Why I am Boycotting anyone who uses YODEL

Every Christmas I always buys and makes presents, this year I am planning to do something different from my usual biscuits/truffles and needed a food processor for this. I had some Tesco vouchers left over as well as they are doing their double value if you spend on them on certain things like kitchen appliances.

I ordered it and it had said about 5 days so I waited. I got text message and an email from Tesco apologising that there will be a delay as they were busy, it's Christmas if they weren't busy I would of been more worried. A few days later I got a dispatched email and the following day I had a text from the courier saying that they would be there between 12am and 9pm.

8.50pm and I'm calling Texco customer line (who are open until 11pm), after a 10 minute got an apologies and a £5 credit to my account as an apology. They said it was likely that the driver ran out of time and I was on the delivery list tomorrow. I cancelled my plans for the next day and stayed in with Beth.

8.55pm came and I was on the phone again, this time a little less understanding. They only had an email from the delivery an hour before saying that there was a four day delay on my delivery, that was sitting snugly in a warehouse lock up somewhere. I was off, "So when was I going to be told?" etc. More apologies, then I asked who their courier was - YODEL.

I might as well give up seeing my food processor ever again or delivered in one piece.

I am now waiting for my delivery to finally appear, as yet they cannot give me a day/time as to when I finally get my delivery. I am also waiting for Tesco customer service to contact so I can lodge a formal complaint about using YODEL as the clever people of YODEL do not have a customer service department. I have a theory that there is a very good reason for that.

From now I am not buying for any company that uses YODEL, I have had enough of the lack of communication, the disrespect for the customers their serve, and the disregard for the packages they deliver. I was recommended to look at a Twitter account called YODELHell which then led me to their website (YODELhell.co.uk) a collection of horror stories from users and staff. Those should be enough to stop using them.

I actually ordered clothing from Tesco's a few days afterwards and they arrived earlier than anticipated by Hermes courier. This I was surprised as those who were reading last year would know I had my own issues with them (For those who want to re-visit New Look and the Missing Hermes Delivery)

For now I shall wait and hope.

Truffle Shuffle Wishlist

1. Ladies Grey Marl DC Comics Batman Slogan T-Shirt
2. Wonderland Bunny Cotton Tail Cotton Wool Dispenser 
3. Disney Couture Braver Than You Believe Winnie The Pooh Bangle
4. Ladies Snow White Never Too Old Wide Neck Sweater   
5. Ladies White Pat Sharp And The Twins Fun House Rolled Sleeve Boyfriend T-Shirt
6. Ladies Grey Marl Batman Logo Sweater 
7. Ladies Pinky And The Brain Take Over The World T-Shirt

 I love Truffle Shuffle and by the end of this if you don't realise this then there's something wrong with you. 

I tripped over them in 2009 and fell in admiration of their love of everything geeky, nerdy and the pleasure of being a big kid. My first order with them was to order a Top Gun Viper t-shirt to give my husband on the morning of our wedding (His gamer name is VIP3R). I've lusted over number 7 for as long as I've remembered, they've recently re-designed it and it looks as good as ever!

I've had the honour of winning one of their Friday Facebook competitions and won £25 to spend on the site (as well as my cousin in law). The biggest thrill was recently featuring as one of their Instagrammers for my picture of my bargain (£3.99) Mickey Mouse ears necklace.

 
 The customer service are brilliant, you can tell they love their job, I had a long chat with one when I won their competition and they were over the moon it was a fan who won it. The social media guy(s) are also just as great, which in this day is good, they never step over the mark and are just as big geeks/nerds as their customers.

New Look and the Missing Hermes Delivery

I had had my eye on these really lovely shirts from New Look for ages and was overjoyed when I spotted them in the sale Christmas Eve for better than half price. I scapped the last of my pennies together and purchased them with a set of t-shirts. This was durinf sale time so I couldnt't get them delivered in store like I normally would do so I paid for the courier service at £3.95.

I waited and waited, I sent them an email along the lines of, "I think I should of had my order by now". I decided to call them as well as I had some free time, they were polite and passed this on to be investigated. I got a email a few days later saying that this was delivered on a day where 4/5 members of my family (including myself) were at home, and I know no one has collected the order on my behalf.

I came home from seeing my parents today to find that the package had been dumped on the doorstep. I picked it up to find that it had been opened and the open end tucked undernethe to make it look like it has just been delivered. I was fuming at this point, got indoors and started to empty it and check it all. Not only has it been opened but one of the t-shirts had been stolen and one of the shirts had been taken out tried on and put back into the packaging. This point I was screaming, Husband came running and as I explained it all to him I cried my eyes out, how could anyone have the guts to do this?

He insistated that he call New Look instead of me as I was so upset, so as I hiccuped tears he called the customer care and spoke to them. They had already started to investigate after my original complaint and found that the person has just signed my initals (that could of easily got from the package) and confirmed as delivered.

Not only were New Look sympathic but also agreed to refund the whole order as a measure of goodwill as the package had already been reported as lost (as well as keeping the remianing items). I cannot fault New Look for their customer service, they have been far better than expected and I am more than happy with the outcome. My issue is with the courier company.

This is what I suspected has happened, either the courier has signed for it on my behalf, taken it, found that it was all maternity clothing, taken what they want delieverd what was left; or any person has signed for it and done the same.

If i had known that Hermes was the courier used then I wouldn't of ordered, and in future will always get it delivered to the store. I wanted to publish this so people are aware and so it doesn't happen to someone else. It really shouldn't of happened to me in the first place.

When Threading Goes Wrong

As part of my pre-Christmas party preparation, I went to get my eyebrows threaded again. I am very lazy when it comes to body maintenance and will leave it to the last possible moment to get hair cut etc. I also wanted to save all of it so I can have a pampering day before getting ready for the event.

I had been previously to this place once before (Sorry no naming and shaming here) and last time I was really happy with the result so decided to go back. This is an actually salon in my town centre that has a walk in brow bar, they also have different stores around the local area. I got beckoned asked to sit down and I explained what it is I wanted (I always say just a tidy and shape as I prefer the more 'bushy' eyebrow).

I let her set to work and was chattering away, with my arms pulling at the skin so it didn't hurt. I was shown the mirror and to me it didn't look that bad, just very swollen as it had just been done. I went home and waiting for the evening to come before I did my make up.

Do you know that feeling where you know something is not quite right? Well I had this when putting on my make up for the night, I brushed it off that the swelling might not be 100% gone and carried on enjoying my evening. It was until the next night where I was cleaning my face that I asked my husband to look at them, and even he said that looked uneven and took a photo (Warning: No Makeup!)

It seemed that my left hand (which is the right in the photo) is more bushy than the right, also the gap in the middle looks one sided. I emailed the company the next day with the attached photo and they replied quickly saying that not only will they get their senior therapist to correct it but give me a £10 voucher as an apology.

I did go back the Friday after Christmas to correct it and even though they do look better, the Senior Therapist did what she could with them. It turns out that the lady I had hadn't been there long and it made her panic a little that I have a scar in left eyebrow (I walked into a coffee table when I was two and had stiches), I fed back that maybe if she didn't feel that confident that some extra time with herself would be better.

This is what I am taking away from this experience: Always get the name of the therapist before you leave if you like how they did the treatment and make sure you get that person again.

Knowing Your Customer Rights

First of all a huge thank you to Grace from All That Slap for getting me wound up about Beauty Advisors, I have previously ranted about them here as well as my experience of being a former Counter Manager.

Knowing Your Rights

Sale of Goods Act 1979 states that when purchase an item from anywhere like a shop, you and the seller go into an agreement that the goods they are selling are

• as described - If it says a red jumper, it cannot be a pair of blue trousers
• of satisfactory quality - product must last a reasonable amount of time, a watch that lasts a day is not of satisfactory quality.
• fit for purpose - covers not only the obvious purpose of an item but any purpose you queried and were given assurances about by the seller.

This is applicable if you are purchasing in the UK, if it is abroad you are subject to their laws so it's worth reading up before purchasing.

Before purchasing anything I always ask what the returns policy is, there is normally a time limit when you can take items back (on average I've found 28 days). I would also take the name of the person who is serving you as well as a back up. If possible get a sample to try so you don't open the product up as it is more likely they will take it back.

Pay on card - You'll find out why in the next bit.

I have something to return, now what do I do?

Find your proof of purchase, it's the most powerful bit of paper you can take with you.

If you have lost the receipt, this is where the paying by card comes in - A majority of companies do also take bank statements as proof of purchase, and can also go back through their till audits to find the transactions (this however takes a long time and normally can only be done by certain people so there is a long wait involved, they might even ask you to come back another day).

Explain clearly why you are bringing it back, keeping the Sales of Goods Act 1979 in mind, and also what end result you would want and be willing to negotiate/compromise.

What is their rights as a seller?

They have the right to offer you (and probably in this order):

• A repair.
•  A replacement.
•  A refund.

As I mentioned before ask what their policy is before purchasing and take the sales assistants name.

"I am not getting the result I want"

First of all, remember they have a business to protect as well, that is why there are policies and time limits in place.

If they are being stubborn and you have followed everything that ask been asked of you to the letter, then demand to speak to someone higher like a manager. If in a department store, you can speak to several middle managers like department (who look after the section) or floor (who look after the whole floor, thus are higher management), you will very rarely speak to a store manager as I find they are hardly in the store hence the floor managers.

If this is still not resolved to your satisfaction then contact the company directly, put in as much detail as possible - who you spoke to, when, why you are speaking to them. Any company who values their customers will do everything to resolve the issue as they do not want an unhappy customer telling the world how bad their service was.

If you want to take it even further (and yes you can within your rights) you can contact the Citizen's Advice. They can offer support and legal advice on what to do. Same as contacting the companies head office, make sure you have as much detail as possible. It can go as far as going to court, but I have never heard of any retail purchases going this far.

I hope this has been a huge help for you. For me, great customer service is how a company not only handles it sales but ultimately how it handles it complaints.

My email and Twitter is always open (and if I don't know, I normally know someone who will).

You Give Customer Service A Bad Name

Today's hottest topic from Twitter has been customer service on make up counters, after Goss Make Up Artists YouTube video on people's worst experiences. Some of them are shocking, one ending with the customer being called 'fat' by the brand's make up 'artist' and being escorted out of the building by them. I could of honestly cried for the poor woman, all she wanted was some help and to feel fantastic and had her self confidence ruined.

As it was point out by Goss, not all counters are like this - I should know as I was a Account Manager for Estee Lauder for 3 and half years. Part of my role was to oversea that my staff did their job, that they made the customer feel like they had an experience and found the solution they were looking for. This was done in coaching sessions, observation work and open discussion. I was extremely lucky, my team were amazing and all of us not only worked incredible hard but loved what we did (One is now a published Make Up Artist in top Asian Media).

However, I did see the dark side of sales - Pushy sales people and are only there so they can get their discounted make up for their kits. I've seen the leaning on counters and the I'd rather be somewhere else attitude. I have been guilty of not feeling motivated on the days where I've been on my feet for 8 hours, one member of staff has called in sick so this means I would normally would have to work longer. It is still my job and the customer is here for my advice and help not listen to my upsets.

What advice can I offer from the other side?

If you do met someone that you connect with and like them, get their name and what hours they do. They will get a percentage of your money for what you purchase and I look at it like this - If you were in restaurant and thought that a person had gone the extra mile you would leave a tip. Don't like what they were, take your money elsewhere (no one earns commission on internet purchases).

Treat them like a real person, treat them how you would want to be treated yourself. You will not believe how many rude customers I have still carried on serving, I am still a professional but I am also a person. Kill it with kindness is still my favourite motto.

I know the biggest bug bear with everyone is samples. I have sat in regional meetings and asked until I'm blue in the face for more sampling. Times are changing - foundation sampling is now more wide spread and I now has decreased the returning of foundation (which is the biggest amount of items returned). Samples are limited, and they are there to be used as a promotional tool. At least be prepared to hand over an email address in exchange (I have an email address, just for this purpose). Ask if you want bring in a clean pot so an amount can be added in, if you have shown an interest in the product there really shouldn't be a problem (but it is at your own risk and don't expect a huge amount).

I do miss my days on counter, making a customer feel fantastic after months, years of frustration cannot be brought. It is with a heavy heart that I read people's experiences of bad customer service, it makes me want to scream that it's not like that. There is a huge percentage of us who love make up and have a huge passion for it. If you do not complain then it won't be dealt with, and don't leave it until you get home - get the manager and cause a stink, it has more impact and will embarrass them into doing something rather than dismissing an email.

Please do not let one person put you off going to counters, but don't let them get away with it easier.