To think that Covid has become a convenient excuse for poor service ?

[Mellonsprite]

For some firms (not all) ?
Just come back from a couple of days away in the Uk. Lots of car parks still closed, public toilets not opened, Not many inside activities like museums and castles re-opened yet, the officious-ness of the clipboard wielding all in the name of Covid? The hotel Meal meal (Prepaid) was cancelled at last minute, then acting like refunding my fee paid upfront was highly generous of them, apparently they’d ‘mis-calculated due to Covid’. Neglecting the fact that it left us completely high and dry, unable to speak to guest relations via email or phone. Bars closing at 9pm with staff asking customers can we pay up & leave!

Referred for a colposcopy after an abnormal smear test. Clinic missed my referral and then blamed it on Covid, saying they had no idea when they would give me an appointment. Erm, no, your clinic has been running as normal the whole way through Covid, as confirmed by one of the doctors who works in it.

I have found my people! Yes to so many things on here!
You’ll not be surprised to hear that I’m very pissed off with BA who still haven’t refunded me 3 months later...

YANBU - our bin collections are still monthly instead of fortnightly - no excuse for it at all!

That is rubbish! @Absolutely20

@Absolutely20

YANBU - our bin collections are still monthly instead of fortnightly - no excuse for it at all!

On a positive note for good service in amongst all the covid can'ts- our council do bin collections weekly that has continued throughout, 2 weekly recycle collections which carried on throughout. They suspended the green waste collection which was also 2 weekly however restarted that at the end of April (so we only missed 2 collections) and added on another 2 weeks to the end of the normal end dates for the year so a big thumbs up to our waste collection services 👍 So it seems some councils have a can do attitude (in some departments)

@BellaintheWychElm

I agree, our collections haven’t changed all the way through so fair play to our local council. In addition our village shops - butchers, bakers, Nisa etc have been brilliant and we’re also lucky to have local farm shops who have been delivering, local food and drink suppliers who have adapted. We’ve been very lucky really compared to some horror stories I’ve heard.

Our bin collections didn't change at all. The only thing that stopped was the weekly email reminder from the Council to remind which bin it was that week. (green recycle bin one week, grey general waste the next)

The council tips closed for a while though - and then re-opened under stricter guidelines (and massive queues)

Yes! School uniform provider blaming Covid for their poor communications, late deliveries etc, until I pointed out every year parents have the same issues, and Covid wasn't around in previous years....

Agree! I've been sure to personally respond to every call and email my organisation receive. Takes all day every day. Yet I have to wait weeks for a response from huge organisations with loads of staff I just dont get it.

Another one who agrees.
It was PIL's diamond wedding anniversary 2 weeks ago and the message from the palace never arrived due to Covid delays. Really?

May I add the campsite we stayed in last week which decided to close all but two of its toilets and then not clean them, because covid?

Agree totally. Have been on a UK break this summer and what I don't understand now is how so many places have read the same guidance but come to completely different conclusions. For example:

1. Some places happily allow people into indoor areas provided masks worn and social distancing maintained, other places insist all indoor places have to be shut.

2. One place insisted they couldn't run hand-dryers in the toilet due to covid, yet every other place I visited had hand dryers.

3. Some places insist their toilets still have to be shut, even though most public toilets etc are now open.

4. A certain tourist attraction I visited insisted they weren't able to allow people to bring in picnics anymore due to covid 19, (and instead made people use their slow and over-priced cafe....) even though I've been to loads of places for picnics this year.

5. One tourist attraction (a small zoo) hilariously has signs on all of it's enclosures telling people not to let kids touch the glass of any enclosures to prevent cross-contamination. The same zoo has all of it's 'interactive kids activities' now running which is mostly button pushing etc, so apparently it's fine for kids to cross-contaminate on buttons just not on glass.

On our UK holiday last week the holiday park was basically running no entertainment, swimming etc and yet the price remains the same as though it was? Ditto loads of attractions who expect you to pay the same entrance price even though half the attractions are shut?

Don't even get me started on companies who make stupid statements like 'it may take longer to reply to your e-mail as due to covid19 our staff are working from home'. Why does working from home make replying to an e-mail slower?

And I'm waiting for holiday refunds from two separate travel companies, both of whom I have been chasing for weeks, and of course all delays are blamed on Covid.

I'm starting to think a lot of this is just bullshit now. Most people have returned to work. Shielding has ended. If a bloody pub can re-open now then you can open your library / museum etc. Most people accept that things may have to be done slightly differently but I'm getting fed up of companies using covid as an excuse for shitty customer service and ripping people off.

I should probably add that as a nurse during this pandemic, I've been doing covid tests, personal care, been spat at etc. Obviously we take precautions and wear PPE etc, and any staff that are particularly at high risk aren't doing patient contact work, but I'm so fed up of people just saying they won't do their job at all as they don't want to be put at risk. This I'm afraid sadly includes several of my NHS colleagues, all support services (like the speech and language therapy for my autistic daughter) and my GP surgery, who still insist on keeping their doors shut, and basically treat everyone over the phone, despite the fact that I fail to see how to you can properly assess some patients over the phone (who may need a physical examination, bloods etc). And I'm so angry when I read stories of people whose cancer treatments have been delayed etc 'due to covid'. Does no-one care what happens to those patients stuck in limbo for months? And our dentist surgery who insist they still can't see anyone unless it's an absolute emergency. To all those NHS staff, please can I just say: JUST WEAR SOME PPE LIKE THOSE OF US IN THE WARDS HAVE BEEN DOING FOR MONTHS AND GET THE FUCK ON WITH SEEING AND TREATING PATIENTS LIKE YOU ARE BEING PAID TO DO.

I've had good service from Currys/PC World when we unexpectedly had to buy a new router when ours died.
Amazon didn't want to know because it was outside of their returns window (we'd had it 8 months brand new) and the manufacturer refused to assist without us paying for their support package because they only provided free support for 6months. They refused to permit a return for faulty equipment.
I found pretty much the same router online at Currys and ordered for click and collect that day. Also got the price matched to Amazon.

I can now take this back to them should we have another failure without issue so but I g from an actual store does have its advantages

Totally agree - and this is the point I have been trying to make to work colleagues who don't see that we need to have more people in the office as its not just about 'your team' but the overall service we deliver. Yet some people just can't see it. We need to deliver good service - or else we all suffer in the company.

@KitKat1985 just wanted to say thank you for continuing doing your job in this difficult time. I totally agree with you re doctors surgeries and dentists, it's almost as if they've all left the country, I thought they were classed as key workers. We can have a call back from a doctor now who is working from home,how can they possibly diagnose without actually seeing a patient.

Anyone with kids who has been working from home will probably tell you how it has made a massive difference on their productivity.
Kids have only just gone back so we may see a shift soon.
Please don’t forget that for all workers everywhere, there is still the case that someone may have to isolate, and while they could still work from home if they already do, this takes other employees out of the workplace.
Just yesterday in my local news, a member of a school office team was contacted to say they needed to isolate as they’d been in contact with a positive case. They subsequently tested positive (asymptomatic) and 3 other members of staff were identified as needing to isolate too.
Whether the virus is a hoax or not, we’re still having to do this shit. If I get a call next week saying one of my kids is showing symptoms or been in contact with a case, our household then needs to isolate. If I test positive my branch has to shut for two weeks from the last time I was in work. Why? Because Covid.

Totally agree with Ocado. I was treated appallingly by them and now they want me back they can go sing.

I got diagnosed with a skin condition in February, yes it’s not serious or life threatening but having your hands constantly covered in blisters and raw skin isn’t much fun, especially when you know the hospital can give you medication that will more than likely clear it up. I finally had a telephone appointment in the middle of July. I needed to have some blood tests before I could start on any medication.

I had my blood tests and then another telephone appointment six weeks after the first one. Well it was a complete waste of time. ‘Oh we can’t prescribe it over the phone we need to see you’. Well why did you waste your time and mine with a phone call! I asked when the face to face appointment was likely to be she said maybe 4 weeks but probably longer. I despair.

I’m not knocking the NHS staff and I know it’s not serious just venting.

Eon have been appalling. I suspect their Ombudsman Liaison department are going to be very busy over the next few months. I won't go into details here as it would take too long, but their dreadful service and attitude towards customers leaves me speechless.
I agree with those who have mentioned GP surgeries and some nhs services, such as blood testing. I've already detailed my dh issues on another thread. To say I am less than impressed with the service is an understatement. To blame it on Covid is not good enough. Dh has a chronic condition which if left unmonitored could be life threatening. Part of the monitoring process is blood tests. He's waited over two months for an urgent blood test.
Otoh, I have been impressed with Amazon. Asda have come up trumps for an elderly family member, meaning I can arrange their online shopping for them so they dont have to brave the supermarket themselves.
I was also very impressed with a toy company, Jaques of London. I ordered a toy for my dgs and a small part was damaged when it arrived. A quick phone call, an e mail to show exactly what was wrong and within a few days the replacement part arrived.
Also, one lady at the local authority who managed to arrange for my mum's roof and ceiling to be repaired when their own contractors were not working.

My local area are not currently doing routine mammograms because Covid. Which I find very worrying.

Yes absolutely agree.
I'm calling out dentist, doctors are even harder to get an appointment with than before.
School uniform suppliers a certain over priced uk holiday park. All may sound very '1st world problem' but it's a real pita

So tonight we went to a very upmarket restaurant Michelin star restaurant. The menu on the website has 20+ cocktails, we get there and they have 5 on offer due to Covid Why??

Then we had to scan a QR code on our phones to read the menu. A celebrity chef sat at the table next to us and his whole family got proper menus! I wouldn’t mind but at £300 for two of us I expect a bit more effort!

Recently told that I can't get an engineer for a dishwasher "due to COVID" - is this because all the engineers are sick, or because the company is still taking as much furlough as possible?!

I don’t understand why our local tip is still only operating on pre bookings, even before the pandemic you always had to queue in your car for the busy bit until a space became available, how is now any different, except the queue is slightly smaller.