I wrote a carefully considered complaint about as poor customer service experience on August 14. The website complaint page states that replies will be made in five working days. An email acknowledgment re-stated this time as 20 days. I chased it up three weeks later and the customer service op claimed that there was no record of my complaint. A further phone call at 18 working days was met with intransigence bordering on rudeness -- there is apparently no route for a complainant to speak to people who know about complaints i.e. in the complaints section. I wrote a letter to Lucy Gilmore, the director, at Bradley Stoke, and also sent an email reminder that the complaint was out of time and a telephone call without further delay would be mutually helpful and appropriate.
There has been no actual reply, just the email acknowledgement referred to.
Most issues can be sorted out fairly easily via a conversation with a knowledgeable person.
An impersonal, bureaucratic approach which 'stonewalls' the person trying to be heard will always inflame a difficult situation.
Failure to make a meaningful reply with reasonable promptness will always exacerbate a grievance into anger and that can be costly.
In 1965 I remember customer 'service' which was like this. Customer relationships were not greatly valued or understood at that time. Most companies have learned a lot in 50 years and become far more professional -- apparently the RAC is still back in 1965. I am appalled by the unprofessional, intransigent responses I have encountered at every level in trying to take this (relatively straightforward) complaint forward. I do feel the need to warn prospective members of this via consumer organisations.
There has been no actual reply, just the email acknowledgement referred to.
Most issues can be sorted out fairly easily via a conversation with a knowledgeable person.
An impersonal, bureaucratic approach which 'stonewalls' the person trying to be heard will always inflame a difficult situation.
Failure to make a meaningful reply with reasonable promptness will always exacerbate a grievance into anger and that can be costly.
In 1965 I remember customer 'service' which was like this. Customer relationships were not greatly valued or understood at that time. Most companies have learned a lot in 50 years and become far more professional -- apparently the RAC is still back in 1965. I am appalled by the unprofessional, intransigent responses I have encountered at every level in trying to take this (relatively straightforward) complaint forward. I do feel the need to warn prospective members of this via consumer organisations.