A classic example of all thats wrong with customer support

[erolz]

Not really a Cyprus issue but I felt I would relate this story. It is in my expereince such a common tale and shows exatly whats wrong with many customer service departments.

We had had quite few problems with cheap kettles here in the north. Usualy worked for abpout 3-6 months and then packed up. So a year or so ago when in the UK I decided to 'splash out' on a top line kettle.

This is the one I purchased

http://www.morphyrichards.co.uk/wizz400/index.pl?REFID=7cffHHj5tY0ccA58TY7x67999%t7BYq7FTy600wrwtfp8oeusjjei54548ertytsafgw47&ORPGM=productOverview&ORPGT=perl&ORPRD=43010&ORGRP=R02&ORCAT=SR01&ORLID=ENG

It was in fact the single most expensive kettle I could fins in the shop (John Lewis) - but it was Karins combined birthday and xmas present (joke) so I thought what the hell.

At first we were delighted with it. It worked, reliably and consistently for first year or so. However after this it started to develop a very strange problem. Basically the 'plastic windows' on the sides that show the water level started to 'disintegrate'. Now the kettle looks like this

http://www.visionmatters.co.uk/cyprus/kettle.jpg

Now we have never put anything in this kettle except water and the manufactuers recommended descaler. It seems to me like a produsctio fault of some kind. The plastic is just disintergrating. There is no other description really.

So finally we dug out the warranty information (2 years but only covers UK and Ireland). So I ring the manufuacturer - after having to find a 'real' phone number for them and not a non geogrpahic 0870 number that do not work from here.

I get throug to the customer support lady. I explain my problem, read out the product number and serial number and explain the problem. The customer support person says they have no record of this product have any know faults. I also mention that I live outside the UK (being an honest person that I am). Ahh she says, it is not covered under the warranty then and there is nothing she can do. I explain that I understand that leagally they are not resposible under the guarantee, but that clearly there is something pretty basicaly wrong with this expensive top of the range model kettle that they manufacture and its not related to the country I am in (not an elctrical problem for example) and that one would expect a munfacturer to stand by its products - especially such an expensive one as this. No sorry she replies there is nothing they can do.

So I ask to speak to the ladies supervisor. She tells me there is no point and that she will just tell me the same thing. I say I understand this but that I wish to make my displaeasure known to her supervisior anyway. She eventually relents and after a min or so of 'musak' I get another landy on the phone. We go round the whole thing again. She says 'Its not covered by the warranty because you are out of UK.' I say I understand this but that clearly there is something wrong with the kettle and its not related to me being outside the UK (unless we have corrosive water in Cyprus?). She says but its not covered under the warranty. I say I undesratnd this, but that I would expect that a reputable comapny like Morphy Richards would stand by its products and that even though technically its not covered by the warranty they would never the less put right such a clear fault on such an expensive and supposedly quality product of theirs. She says but its not covered under the warranty. I ask if I can speak to her supervisor. She tells me there is no point and that they will tel me the same thing as she has. I say I understand this but would like to express my disapointment and dissastifaction to them none the less. Shes says there is no point and she can record my dissastisfaction on the 'sysytem'. I explain that I would rather do it in person to a human. Eventualy she relents and says she will put me through to her manager. 2-3 mins of musak this time. Manager comes on the phone, asks me for a UK address (I give my brothers) and she says a new kettle wil be sent out and be with my brother in 7-10 days time !!!

I have lost count of the times this has happend to me on phone customer support. First line support - no cant do anything. No there is no point talking to my supervisor. Only to discover that if you 'bully' them into putting you through to a supervisor or supervisors supervisor, they end up doing exactly what the previous two people have insisted is impossible for them to do. I have had this senario so many times and it just pisses me off. I would actualy have more respect if ther senior people did NOT give me what I wanted and were consistent. I had the same with a credit card and 'purchase protection insurance'. I bought a laptop with credit card, and dropped it 10 days latter and broke the screen. Rang up the credit card company and said how do I claim, under my 90 day purchase protection insureance. Am tols sorry you do not have such protection on your card. I say I do, its here in the documentation that came with the card when I signed up. They say it's been changed. I say - not without imforming me it hasnt. Round and round a few times. Ask to speak to supervisor - roud and round same again. Ask to speak totheir supervisior. Am told there really is no point. Insist anyway. Get this third person and its immeditaely - where would you like the claim form sent sir !

So if I had not bullied and argued my credit card company I would have been out of pocket by £480 (the cost of repair of the laptop). If I had not bulied and argued with morphy richards I would be out of pocket £70 for the kettle. The strategy seems the same (and SO common accross so many industries in my experince)

First line support - fob off as many people as possible
Second line support - fob off as many people who get this far as possible.
Third line support - actually do what you should do in all cases but try to avoide doing in most of them.

Phew feel better now I have got that off my chest

[respiridus]

That's nothing really, re. I once bought a top-of-the-line 21" Sony TV. The helpful salesman (a "kalamaras") helped me put it in the car. I took it home, opened it, and - surprise, surprise - the TV was broken.

Next day: It took 2 hours of arguing, and several threats about calling the police, for them to replace it.

[brother]

I bought my bod standard kettle from Tesco over a year ago for.......wait for it............£5.97 and when it dies i will throw it away and buy another one, my toaster another £6 Tesco job broke down on the 11 month, i walked into Tesco gave it back to them and walked out with another one, no bother at all.

I went down the expensive kettel and toaster route and never again, everytime we bought one they seemed to die on the 13 month or just after and when of course the warrenty had run out.

[erolz]

[city]

guys, what are you doing with your kettles???
Mine is about 5 years old and still works fine. It was about 30 Euros.

[respiridus]

City is right: I don't remember throwing away kettles, toasters, or any other such appliance because they failed in such a catastrophic way. I only threw away a kettle once, because it was over 10 years old and the wire worn out.

Where do you guys buy your appliances from?

[Xenos 2Fan]

[Xenos 2Fan]

EZ, looks like you dropped that kettle man.Could this be the problem?

[erolz]

[Xenos 2Fan]

No I wasn't suggesting that you were trying to get a free kettle through dishonest means. I was merely suggesting that the Kettle could have been dropped inadvertantly causing the crack which later degenerated further.

[erolz]

[Crash Test Dummy]

take it outside and smash it to pieces. wont do the situation much good but will make you feel better

[Xenos 2Fan]

The thing that pisses me off the most about customer service is that you can hardly ever get a "live" person with a pulse to discuss problems about a service or product. Here in the States everything is automated by pushing numbers on the phone pad. Many times you have so many choices or have to wait so long that one simply gives up. Totally nerve racking.

[respiridus]

[Xenos 2Fan]