To think M&S customer service is unbelievably shite?

[VeryWeirdBarbie]

I placed an online order and tried to pay partly with a gift card I got for my birthday and partly with PayPal. When I clicked to pay I got an error message and the items were still in my basket. Went to try to pay again and my gift certificate balance had been taken! Tried to contact them and their site is saying they can't take phone calls at the moment due to a service issue. Finally found a way yo send them a message and they still haven't got back to me.

In the meantime I stupidly decided to order anyway and paid for the whole thing via PayPal- 2 pairs of trousers. My parcel was dispatched and I was told it was 1 of 1 parcels. It arrived and there is only 1 pair of trousers in there - and the colour isn't as advertised but anyway the main problem is the other pair of trousers is missing. Still no way to phone customer services due to this alleged "service issue" whatever that is. I'm absolutely fuming!

I remember getting one parcel that only had half my order, expecting it to be split into multiple parcels but the email said "parcel 1 of 1". I rang to ask and when I said I'd had that email the woman on the phone literally laughed and said "no." Nothing else. I said I'm reading it in front of me! There was another parcel in the end. Hope you get it sorted.

Thank you @BettyRoodBoy that gives me hope at least that my missing trousers may turn up. I'm singing that song in my head "Donald where's your trousers" 🤣 think I may actually be losing it.

Found a customer service phone number online, got put on hold after giving my order information, then after 10 minutes of waiting they just hung up on me!

I think M&S are poor on deliveries. I use click and collect because we have a food outlet nearby, so you can speak to a person, but trying to contact them by phone or email is a nightmare.

This year I’ve had a pair of jeans that were previously worn; no tags and a hair tie in the back pocket, brownies I ordered for a specific date for a friend’s birthday, that arrived two days late, a bunch of flowers I was sent for my birthday, that were dead on arrival. M&S said they couldn’t do anything because I hadn’t placed the order, but I eventually got a replacement.

I know they send items in different packages, presumably because the manufacturer is different, but there’s really no excuse for such sloppy service.

I’m not buying anything from them online again because they don’t include a return slip

I think you've been unlucky OP. I order using the M&S app and click and collect at my local Simply Food and the order shows up like clockwork. In fact they have moroved their returns service now and you don't even need to give them any details, they scan the QR code on the packaging and the refund comes through within 5 working days often quicker.

It sounds like when it goes wrong it goes badly wrong and compounded by that service issue in their call centre.

improved

They split orders all the time , if you check on your account it will tell you what is coming when

You don't need a return slip now , it's done via a barcode in the app..
Or in the website if you don't want to do that ..

I appreciate it's hard for older people to do but I'm 50 and my generation can understand this very easily

I bought a clothing item that also had no tags, not properly wrapped...just straight into the delivery bag.

What would properly wrapped constitute - surely that would just be wasting more single use plastic?

Another one that happened to me recently was ASOS. You can’t just use your local post office to print a label it has to be evri at specific locations. I’ve got something that doesn’t fit me I haven’t returned because it’s so much hassle

YANBU.

Recently I ordered a bra that was marked as delivered when it wasn't. I checked with immediate neighbours but M&S customer services tried to tell me they wouldn't refund or replace until I'd knocked on all 50+ houses in this and the next street to check they didn't have my bra!

I do have hope that my other item will arrive (it would have been nice to receive a packing slip or any sort of acknowledgement that there was still more of my order to arrive). But that still doesn't fix the gift card issue.

DH googled it and tells me they've replaced their customer service agents by an AI chatbot. It did read out some basic, generic, unhelpful information before hanging up on me so perhaps that's that in terms of help/service!

Your experiences sound awful @Bluevelvetsofa - especially the used unwashed jeans, that's quite unpleasant.

Try working for them if you think their customer service is shite, they're pretty awful employers unless they've improved a lot in the last few years!

Yes I did wonder if it was an environmental thing. But the no tags annoyed me. They did sort it out quickly to be fair.

No fair enough on the tags.

John Lewis pack everything in inconvenient to carry cardboard boxes - had to buy a reusable bag there last time I picked something up. Irritating

I've heard that also and it's awful - a much worse issue than poor customer service as it negatively impacts people's lives to be mistreated by their employers. It's such a shame - M&S used to be a British institution to be proud of 😣.

I've had good experience. I ordered lingerie over two orders to be collected in store.

The first lot arrived but when I went to collect they could not find my parcel and I was refunded.

A week later they messaged me to say I hadn't picked it up and when I contacted them the woman said she would investigate.

She phoned back and said that the parcel had been found and I could still collect and have them for free as I had already been refunded! I had bought a lot.

The second parcel arrived but was a completely different colour to what I had ordered. I had ordered several different sets in skin tone colours but they were the wrong colours but correct sizes. All perfectly wearable.

When I phoned, she said to return them and she would have a new order made and sent to the store for me to collect.

When I collected, I found she had made a new order in the correct colour but there was also the same order in the different colour as I had before, so I had twice as much but in different colours.

When I phoned up again, the woman couldn't get her head around it and told me just to keep it all!

You can definitely return through Post Office with ASOS as I do it regularly. They say this themselves on their website.

www.asos.com/payments-and-deliveries/returns/

Yes, they're awful.

A suitcase I bought broke a few months after purchase. It was one of 3 separate purchases of the same set. They offered to replace the broken case, but no longer stocked it, so swapped for a different style. I asked to replace all 3, as I bought as they matched. They refused. They also refused a refund.

I ordered a Christmas present in November last year. It had 3 failed deliveries/lost in transit. They refused to cancel the order until it arrived. They refused to put the item aside in the local store for me to go and collect. It turned up in January. I sent it straight back for a refund, having already bought the item in the store in order to gift at Christmas.

I avoid them wherever possible.

The sales assistant was pretty horrified about the second hand jeans too and it’s concerning that their stock control doesn’t pick up on it.

Vote with your money. I will no longer buy from m&s online due to their beyond shite customer service. Even if you get through the horrific,useless chatbot to speak to a person they are equally rubbish and read from a script. Additionally they use evri here which means every order takes 10-14 days to arrive.

I've shifted to John Lewis who still have human,workable customer service and they use royal mail so my order arrives in days.

I complained to markies as a lifelong customer and explained that their shit customer service was why I'd never use them again. X

There is an M&S have your say fb group , if anyone complains they are jumped on by M&S staff members who take NO criticism at all , they are brainwashed

I've never had an issue with M&S online. Boots on the other hand...