THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY...!!!

• If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have £49.00 today.
• If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in AIG insurance company one year ago, you would have £33.00 today.
• If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers five years ago, you would have nothing today.
• If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Northern Rock three years ago, you would have nothing today.

But, if you had purchased £1,000 worth of beer one year ago at Tesco's, drunk all the beer, then taken the aluminium cans to the scrap metal dealer, you would have received £214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.

A recent study found that the average Briton walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study found that Britons drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

That means that, on average, Britons get about 41 miles to the gallon!

Makes you proud to be British!

I'm back!

I have been missing London so.     

Its sorrow is as sweet to me as a rare wine.  

Lee Health Centre

I have been asked to put this is writing in order that it can be brought to the attention of the management committee at Lee Health Centre.

There are two incidents that you should be aware of.

The first Incident happened to my wife in August 2009.  The second happened on the the 26th of July this year.

The following is a copy of the letter my wife sent to the Complaints Department of Lewisham Primary Care Trust.

On Monday of this week I called the surgery at 8:10 in order to make an appointment for myself and my son. I was offered an appointment at 15:00 Tuesday (the following day) with the locum doctor, and I accepted it.

On Tuesday I arrived at the surgery at 14:55, checked in with the receptionist (as is the correct procedure) and was told to proceed to the waiting area.

After 30 minutes, during which time I had to entertain my 3 year old in a very hot room surrounded by sick people (with no provision made for children), I went to the receptionist to ask what the situation was. I was then informed that my appointment was for Wednesday (the following day) at 15:00. The receptionist checked the screen and told me to wait for another 10 minutes as there was a free appointment that I could have.

Fifteen minutes later I was called back to the reception to discuss the situation with her colleague. This turned out to be the practice manager. I was informed in no uncertain terms that my appointment was for the following day, that I had made a mistake, and that was the end of the discussion. I protested and reassured them that the appointment was for Tuesday; I had checked in and the receptionist told me to go to the waiting area. They were not willing to accept this and insisted that I had made a mistake, even after I pointed out that I work on a Wednesday and was, therefore, unlikely to have made an appointment that I could not attend.

The manager was very surly and gave a grudging apology on behalf of the receptionist, but he clearly was not sorry and was merely trying to get rid of me.

I was very upset and left the surgery, in tears, after over 45 minutes of waiting and contacted my husband, who called the surgery.

He spoke to the office manager. He was initially told that it was my mistake and it, therefore, did not matter if I had waited for 45 minutes or 1 hour and 45 minutes, but eventually the manager admitted that the receptionist who made the booking must have made a mistake and this was compounded by the receptionist that checked me in as she should have seen the error and informed me. The manager did not know why I was told to wait as there were no available appointments.

My husband asked the office manager what he intended to do to rectify the situation and was told “nothing”. He asked if the surgery did home visits and was told they did, and so he booked a visit for 16:40 that evening. My husband then rushed home in order to be here when the doctor arrived, but the doctor did not come.

As a result of this we have not been seen and we will have to attempt to make an appointment for next week; due to the booking system I cannot call to book the appointment until Monday next week.

The PCT asked the office manager to reply, and he did.  Frankly his reply was a tissue of lies, clearly he had been involved in a totally different incident and it was all my wife's fault!  We decided to not pursue the matter any further as she was very distressed by the events and it was clear it would be his word against ours.  As he was intent on lying, nothing would come of it.

The second incident started when I attended the surgery on the 26th of July. 

I am self-employed and so I try and arrange my appointments in the morning as it disrupts my day the least.  A few days before my appointment I received a phone call asking me if I would mind moving the time from 9:15 to 16:45.  I said I did mind, but as I had no alternative I would move it.

I arrived at the surgery on time (having left my office at 15:45, thereby loosing 1 hour 45 minutes of work time) and went to the receptionist to check in.  I was told that I did not have an appointment and anyway Debbie was off sick.  I objected and said I DID have an appointment and was not happy about the situation.  I was faced by blank looks from ALL staff in the reception.  I asked what could be done about it and was told nothing.  When I pressed I was offered appointments with other nurses, all at least a weeks away.

I asked to speak to the office manager and was told he was on holiday and so I asked to speak to someone in a position of responsibility. 

Dr Laurence came out and was told by the reception staff that I had no appointment and had turned up incorrectly.  She told me that there was nothing that could be done, and that she was busy, and left.

I had no choice at this point but to take the offered appointment.  This was on the 14th of August at 9:15 (3 weeks later!).  This left me extremely upset.  I asked for the office manager to contact me upon his return.  David took my details and told me the manager would be back on the 30th.

I went to a local chemist, that I am friendly with, and was explaining what had happened (to make myself feel better) when another customer (that I had never met before, but had overheard me talking) said that he was not surprised; this appears to be a regular occurrence at this surgery and they, especially the office manager, have a reputation for being rude and unhelpful.  At this point several other customers all agreed.

On the 30th I had no call.  Several days later, I had no call.  Eventually I got fed up of waiting and called the surgery myself.

The office manager told me that there was no appointment on the system for me.  He could see the morning appointment, but that had been cancelled, and he could not see who by.  I asked him to investigate why the afternoon appointment had not been booked, and he reluctantly said he would.  He then promised to call me back.  I have received no call from him.  I then asked why he had not called me and he told me that he had not come back on the 30th and David had made a mistake telling me that that was when he came back (this did seem a bit odd as the 30th was a Monday, which would be a logical day to return to work).

The Plot Thickens.

When I came to see Debbie on the 14th of August I explained all this to her and that I was very upset by this.  I did not want to see a different nurse as Debbie was aware of my condition (and my Diabetes) and I wanted continuity of treatment. 

She looked on the booking system and found that indeed the 1st appointment had been cancelled (she could also see who had made the change!!), and the second appointment was on the system at the time that I said.  I was shown as a “no show” (if that is on my records I would like it removed).

She had been in her room and had been waiting for me (it was a 30 minute slot).  It is very rare for me to miss an appointment and she had wondered what had happened to me.

Debbie then asked me to document this in order that she can bring it to the practices attention.  The fact that they are gaining a bad reputation in the community is not something that should be taken lightly.  Not only has my time been wasted and my condition not treated for weeks, but a 30 minute appointment slot was also wasted (and we all know how rare they are).

Final Words

In case you are wondering, there have been other incidences of poor “customer” service at this surgery, but I have chosen to highlight these 2 as it would take too long to detail them all.

I have posted this on a public forum in order to give the practice a chance to respond.  But based on their past actions I do not think they will.

Solus

Hay Hay.

Just had a call from Mr Fentons Secretary.

I gave her a full description of the missing part and she is going to try and find one.

Progress?  We shall see.....

RE: [Cosma's Life] Voyager

Good morning Mr O’Halloran, 

As Group Customer Services Manager, perhaps you would like to get involved in this and assist in getting the issues resolved.  A summary can be found at http://cosmap.blogspot.com

Best Regards

Cosma Papouis

From: William O'Halloran [mailto:William.O'Halloran@solusarc.co.uk]
Sent: 07 August 2012 12:45
To: Gordon Fenton
Cc: cosma@papouis.net
Subject: FW: [Cosma's Life] Voyager

Hi Gordon

The attached e-mail was addressed to you

Kind Regards

William O'Halloran

Group Customer Services Manager

Solus Accident Repair Centres - Head Office

Tel: 07989 448373 | Fax: 01279 713701

Web: www.solusarc.co.uk

Email: William.O'Halloran@solusarc.co.uk

************************************************************************************** 

From: Cosma Papouis [mailto:cosma@papouis.net]
Sent: 07 August 2012 12:43
To: sales@solusarc.co.uk
Subject: FW: [Cosma's Life] Voyager

Hello,

I have just emailed Gorge Fenton, but his email seems to not be working.

Could you assist please.

Thanks

Please take look at http://cosmap.blogspot.com for a resume of what has (or has not) been happening.

Cosma Papouis

Voyager

Good morning Mr Fenton,

 I hope you had a nice holiday.

 I received the rubber bung in the post, thank you, and it fits.  Now all I need is the tow eye.

 After some research on the net I believe that it may be called a “Tie Down Eye” (or hook).  Other people seem to have them, but they do seem to be quite hard to source.

 I find it hard to believe that this has vanished in to the ether.  Surely it must be either in your workshop, the repairers workshop or the back of the lorry that brought the vehicle in to you.  Alternatively, as it was supplied by them, Chrysler must have one.

 I would appreciate your attention to this matter.

 Regards

________________________________

Cosma

www.papouis.net

cosmap.blogspot.com

P Please consider the environment

Save paper - do you really need to print this email?

Re: FW: Voyager

Dear Jamie, 

I have tried to contact Lee, but he does not respond.  I feel that everybody just want's shot of this and I am the one that is left with a part missing from my car.

I have never asked for a written apology, just an acknowledged that the car was returned in an unsafe condition.  And for the return of my tow eye (tie down).

Am I being unreasonable?  You tell me.

****************************************************************************

On 7 August 2012 09:50, <jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk> wrote:

Dear Mr Papouis,

I'm very sorry to hear this. As I did not hear anything further, I assumed your issues were being addressed. Below is the last correspondence I received from Gordon Fenton or anyone else at Solus regarding your issues. I would suggest you contact Gordon Fenton on the below telephone number if Lee his production manager has not been in contact. Further to this, I would suggest that any correspondence on the matter be escalated to our own complaints department at nuccare@aviva.co.uk

Regards

Jamie Edwards
PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

**************************************************************************** 

From: Gordon Fenton [mailto:gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 15:10

To: Jamie Edwards (Aviva UK)

Cc: Lee Dallard
Subject: RE: Voyager

Jamie

I am on holiday so Lee my production manager will be dealing with.

Kind Regards

Gordon Fenton

General Manager

Solus Accident Repair Centres - Solus Erith

Tel: 07970 159451 | Fax: 0208 3124803

Web: www.solusarc.co.uk

Email: gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk

 ****************************************************************************

From: Jamie Edwards (Aviva UK) [mailto:jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 12:10
To: Gordon Fenton
Subject: FW: Voyager

Dear Gordon,

I have been helping the PH with his issues and can see that you have written to him with a reasonable effort to address his issues, including sourcing the part and offering to have it fitted.

However, the PH it seems will not be happy until he gets a written or verbal apology for the dangerous condition he feels his vehicle was returned in.

Please could you let me know how you would feel about Solus making an apology for these issues.

Regards

Jamie Edwards

PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

 ****************************************************************************

From: Cosma
Sent: 12 July 2012 11:59

To: Jamie Edwards (Aviva UK)
Subject: RE: Voyager

Dear Jamie,

I am not an unreasonable person.  I accept that parts fail on fit, I have not made a big issue of the shock absorber, dangerous though that was.  All I want is my car, and all the elements thereof, returned to me as it was when it went to Solus.

·         I would like an acknowledgement that the vehicle was not safe.  It was returned in a dangerous condition and whoever did that work has been spoken to. 

·         I would like the missing "Tie Down Eye" or "Towing eye" or whatever they want to call it returned.  And possibly an acknowledgement that I have not been making it all up.

So far it just seems that I am an irritation and all everybody wants to do is brush this issue under the carpet.  In which case it makes me wonder how many other cars are driving around that have been poorly repaired and are potential death traps.

As an insurance company I would have thought that you would be slightly concerned as you will be paying when this stuff hits the courts.  Just think.  Had the break hose failed and the car crashed I hate to think about it and would just hope I had been driving at the time.  If my wife had been driving….

Do you (Aviva, not you personally) vet the companies that you use?  Or do you just go for the cheapest?  Surely the quality of the repairs done come in to the equation?

Regards

 ****************************************************************************

From: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk [mailto:jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 11:44
To: cosma
Subject: RE: Voyager

Dear Mr Papouis,

Having read the email from Gordon Fenton at Solus, I am satisfied that Solus have put you back into a similar position that you were in previously. The part has been sourced and will be fitted. The garage had sourced a like for like vehicle whilst your own vehicle was in for rectification work, and the garage provided a further MOT upon completion of this work. Clearly you are not happy with the response to the issues from Mr Fenton. At this stage, please could you advise me on how you would like the matter to be resolved and I can look into what can possibly be done.

Regards

Jamie Edwards

PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

RE: Voyager

Dear Jamie,

I am not an unreasonable person.  I accept that parts fail on fit, I have not made a big issue of the shock absorber, dangerous though that was.  All I want is my car, and all the elements thereof, returned to me as it was when it went to Solus.

·         I would like an acknowledgement that the vehicle was not safe.  It was returned in a dangerous condition and whoever did that work has been spoken to. 

·         I would like the missing “Tie Down Eye” or “Towing eye” or whatever they want to call it returned.  And possibly an acknowledgement that I have not been making it all up.

So far it just seems that I am an irritation and all everybody wants to do is brush this issue under the carpet.  In which case it makes me wonder how many other cars are driving around that have been poorly repaired and are potential death traps.

As an insurance company I would have thought that you would be slightly concerned as you will be paying when this stuff hits the courts.  Just think.  Had the break hose failed and the car crashed I hate to think about it and would just hope I had been driving at the time.  If my wife had been driving….

Do you (Aviva, not you personally) vet the companies that you use?  Or do you just go for the cheapest?  Surely the quality of the repairs done come in to the equation?

Regards

From: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk [mailto:jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 11:44
To:
Subject: RE: Voyager

Dear Mr Sir,

Having read the email from Gordon Fenton at Solus, I am satisfied that Solus have put you back into a similar position that you were in previously. The part has been sourced and will be fitted. The garage had sourced a like for like vehicle whilst your own vehicle was in for rectification work, and the garage provided a further MOT upon completion of this work. Clearly you are not happy with the response to the issues from Mr Fenton. At this stage, please could you advise me on how you would like the matter to be resolved and I can look into what can possibly be done.

Regards

Jamie Edwards

PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

Keeping you in the Loop

Hello Mr Dallard,

It strikes me that as Mr Fenton is away that I should probably forward this to you to keep you in the loop.

In Summary.

1.      Do please send me the rubber grommet, it may well be what has been lost

2.      I have done some research and it appears that the item that is missing is called a rear “Tie Down Eye” not a towing eye.  Perhaps you could see if Chrysler can supply that?

3.      I am not happy to brush under the carpet the fact that the brake hose, or connection elements, were fitted incorrectly.

Regards

________________________________

 

......    I Attached the last email for reference...  No point putting it here

Chrysler Returned in a Dangerous Condition!

My Response to an email from the accident repair specialists Solus.

Good morning Mr Fenton,

Please find my comments below…

From: Gordon Fenton [mailto:gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk]
Sent: 11 July 2012 17:27
To: <me>
Subject: RE: Voyager

Good afternoon Sir

Firstly thank you for taking the time to pass on the information to me as this is always useful when looking in to my customers concerns raised.

I understand how your wife must of felt as I too have been in a similar situation with my wife in an accident.  Reading through your concerns both regarding the recovery agent collecting your car and how it was delivered into us, I understand you had said to my staff that in your front tow eye securing bracket your vehicle had a rubber bung covering your thread. 

[CP] It was actually the rear one that was lost, along with the tow eye itself.

My understanding from speaking to my management staff they had spoken to our parts suppliers and said they have never supplied or fitted held this rubber grommet in stock.  I have also spoken to Marlborough another Chrysler dealer and they have also said they have never sold anything like it.

[CP] That does not mean that it has never existed or been lost. I have been doing some research on the matter and it transpires that the item may be called a Rear “Tie Down Eye” and not a Towing eye. Could you please see if your parts supplier can find one of those. Thanks.

But I am pleased to say I have myself found a grommet that I believe will fit in the thread I had a look and a friends PT Cruiser and he had a grommet in the front of his and he has allowed me to have his as he has disposed of his car.  If you would like to pop in I will leave it with Lee Dallard my production manager and he can see if it will fit as I believe the hole diameter is the same cross the range of vehicles, or if you would like it sent out just call the office and speak to Lee and he can arrange to get it in the post for you.

[CP] That is a good start, thanks. Could you please drop it in the post as it does seem to be a waste of fuel to come down there for a rubber grommet. Thanks again.

With regards to the two other concerns you had from presenting your car for Mot I’m sorry we had to have your vehicle back but on the first count with the shock absorber leaking this initial work was sub contracted out to the main dealer to replace the suspension part and has been carried out under their parts warranty failure process. 

[CP] Could you please let me know which main dealer.

I struggle to understand the testing station saying that the brake hose has been on the point of snapping as these are high pressure reinforced hoses and I cannot see how they can be fitted wrongly but I understand your concerns.

[CP] The hose was connected to a metal pipe that was clearly pointing in the wrong direction and was therefore stretching the hose. The hose itself may not have broken, but the connecting point to the metal pipe was under stress as was the point where the pipe connected to the break itself. It was clearly fitted incorrectly.

When we had your car back to correct your concerns we pushed to make sure we covered you with a like for like vehicle and also had taken care of getting an Mot carried out on your car when it came back from the dealer.

[CP] And I greatly appreciate that. But I would rather have not put you or myself to the inconvenience and simply had my car back, with all the bits it had when all this started, working and safe.

I would like to think we have now resolved any concerns and can now close this off if I can assist you in any other ways I will am now away from the business returning 30^th July on annual leave. 

[CP] Sorry, but No. All we have done is possibly replace a rubber grommet. It still leaves me without the towing (tie down) eye and has brushed under the carpet the fact that the car was returned in a dangerous condition. As I said before, I can accept that the shock leaked, parts do fail on fit, but the break pipe was clearly not installed correctly.

Kind Regards

Gordon Fenton
General Manager
Solus Accident Repair Centres - Solus Erith

Tel: 07970 159451 | Fax: 0208 3124803
Web: www.solusarc.co.uk
Email: gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk

Customer Service

Recently I have had a couple of not very good customer service experiences.  The interesting part is the way that the two companies have dealt with the situation.

Staples, after a slow start, reacted very well.  I was contacted by the support department and then by the store manager.  I was then sent some vouchers (cash value £50) to spend in store, by way of a sorry.  That was not necessary, but was appreciated, and will encourage me to return to the store.

Domino’s, on the other hand, said (in essence) “Tough Luck”.  The drivers can’t be made to read the special instructions, so maybe you want to use a different store (company). 

To add insult to injury, their customer services will not respond to my emails and their twitter person will not tweet back to me.

Good move Dominos, just bury your head in the sand and the problems will go away.

Funnily enough I did actually place another order with Dominos, after all this started – so you would think they would be on best behaviour.  The driver rang the bell (no surprise there) and managed to drive off without giving me the drink I had ordered.  I called the store and a very nicely turned out young lady (I am assuming a manager/supervisor…) came round, knocked on the window (shock horror!!) and gave me the missing drink.  I pointed out that she was nicely turned out as the drivers are normally quite scruffy, so she stood out in comparison.  She managed to read the special delivery instructions, why can’t the others?

I am currently making a complaint to a company called Solus, that Aviva use to repair cars.  They returned our car in a dangerous state and seem to want to brush it under the carpet.  So far their manager has ignored my emails, lets see how Aviva and Chrysler deal with this.

I may be coming across as a bit of a “Victor Meldrew”  but I do believe that we get the service we deserve.   Walking away just means that we loose the utility of the company in question and they loose a client.  Is it not better all round if they buck their idea’s up and we carry on using them?

If one of my clients complains to me I see it as a warning shot across the bow.  How can I know if I am dropping the ball if no one tells me.  I go out every day and work to the best of my abilities.  Sometimes I will miss the target, sometimes my staff will not deliver to the standards that I expect.  Let me know and I will address it, walk away and we all loose.

Dangerous Driving?

This is an email that I have just sent to the manager of a major (country wide) accident repair firm.  I want to know how our car was give back to us in such a dangerous condition and I want my tow eye back!   Is that too much to ask?

As always I will not name names, not even company ones, until they drop the ball.

Dear Sir,

First some background for you.

On the 13^th of February my wife unfortunately had a crash in our car.  She was rammed by someone that pulled out without looking and hit the right hand corner of our car.   I contacted the insurance company and they allocated the repair work to yourselves.

I went to the vehicle, removed our contents and waited for the repair truck.  This duly arrived (from <name removed>).

The driver decided to drag the car on to the back of his truck and to facilitate this he used one of the 2 towing hooks (eyes?) that the car had stored in the tool bay.

A few weeks later the car was returned to us, apparently repaired, but minus the towing eye and the rubber cover that covered the hole where it screws in.

I contacted <name removed> and pointed this out.  I was told it would be found or replaced.

Let’s now move forward to June.

I put the car in for its MOT.  You can imagine my surprise when it FAILED!!  The right hand  shock absorber was leaking (badly) and the brake hose was on the edge of snapping!  Had the shock collapsed or the brake hose snapped at any time while I or my wife were driving the car (usually with the children on-board) the car would probably have gone out of control, or at the very least been very hard (almost impossible) to stop (after all it is not a light car).

I returned the car to you and it has now been repaired and MOT’ed, the car is back but I am still missing the towing eye.

So why am I emailing you?

1^st, The car was given back to us in a dangerous condition.  Clearly the brake hose had been incorrectly installed. And this was not seen in pre dispatch checking. 

2^nd, While I accept that some parts fail, even though they are new, it is still disturbing that the shock went.

3^rd, Your service manager has offered to pay for a new towing eye, if I can find one.  My question is WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL.  It was on the car when I last saw it.  Presumably it was on the car when it was unloaded by <name removed>.  It must be either with you or them.  Why do I have to search for a replacement?

This whole issue seems to have been brushed under the carpet by your staff, and dismissed, but I hope you can see that sending a car out in that condition is not acceptable!  Loosing parts from a client’s car, however trivial the part is to you, is not acceptable.

My wife was shaken by the original accident.  This has just added to her anxiety about driving as the car that she felt safe in could have been a death-trap.

Feel free to call me on <My Mobile> or email me.  I do hope that we can reach a mutually agreeable solution.

Regards

I am actually very concerned that they could send a car out in that condition and that they have lost a part of my car.  Ok so the rear tow eye is not vital to day to day usage, but that is not the point.  Does it mean that I have to remove ALL removable items from my car every time it is in for a service; like the spare tyre, jack, spanner?  Do I have to get the car checked over by a third party every time I get it back from a service, just in case?

Incidentally, I have also mentioned all this to Aviva and Chrysler Customer Services (In Milan, now they are part of Fiat).  Lets see if they take it seriously.

Thanks for your concern Dominos

Well After the crappy response from the Eltham store owner I forwarded the email to Tracy at Dominos Customer Service.

She read it yesterday morning.

Your message
   To: Tracey Matthews <Tracey.Matthews@dominos.co.uk>
   Subject: FW: Dominos Customer Service Ref: 15957 28154 London - Eltham Delivery Area/Drivers
   Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 11:44:13 PM (UTC) Greenwich Mean Time : Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
was read on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 7:15:15 AM (UTC) Greenwich Mean Time : Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London.

and promptly ignored it.

Thanks Dominos, epic fail!

I have forwarded all my communications, including this one, to

comments@dominos.co.uk,
dominos_feedback@btinternet.com,
DomComplaintManagement@dominos.co.uk << This one does not work, so not sure why they send email from it. Maybe that is how they manage complaints?   Or maybe Dominos have more problems with their IT than just inability to design an interface.

Late Night Response to Dominos

Well <Name Removed at Mo>, I think you can now see the problem.

The management in Eltham do not care about their customers!

I ask again.  Why have a “Special Delivery Instructions” box on the website if the stores cannot be bothered to read it.

Frankly I am lost for words at the moment.

Aha. Domino’s Answer… “Go Somewhere Else”

Nice bit of customer service!!

From: Domino's Pizza [mailto:dominos_feedback@btinternet.com]
Sent: 25 June 2012 23:02
To: cosmap
Subject: Re: Dominos Customer Service Ref: 15957 28154 London - Eltham Delivery Area/Drivers

Dear Cosma,

Thank you for your email last week regarding the ongoing issue you have had with drivers from my Eltham store missing the special delivery instructions on your orders. I am sorry that despite our very best efforts in the store and following numerous conversations between you and my team, we have not been able to resolve this for you.

We aim to provide great service and we hate to disappoint any customers. Following further discussions with the team in my Eltham store, I am sorry to advise you that we do not feel there is anything further we can do from a store point of view to guarantee for certain that a driver will not ring your doorbell. We have already suggested calling the store to order and explain your instructions or to put a note on your doorbell, in addition to the notice we have put up in our staff room and unfortunately, we feel there is nothing else we can do. To this end, I’m sorry to say that we feel that as this is a crucial part of your delivery, you would be best to either collect your pizzas from the store (we will obviously give you a good carry out deal) or order your pizzas elsewhere as you suggest.

I hope you can understand our reasons behind this, your children’s sleep is obviously crucial and although we hate losing customers and this has been a very difficult decision, we just feel this is the best option.

Best wishes,

Nij enterprises ltd Ta Dominos Pizza

Eltham Domino’s does not seem to be interested in Customers

Nothing from the Franchisee in Eltham.

Just an email from Domino’s

Dear Sir

My sincerest apologies for the lack of correspondence from the franchisee of the Eltham store.

I have now passed your details directly over to our Operations Department here at Head Office who will speak with the franchisee and ensure that they do contact you to discuss this issue in more detail as promised.

We will be discussing the problems with your order directly with the franchisee and we will do everything in our power to make sure this does not happen again.

We will also be addressing the way that your complaint has been handled by the franchisee and the fact that he did not contact you as he advised. We would like to assure you that we did not find this acceptable and we will be taking steps to make sure that does not happen again.

Once again my apologies for the complete lack of customer care you have experienced on this occasion and please do not hesitate to contact me again should there be no further contact from the franchisee.

<Name Removed>

Customer Service Co-Ordinator
<Name Removed>@dominos.co.uk
www.dominos.co.uk
facebook.com/DominosPizza
twitter.com/Dominos_UK

Well at least they are trying.  But this does sum up the attitude in Eltham.  Just say whatever to the client to keep him happy at the time and then ignore it.

Must be a busy shop so s/he does not care about loosing the odd client, especially one that is a pain.

Wonder how many people have voted with their feet and have simply not returned to Domino’s?

I actually like their products, and would like to resolve this to my satisfaction so I can carry on eating their pizza. 

Nuff said..

My Reply to Dominos

Many thanks for your attention to this matter.  I am sorry to say that I do not hold out much hope.  I have spoken to people that purport to be the store manager several times (in fact every time they RING THE BELL).

I have been promised, repeatedly, that they will tell the drivers to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.  I have been promised that they will put up a “special notice” in the staff room.  But it still happens.

As I have said before (please refer to http://cosmap.blogspot.com) I was told that the place where the drivers see the address that they are going to does not display the “special instructions” information.  This seems to me, as an IT Professional and User Interface specialist, to be a very poor design.

I shall look forward to hearing from the franchisee, although it has now been 2 days and I have heard nothing so far.  Perhaps s/he does not find this matter as important as you or I (which would explain why it keeps on happening).

Well I hope you have a nice weekend and my mobile is always on.

Regards

Dominos Customer Service Responds

Dear Sir
We are sorry that your recent experience of our London - Eltham store was not up to the high standard you should expect from any Domino's store.
At Domino's Pizza our aim is to provide 100% customer satisfaction, so it greatly concerns us when any aspect of our service or product doesn't meet our customers' expectations.  We appreciate all feedback and would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to address this matter.

Domino's is a franchised business and our franchisees feel it is very important that they own the relationship with their customers. To this end, I have passed the details of your complaint directly over to the franchisee of this store and they will contact you soon to resolve this issue. Our franchisees know that all feedback is the key to improving their businesses and finding out about any ongoing issues.

If at any point you are unsatisfied with the response from the franchisee, or if we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards
DomComplaintManagement
Customer Concerns
<Name>@dominos.co.uk

An Open Letter to Dominos Pizza

Dear Dominos Customer Service,

Yet again your driver has failed to read the delivery instructions.  What is the point of having "Special Instructions" when the driver NEVER reads them.

The store manager tells me that the system that the drivers look at to provide them the addresses does not show the special delivery instructions.  And they clearly NEVER read the delivery note.

You need to either
a, Modify the screens so that this information is shown, or
b, Train the drivers better, or
c, Remove that option from the order screen!  If I can't ask for it I cannot be annoyed about not getting it!

Your Manager did suggest that I phone my orders in.  But, as I pointed out to him, If I am going to phone it in I may as well use the Pizza Hut that is at the end of my road.  I use Dominoes because of the utility of the web site and the lack of AMBIGUITY.  I order what I want and I get it. Which is also why I am doubly annoyed!!!

I am in IT.  I have a degree in user interface design.  I am more than happy to consult with you to improve the systems that you are using in order to make sure that the appropriate people get the appropriate information.

Call me.

All joking apart  I am severely annoyed, I have two kids in bed and your drivers do their best to wake them up every time I use you.

I would like a call from someone senior with whom I can discuss this matter.  My number is <Mobile Number> and my email address is <Email Address>

This message has been posted publically and I will be publically posting your responses.

Regards

<Me>

The end of the Staples road

Had a phone call this morning from someone (name with held) who said he was the Manager at the Old Kent Road Branch of Staples.

Basically he apologised and acknowledged all that I have said.  He thinks he knows who the offending member of staff is and will be having a word. He also offered to send me some discount vouchers to tempt us back in the store.

Guess that is the end of this line.

I know this all seems like a pointless exercise but, in the long run, if more people start to do the same (complain), we may get better customer service.  Businesses cannot afford to annoy the customer (especially one that pays cash) as most people will just vote with their feet and not come back.   The way I see it I am doing businesses a favour. This way they get the chance to mend the ways of errant staff and win a customer back.

The next thing that needs addressing is the English inability to complain when they are wronged.  It does not need to be a shouting match.  As the Irish say “Speak quietly, and carry a big stick”.  The internet gives us all a tool to voice our annoyance and bring big companies to task. 

The next step from here would have been to look at site such as http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Staples or many of the other public forums to get it out there.  If they do not react then you can!  Any way….

Not much else to say on the subject really.  Shame it took so long, but we got there in the end.

Some progress with Staples

This morning I decided to give staples a call.
I spoke to a chap on their Store Customer Services number.  In keeping with my policy of not naming the innocent I shall not put his details here.
He said that he had responded to my initial comment.
And after some digging I found this.
From : customerservices@staples.co.uk    <<<  Generic Address Which is why I thought it was machine generated.
Dear Cosma,
Thank you for your email and for taking the time to fill in our customer service survey, your comments are appreciated and will be passed onto the store for their information and improvement.
Kind Regards
<Name Removed>
Customer Services
Staples UK Retail Ltd
Followed by a partial transcript of my responses.  My comments were missing.
Then I got a bog standard template email from generic addresses.  This came from the comments box on their website as follows….
From: Retail@online.staples.co.uk
Your comments have been passed to our Stores Customer Service
Team and you will receive a response shortly.
Please do not reply to this email.
Should you require any further assistance pleasec ontact us via our web
site,  http://www.staples.co.uk. Alternatively please email customersupport@online.staples.co.uk and one of our dedicated
representatives will be available Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.
Kind regards
STAPLES  DIRECT
Why not follow us on Twitter for Customer Service offers and more! https://twitter.com/XXXXXXXX
The last line is quite funny.  Why would I want to follow your twitter account if I am annoyed?  Good thing I am not a Troll.  Oh, I love the typo.
Today I have received 2 emails From humans at last.  Progress?
From : customerservices@staples.co.uk <<< Generic Address
Dear Cosma,
Following on from our telephone conversation today, I have cut and pasted your blog and will pass it on to our complaints team.
Kind Regards
<Name Removed>
Customer Services
Staples UK Retail Ltd
****************************************************************************
From : customerservices@staples.co.uk <<< Generic Address
Dear Sir/Madam,
I was extremely sorry to receive your email regarding the poor service you received from our Old Kent Road store.
At Staples it is our aim to provide the best customer service at all times and it appears the store has fallen below the standards we set as a company.
I have passed your complaint to the District Manager, for investigation and resolution.
Please can you advise me of a contact number for you to enable our District Manager to contact you personally to apologise.
It is only by receiving feedback from customers like yourself that companies are made fully aware of any problems and are then in a position to resolve them. Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to bring this matter to my attention.
If you have any further queries or this is not resolved to your satisfaction, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Kind Regards
<Name Removed>
So I have managed to speak to one person.  Got 1 Real email and 3 template emails.  All from generic addresses.  Lets now hope that I start to get some real people on the line.
Incidentally….
We needed some bits today.  Another £100 cash.  This time it went to a competitor.  I realise that £300 is peanuts on the grand scheme of things, but we are constantly buying bits and pieces and all the pennies soon make pounds!

Staples Customer Service

I like to think of myself as an easy customer.  I generally know what I want.  All the customer service representative has to do is convince me I have made the right choice and take my money.

Today I went to Staples to buy a networked hard drive for a client.

I knew the model I wanted and the price I wanted to pay.

We walked into the store (myself, my client and his assistant) and noticed, as soon as we walked through the door, one member of staff berating another.

We were ignored by everyone, but luckily we saw the item we wanted.  It happened to be at a good price so I took an empty box to the counter.  This is where the fun starts…

The person was still having a go at her colleague and we had some effort to get her attention.  She stomped over to us, snatched the empty box and stomped off, without saying where she was going.

The young lady that was being berated was left to smile at us, some what embarrassed.  I asked if the other lady was having a bad day and if there was a manager about.  Apparently that was the manager!!

The manager returned with the product and unceremoniously dumped it in front of me.  I opened the box to confirm what was in it.  I wanted to make sure that if I needed anything (cable, UK plug) we purchased it then and there.  The manager was not best impressed and scowled at me as I checked.  As luck would have it all the elements I needed were in the box

My client gave the manager the correct amount in cash (£199) only to be told that the unit was £239.  We pointed out that the shelf said it was £199.   After quizzing me if I was sure it was £199 she was not convinced and made a performance of stomping over the shelf to prove me wrong. She grabbed 1 of the 2 extra large shelf labels checking something on the back of the label and comparing it to the product.  Mumbling some comments under her breath (I did not catch what she said) she stomped back to the counter and made a “Managers Override”.  Displaying zero good grace.

We were all keen to get out of there, but my customer did want to explain to her how unimpressed he was with her attitude.  I also told her that were it not for the fact that we needed the device we would have walked out and purchased it elsewhere.  She acknowledged our comments, but did not apologise.  Clearly she did not really care.

In times like this, when jobs and customers are hard to come by, I would have thought that a shop would have been happy for a £199 sale, CASH (a card would have incurred processing fees), in less than 5 minutes with very little sales effort required.

I filled in Staples online questionnaire, they did not get a good rating, and will be interested if they reply.  

Whether I or my customer will be using Staples again remains to be seen.  I certainly will not be going back to the Old Kent Road store.

A bit of management level customer support training required I think.

Open Letter to Kwik-Fit

To whom it may concern.
I just had a puncture fixed by Kwik-Fit.  The price of £21.50! was excessive, but I had no choice at the time or else I would have gone elsewhere.
The experience started badly as the fitter just HAD to look at some amusing content on his colleagues iPhone before dealing with my tyre.  I did point this out to the chaps in the office, but they were not interested and seemed to think that keeping a customer waiting was ok. 
I was shocked when I got the bill to see the breakdown.  I neither asked for nor wanted "Nitrogen inflation" or a "New Inflation Valve".  That would have saved me £6.50.  £15 is still steep for a puncture repair!
This just strikes me as gross profiteering.  I know for a fact that my local tyre shop charges £10 for a puncture repair.
I am shocked and disappointed that you would take advantage of customers in this way.  If you must add extra services to a simple request then you should inform the customer BEFORE so they can choose NOT to have them.  As I said, I did not want "Nitrogen inflation" and there was nothing wrong with the valve (I have difficulty believing a valve costs more than £1).
I take it that you price promise your work.  What documentation do you need in order to prove that other businesses charge a reasonable amount?
Regards
An annoyed customer

IT Knowledge

<soap box mode>

Over the past few years, as computer technology has been invading it's way in to just about everybody's life, there has always been one thing that has never ceased to amaze me.

I cannot understand why it is still socially acceptable, in fact almost encouraged in some circles, for people to be proud of the fact that they are totally Technologically inept!

The has been a conversation on one of the Mensa lists I belong too, during which one lady was happy to declare that she did not know her own phone number and another (supposedly tech savvy) person did not know how a phone number should be formatted (trivial, but an indication of the lack of respect this kind of knowledge holds).  I ask you, what other area do you find people proudly declaring their ignorance?

I have noticed, in my interactions with friends etc, that not many kids (in my social circle) are doing any form of technical subject.  Those that are doing "Computers" seem to spend more time learning how to write a word document and make pretty pictures, than they do learning how to actually PROGRAM a computer.  I am glad to see that the government is finely waking up to this   http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/10/computer-skills-ed-vaizey   the question is "Will the rest of us wake up, before we are left too far behind to catch up"?  

The Empire and the UK's good times, were built on manufacturing.  We have thrown that away and seem to be in the process of throwing the hi tech business.  This country has had some great inventors in the past.  Why are we not trying to train the inventors of the future?  Why are kids at school not being told that  programming is creative and "artistic".  Designing and building a "thing" and then making it work, thus solving an issue or achieving a goal, is incredibly satisfying (and "creative").

This is an episode from a podcast I listen too about this subject.  The guy starts by talking about a "Portable dog Killer" (don't panic, the name is more dramatic than the device) and then goes on to discuss the need to encourage innovation and development of new "stuff"  http://media.grc.com/SN/sn-281-lq.mp3   it is well worth a listen.

After WW2 we threw away an early lead in Computing.  Let's not let the rest of the world crush us in the stampede to the future, while we sit around twiddling our thumbs and drawing pretty pictures.

"There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what the heck happened". Philosopher Dr Friedrick Nietzsche. 

</soap box mode>

________________________________

Cosma
www.papouis.net
P Please consider the environment
Save paper - do you really need to print this email?
Save electricity - do you really need to send this email?
Save your own energy - do you really need to read this email?