they had truck trouble, if i was so desperate I could come and pick it up myself!!! What part of home delivery were they not getting?Shock Told them to put it in a taxi, after much moaning about cost, they did.

Sorry for hijack, I just think if we accept this creeping nastiness in service we are doomed to rubbish service forever.

I would not be letting that go.

Oh and M&S left me without gifts at Christmas Eve last year and the chappie on phone called me a liar. Nice.

Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 14:33

I know Spotty, I've been screamed at before in the store that I worked for, and it was part my job to nod along and say "Ok Madam, what would you like us to do for you?"

A mildly annoying email.......they must get thousands.

OP posts:
Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 14:33

part of my job

OP posts:
Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 14:37

perfumedlife that is shocking.

Obviously they can't help it if they have truck trouble, but they surely should have at the least let you know.

I bet if you had posted about it on here, you would get a load of people coming along and saying "YABU - go and get it yourself you lazy so and so" Hmm

OP posts:
perfumedlife · 17/10/2010 14:41

I know Grin I do have a car, but I was busy cleaning and prepping, that was why I ordered online.

You are totally not being unreasonable. I don't see why others can't see it.

QueeheeeheeeheenOfShadows · 17/10/2010 14:44

I love john lewis.

When I ordered a dinner set, they sent me similar but not the same coffee pot, sugar bowl and cream jug, rather than the ones belonging to the dinner set I ordered. The apologised profusely and sent me the items I wanted, and let me keep the other items. They inter match, both sets were pure white, so I have double now of those gorgeous items. Grin

I once ordered from boots, jars of baby food, tins of formula, nappies, clothes, and toiletries. It looked like somebody had played football with the box. The jars were broken, and the items were in a medley of food and glass. I rang them, explained, and said I had ordered this on their next day delivery as I was ill, at home, and unable to go out to get food for my baby. I had a duplicate order out first thing next morning. A lot of the itmes could be salvaged, but they told me not to worry, and just keep it, and the refunded the cost of my order due to the mishap.

phipps · 17/10/2010 14:47

I have only read the OP and there is no way that JL would send that email Hmm.

mumofthreesweeties · 17/10/2010 14:53

TBH OP the email you sent them seems to be as if the damaged boxes caused world war three. They probably responded in that way because your email is rather funny tbh with all the mentioning of photographic evidence etc and seems to lean towards being combative. YANBU though to be upset about the response but you probably did need to calm down a bit. John Lewis are pretty good imo, I have ordered online with them and have had no issues returning things to them without any need to even mention photographic evidence. The same with Ocado, I have bought eggs which were damaged upon delivery and all I did was politely explain the problem and get a refund.

Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 15:02

phipps I can assure you they did

OP posts:
Appletrees · 17/10/2010 15:02

That's a perfectly reasonable email. My goodness. Only a slight sense of gritted teeth there.

Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 15:06

Can someone please explain to me (genuine question) what part of my email was shirty/arsey/combative.

The mention of photographic evidence was merely to assist them, as at times in the past when I have received damaged goods, I have been asked to provide a picture.

Jeez......didn't realise I was such an ogre for daring to write an email.

Send me to the stocks Hmm.

OP posts:
perfumedlife · 17/10/2010 15:07

I would email them back, pointing out that your fellow mums on mumsnet are having great difficulty believing it to be true, they hold JL is such high esteem.

Bad enough being patronised, now you are being disbelieved. And that's because the reply is SO utterly rude and inappropriate.

Honestly, have any of us, ever, on being told to calm down, ever actually calmed down? No, it's meant to be rude, and that's just not on.

Jaquelinehyde · 17/10/2010 15:11

Hmm I can't believe JL have sent an email like this.

I recieved a delivery from them during the week of stocking filler gifts and when I opened the box each gift had a huge orange sticker stuck on it that wouldn't peel off without damaging the gift. So I rang JL just to give feedback over what a drag it was to have to remove each sticker and they were amazing! Not only did I get a full apology follwed up with an email apology but they refunded £15 to my debit card.

Maybe give them a ring and get it sorted instead of winding yourself up on here.

Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 15:11

perfumedlife - I know, but that's the nature of AIBU I suppose! It takes all sorts.

OP posts:
frikonastick · 17/10/2010 15:12

this is the weirdest thread ever!

OP, yaDnbu

Original poster
ManiDeadi · 17/10/2010 15:18

Jaquelinehyde - I'm not winding myself up, I just came on here on a Sunday afternoon to see what people thought of the outrageous email I was sent.

I'm not sure why everyone is going Hmm.

Do you not believe me?

Why would I bother lying about this?

OP posts:
phipps · 17/10/2010 15:21

I think your email wasn't great tbh, quite stroppy and I still don't believe that reply was sent.

Jaquelinehyde · 17/10/2010 15:26

Yes but Mani you could ring them now and the JL could begin looking into what has happened. They can then give you some answers/apology and compensation if deemed it's deserved. You can then feed back to us about how JL have hadled the situation.

Situation resolved, or you can continue to do nothing about it and wonder why no one is sympathetic and all Hmm