Hobbs online - never ordering from them again

[MsDastardley]

I’ve ordered quite a bit off Hobbs over the years, always by go to for work trousers etc. The online ordering used to be reliable, and could collect in store a couple of days later.

i believe they moved to a new distribution cent a few months ago and since then the service has been dreadful. Long waits, no communication. I foolishly placed a order 3 weeks ago as the dress I wanted wasn’t in store, I thought they must had time to get their act together…. Wrong. Three weeks gone by and still not received by order. They don’t respond to emails, can’t get through on the phone as it just rings out and disconnected after 5 minutes or so.

Had an email yesterday to say final part of order had been dispatched, and messaged to say it was being delivered today by DX. Waited in all day, nothing arrived. Checked tracking again and now expected on Monday.

The main reason for starting this post is to get it off my chest and vent about Hobbs shoddy service, as unable to get through to them. It’s the last time I shall order anything from them online. Hobbs are often recommended on this forum - someone needs a smart outfit for interview, workwear, wedding etc. I would say order at your peril now, and definitely don’t bother if you need something with a deadline of less than a month!

After being a customer for 30 plus years, I’m done

John Lewis stock most of Hobbs’ collection. If you like their clothes, just order from there.

Marks and Spencer’s and Next also stock them, and they can usually deliver the next day. It’s ridiculous that the manufacturer doesn’t seem to be able to deliver In less than 3 weeks! At the moment I don’t feel like buying anything from them again. My horizons have been widened since following this forum, plenty more brands out there for me to try!

Ridiculous

I'm nearly at my goal weight & haven't been buying clothes as I don't want to have to get rid of them quickly, I try to avoid fast fashion & I prefer natural fibres where possible. Hobbs was definitely on my list of potential places to look for clothes, I might try in store but not online if the customer service is that poor.

To be fair, the service in my local store is good. The assistants are lovely and helpful. They’re fed up as they are getting a constant stream of customers chasing up their collect from store orders. The local shop carries a good range, but they don’t have everything. As pp suggested, if you need to order online then try John Lewis.

DX have updated to say parcel has been returned to sender as ‘insufficiently addressed’. They definitely have correct details! If I ever get the delivery it’s being returned as I’ve missed the window of good weather to wear the dress!

Wow that is so annoying! Three weeks! What if you are buying something to go to a wedding and it doesn’t arrive?!

Have also noticed a huge decline in their online customer service as well as the qc of stuff being sent out. Once I had the wrong shoes in a box another two times the shoes were visibly marked and one had a discounted price on it.

Always always use PayPal for purchases. The buyer protection is perfect.

Thanks. Tracking updated again to say parcel out for delivery tomorrow. If it doesn’t turn up I’m going to do a charge back on credit card as I have more than patient.

Customer service is bad, but stuff is usually nice once it turns up. Worst experience I have had was Brand Alley, where I received a pair of shoes that were obviously well worn!

Sorry to read the OP's experience and that your delivery has not been made as planned.
For some balance, I, too am an occasional/regular Hobbs online purchaser and have just, this week, ordered a dress that came back in to stock. Ordered Wed pm, delivered Sat pm. All good. Tracking of delivery was accurate.

I'm a Hobbs fiend, too, and ordered quite a few items for a recent wedding. Delivery was about 5 working days and refunds maybe a bit slower than some, but there have been no mess ups or any need to contact customer services. They seem pretty much on a par with most online retail operations.

I’m pleased to hear that people are getting their orders on time. I must have been really unlucky with my experience. Maybe things have started to settle down after the move to new distribution centre. However, I don’t think I’m unreasonable to expect a reply to my emails, or to be able to speak to someone on the phone! I’ll stick to the shop if I need anything in the future, they are fine.

I received an email after a recent shambles of an experience with them asking what I thought of their service. Score between 1 and 10, I gave them one.

An order I had placed a few weeks ago finally arrived today. What really annoyed me was the email the company they've outsourced to saying the order will be late because they want to ensure everyone gets their orders. Wtf. That doesn't even make sense.

I order from there and have never had these issues. I also love their natural fibres etc and the fact the clothes last a long time

Doesn't surprise me. I ordered a coat from there on the final day of a sale event last year, they sent the wrong size. Contacted customer services and they said just to send it back and order again. I explained that the sale had finished and asked them to honour the sale price and the best they could do was "order it again, send us a picture of your invoice and we'll give you a voucher for the difference". So essentially spend more money when the mistake was theirs, and accept a voucher that I may never use.

Sent it back, went on eBay and found the same coat half price.