ASOS deliveries/reviews

[itsnotmeitsu]

I ordered a Nike top and matching joggers from ASOS. When the delivery arrived it contained the top, but instead of the joggers there was a pair of men's shorts. Ordered lots of things from ASOS in the past and it was always easy to return stuff (even though I rarely had to).

Now: they don't include a return form, and you don't even have the option of printing one off yourself. You need to choose your preferred return option and download a QR code. My phone doesn't accomodate apps, so I had to download the QR code onto my laptop, send it to my partner's iPhone, and then take that phone to the post office. They're making it very inconvenient to return things, at a time when online shopping has soared. Even selecting the option as to why I was returning was not straightforward, as I was supposed to comment on the item I should have got.

When I got the ASOS email to review my purchase I gave it a one star, surprisingly, stating that I was sent the wrong item. Today I've had an email saying they've rejected my review; presumably because I wasn't commenting on the actual item I should have got, I was commenting on their service.

When you read their contact details they seem to have made it really inconvenient to complain. AIBU to think more online companies will follow their lead, as so many people won't bother to return things unless there's a significant sum of money involved. And that, if you're ordering sight onseen, it should be made as simple as possible to return things (as it used to be).

I agree that it's more inconvenient for me. I always used our post room at work to return items via royal mail. I used to be able to use the enclosed postage paid returns sticker and give it to postroom to send back. It's just a faff now so I hardly bother using asos.

ASOS isn’t making you “jump through hoops”. Their consumer base is adept with tech so these decisions suit the majority of their customers and actually fit well with their lifestyles. Unfortunately you are an outlier.

Many companies have now gone paperless with online orders - you don’t get an invoice or a return label as it all can be accessed online. It’s 2021; Buying habits have changed.

I don’t understand why you think live chat is difficult to use - it’s essentially email with an instant response and instant resolution, vs waiting 3-5 working days for a response, where they ask you a question and can’t proceed until you respond, and then another 3-5 working days for a resolution.

Also as a PP said, you can print the QR code in future as the post office can scan that the in the same way as a device

Asos can be a pain with low quality items I admit but the returns has usually been pretty painless for me.
I do think YABU with the returns process. Think about the environment! Most people have a smart phone and so much paper is saved by using QR codes... you really are in the minority here. Yes it was a bit of an inconvenience for you but imagine how much paper is being saved by not sending out returns forms in every order.

@Teaplease29 agree. The environmental impact is certainly one of the reasons companies are doing this. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a return form and I order frequently.

I also agree with the posters who mentioned not having printers. I’m in my early 20s and moved out at 18 for university. I have only just purchased my own printer, as it wasn’t a priority buy for me. I used to visit my uni library whenever I needed to print something, and for a return label that could be a faff. I do think ASOS markets themselves to teens/young adults who may be in the same situation if they don’t live with their parents.

Really easy for me, QR code scanned at ASDA, label printed & parcel dropped in collection box.

I can download things on my laptop,
but I'm hardly going to carry that down to the post office with me.
Why not?

I agree with PPs paperless returns are easier for the majority of people. But you can print the QR code so I don't understand what's the problem.
The fact that they didn't accept your review makes sense, you reviewed the service, not the item.
And whether we like it or not smartphones became close to a necessity, there are some reasonably priced ones - I don't own an iPhone or the newest Samsung, my phone is 10x cheaper and works great. My workplace requires us to install certain apps on our phones. I was a bit taken aback at first, but it becomes a common practice now.

[quote itsnotmeitsu]@phoenixrosehere > No, my phone doesn't have email. It's not a smartphone. And it doesn't enable apps - it's not a smartphone. I can download things on my laptop, but I'm hardly going to carry that down to the post office with me. 'Screenshotting' fine, but I don't have a phone that I can transfer that to.

The idea that you can't understand how someone can order from ASOS when you're not able to use apps and qr codes I just don't get. I've been ordering online for years, using Paypal. QR codes weren't even invented then. And apps were also not involved.

@wingsnthat > "If you want to complain, phone/live chat/email them!" Or perhaps just send me the correct item in the first place. ASOS seem to have made it difficult to phone or email them. I don't want to 'live chat' them; I just want to return the item I never ordered without jumping through hoops.[/quote]
But you can print out the QR code and get them to scan that. You don't need it to be on your phone.

@PRsecrets (amongst others) > 'I much prefer their system now as there’s no faff of trying to find the returns label you misplaced. It’s much more seamless and you only need Internet and an email address. If you don’t have those I’d suggest you’re not in their target market to be honest.'

So is their target market someone who falls within a limited age group, or does it include people who have money to spend? I have an email address and obviously the internet, otherwise I wouldn't be able to post on here. For all those who think that anybody above the age of 25 should be written off: When I was in my early 30s I recommended a shop to a 21 year old colleague. Her response was, 'I wouldn't use a shop my mother would use.' That colleague would now be in their 40s. I love that people who write off those of us who are older will eventually, if they're lucky, reach our age.

What a weird post. 25 year olds know their way around a phone and a QR code.

Exactly @wingsnthat . My mum in her late 60s knows her way around phone and QR codes too.

@itsnotmeitsu, PPs gave you advice how you can print the code or show the email, how you can use live chat to complain, but you just refuse to accept that. Those are not difficult things.

And as frustrating as it is any company can make a mistake in their order. If it happens too much, ditch them.

Just get a smartphone and get with the current times! 🤷‍♀️

Does your phone take picture just a photo or the qr code works.

Unless your toting around a brick from the 90s or deliberately using a very basic phone, most mobile phones have cameras and/or access to the Internet, which means you can use the QR code provided (either take a photo of the QR code from your laptop screen or open your email on the phone) to return your parcel. Even my 89yr old grandmother's PAYG flip phone - with massive buttons and that is specifically marketed towards technophobe elderly people as being easy to use- has a camera

The number of people who use online shopping but don't have a smartphone/tablet is probably vanishingly small - ASOS is marketed towards those of us who use social media and online shopping as second nature, and therefore are never more than a few feet from our smartphone. Regardless of which, you have a printer and the ability to print out the QR code they email you so you are one up on me - I haven't owned a printer since I finished Uni because I don't need one. In the last 10 years I would say I have had to print maybe a handful of documents and in those cases I either did so at the local library or my parents house.

ASOS' stated target market is 'twenty-somethings'

I don't know any twenty-somethings that don't have a smartphone.

So, sure you can buy from them if you're not in their target market but at the end of the day all of their processes are set up for their target market which is fair enough IMO.

@itsnotmeitsu

Their target market is 'twenty-somethings'.

Not anyone who has money.

They're very specific about their target market and they literally say 'twenty-somethings'.

Hence all of their products and processes are aimed at that market and therefore their assumption you'll have a smartphone.

OP, people under the age of 25 “do have money to spend”. People that are young possibly spend more money on clothing than older people, as they are more fashion conscious, have active social lives and haven’t built a capsule wardrobe yet. They may not have the highest wage, but they’re likely to spend a decent % of that on fashion and organically share their purchases online.

ASOS’s marketing and services are geared towards young adults/late teens. It’s asinine if you think otherwise.

Not quite sure what the “over 25” angle is about. 25 year olds were born in 1996 and are gen Z, therefore grew up with tech, QR codes and smartphones! You can’t lump all “over 25s” in the same group. 25 year olds are still ASOS’s target market after all.

Age isn’t even the issue - you just sound like a bitter technophobe.

ok @moonstone >Not sure I ever stated that 'people under 25 don't have money to spend', or that I ever lumped "all over 25s" into one category. I did write, "For all those who think that anybody above the age of 25 should be written off: ..." I should have probably included 'also' in the sentence, as in "does it [also} include people who have money to spend?". But yes, I'm willing to accept I'm just a bitter old woman.

I just want to add that when I took a QR code to the Post Office, I was told I would need to pay £1 to have the label printed.
It might just be that my local post office is clueless, but I wasn't in the frame of mind to dispute it with them at the time and I just paid for it...

@ggoodger that doesn’t sound right. I have used QR codes for the past 2 years at least, and have never been charged. Seems like your post office was pulling a fast one! The fees are prepaid by the retailer