On the 31st of March, I placed an order for a ElectriQ television, spending £252.00. The TV arrived the next day which was great, but low and behold the TV was completely smashed from the inside. I was so shocked as It would have taken some damage to the TV for this to happen, and being that I was so careful, I knew I had not caused the problem.
I alerted Appliances Direct the same day, by phone and email. I then provided photos, and then more photos, and every time felt like I was being accused of breaking the TV when I would speak to the customer team. Not one of your agents was apologetic or helpful and just kept telling me a case manager would call me within 24hrs since I submitted the photos, and once they had been reviewed.
I was waiting and waiting and kept calling every day for an update. In total, I phoned 9 times over the course of two weeks before FINALLY getting a case manager to call me and say that they would take the TV back. The case manager was great and booked a collection for the next day. She also told me she was confused about why none of the agents had booked the return sooner as they have the capabilities of doing this. We finally were getting somewhere, TV had left and a replacement television arrived on Tuesday 14th exactly two weeks after the initial order.
The first thing I did was check the replacement television this time, and low and behold, the TV was exactly the same and the first, completely smashed from the inside. The frustration I felt when this happened again was beyond belief. I don't know if its a fault of the tv company, the mishandling of the courier companies, but quite frankly I do not care. Appliances Direct have my money, and I do not have the service I paid for.
Faulty TV’s happen, mishandling happens, but what I cannot and will not accept is bad customer service, where I was made to feel like I had broken the product and was cheating the system, to them have the exact same situation happen again. It’s beyond a joke, its quite frankly disgusting service.
The replacement TV was collected on Friday 17th April (Nearly 3 weeks post initial purchase) and I am still, waiting, for yet another case manager to call me. I assume I have two options, get a refund, which means that I wasted 3 weeks, without having a television in lockdown, to still be without one, or take the risk of a 2nd replacement which could also be broken like the others? Either way, the risk is still mine to bear.
As a company, you need to give your staff much better training in customer service and help them understand that they are there to help and support, me the client, not treat me like I am a nuisance. I kept my cool and was pleasant with all your staff, even when they could not give me answers, but I am at my last breaking point. I need support, and I this all to resolved immediately.
Beyond dissatisfied customer.