Your best and worst customer service experiences [rant & praise]

pickarooney

I refuse to use After Hours any more after everyone in there completely ignored the Consumer Affairs forum and the dozens of identical threads therein.

Degsy

I'll never buy a sandwich in any of those poxy sandwich shops around the place.
How people think eating a mass of carbs and glutinous goo is in some way healthy is beyond me.
Subway should be closed down too..worse than mcdonalds.

ScumLord

razorblunt wrote: »

Dont get me started on RTE, the annual wages of Messrs Kenny and Ryan. Wasting our licence fees.

Then having to watch shows like "Who do you think you are?" sending Dana to America... and not leaving her there!

Not to mention all the ****e they make you pay for that you'll never even think of watching. Plus this the last thread RTE will hijack off me. That's me down to just TV3 now. Bastards.

Mark Hamill

I wont have anything to do with Harvey Normans, but thats not because its more expensive or the service is bad (I don't know, never been in one) its because of the awful tv and radio ads that irritate me no end. Likewise for Eurocycle Eurobaby, Coca Cola, any price comparison site, etc Pretty much any business with an ad (radio, Tv, internet) that annoys me enough, I wont touch.

I wont touch anything from Mr Kipling because they put beetles in their food.

Slow Motion

thelordofcheese wrote: »

No, i like to just hammer my face off the keyboard. Thankfully, it always makes sense and is always right.

OK, OK!

thelordofcheese wrote: »

Unless PC world now have a seperate repairs and expert desk (and they may well have, it *has* been a while), i think you were just sent over to the guy who's job it is to fix peoples machines and fuck all else.
In that case someone just offloaded you onto someone else because they're too lazy or whatever, i'd be peeved. Hell, I'd ignore you so hard your children would be born with a severe craving for attention.

I dunno, I was told he would be able to answer my questions!

thelordofcheese wrote: »

And my other point was why were you asking these people anything? Seriously. Why are you prepaired to spend a few hundred quid without knowing what you're buying? I don't get it.

I was intending to buy a video card, my question was about compatibility with my motherboard / chipset, as it wasn't clear on the box, and I foolishly thought I might get a reasonable response!

Ruu_Old

I boycotted Rowntree products a long time ago, especially smarties because they have ants blood in the shell. ;_;

monkeyfudge

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

your right, sorry. i got it mixed up with the one opposite, the plough?

I think it was called the Firestone or something in the end.

There was a shooting or a stabbing or some such there... it closed soon afterwards.

Slow Motion

Ruu wrote: »

I boycotted Rowntree products a long time ago, especially smarties because they have ants blood in the shell. ;_;

Have you been sniffing cillit bang again?

thelordofcheese

javaboy wrote: »

Stop trolling. He knew what he was buying. He just had a few quick questions. Maybe he couldn't find some tiny detail he needed to know from the internet.

But the guy working in PC world would know? Come on now...
And i'm not trolling, i'm just wondering why people think it's acceptable to have crazy expectations of something all common sense tells them *won't* and then complain.

javaboy wrote: »

Anyway PC world's own ads talk about their knowledgeable staff being able to help so they should be able to answer at least the basics.

This i think is the problem alot of people have with PC world, they go in expecting an unreasonable level of expertise. If there people were as good as the ads say, what the fuck are they doing working in PC world for minimum wage? You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Anyway, my original point was that PC world is fine as long as you treat it as exactly what it is. A big shop full of PC parts staffed by people who don't know much about what they're selling. Expectations beyond this will just lead to disapointment.

Xavi6

I won't buy or use anything made by Sharp cause they sponsored United when I was growing up.

thelordofcheese

Slow Motion wrote: »

I was intending to buy a video card, my question was about compatibility with my motherboard / chipset, as it wasn't clear on the box, and I foolishly thought I might get a reasonable response!

Google it before hand, seriously. Less pain for everyone, plus google won't lie to you for a sale.
Chances are without the internet the guy behind the counter wouldn't have know it either.

seamus

Eircom and Ryanair. Wouldn't piss on either of them if they were on fire. Metaphorically speaking of course.

I also don't go into Sony Centres out of principle. I'll buy the odd Sony product, just not from an overpriced shop.

Slow Motion

thelordofcheese wrote: »

Google it before hand, seriously. Less pain for everyone, plus google won't lie to you for a sale.
Chances are without the internet the guy behind the counter wouldn't have know it either.

Ye see, I couldn't access the internet because....well......My video card was fcuked!;)

KnifeWRENCH

CDWOW.

Used use it all the time to get cheap CD's until I had a problem with using vouchers. I tried their customer service, they sent an email which basically said "a few customers are experiencing the same problem. We are looking into it."
I left it a while, heard nothing. E-mailed them back, and was ignored.

Also a certain clothes shop in Cork which specialise in surf-wear. Their staff are completely incompetent.

Xavi6 wrote:

I won't buy or use anything made by Sharp cause they sponsored United when I was growing up.

No offence dude, but that's kinda pathetic.

Smart Bug

Gourmet Burger in Ranelagh. Left myself & two mates sitting for an hour waiting for our grub (we had beers) without even a bye-your-leave, whilst serving people who came in after us. We left of course, still no explanation or apology. Mother f*ckers, I was so hungry that night.

Slow Motion

Drug Dealers, he gave me the first hit for free, then the bakstard wanted me to pay after that, never using one again, from now on I'm brewing my own crystal meth!

thelordofcheese

Slow Motion wrote: »

Ye see, I couldn't access the internet because....well......My video card was fcuked!;)

HA!
fuppin' typical....

javaboy

thelordofcheese wrote: »

But the guy working in PC world would know? Come on now...
And i'm not trolling, i'm just wondering why people think it's acceptable to have crazy expectations of something all common sense tells them *won't* and then complain.

It's not really a crazy expectation for people to have some clue about what they are selling. I'm not naive though. I know damn well that places like PC World won't be chock full of experts but if someone is actually told "that guy is an expert and can help you" then he has a right to complain when he doesn't. Personally I've heard staff from a certain computer store outright lie to customers about a PC's specs. They were em... advanced in years and I wouldn't expect them to have had the knowledge to call him on it. They probably grew up in a time when salesmen were expected to know their products backwards and not just be till operators.

This i think is the problem alot of people have with PC world, they go in expecting an unreasonable level of expertise. If there people were as good as the ads say, what the fuck are they doing working in PC world for minimum wage? You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Anyway, my original point was that PC world is fine as long as you treat it as exactly what it is. A big shop full of PC parts staffed by people who don't know much about what they're selling. Expectations beyond this will just lead to disapointment.

I have that attitude about Ryanair. They don't market themselves as a full frills airline. So that's fine. But PC World do market themselves as having knowledgeable helpful staff so when you find that they aren't, you have a right to complain.

And the idea that just because the internet is there, the obligation to know the product suddenly shifts from the seller to the buyer is pure nonsense. There should always be an element of caveat emptor and customers should try and find out a bit about the product before buying, but they are not obliged to.

I mean Google and CNET and all Amazon reviews etc. are all great but what happens when you find out the product doesn't actually work with your setup because some anonymous internet reviewer got it wrong? There is very little in the way of repercussions for an online reviewer if their review contains errors. You can't say to PC World "but the man on the internet said it would work and it doesn't so I want you to give me my money back". They would rightly laugh in your face.

However if you could say "a member of your staff said it would work and it doesn't so I want my money back" then they would be right.

Xavi6

square_igloo wrote: »

No offence dude, but that's kinda pathetic.

My 10 year old self apologises

jdivision

Got food poisoning in Cafe Bar Deli so won't go back, pubs that I think are a ripoff I won't go to, would never eat in the Radisson in Galway again after the last meal I had there, had a crap experience in the Brooklodge hotel in Wicklow too and wouldn't stay there again - they said we couldn't have our rooms because you know we had a wedding on yesterday (well guess what I'm going to one today), they checked us in though without giving us roomkeys and then a few hours later said they were going to give the rooms to other people because we hadn't checked in. Idiots.

shenanigans1982

U.S Airways....used them once and after the flight the captain made an announcment asking passengers to clean up around their seat area due to cutbacks in the company. I would never leave any area I was sitting in full of rubbish (other than fast food places) but asking people to clean up around their seats is a joke.

javaboy

Xavi6 wrote: »

My 10 year old self apologises

But you said you still won't buy any of their stuff? We want an apology from your early 20's self (or whatever you are).

1966

What sickens me to my stomach is his daughter-in law Rachel Allen getting her own cookery shows all over the place after she publicly defended him.[/quote]


- totally sickened by that one too"!

AnonoBoy

Degsy wrote: »

I'll never buy a sandwich in any of those poxy sandwich shops around the place.

But what about the regular non-poxy sandwich shops Degsy?

Mark Hamill

Slow Motion wrote: »

Originally Posted by Ruu View Post
I boycotted Rowntree products a long time ago, especially smarties because they have ants blood in the shell. ;_;
Have you been sniffing cillit bang again?

From Wikpedia:

Violet Smarties are dyed with cochineal, a derivative of the Cochineal insect which is listed in the ingredients as carminic acid. Its presence means that Smarties are neither kosher nor vegetarian

E120 is in loads of sweets. Its the thing in Mr Kipling foods that stops me from eating their products.

javaboy

Mark Hamill wrote: »

E120 is in loads of sweets. Its the thing in Mr Kipling foods that stops me from eating their products.

Out of interest is that because you are a vegetarian/vegan or is it a squeamish (ewww an insect) thing or is it an ethical issue?

Ruu, same question.

Pompey Magnus

I refuse to buy Irish newspapers, there is not a decent daily paper in this country. The choice of either buying tabloid trash or Tony O'Reilly trash is pitfull really. I wonder if our choice is representative of the population at large?

Slow Motion

Mark Hamill wrote: »

From Wikpedia:

E120 is in loads of sweets. Its the thing in Mr Kipling foods that stops me from eating their products.

Well fancy that! So what you are saying then, is that the next time I buy a packet of smarties I really will have ants in my pants!

Mark Hamill

javaboy wrote: »

Out of interest is that because you are a vegetarian/vegan or is it a squeamish (ewww an insect) thing or is it an ethical issue?

Ruu, same question.

I am a vegetarian, but even if I wasn't I wouldn't eat it (especially as its only added for cosmetic reasons)

Nehaxak

Refuse to buy Hard Drives from Seagate for years now, ever since I read about their discrimination of Catcholic's at their plant in Norn Iron and refusing to employ them.

Won't buy Tayto anymore since they fcked over their workforce in Ireland.

Any company that's made their business in Ireland and then due to greed have gone and uprooted to India or wherever else they pay crap wages - I refuse to deal with or buy their products anymore.

Same with Dunne Stores that someone else mentioned in regards South Africa, never shop in there.

Won't buy fruit or Veg in Super Valu as it's near enough always out of date, gone off/going off or just plain rotten. Used to work in Super Valu years ago myself and can't believe how much they've let themselves slide over the years.

Won't ever get NTL installed due to them years ago (Cablelink at the time)bowing to political pressure and imposing censorship on a Ch4 programme about joyriders in Dublin which had a part of the programme showing the garda beating the crap out of a few kids no older than 10 years old. Subsequently going out of my way since that time to get satellite and have been using satellite ever since for TV viewing.

Gave up the Sky and won't be going back to it as it's just way too expensive, bought a better dish and a motor instead.

Don't drink in pubs since the smoking ban.

Won't use Irish Ferries due to the way they treated their Irish staff.

Won't eat in the chinese resteraunt in Santy Omni beside the cinema there due to getting terrible service, cold food and then the cheek of them afterwards trying to charge me a 10% service charge AND the waiter/waitresses standing around expecting a tip on top of it all.

Won't buy a take away from anywhere unless I can clearly see the food being cooked/prepared.

Won't buy any newspaper in Ireland, especially not the Herald, due to them continually churning out propagandist government induced spin/shyte.

Lastly, biggest step of all really, refused to get my two children christened/baptised and they still remain this way without any religion at all - due to the rampant pedophilia in the Catcholic church and the cover up of same by ALL OF THEM ! Wasn't just a few, they all at least knew what was going on.
Local school (which is Catholic as most are in Ireland) has no problem and have told me I'm not alone in doing something like this.

Have lots more but windows update is driving my computer nuts right now so bette rpost this before I lose it all.