Where do you receive the best customer service?

[SheSaidHummingbird]

Inspired by a few threads. Not really a 'shopping' dilemma so don't think this belongs in that topic but happy for this thread to be moved.

Where do you feel that you experience the most kind/ supportive/ polite/ attentive/ mood-boosting in-person customer service? Could be from anywere: shops, salon, bank, pub etc. Anywhere that you are a customer, client, service user.

And what makes you feel that the service is great?

For me, it's the library. I always come away feeling really good, I'm asked how I am, how has my week been, or I am helped with something on my phone or the computer that has been worrying me all week, or simply having spoken to a kind-hearted person.

Please share yours!

Amazon
Next call centre
M&S - my local one
Waitrose - my local one

Me too. The manager and staff are great and occasionally when I have taken something difficult they have told me that it could be not quite matching or take a long time (they did a good job actually).
They do have good people at the top who fostered troubled children and also will employ and train people who have been in prison

Yep, sad to say but I agree. Part of my decision to use Amazon in particular, is the ease of being able to return things if faulty, incompatible or if I simply change my mind. Never once had a problem in probably 20 years of using Amazon.

Contrast that to my previous "go to" stores, Argos and Currys, where some of the little Hitlers on the return desks seemed to take is as a personal insult if I dared take something back for a refund, even something that was clearly faulty. You'd usually find they didn't understand the customer protection laws, so would try to argue they weren't responsible for a faulty item after the 28 day return period (or sometimes even during the 28 day period!), or refuse to refund things bought from a different store or online (despite their published return policy stating otherwise which they clearly didn't bother reading), etc. I've even ended up with store managers who didn't know nor understand the sales of goods act (as it was back then), nor the stores own published return policy on their website!

If I want to return something, I don't want the third degree. I just want to hand it back and be refunded. It's not difficult! Amazon is a breath of fresh air.

Must admit, I've also found Wickes to be really good with returns - one of the best for "bricks and mortar" stores. Never had any problems returning stuff there, no third degree, they just check the stuff over and issue the refund. No fuss, no quibbles, etc.

Sadly, found M&S lacking in customer service when I bought a box of out of date chocolates from one of their stores. Not just by a few days, they were 3 months out of date. Took them back only to get the corporate "we don't refund food" response, and then they tried to claim I must have switched the box from an older one at home as they "check their stock dates regularly". It was only when I went to the shelf and brought back several of the same box to the CS desk, all with the same date 3 months old, did she relent and refund. But no apology, not for the date problem, nor her attitude problem! Very disappointing for what claims to be a quality store!

Oliver Bonas is homogenously good. Other stores vary by the strength of the leadership.

Waitrose in Epsom is excellent, as is M&S and WHS. M&S in Sutton is untidy and in Kingston the staff are unhelpful.

Waitrose in Putney is not so good and the Putney Sainsburys has always been good. Wandsworth Waitrose was excellent whereas Wandsworth Sainsburys was shocking.

John Lewis Kingston and Peter Jones have declined significantly. There is one chap on white goods who is excellent. JL on Oxford Street is a breath of fresh air in comparison.

Banks too are variable, especially Metro Bank.

Increasingly I find retail staff don't seem aware of the existence of "please" and "thank you".

Me!
My job is customer care and I've slipped twice in 9 years
One was a bloke screaming he was going to rape me because he'd been given the wrong coffee and the other was a woman screaming she'd been 'waiting 20 minutes,you thick bitch'
We where so busy that day-i was running from kitchen to dining area,doing the job of 3 people and she could see this
Normally I'll move heaven and earth for you (if your polite to me and not screaming in my face and lashing out at me!)

Timpsons-the bloke told dp he had a cool tee and knocked a fiver off my watch battery
He couldn't have been more friendly

M&s where amazing over a suit-dp is very fussy and hates buying clothes
I wanted to strangle him for being so picky,the lady just dealt with him (he was polite!) and we walked out with the perfect suit

I used to live in york and the staff at the tesco at the top of Tadcaster Road where amazing
Nothing was too much trouble and they did everything with a smile
The tesco at clifton moor-they treated you like shit-if they bothered to speak to you at all
They normally looked at you like shit and walked off

No where in the UK.
I think for me the customer service in this country is rubbish

I usually get followed around by the security guards or get spoken to like I am a piece of dirt in their shoe by shop assistants.

Best place is American on line companies

Etsy
My local PO ❤️ they're brilliant.
Ditto local cafe
Veg box delivery
Boots (especially the pharmacy)

I've worked in different branches of the same place and the atmosphere has been totally different, and from my anecdotal experience due to a variety of factors, local management, the demographic of customers, and the staff and the wider area.

One place was a fairly affluent area, with a local university and so we had a lot of students filling positions and the customers had money to spend, the place performed well and there was very little anti social behaviour, no difficulty recruiting suitable people for jobs and the venue took part in a lot of community activities. Morale was good in the staff and they stayed because they were treated fairly by the company and by customers.

The other one was in a different area, the demographic of customers and staff was different, they struggled to recruit, and there was anti social behaviour that impacted the venue and the staff, it didn't perform well because it wasn't offering what the locals wanted, but to do so meant moving away from the 'blueprint' of the company, which the management weren't to do, so was under constant pressure and went through lots of staff and management, with the company constantly cutting back within that venue because it wasn't making enough money. That destroyed morale and made the situation worse. I was regularly fielding aggressive behaviour by customers, or sexual harassment which didn't happen anywhere near as often in the other venue.

The training and 'rules' were the same, but there was a huge difference in the effect that had and being able to actually deliver it effectively.

My nail place. I’ve been going for years and they are always really welcoming. They always ask how I am, and fix any breaks for free for me, and squeeze me in where they can even if I haven’t booked. They also always ask me if I’d like a coffee when they go to the coffee shop to pick up coffees for the staff. It’s like a haven of positive energy!

@HospitalitySux

The other one was in a different area, the demographic of customers and staff was different, they struggled to recruit, and there was anti social behaviour that impacted the venue and the staff

I can understand that. But with my Tesco example, both stores are in pretty similar demographic locations. I'm not comparing an affluent town with a run down one, or a university city with a seaside resort. The two towns I'm comparing are pretty much identical, neither are particularly run down, neither is a Uni town, neither is a tourist town. It's really hard to understand why the staff attitude is so different.

I also understand why staff are likely to be more unhelpful etc if presented with stroppy staff, but can't understand why they can't be helpful and "nice" to customers who present themselves as "normal" and not anti-social. Surely the staff member should behave differently to some yob hurling abuse at them compared with helping a perfectly polite customer just asking where something is? Yet, they too often seem unable to adapt to different customers. Regardless of how much abuse they've had from yobs that day, they should at least be helpful and polite to an elderly, polite customer with a simple request.

John Lewis Oxford Street used to be amazing for bras, but after two rubbish experiences with unhelpful staff who wouldn’t assist in any way, I’m now sticking to Bravissimo. I had wait for the woman on the changing room desk to stop chatting and look something up for me twice, and she tried to brush me off. Certainly no offer to go and find it, or suggestions of an alternative, or any suggestions on what else might work. Plus they seem to think my size doesn’t exist any more.

Bravissimo is consistently excellent, so positive and helpful and appreciates that standing there in your bra and pants looking at yourself in a mirror can feel quite crap.

Pavers. Had the best customer service there recently, knowledgeable staff, friendly and polite. Such a difference from Sketchers whose staff barely even looked in my direction despite me being the only customer in the store

I usually find Next staff are v helpful.

I get great service from Amazon. I can do an online chat really quickly and they always solve any issues to my satisfaction.
I try and support local shops but service can be more hit or miss.
Octopus Energy are helpful too.

I'm a really loyal customer and go out my way to support companies who are good to me.

Boden have wowed me in their customer services this year. Easy returns, real human being on live chat when you need, it's just a really seamless service. It's made me go back again and again.

Am I just unlucky. Robert Dyas delivery. G2S limited was supposed to pick up delivery between 12 -13 today. I waited the whole day.. my door was propped open to show I was in but no show. When I traced they said they were told there was nothing to pick up. No e- mail was sent or phone call was made and d nothing posted through the door to say they tried to deliver. The same with the order. They truly have no respect for the customer. When I phone I have difficulty hearing the options because the line is so bad, I had it with on line orders and delivery.

Local butcher were great just before Christmas as I got half a dozen different things weighed out.
Thompson & Morgan plants very helpful on the phone when I had an issue with my order.
Waitrose always decent.
Aldi are pretty good. Except you can't take a trolley through self checkout and there isn't always a proper till open. But I haven't faced that as I usually have a basket. TBH they are pretty good at opening tills, so they'd probably do that without issue. Sideways glance at Sainsbury's who refused to help my wheelchair using friend.
Dobbies staff are helpful and cheerful.

Local cafe, Next, Waitrose.

@taxguru yes, I've had a few issues with returns and staff simply not understanding that faulty goods mean the law applies. I think they are cracking down because of chancers, but of course that then impacts the rest of us.

But to balance that I second the person who said Oliver Bonas. Everything they should be.