Recession?What recession???

[dave45]

getting regular service is now exceptional
crap service is normal
excellent service is exceedingly rare


whenever you buy the cheapest anything you encourage the race to the bottom.

and have you noticed that more and more companies are learning from gyms and trying to get you on monthly contracts or subscriptions to further divorce the taking of money from the providing of value?

utilities, phones, mobiles, internet, even my daily newspaper now does this...

[trinder]

Happy Hippy I guess you have opened up a bag of worms that you never foresaw.
We have a leak in our roof. We have lived here for over 17 years and never replaced or "maintained the roof "
( please explain how you maintain a roof- being dumb I just thought it would sorta sit there).
The first guy was happy to come and give a quote for the work- we explained how we would (unassuming as we were) inform the insurance company - so he said it was "an insurance quote" We contacted the insurance company and they ( we are not disputing this) said it wasn't covered .
Now however, you would not believe how hard it is to get a big company to quote. We only want big companies because we want to be sure that (if it is going to cost thousands) they will still be in business in 10-15 years time.
If only we lived in a time when a local builder / roofer/ meant anything! even word of mouth about the quality can be questionable if your house is not "two up two down"
Please don't read that as snobbish it's just that it makes a difference.

[dave45]

long time ago way before the recession I had to get my roof redone, and asked five companies to quote, all sizes... only two bothered to quote then. And the guys that got the job were....emm competent at roofing, but didn't give much of a toss about tidying their mess... they dropped old nails everywhere ( causing numerous car tyre punctures etc ) my garden and roofspace was just full of discarded debris that took weeks to clear up... I was glad to see the back of them... and they weren't cheap. You can only get insurance cover for storm damage aiui... and they check against met office records to make sure....

but don't get me started on insurance co.s. - I have had a very bad experience.... suffice it to say that if you compare the meerkat on home ins, the cheapest quotes seem to be all fronts for XXXX, and they are cheap coz they are experts at weaselling out of their side of the deal.

[fifi folle]

You have my sympathies, I've just spent 3 days dealing with a national chain to replace one of my son's toys which cost over £100 and broke within 6 months (not wear and tear as suggested by one rude sales person who hadn't even seen said toy!) It's a good feeling when you "win" though (aka get what you are legally entitled to!)

£100 on a toy .................. ..............I lead a very sheltered life

We didn't pay for it - the grandparents bought it. Reason I wanted it fixed was so I can sell it on after my son and his forthcoming sibling are finished playing with it For a chunk of plastic it's pretty cool though:

[boboff]

Yes you can get crap service, but then again I think allot of companies are actually trying allot harder than they used too.

T***o I find absolutely excellent in all regards.

Sky up until recently were very bad, but recently I dealth with them and they were excellent, even dealing with a complaint I made about one operator very efficiently, they new call centre in Cardiff is very professionally run I think.

Even an Indian gentlemen I bought a King Size Duvet cover from refunded me for poor quality goods, and phoned to make sure I was happy.

Selections sent a replacement scarifier with quibbling.

I use local trades always, normally people I can trust, and normally I pay them a daily rate cash, this was I find I get the job done, and I make a point of working with them, picking up nails, and moving rubbish, so they can get on with the thing they are good at, this works for me. In my role as governor of two schools, and in charge of buildings, I always try and use local trades, as they are honest, big companies just see schools as cash cows. Classic was a water issue we had at one school, where Toilets wouldn't flush, the school had previously spent thousands on the issue and no solution, so when I took over I had a look round, felt it had to be "crap in Pipes" and got a local guy to sort it for £40!

Anyway, a carpenter I used once gave me his theory on what "class" you are, and it depended on how many cups of Tea you were offered a day, 3 or more and you were working class, one lower middle, none, middle and upper. Funnily enough he always went the extra mile for the people who made him more Tea! As I say, in my opinion if you use local people, treat them well, and muck in rather that look down, you will get the job done right. The other thing is NEVER add a job on when they are on site, or change what you have asked them to do, except when they bring you a problem, and then try and work out what the quickest and easiest way of solving the problem is with them.

For big jobs now, I would always employ a contracts manager, for 5 - 7% of the build they will deal with all the plans, red tape and builders etc, good ones are really worth there weight in gold, as they know what builders are good, up to the minute on building regs, and often have good relations with planners and inspectors

[battybird]

I agree with you Boboff, but I think a lot of people who complain dont do it to the right people...go to the top every time! They tend to be more defensive of their reputation especially if it is an owner. I ordered our first expensive sette and was told it would be eight weeks before delivery...12weeks later not a peep...rang the salesman (local reputable company) and he said the usual...manufacturers delay, out of his hands etc. Was not happy and asked to speak to the manager who got us a definite delivery date and a refund of £100 for our patience! Appealing to their pride in local reputation and being very politely disappointed worked that time.
Had lots of great service too..even from big companies. Classic was Amazon who replaced my Kindle free of charge within 2 days after I sat on it!

[Green Aura]

go to the top every time!

Hmm, often easier said than done. It's illegal to sellraw milk in Scotland but not to import it so I buy it in England and have it shipped up. It takes 2-3 days and I explained several times to the company I was buying from that I didn't mind waiting the few extra days but it was important that they sent it early in the week - the first few times was fine but the (final) batch got dispatched on a Thursday and so sat in a warm warehouse in Inverness over the weekend. On the following monday I received 20 pints of sour milk.

Sour, raw milk isn't a problem, I can still use it - just not for the purposes I bought it. So I emailed and rang on 4-5 occasions (each) and was fobbed off by the person answering the phone, the manager/owner was busy/out every time. Emails were ignored. After a fortnight of fairly constant contact I received an email from said manager saying he'd heard I might have a problem and he would be in the office next day if I'd care to contact him!

Needless to say we have now found another supplier and I'm on first name terms with them, they seem to understand our situation re delivery and so far no problems.

[oldjerry]

Save foodmiles....................buy a goat...!

[Green Aura]

Yes please oj. Now if you could just convince my husband.....

[the.fee.fairy]

I had excellent service from Bayliss.

I bought their wind-up MP3 player years ago and took it to a friend's house when I went for the week. They had a three year old who stepped on it...and the screen broke.

So I emailed them and they said 'send it back and we'll give you a quote for a repair'. So I sent it back expecting to get a quote between £30 and £60 (they'd said that it depended on whether the Liquid Crystal had leaked). A week later, my MP3 player re-appeared beautifully fixed, all polished and shiny. So I phoned them and said thank you, how much do I owe you...and the bloke at the other end looked it up, laughed and then said.... 'Nothing - we've never road tested one with a three-year-old before, so we decided to waive the fee after you'd done the test for us...now...we know that they're not great around five-year-olds as well, so if he breaks it again next time, the repair is up to you!'.

What a fab company!

[Puddleduck]

This kind of thing is happening with a lot of goods these days, the prices have gone up but the quality has deteriorated. Also customer service is a joke, but seeing as a lot of people only contact them for a complaint, some representatives may develop a complex (not an excuse, but I work in customer services and even some of my colleagues shock me with their attitudes). I'm pleased you got this sorted out HappyHippy, hopefully the replacement will be perfect.

[baldybloke]

The economic system is fueled by consuming as much product in the shortest possible time. Most new goods either have built in obsolescence or perceived obsolescence so it will need replacing either because it is no longer fit for purpose or has been superseded by a new alledgedly improved model. Some of my furniture is older than me and will probably outlast me as well.
On the subject of tradesmen, personal recommendation is the best policy. Happy Hippy if you still need a roofer, I know an excellent chap not far from me who turns up when he says he will, is most reasonable and does a great job. PM me if you want his details.

FeeFairy, I also cracked the screen on my Bayliss MP3 player and they also replaced it free of charge.

[happyhippy]

Seems like there are some good news stories out there which is promising! BB I don't need a roofer???I think you may have me mixed up with someone else!!!! Just rang said stores customer service line to arrange delivery of replacement furniture,and they could'nt help me enough!!!Its arriving tomorrow and I will be going it with a fine tooth comb before the delivery men disappear!BB Yes I do really love old furniture,and have had my fair share over the years,but unfortunately it would look really out of place where I live now.I used to own an old cottage in Scotland,and had all old furniture.I'm an old fashioned girl at heart!! By the way BB I start a new job in Devizes next month,so will be over your neck of the woods!

[trinder]

Baldybloke- It's me that needs a roofer. I need to know if he will travel to Tewkesbury . I have been advised that it is a between 3 -5 day job. But can I send you a private message !! Heck no I have spent 40 minutes trying to do it. I only wanted to give you my land line number to pass on to him then he can choose.
Any advice welcome. p. s I get to the bit that I hit the box under your name write my message but first it says choose someone to send it to I 've already his the box that says send pm ?
tricky this

[Green Aura]

I'm not sure what the problem is Trinder.

Click on the pm box under his avatar and at the top, above the message box it should say - To and Baldybloke in blue with an x next to it. If his name is there then it should send to him without anything further - other than writing your message and clicking on send, of course.