A lesson in consumer-based policy.
Private companies should work towards improving their customer service in order to achieve the greatest market penetration that they can. Companies that treat their customers the way they would like to be treated make more money.
There are exceptions: Richard Branson does not focus his company’s policy on customers because he knows that happy employees work harder for their customer naturally. Virgin has, because of this and Branson’s nouce, diversified more successfully than most other companies.
But in the banking sector, First Direct is famous for answering the telephone the instant it rings and ten times out of ten, being polite and sorting out problems immediately. Citibank and Halifax, meanwhile, are known for not managing to deal with their customers effectively.
As a blogger and someone who is read and appears reasonably high in search engines, I feel it is my duty when I am the victim of appalling customer service to report this to you, the great consuming public. I don’t do this when I have an unusual experience or when I have been upset by an individual member of staff, I do this when all contact with a company at all levels and without fail, are painful and in need of managerial attention.
In this respect I would gladly offer The Softback Preview (TSP) some free advice: Focus on customer service.
The following is an e-mail that I have sent off to BCA’s Chief Executive, BCA’s Press Officer and TSP’s customer services:
CC: I have published this e-mail to my blog for public consumption www.gavpolitics.co.uk/blog/
Dear Tanmaya
You should really keep a record of communication.
I have a parcel that you are (at separate responses):
1) Collecting (at your expense)
2) Sending me pre-paid labels to return
3) Not collecting, I should have declined the offer in time.It would make sense if your staff were consistent in dealing with me.
Some background: I e-mailed before the book was posted asking that it not be sent to me. I received a confirmation in reply saying that it would not be sent (Anshul Maithani on 1 October 2005). I then asked you to collect it [1] and you agreed (Akhil Sharma on 19 October 2005).
I then said I was moving home to chivvy you along - you said you’d send out pre-paid labels [2] (Pranav Apte on 14 November 2005).
I then complained (again) that neither of the promises had come true and Lorraine DSouza said that I should have cancelled it in time [3].
I’m hoping now that you can get yourselves organised and correct this before the threatening letters start being sent by your over-zealous billing department. And while you’re there, please cancel my membership.
You can contact me to rejoin when you’ve sorted out the administrative nightmare that is TSP (and sister companies).
Yours sincerely
As always I will report any responses on this blog.
November 30th, 2005 at 11:03 am
I had exactly the same problem with TSP. They sent me a book that I did not order. I rang, three times over 2 months, to get the book picked up free of charge (finally!). My wife was heavily pregnant at the time and we live in an upper flat, so I left the parcel at the bottom of the stairs and a note on the door saying to the delivery person where it was. He arrived, knocked on the door, my wife peered around the corner and looked down the stairs, as the man picked up the parcel, wished her well and went on his way. TSP then promptly lost all record of the book, the communications from me regarding the return and indeed all record that they instructed the courier to pick the book up. They didn’t even know what courier they used. A further 6 months of letters, telephone calls and stress, they send us a letter informing us we have been referred to a debt collection agency, who will be contacting us shortly with a court summons. At this point I lost my temper, spent £20 on a solicitors letter asking how they could treat loyal customers in such a way (we had spend a couple of hundred pounds on books iwth them), demanding compensation and an explanation of their incompetence. They wrote back apologising, explaining there had been a “problem with administration” due to “security issues” and it wouldn’t happen again. Too right it wouldn’t! I cancelled my membership.
November 30th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
It appears to be a common problem - I’m guessing their e-mail response centre is nowhere near their distribution centres and they have no idea when to move their hand to achieve the clapping sound they desire.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had trouble with them but hopefully it will be the last!
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:51 pm
[…] Can you believe this is their response to my previous post? Thank you for your e-mail. […]
December 5th, 2005 at 8:06 pm
I went through a process just like you lascivious and I thought all was done and dusted although I STILL have the parcel awaiting collection. My last communication regarding the TSP farce was in January of this year when I sent a strongly worded letter to the credit collection company who were acting on their behalf. I explained that the ‘automated’ cancellation service failed frequently. that it seemed impossible to speak to a human outside of ‘normal’ office hours and that I still had the parcel awaiting collection.
This morning (and the reason I’m on the internet tonight) a letter arrived from a credit collection company demanding payment or further action through the court. I ‘phoned them and they removed the threat immediately with the matter being referred back to TSP. How do I stop this insanity?
December 5th, 2005 at 9:23 pm
Write to GSaul@bca.co.uk and copy in TDay@bca.co.uk and LDickinson@bca.co.uk
February 9th, 2006 at 10:25 am
I was billed for a book which I had not received, had no response to a recorded delivery letter, finally sorted problem out by e-mail - or so I thought. A week later I had a letter saying they were sorry I had cancelled my membership (which I hadn’t) but I still owed them money. I decided to check the website to see whether the sum had been deleted from my account only to discover my details were not recognized. So now I’m waiting for the debt collector. It’s a good job I’ve kept a copy of my e-mails.
February 9th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Have you tried writing to the above two e-mails?
I’m glad you posted this, I was about to consider returning to them because I do like being offered books each month! Oh well — I think this is an excuse to raise this to front-page status again!
February 9th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
[…] Shame on you TSP, read about the problems still occurring and do something this time will you? […]
April 12th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
Have also had similar problems to those listed above. One of eTSPs tricks is to try and intimidate you into buying more books after the initial offer by telling you that you have an obligation to buy and then adding an extorionate amount to your account for the ‘offer books’ when you don’t make an order. This is not true if you signed up to their web offer. Terms of this say that there is no obligation to buy -you just have to agree to receive 6 magazines. To get a copy of the terms and conditions just Google eTSP and you’ll get their ‘enticement’ site. You can copy the terms and conditions & small print from there.
September 21st, 2006 at 3:45 pm
My, am I glad I found these comments sections. Here’s to hoping my complaints are acted upon.
I received a threat of debt collectors from Mango.co.uk in the post today. I have never used or requested services from Mango, but yet I was ‘billed’ (I never received a bill) for a ‘free’ book (which, again, I never received, but was charged for.) I called the number and was bounced from menu to menu, then finally hung up on without resolution.
I’ve made complaints to the relevant authorities, but a whole hell of a lot of good that does when a fraudulent company picks names out of the ether and goes after them with threats.
And bloody hell. Mango? CHICK LIT? I’m being threatened over chick lit?
May 20th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I’ve got the same going on with me I cancelled 9 months ago and they my online account was disconnected immediately. Heard nothing for a long time then one day someone tried to deliver a parcel and I refused to take it.
I’ve since been receiving payment demands I called after the first one and they wanted proof that I had returned the outstanding books. When I said I had none I was told that a form would come out to me - I got nothing and so I called again and again nothing the payment demands keeping coming and on Friday I came home to a new letter from Computerised Debt collection agency informing me that their clients have instructed them to take whatever action is necessary to recover the o/s balance. I called the debt agency they told me that i would have to talk to ESTP - well they closed at 5pm. I’m now having nightmares of bailiffs breaking into my house. This is blackmail can they send bailiffs to my house? and the outstanding amount keeps going I’ve even been tempted to pay it just to get rid of the stress before I end up with a bill for £000’s. Will this effect my clean credit record? I hate this company.
May 20th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Since my post I’ve found out that complaints to the Direct Marketing Authority can work so I have emailed ETSP to let them know that I going to contact the DMA. Fingers crossed.
May 20th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Good luck Fey — do keep us posted on your progress.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:48 am
I got stung by a charge for my initial books yesterday. After two and a half years I got sick of their shoddy admin and cancelled, only to be told I owed them for my initial order (which I took on offer, pound for three books) as I didn’t order anything in my first year of membership.
Bit alarming, if I was supposed to buy more books, why didn’t they say so after the year was up instead of waiting for now? Clearly I misread the bit that said “no commitment”…
Alastair
July 24th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I have recently decided to curtail my membership of the softback preview after ordering 3 books back in early April and never having received any of them, despite one being returned to them as ‘never delivered’ !
Despite regular communications to the director of customer service they invoiced me for the books, added late payment charges and were unable to explain why the items were not delivered to me in the 3 months of the sorry saga.
I had been a fairly satisfied customer since the early nineties but noted a decline when the TSP became part of the BCA stable a few years back. Since then service has deteriorated and the amount of junk in the monthly mailing increased.
The last e-mail regarding my membership is as follows:
Dear Mr Ball,
Please accept my sincere apologies for the continued problems you have been experiencing with the non delivery of your April order.
I note that you have still not received ON CHESIL BEACH and that although ZIGZAG has been returned to us by our Courier, this item was never delivered to your address. I can only assume that it was returned by our Courier as an undelivered item and that ON CHESIL BEACH has been lost in transit.
In the circumstance, I have cleared your account of all charges relating to this order. I have also reluctantly, cancelled your membership, as requested.
I am sorry that your association with The Softback Preview is ending in this way.
Regards
Jasmin Moody
Customer Service Manager
Telephone 01793 747110
E.mail:jmoody@bca.co.uk
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Be careful that they don’t try to sue you “for damage to their business” as Dr M G Notley is currently doing to me because I exposed his bad and black hat SEO on my blog. Real pain in the backside that man is.
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:11 pm
For the sake of clarity I would be pleased to be proven wrong about the TSP and I am only recording my experience which every customer has the right to know just as every company has the right to publish testimonials.
Thank you my Lord, though, for the warning.
September 3rd, 2007 at 7:01 am
You do not need to be concerned. The case “Lord Matt” refers to is not about “damage to their/my business” and since he has brought my name into it I feel a response is in order. The case is not about Mathew Brown (alias “Lord Matt”) stating negative views about the SEO techniques used, however rude and hectoring his language may have been. After all, the details of search engine optimisation techniques are hardly a matter for the courts.
The case to be answered is that Mathew Brown libelled Dr Notley, in that Mr Brown alleged that Dr Notley lied to members about receiving money for advertising. These allegations are false, and extremely damaging to Dr Notley, an honest businessman, and Mr Brown will fail in his defence because the truth of these matters is capable of independent audit.
However, while sharing your views about the importance of retaining an independent voice, you do not need to be concerned in this instance. The removal of the offending article(s) will have no effect on any bloggers’ right to express their views about businesses or governments, so long as they refrain from defamatory falsehoods, which has always been the case, and I hope will always remain so. I assume you would not support anyone’s right to publicly defame you, me or anyone else with false allegations.
You may publish these remarks if you publish them in full and without editing or interjections.
September 11th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
It’s like having a stalker or something. (shakes head). Hope everything worked out for you - sorry for bringing this fuss to your door step I’m sure it’s the last thing you need.
September 29th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Hi
I posted here back in May and so far since I dropped a note re: contacting the DMA I’ve not heard a word from them since (touch wood).
All the best