Why are companies so incompetent?

[TCR4x4]

I ordered a lenspen sensorklear loupe from a well known photographic shop. It arrived today, pretty quickly. I opened it up and it was clear from the outset that it had been used before. There were fingerprints all over it. On the top element, there is a massive smudge from a thumb and the whole unit is covered in dust, completely defeating the object of the device. As you look through the hole, the bottom element is covered in dust spots. How are you supposed to clean your sensor when the device you are using to show the dust is itself completely covered?

Despite this I pressed on and removed the battery cover as per the instructions and am greeted by a powdery mess where one of the batteries has leaked and completely ruined the battery compartment rendering the device unusable. I suspect the device has been left switched on, as the button was in the on position according to the manual.

I find it unacceptable that companies think they can send out used goods as new when you order online. This isnt the first time its happened. Im sure they know its too much hassle to send the thing back, and most people dont bother.

What ****es me off more is they are going to expect me to walk to a post office to send it back, of which Im physically unable to do at the moment. The buggers can arrange a courier to come collect it off me if they want it back after I get a refund.

I am absolutely sick of businesses in this country thinking they can treat you like dirt and provide sub standard services. No wonder this countries economy is going down the pan. I can order something from Hong Kong, for less money, with better service and the item will be as described, not some shoddy second hand overpriced junk.

I'll await their reply via email before naming, lets hope their service is better in this respect, because if it isn't, someone may get a sore ear today. Im really not in the mood to be messed around.

 

[scottthehat]

thats bad service, keep us up to date, miht be worth a phone call as that seems to work better.

 

[TCR4x4]

I would phone now, but Im so angry. I need to bite my tongue and calm down a bit.

Just sick of being treated like dirt by UK companies, they don't seem to have any respect for the customer anymore and just ship out stuff that's been brought back faulty before without so much of a hint of guilt or conscience.

I know not all are like this, but sadly the majority seem to be now. It should be the other way around.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Name and shame anyway, even if they do provide a replacement still can't escape the fact they sent you a load of old tat

 

[TCR4x4]

True, reading some reviews it seems its not the first time they have sent out obvious returned goods. Wish I'd read them before I bought.

Its fotosense.

 

[Herethere]

That is very bad - but so many companies do this now. Get returns, send back out. Have had so many things from another very large shop which are clearly now new and been sent back

 

[sonny]

I had an item "repaired". On opening the parcel, I knew it definately wasn't repaired as there was a massive crack on one side! I jotted down my thoughts on a letter and sent it to them. Many emails followed and it took a month to solve.

On a national level, the Government doesn't have any major sources of income, so they sell off assets and squeeze as much as they can out of their own departments/consumers (fuel costs, for example). Consumer spending power decreases, so private companies have to think of ways to reduce costs/make profits, otherwise face closure. This results (in many cases) non-existent customer service.

 

[Merlin]

I had an item "repaired". On opening the parcel, I knew it definately wasn't repaired as there was a massive crack on one side! I jotted down my thoughts on a letter and sent it to them. Many emails followed and it took a month to solve.

On a national level, the Government doesn't have any major sources of income, so they sell off assets and squeeze as much as they can out of their own departments/consumers (fuel costs, for example). Consumer spending power decreases, so private companies have to think of ways to reduce costs/make profits, otherwise face closure. This results (in many cases) non-existent customer service.

A convincing argument for using small local photography shops. It's worth paying the extra sometimes

 

[wegotitugetit]

i have this problem got my iphone replaced yesterday from O2 and yes i am naming and shaming them becuase they have treated me like crap wont be going back again with them

anyway the new phone they sent out doesnt ****ing work it is fubared and all they said is we will replace it on monday or go into the o2 shop and they will send it away for repair
what bloody good is that to me sending it away



my wife has only 12 weeks till our 1st child comes along and if anything happens i will flip my lid with o2


anyway turns out my signal problem , hence why it got replaced in the 1st place seems to be o2 fault and they are disconnecting me and reconnecting me why could they not figure this out earlier

it has been months now

unless i get some good compo wont be there when the contract runs out

 

[smartidog]

I can order something from Hong Kong, for less money, with better service and the item will be as described, not some shoddy second hand overpriced junk.
.

Would like to agree with you on that but it is a very topical subject for us at the moment. My 12 year old son saved up for a fair while and the topped it up with his xmas money to buy a r/c car, found one that he really liked from Hong Kong, described as strong fast and durable, "you can crash this car and it will just keep going, rugged construction, etc...etc",£90-ish. Waited for 2 weeks for it to turn up, fair enough, charged battery that night ready to take out next day after school, which he did, 3 minutes.....yes 3 minutes later it was broken, I repaired it that night, just one of those things perhaps, but no every time he took it out something else has gone wrong, other bits breaking, shock absorbers coming apart, motor jamming, the "wear resistant" tyres are all worn out, all this after just one week of daylight limited use.

Now I have the hassle of arguing with the seller in H/K, sending it back and hopefully getting a refund, at least if I had got it local I could have gone and shaken somebody and got it sorted easier.

Obviously I agree that your situation is completely unsatisfactory, and their should be better buyer protection for online transactions, but Hong Kong is not necessarily any better.:shrug:

 

[TCR4x4]

A convincing argument for using small local photography shops. It's worth paying the extra sometimes

My only small local shops are Jessops or LCE. And as I said in my post, Im unable to get to either of them, as I'm stuck in the house for another few weeks. Thats if they even stock them, which is unlikely.

Thankfully I paid by PayPal, so if they do try and play silly buggers, Ill just start a claim through them and I'm pretty much guaranteed to get a refund.
The point is though, I shouldn't have to.
I don't want to buy stuff from HK, I want to buy it here, But I want good service and items that are brand new when sold that way.

Its becoming increasingly common for UK shops to screw you over anyway they can, and before long, people will just stop using them, and they the whole country will be in the poo again.

 

[TCR4x4]

Obviously I agree that your situation is completely unsatisfactory, and their should be better buyer protection for online transactions, but Hong Kong is not necessarily any better.:shrug:

The likes of Digital REV and others seem to have a very good service record and turnaround time. Obviously you will always get bad companies in any country, but it seems increasingly common here. Ive ordered stuff on the same day from HK and the UK, and the stuff from HK arrives first. How is that even possible? Because the UK sellers don't give a damn.

 

[Beardy]

When shopping online I always use Amazon even if they are a bit more expensive. Their customer service is brilliant....in a case like this you just go on the website, say you want to return it and why and because they are at fault a courier will come and pick it up from you at home next day.

 

[Merlin]

My only small local shops are Jessops or LCE. And as I said in my post, Im unable to get to either of them, as I'm stuck in the house for another few weeks. Thats if they even stock them, which is unlikely.

Thankfully I paid by PayPal, so if they do try and play silly buggers, Ill just start a claim through them and I'm pretty much guaranteed to get a refund.
The point is though, I shouldn't have to.
I don't want to buy stuff from HK, I want to buy it here, But I want good service and items that are brand new when sold that way.

Its becoming increasingly common for UK shops to screw you over anyway they can, and before long, people will just stop using them, and they the whole country will be in the poo again.

Good luck with it

I wasn't replying to you though as I implied by quoting the person I was replying to

 

[TCR4x4]

Weird. Your quote didn't show up on my phone.

 

[smartidog]

Ive ordered stuff on the same day from HK and the UK, and the stuff from HK arrives first. How is that even possible? Because the UK sellers don't give a damn.

Yes have had the same experience Tom, and I do think that some uk sellers don't give a damn, perhaps the internet has made then so busy that customer service has gone by the wayside?.

 

[Herethere]

When shopping online I always use Amazon even if they are a bit more expensive. Their customer service is brilliant....in a case like this you just go on the website, say you want to return it and why and because they are at fault a courier will come and pick it up from you at home next day.

yes they are good. BUT they are the same and send out things which people have sent back. eg a kindle I recently got was full of fingerprints and greasy ones at that!

 

[Mandoo]

Hope you get it sorted, Tom.

Surely it shouldn't be difficult for these companies (no matter how big or small) to offer very basic customer service? There should be absolutely no way that returned stock gets anywhere near the new stock, and it most definitely shouldn't be getting sent out to customers.

 

[nikonuser]

Hope you get it sorted quickly Tom, never used Fotosense until last week when I ordered a B+W ND 10 stop it arrived quickly and was sealed so brand new.

 

[nweststeyn]

my wife has only 12 weeks till our 1st child comes along and if anything happens i will flip my lid with o2

Dude you probably shouldn't be relying on O2 for your families prenatal care. If you pop down to your local hospital or health centre they should be able to help you a little more effectively.

:bonk:

 

[snigg]

yes they are good. BUT they are the same and send out things which people have sent back. eg a kindle I recently got was full of fingerprints and greasy ones at that!

I'm not saying you are wrong but finger prints on a kindle is hardly proof it was used,how do you think it's made and packed? I'm thinking by people, and some may have greasy fingers.

 

[Herethere]

I'm not saying you are wrong but finger prints on a kindle is hardly proof it was used,how do you think it's made and packed? I'm thinking by people, and some may have greasy fingers.

it had been used as it never had the welcome screen the replacement had either....The plastic cover protecting screen loose in box too

 

[TCR4x4]

Surely packers in electronics factories dont handle goods with bare hands?

 

[Herethere]

Surely packers in electronics factories dont handle goods with bare hands?

shock horror! Nah it was clearly used....thats the Distance Selling regs for you though!

 

[snigg]

Surely packers in electronics factories dont handle goods with bare hands?

if this is the same company that is said to be sending out used stuff then it's not such a leap to say they could have other sloppy pratices such as no gloves or low paid staff that didn't bother wearing them that day.

 

[TCR4x4]

shock horror! Nah it was clearly used....thats the Distance Selling regs for you though!

I was referring to Snigg, who seemed to think stuff comes out of the factory with fingerprints. I wouldnt have thought so, thus meaning your Kindle had been used.

 

[TCR4x4]

if this is the same company that is said to be sending out used stuff then it's not such a leap to say they could have other sloppy pratices such as no gloves or low paid staff that didn't bother wearing them that day.

I doubt the people who ship Amazons stuff are involved in anyway with the manufacturing of a product with their name on it.

 

[Herethere]

I was referring to Snigg, who seemed to think stuff comes out of the factory with fingerprints. I wouldnt have thought so, thus meaning your Kindle had been used.

Oh ok thanks

 

[snigg]

I doubt the people who ship Amazons stuff are involved in anyway with the manufacturing of a product with their name on it.

I think you see my point,if ANY company can send out a used product as new,then if you believe that, then surely you could also believe that another company OR the same one could just as easily handle a product without gloves.

 

[Herethere]

The Distance selling regs mean you can "try" things at home and then send back. They are not faulty and I do believe that these items are sent out again

 

[snigg]

The Distance selling regs mean you can "try" things at home and then send back. They are not faulty and I do believe that these items are sent out again

true,you can test them as you would in store,just to end this as I see that the small point I was trying to make is not being taken as that,I too have a Kindle and understand that they are setup before shipping and that the volume these were getting ordered the setups on some were not done or rushed,they were to arrive with the buyers account details already loaded,which I guess would mean handling them after being made,which could easily have resulted in some getting finger prints,but your later posts then when on to point out other reasons you believedito was used,my comment was based on the comment the kindle had "finger prints".

 

[mastertrinity]

Does anyone watch that Mary Portas Secret Shopper? I think we should get her into the camera shops because companies moan about us buying imported gear from Hong Kong because it's cheap and they want us to pay extra for apparently great customer service but instead they treat us like crap.

They try and get the upper hand and treat it like they don't need the custom but you need them when in fact it's the other way round. The only place I've found good customer service is the two local Jessops (Tamworth and Birmingham) and ok customer service from Jacobs (Birmingham) however it's a mixed bag with these two companies as you notice from the rants and raves on here. Some branches are great and some aren't but one bad branch reflects on the company as a whole and they need to sort themselves out.

If I could get into Jessops management and help them get a better customer service (like Mary Portas) then I would jump to the chance because alot of these places are disgusting.

 

[snigg]

sorry but Mary portas has lost my respect,her new show is crap,she moans for a while then gives the store a make over,like CSL in the show or fonehose will change anything on their selling tactics,the csl guy was too happy with his Rolex and the Fonehose guy with his flash car and dyed hair,but they did get loads of free air time and a make over,job done Mary we can shop better now.

I agree tho,but I guess paying some school leaver the min wage and expecting them to value their job and give good service is not going to happen,I have very little experience of other countries but I doubt that we are much different then the rest of the world if not much better than many.

 

[TCR4x4]

I might have been lucky, but even when |Ive been abroad and not in the typical touristy places, Ive had excelnet service. I was in Poland a few years back and the Mrs was shopping in H&M over there. The checkout girl barely spoke English, but we got a smile, and a thankyou. We then went to a coffee shop where the girl spoke no English, but again, we got a friendly hello(in Polish), a smile and a goodbye.

How often do you buy something in a shop here and the person on the checkout doesnt even look at you, just continues chatting to her mate about how wasted they got the night before.

 

[snigg]

I might have been lucky, but even when |Ive been abroad and not in the typical touristy places, Ive had excelnet service. I was in Poland a few years back and the Mrs was shopping in H&M over there. The checkout girl barely spoke English, but we got a smile, and a thankyou. We then went to a coffee shop where the girl spoke no English, but again, we got a friendly hello(in Polish), a smile and a goodbye.

How often do you buy something in a shop here and the person on the checkout doesnt even look at you, just continues chatting to her mate about how wasted they got the night before.

I agree there are some real bad sales people but there are some good too,to compare a holiday experience to a life time of experience in your home country is unfair,on my first trip to Germany the taxi driver pulled out a gun when the police pulled us over,so do I now think Germany is fulll of crazy taxi drivers,no I guess it was a one off,your polish shop assistant maybe smiled as you were a break from the same old she deals with all day,if you had a problem and she had to go out of her way to help and you were the bog standard punter then maybe the smile would have been less,you seem to have a real problem with the UK,I really think you need to experience other counties on the same level before you keep slagging the UK, when it really is not a justified.

 

[TCR4x4]

,I really think you need to experience other counties on the same level before you keep slagging the UK, when it really is not a justified.

When did I say I was on holiday? Ive experienced plenty of countries on the same level, and most are far superior the UK when it comes to face to face customer service.

Maybe you shouldnt jump to conclusions about my experiences.

 

[Mandoo]

I might have been lucky, but even when |Ive been abroad and not in the typical touristy places, Ive had excelnet service. I was in Poland a few years back and the Mrs was shopping in H&M over there. The checkout girl barely spoke English, but we got a smile, and a thankyou. We then went to a coffee shop where the girl spoke no English, but again, we got a friendly hello(in Polish), a smile and a goodbye.

How often do you buy something in a shop here and the person on the checkout doesnt even look at you, just continues chatting to her mate about how wasted they got the night before.

I don't think this is down to retail alone, I think its just the general bad manners that people have these days.
I run a cinema and we often hold the doors to the screen open when we are letting an audience in. I counted the amount of thank you's I got when I did this for a sold out showing of 310 people and it was a staggering 4. I think that's disgraceful and if people are like that in their normal lives, that's obviously going to transfer into business. I've got all sorts of tales I could tell about people being rude at the cinema, but that's for a different forum!
I think its become more and more common to get bad service in any industry or to meet rude people or whatever, but it also seems to become more accepted. A lot of people won't do anything about it.

 

[TCR4x4]

I don't think this is down to retail alone, I think its just the general bad manners that people have these days.
I run a cinema and we often hold the doors to the screen open when we are letting an audience in. I counted the amount of thank you's I got when I did this for a sold out showing of 310 people and it was a staggering 4. I think that's disgraceful and if people are like that in their normal lives, that's obviously going to transfer into business. I've got all sorts of tales I could tell about people being rude at the cinema, but that's for a different forum!
I think its become more and more common to get bad service in any industry or to meet rude people or whatever, but it also seems to become more accepted. A lot of people won't do anything about it.

Well I always say thankyou if anyone holds a door for me, and I make it damn well known if I hold one open for someone and they dont say thankyou.

 

[snigg]

When did I say I was on holiday? Ive experienced plenty of countries on the same level, and most are far superior the UK when it comes to face to face customer service.

Maybe you shouldnt jump to conclusions about my experiences.

maybe if you come across as grumpy in real as you do in these posts then that could explain the service to receive.:thumbsdown:

 

[TCR4x4]

Yes because ordering something online really brings your grumpiness to the attention of the shop staff doesnt it! I must have deserved to be sent used and broken goods because I pressed that checkout button with such fury.

I have every right to be grumpy because Im fed up of shoddy service.
Im guessing you work in a shop, otherwise you might perhaps have a different view.