*flexes fingers* Right, now we've got the setting up of this blog out of the way, lets get down to business...
Home deliveries - why are they such a pain in the proverbial? Order something online, read the t&c's, note the ecommerce trust badges, hit the checkout. Cool. Ah, but then the real world kicks in. Is it actually in stock? Maybe. Is the delivery to be made at a reasonable time? Possibly. Do you actually get the product ordered? Usually. What happens when these actualities actually fail - you end up on hold on the line of infinite Celine Dion loopy tunes waiting for the "next available operator" to deign to answer your query from their comfortable dungeon of a call centre.
"My radiator that I ordered from you has got a hole in it"
"Your order number please sir?"
"umm, 596464xxxx"
"Sorry sir, that should start with a 1"
*re-examines printout*
"No, it quite clearly starts with a five"
"That's not possible sir..."
*bile rises at the thought that my eyes are in fact damned liars*
"Could you put me through to someone who can make it possible...?"
So he tells me eventually that a replacement would be sent to me the next day. After picking myself up off the floor and asking him to verify this, I start to think that maybe he's not so bad after all.
"The delivery will be with you between 8am and 1pm"
Cue me spending an entire day (the next day) waiting for said delivery. Come 2pm I get on the blower and ask what's happened.
"Sorry sir but we need to assess the fault with the product first"
"But the operator assured me it would be here today"
"I'm sorry but there is nothing on the system to indicate this. You'll get a call within 48 hrs about it and then we will arrange a new delivery time"
This is a somewhat foreshortened transcription of the call, but you get the message.
Now as I type this it is beyond 48 hrs since I logged the call and at least 96 hrs since the fault was first raised with them (my wife made the first attempt!).
Excuse me while I go off and kick something...
Home deliveries - why are they such a pain in the proverbial? Order something online, read the t&c's, note the ecommerce trust badges, hit the checkout. Cool. Ah, but then the real world kicks in. Is it actually in stock? Maybe. Is the delivery to be made at a reasonable time? Possibly. Do you actually get the product ordered? Usually. What happens when these actualities actually fail - you end up on hold on the line of infinite Celine Dion loopy tunes waiting for the "next available operator" to deign to answer your query from their comfortable dungeon of a call centre.
"My radiator that I ordered from you has got a hole in it"
"Your order number please sir?"
"umm, 596464xxxx"
"Sorry sir, that should start with a 1"
*re-examines printout*
"No, it quite clearly starts with a five"
"That's not possible sir..."
*bile rises at the thought that my eyes are in fact damned liars*
"Could you put me through to someone who can make it possible...?"
So he tells me eventually that a replacement would be sent to me the next day. After picking myself up off the floor and asking him to verify this, I start to think that maybe he's not so bad after all.
"The delivery will be with you between 8am and 1pm"
Cue me spending an entire day (the next day) waiting for said delivery. Come 2pm I get on the blower and ask what's happened.
"Sorry sir but we need to assess the fault with the product first"
"But the operator assured me it would be here today"
"I'm sorry but there is nothing on the system to indicate this. You'll get a call within 48 hrs about it and then we will arrange a new delivery time"
This is a somewhat foreshortened transcription of the call, but you get the message.
Now as I type this it is beyond 48 hrs since I logged the call and at least 96 hrs since the fault was first raised with them (my wife made the first attempt!).
Excuse me while I go off and kick something...
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