You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Lets flip this onto a positive note.
At the moment mine goes to Bristan.
I fitted a mixer valve for client. It leaked at a seal and I found that one O ring was split. Called them at about 3pm.
A whole new part including O rings was delivered to the customers house by 11am the next day. Free of charge, no questions.
Got to say Premier Inn here. I stay in them between 5-10 times a month and have only ever experienced one waste of oxygen. In all that time I've called upon their Good Night Guarantee a few times and it's been unfailingly dealt with. Often get the "return" invoice before I've even got back in the car.
Helpful, happy people. Just wish some of their customers were a bit more reasonable...
Giant warranty, helped me out for free when a ham fisted oik (it wasn't me) drilled a hole in my old Trance's rocker plate.
BT never let me down in all the years I've used them which is why I switched back to them, always turn up on time and fixed any hardware issues on the sport plus put an extra line through into another room free of charge.
DPD outstanding delivery service.
Yodel always been prompt with their delivery, not as good as DPD but still good.
Wagamama their chip and pin failed when I was trying to pay for my meal, the guy tried several times before declaring I can have it for free.
Plusnet - kicked their colleagues in BT's behouki to sort out issues, always a Sheffield accent who sorts the issue when you call.
Smile Bank - Clear, quick to answer any queries, UK call centre.
Direct Line (car claim folks) - just sorted it as they should, and called to say they had.
Orange bikes - Warrantied a frame 3 times, twice out of warranty...
Do we define "Best Customer Service" by how well an organisation deals with a probortunity?
The Glasgow Mercedes-Benz dealers. We've got an elderly Smart car which gets serviced by them - they don't rip off on parts, are honest about what actually needs doing and what's just advisory. When it had a knackered hub stud (Kwik-Fit knackered it) they could only get a complete new hub, but were happy for me to bring along a part I bought on eBay and fit it for me.
Plus, our grubby old car always makes their forecourt look scruffy, so they clean it at every opportunity 😀
Appliance Online are outstanding. They'll do Sunday delivery, free delivery if you can be in when they're in the area already. Got a call from them when ordering a fridge that went something along the lines of:
"Hi, just a quick one, we had some issues with your fridge, one of the warehousemen called me and told me it's got some damage, I've been to look at it, and it's not good enough to come to you, I'm sending you an email, with some choices on it, pick one, and send it back."
Choices were better than the fridge I'd chosen, and it still made the delv
Just amazed!!
nickc - MemberAppliance Online are outstanding.
I'll go along with this, they were great for us too.
BTW If anyone says Apple, I'm going to find them, rip off their head and poo down their neck hole.
Getting told by a (ironically titled?) genius effectively to foxtrot oscar on a commonly reported issue on a very expensive warrantied laptop while some smug little brat next to you gets his smashed iPhone screen replaced FOC did grate a little.
Oh yes AO bought a fridge form them recently and they were fantastic, give me a window time and then rang me on the day to give a narrower window then about 15 minutes before to say they were on their way.
VW leasing did similar rang me to say he'd left Cadiff and would be with me in 5.5hrs I mentioned he was optimistic with his Sat Nav the guy laughed and said he'd ring me again. Rang to say I was right a few hours later, then poor guy rang again to say he's truck hard broke a spring but he'd fixed it and would be a bit later. It arrived late but the fact he kept me upped to date meant I was knew what was happening. Worlds apart from the guy collecting the old car who told me while he was inspecting that the truck was 15 minutes behind him. 4 hours later they turned up.
B&Q. I tweeted that whoever was responsible for designing their branded bog seats should be fed to a leopard and they sent me a gift voucher to buy a better seat. 🙂
Dick Lovett Motorrad in Bristol.
Electronic damper in the forks on my S1000R failed under warranty, without me asking they offered me a brand new bike as a loaner whilst it was being fixed. Turned that down as I had a long trip planned which would have taken me well over the 600 miles when the first service was required, so they gave me their ex demo bike instead and were very apologetic about the fact that they hadn't had a chance to clean it.
Nice blokes as well, friendly but professional. As a result I'm likely to stay with the BMW brand for future bikes as good motorcycle dealers are not common sadly.
Mira Showers.
We have a fancy Platinum Digital unit that started to vary flow rates.
It was just over 3 years old & I didn't have the receipt.
They still sent an engineer with a new unit the next day fitted and new warranty for no charge.
Leatherman / Whitby & Co. I've broken several tools by, basically, being an idiot, and despite them being old and having no receipts they've replaced with brand new tools very quickly.
AA home insurance. Day before babyoath due home for the first time has a leak that caused as short circuit in our boiler. (Leak was upstairs drippin down wall into the boiler). Got it all sorted before Mrs and babyoath got home.
I also forgot:
http://jagautoengineers.co.uk/
Just clear and organised, OK price, happy to fit any parts I buy before hand if I know they are needed. First time I have trusted a garage in a decade...
I've had great service from:
Apple - sorry retro83 - was their online store rather than a genius bar though.
See Sense Lights - sent me out a warranty replacement without even seeing my light, just asked me to send it back when I can so they can figure out what the problem was.
Plusnet - always helpful & friendly. As mentioned above, have been helpful in motivating an otherwise not very helpful OpenReach engineer on my behalf.
Apple and no apologies to the angry man above. Have a word with yourself please!!
Products repaired outside of warranty several times.
DPD are always great as is UPS but the local driver is my neighbour!!
Gordons Honda in Wigan. Excellent customer service!
Ride on, Rawtenstall
Always, Always excellent
For a huge multi-international Amazon are not too bad - i have sent stuff that broke well past a period they needed to accept.
Led Lenser jump to mind.
Had a head torch which developed a fault. They have a three year warranty and it was 'about' three years old. I had no invoice or proof of anything. Sent it back to them, they sent back a brand new replacement of the next model up from the one I bought.
LV Insurance. Called to cancel a breakdown cover renewal, car warranty comes with breakdown cover. Through to them with no delays and the pleasant lady on the other side even tried to get me some money back.
Garmin. I managed to knack up my system files on my car sat nav and I hadn't taken a back up. The online tool couldn't recover the system files and the maps wouldn't load correctly. I was due to travel down to Spain the following day and they couldn't get a recovery disc to me in time due to my early departure. They set up an FTP site and placed the full system there for me to download. Spent a total of 3 hours on the phone to them and they couldn't have done enough to help.
Capital One. My credit card was cloned and before I was even aware of anything wrong I received a call from Capital One who had identified all the fraudulent transactions from mine, even the ones where I had used the same company as the fraudsters. Informed me I had new cards coming out to me within 3 days along with a letter to confirm the fraudulent transactions and that was it done and dusted.
Barclaycard was a nightmare for transactions that were clearly fraudulent i.e. card being used in Spain whilst I was using the real card in the UK.
I think I'll add Screwfix to this list too. Recently refurbished the bathroom plenty of help when asking for advice and any returns even outside the 14 days were never a problem.
BT
Lovehoney
Micheldever Tyre Services (more excellent service there today)
Nationwide (they got a spurious charge by Sixt released from MrsJulianA's credit card removed)
Premier Inn (for their Good Night's Sleep policy - charge refunded when we said the room was too hot)
Booking.com (left a very slightly critical review of accommodation which was challenged by the property and they told the property to do one)
I was quite please with the service I got from sky with our broadband issue. Especially as it turned out to be an openreach issue.
M&S Insurance, twice. Ridge tiles blew off & I got a quote, rang them thinking they'd want at least 2 more but they just said they'd stick £595 in our a/c within 3 working days, didn't even come to check.
Then I fubared my laptop by spilling water on it, rang them & they asked what model it was & paid me for an equivalent 3 days later, no questions asked.
Interesting thread, working in retail.
One gets the picture it's only the big guys that do stuff like send out replacements first class without asking for return etc.
The kind of service that will always crop up on forums, twitter, word of mouth etc -GREAT PR/advertising. Same companies can often be found getting slated for service - they are so big that there are bound to be bad examples as well good ones.
Independents and smaller chains may well give reliably good service (not just when there's been a problem) but unlikely to get a mention.
Osprey bags. Search on here for why.
I just had to Google Lovehoney to see what they sold!
Sorry, I'm a bit naïve.
Logitech... they just replace stuff no quibbles. I now have a desk full of their gear.
I've experienced a pretty shit hot warranty turnaround service from EVGA on their graphics cards too.
choppersquad - Member
I just had to Google Lovehoney to see what they sold!
Sorry, I'm a bit naïve.
They sell good stuff 😀
Kohler. Had a leaky tap - they sent repair kit parts with no proof of purchase or questions even though I told them I had no idea how old the taps were and I knew they were out of warranty.
DigitalREV. Just bought a camera to take on holiday. Ordered Sunday night, arrived Thursday morning from HK. Impeccably packed. FedEx tracking of every step of journey. Brilliant.
first direct bank...... mrs ex-p got foolishly got scammed by one of those 'turkey visa' websites that charge a lot more than the official site. emailed bank just on the off-chance they could stop the payment. a nice lady replied that as it was a debit card payment it was legal, they couldnt do anything to stop it. but she added that she hates those sort of sites, she didnt want it to spoil our holiday, so "we've credited the same amount back to your account. by the way, i went to turkey last year, it was lovely, enjoy yourselves!" 😯
im not often flabbergasted like that!
Royal Sun Alliance have dealt with two large bike claims with swift professionalism that impressed me a lot. I'm happy to pay a premium for their service.
Direct Line, likewise for our pet insurance have been excellent to deal with.
Don't know if they're still the same but back in the day I had legendary service from AP Valves. Sent a bit of kit back to them for a service and they pretty much stripped out the innards and replaced the whole lot, for nowt. Then a few years later I was tinkering with a bit of kit and managed to bend an important bit, so phoned them and they sent me a new one foc, I tried to fit that but had no luck so sent the entire component back with a letter explaining my ham fistedness, they just sent back a replacement part foc again.
I'd add Garmin to the list.
Dog chewed my forerunner and knackered the strap. Garmin replaced the full watch foc.
Mojo / Fox - been using them since 2006, they've never failed to see me right when things have gone wrong.
White Dove Seat in Cardiff, didn't even buy my car from them, but they're great with serving and whatnot.
Apple, they're not perfect, but that's for another thread (or 20) but warranty / after-sales wise they're very good.
Also!!!
Not to forget the 'Little Guys' Central Garage in Whitchurch, Cardiff is easily the nicest 'back street' garage I've ever used - firstly they actually do, what they say they'll do, in the time they say it'll take to do, for the price they said they would charge - but they're really decent honest, trustworthy guys.
Bit random, but West Yorkshire Police.
I've had a few occasions to be involved with them over the last 6 years and on every occasion, they've been chuffing brilliant - to the point I've been a bit embarrassed in a "you must have bigger fish to fry" way.
Last time, I reported someone jumping into my back garden at night (turned out to be an opportunist burglar) and within 20 mins there were patrol cars, helicopter and a knock on the door from some real bobbies.
When my car was stolen & torched, I had regular, honest updates from a dedicated CID chap - despite me saying all along it was a company car and I wasn't [i]that [/i]bothered, it was nice that someone that could be more bothered, would get similar service.
I once called to report a woman using her iPad/tablet on the steering wheel whilst dawdling along the M62; they took her details and asked whether I wanted to prosecute her! I was a bit taken aback at that, and instead they assured me they would be calling at her home to 'have a word'.
Amazing service to think of the financial pressures they must be under.
Anker - I've had two of their products develop intermittent annoying faults over the last 3 months on both occasions emailed them to find out if there was a solution, on both occasions they sent out a brand new replacement on next day delivery and told me to keep the originals - which are both still going strong.
Had a takeout from Five guys last week, guy accidently pressed 'no bacon' on my bacon cheeseburger but only realised after I got back to work.
I sent feedback explaining that their betrayal in missing my bacon not only ruined my day, but that of everyone I work with who had to put up with me moaning for 8 hours.
Apology over in no time at all with an invite for a free meal.
Is there anything better in life than free burgers? I think not.
Most companies seem to be pretty good these days, and most of their frontline staff are too, but there will always be the occasional exception
First Direct and John Lewis get my votes for consistently being spot-on
Has to be Garmin for me. They replaced my 800 which was out of warranty and without question. As a result I have stuck with Garmin ever since.
+1 for First Direct. Forgot abouth them. Been using them since they started and never been less than impressed.
Xilo internet,
Had a service outage the other day so used my mobile to raise a service ticket with them.
Had a response in 5mins from them(Matt) and ongoing updates until it was resolved a couple of hours later.
Unlike a lot of the bigger players no having to chase them or being passed around different depts to get the issue resolved.
John Lewis for bizarrely saying to not bother sending back a wrongly ordered item when ordering the correct item. Feels like a £35 win.
Sadly no longer with us. The Bike Chain in Edinburgh. Sent some kids along to get some kit for their Dutch road trip. Mark sorted them out all sorts of free kit. Tried the replacement establishment, yet to get decent service from them in any of their shops.
For a bike related one I'm going to have to say Turner. Sheared a bolt on my Sultan last week, it needed a full rebuild kit anyway so emailed them. They sorted me out a kit at a third less than rrp, in the meantime Scienceofficer off here sorted me out a spare so I took the cheapest $7 delivery option. It turned up in 5 days which included a weekend. Postage label showed it cost over $13. I know 6 bucks isn't much in the big scheme of things but nevertheless awesome CS. When you look at the shitstorm over on the Evil thread it makes me glad I've been on Turners for nearly 20 years. The worst I can say about them is occasionally slow at replying to emails, everything else has been brilliant.
Jungle/Santa Cruz. Cracked lower link on my Blur was replaced FoC in short order with no hassle whatsoever.
Thule, after losing a bracket for my roof rack and only having two days before a trip, they sent me the parts free of charge without any fuss, so I could enjoy my trip.
Excellent service, now own their own roof boxes, bike racks and bars, so good customer service does pay 😉
Legal and general life assurance, just brilliant when it really mattered. Far quicker simpler than I ever expected. We were fully informed at every step.
And another for Ao.com
Brabantia.
Had a kitchen bin for ages, the lid broke. I'd lost the receipt. Phoned them up to buy a new lid. They have a 10year warranty, but with no receipt i was expecting to pay.
The customer service representative asked for a few details as the design had changed over the years.
He said 'That design is over 10 years old, what's your address?' I told him, he said 'Replacement will be with you tomorrow, no charge!'.
Garmin - some rat bag stole my 1000 outside peaslake store. I rang garmin to see if there was any possibility of tracking user if registered on connect. They couldn't but sent me a brand new one! I was gobsmacked!
Mojo / Fox - been using them since 2006, they've never failed to see me right when things have gone wrong.
White Dove Seat in Cardiff, didn't even buy my car from them, but they're great with serving and whatnot.
Apple, they're not perfect, but that's for another thread (or 20) but warranty / after-sales wise they're very good.
Relatively recently, Mojo failed, twice, to replace or even highlight a severely worn IFP value in my shock when it was in for a service.
In spirit if the thread I would say the best service I've received is from M and S insurance when I had to deal with them for a claim.
TH Performance have always been outstanding when dealing with my T5.
Friendly, good prices and actually communicate with you, which is somewhat unusual in a garage in my experience.
Tamed Earth bike shop in Hindhead. Top guys. Text photo updates of my wife's bike build, taking my wheels home to build on a Sunday Eve so I got them quicker, that sort of thing. I'm not even that regular a customer...
Surprisingly few bike-related businesses mentioned so far. I have to call out Merlin Cycles. They are an online company but with real, knowledgeable people that you can speak to and if, like me, you cocked up your order, you can drop them an email and they'll fix it - you're not lost in some automated computer system. They were also super helpful when I bought a bike from them and wanted some components swapped out. All done at no cost other than the difference in price of the components.
Hunt wheels. Those guys are seriously cool. Great product as well.
+1 for AP Valves. Very reasonable flat rate fee for servicing kit, regardless of what needs doing. Sent my Buddy Commando TD jacket for a service and it came back pretty much brand new.
Another diving company I had great service from was Sports Components in Wales. Ordered an Outer Edge drysuit from them (think Northern Diver now deal with this suit however) and although they use off-the-peg sizing they insist on you filling out a measurement form and faxing it to them. 5 minutes after sending the form back I had a phone call as they said my measurements and my weight didn't match up so could I double check. After that they asked me to send a couple of photos of myself for reference so they could be sure I got the right size suit. The day the suit arrived I had another phone call to check the fit was ok and to ask if I needed any adjustments made to it. Great service for a drysuit that was remarkably low priced.
First Direct here too
ooh yeah, another very happy First Direct customer, their website is genuinely awful, but the staff are relentlessly brilliant.