Name: John Lewis
Rating: 2.65

“MY HORROR STORY - I WILL NEVER BUY FROM JOHN LEWIS OR WAITROSE OR ANYTHING WITHIN THAT GROUP AGAIN: Here's the story (names removed) This is taken from a complaint email I sent via John Lewis' online 31 Jan 17: Ordered £50 of shopping for my wife and daughter online from John Lewis' website. An email from Hermes suggested that they were supposed to deliver on Friday 3 Feb. In fact the email, sent at 11.51 claimed that delivery has been attempted by Hermes. I had been in all morning and my wife had been back since 10 a.m. Note that despite, John Lewis email of 2 Feb saying “Your order includes items that may be left in a safe location if there is no one available at the delivery address. Hermes will leave a card with further instructions if they're unable to complete the delivery or to let you know the item has been left in a safe location or with a neighbour” no note was left and although at least a couple of our neighbours were in and no attempt was made to leave any parcel with them. Also from the tracking information on the Hermes website it showed that the driver should have sent an email or text at 09:18 and that a delivery attempt had been made at 11:33. This was impossible as my wife had been in the kitchen preparing scrambled eggs at that time and the kitchen window looks out onto the front where the delivery van would have arrived. Even if the driver had missed the bell we would still have heard him knock and seen him. It is clear to us that the driver is mistaken about delivery to our house. At 12.21 I called John Lewis’ customer services number to find out what was going on and expected to receive the outstanding customer service that I had received in the past. Sadly not!. The John Lewis customer services attendant, only gave his first name which was okay by me as long as he could identify himself further which he did by giving me his employee id (fake I believe from subsequent conversations). He was flippant, totally lacking any empathy, unhelpful and unapologetic – in fact his tone was that these things happen and delivery would be reattempted the next day. He was not interested in the fact that the driver had obviously lied to us, Hermes and John Lewis. I asked to speak to his manager and he was resistant. In the end he said he would put me through to his manager. Instead he put me through to a totally different department - the Case Management Team. So here was another person in this delivery chain misleading me the customer. CASEMANAGER was a much better listener and did apologize but again did not seem to take the matter of the potential fraud committed by the Hermes driver seriously and said he could not guarantee delivery today. I explained that in my opinion given that the driver appeared to have simply lied and Hermes are John Lewis’ customer and we are yours, the least that Hermes should be liable to do is to immediately rectify the situation and deliver today. Again he said he could not guarantee this. I asked to speak to his manager who I was told is called XXXX and is on holiday. So I asked to speak to his manager’s manager and was told CASEMANAGER would fetch him and I would have to wait. I requested that CASEMANAGER speak with Hermes whilst I spoke to his manager and was told this would not be possible as I would be on the line. So I asked him to get his manager to call me back after listening to the calls and speaking with both CASEMANAGER and FIRSTPERSONISPOKETO. I asked for the name of his manager’s manager and was told that it would actually be another Team Leader – so it seems I had been misled. CASEMANAGER said MANAGER would be dealing with this. He would call Hermes and call me straight back in the meantime. I have had no call back from MANAGER. I wrote the above in a complaint letter as noted above and this is the response I got at at 23:30: “Thank you for your email regarding your customer service experience with John Lewis. At John Lewis, we aspire to offer the highest level of service and we are terribly sorry that, on this occasion, we have not met your expectations. Having reviewed your case, I can see that our Management team are currently investigating this matter. I can confirm that redelivery of your order was attempted at 3pm today and that another attempt is arranged for tomorrow, Saturday 4 February 2017. I hope this information proves useful. If we can assist you any further, please do not hesitate to contact us again. Yours sincerely, FIRSTNAME JohnLewis.com” In fact this is what happened: 13:04 CASEMANAGER 14:50 – 15:58 – I sat in the kitchen and worked facing the window in case the package arrived. It did not. 15:59 – I called the John Lewis customer services line and a lady took the call and said she would put me through to speak to CASEMANAGER whose extension I gave her – was on hold with horrid music for 12 mins. Ended the call and called back more music. 16:13 Called again – got a lady who was lovely and said he was only a couple of desks away and actually went over to him (without putting the horrid music on) and gave him details. She came back and asked me to hang up so CASEMANAGER could call me directly. He did about five minutes later and said he had spoken to Hermes and said they had said that they could not locate the new driver – had texted, emailed and left messages for him. 16.49 – Michael called again and assured me delivery would be made. This last call interrupted an important business call that I had already postponed by half an hour and which has not been finished as a result of having to speak with your offices for so long. 18:21 as no delivery had been made I called again and was put on hold again by ANOTHERPERSON while he transferred me to CASEMANAGER. Instead of transferring me he came back and said that he had been speaking to a manager about protocol – so again a lie – and that after putting me on hold for 4 minutes he needed to take some more information. I asked for the name of the ‘manager’ he had been speaking to and he said it was a large department and he did not know every manager’s name. I was waiting for a call from my wife so I did not have time to be put on hold again and cut the call short. 19:17 –I called again and spoke with YETANOTHERPERSON who refused to give me any form of identification other than her FIRST name and said that she was in customer services but would not say where. She also said that she would not give me her team leader’s name. She also made it clear that she was not aware of the calls are recorded and said that she did not give me a permission to record the course although I didn't say I was recording call I said that these calls are being recorded by which I meant that the recording what's been done by John Lewis she argued. 19:21 – FINALCUSTOMERSERVICESPERSON dealt with the call very professionally (except again refusing to provide more than a first name) – but I was kept on the phone for half an hour at the end of which all he could offer was that Hermes (who he had been speaking with whilst I held) wanted my number so they could call me to arrange delivery. He said Hermes had told him that the drivers only worked till 8 pm so unlikely the delivery would be made then as it was 7.45 p.m. and so it would be tomorrow probably. I reiterated that no one might be in – my daughter and I are going to London and my wife has a lot of things to do out of the house. I said that I felt I had given Hermes sufficient opportunity to remedy the crime committed by their driver and that I would need to refer the matter to the Police for resolution if they did not address the matter. I also suggested that the order be redirected to a Waitrose or John Lewis store for collection by us. I suggested that without prejudice you waive the order cost and give us a good will gesture on top. I asked that these matters be passed onto CASEMANAGER. I think it is shocking that a customer should be lied to and treated this way – I have shopped at John Lewis for many, many years and am an occasional Waitrose customer. I was about to get John Lewis’ broadband but had been put off by a lot of bad reviews – now I understand why. This is not the brand I grew up with and came to see as synonymous with quality and assurance. It is rather the brand that hates its customer and lies, is complicit in fraud and worse.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“What went wrong, well that would be everything! Wish I had read reviews on this site and Trustpilot before ordering online with John Lewis. Customer Service is appalling. Ordered trainers for Christmas present, received wrong size. Left a query about exchange via e-mail, no response so ordered from another company. Later received an e-mail two minutes before 24 hour deadline expired saying further to our telephone conversation (what conversation??? ) a replacement had been sent. Returned original pair with an RMA number and advised Click & Collect receptionist I did not want replacement. End of story, not! Received two texts and one e-mail next day to collect trainers so decided to collect them and return them myself. Trainers sent to Waitrose by mistake but could not be found, assistant rang John Lewis who could find no trace, had been marked on system as delivered, I don't think so. After several angry e-mails I was told that trainers had been wrongly marked down on system and I would receive confirmation of receipt and refund by 30.12.16, another mistake, very angry now because I had been made out as though I was the guilty party. Received e-mail 23.12.16 showing confirmation of receipt. But four weeks later, end of January still no refund. Disgusting service and no way to test customers. John Lewis you need to shut down your on-line operation it is not fit for purpose.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Be very wary of buying from John Lewis on line. From our recent experience, if anything goes wrong, they don't want to know. After failed delivery slots and the eventual delivery of damaged goods by incompetent installers I have wasted hours of my time on the phone being put on hold, waiting for return calls that never came and waiting for replies to emails with something other than a standard assurance that 'someone will get back to me' which, in spite of their own time limits, they fail to do. We have been treated with utter contempt and given endless, stalling platitudes and promises that they are 'looking in to it' The truth seems to be that once they have your money, that is that! Their customer service stinks and makes a complete joke of their customer care ethic. I have all the above supported with documentation and am trying to get contact with a senior manager in the company who may actually care! Take a chance if you like with your purchase but expect nothing but problems if anything goes wrong!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Delivery guys came to my place at the wrong time despite my attempts to warn them there won't be anyone when they come. So I had to adapt and go late for work because they would not return my calls or message. Once they arrived they were just extremely rude yelling and swearing at me while I was getting ready for work. They were not able to replace the dishwasher because they have no knowledge in plumbery whatsoever. So they left the old one plugged and the new one unplugged. Thanks! Next time I'll just call amazon. If people are still maybe ordering with John Lewis because they expect some service and customer care just stop right away, they are just here to deliver nothing more. Oh and they also will be more expensive than amazon because you have to pay a full chain of useless people (including the ones who will read this review) in the company anytime you buy from them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I urge everyone to not shop at the john lewis in chelmsford essex, i went to buy some perfume and the woman on the fragrance department called Victoria was so rude and nasty i ended up in tears and just left without buying what i wanted, i wont be back until shes gone and so far ive got 11 people to bycot here and im hoping to get more. Shame on you john lewis.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Husband bought a mac book air for Christmas. Been using two weeks and on opening the led screen shattered. On calling the helpline I was advised to return it to the store. I was advised it would have to be sent off for assessment with Apple and the laptop was taken by the store. Week later and after no update or further info I contacted JL who told me someone would get in touch .... waited ... waited so posted on Facebook and after another day finally had a call today. The laptop would cost nearly the price I paid to have it repaired as it was deemed to be damaged on my part !!!! If you count opening the laptop as me damaging it ! How can I argue or get any other result ? No customer reassurance or trust at all just go back to Apple. I was told I could have the laptop back without repairs not told how or when ? Totally let down, disappointed and disgusted by JL . Will not buy again go straight to Apple !”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I ordered a few items in the sale, two parcels in total! After a few days, I contacted john lewis as I'd not received them! To find out they'd been delivered? Confused! Yes I was too! I used parcel motel to deliver my goods to Southern Ireland ( as jl) wouldn't go past the border! I was then told using parcel motel was against their t&c and it was my fault! I contacted parcel motel who did a sweep of the warehouse, found 1 parcel! Turned out jl hadn't labelled it correctly hence I hadn't got it! Missed half the address off! I got parcel 1! Unfortunately parcel 2 is still missing is worth £100, jl are giving me mixed responses! 1 customer service person offers a refund another takes that offer away! Disgraceful! I'm £90 put of pocket! The only people in this whole story who've been helpful are parcel motel! Avoid john lewis! The customer service telephone line is awful! Muppets! They even agreed with me that this will go on for ever and I'll be pushed from pillar to post! It's now been nearly 1 month, parcel still missing no refund! AVOID!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Really disappointed!!! Not recommended I've been in the UK for about 4 years. My experience with John Lewis is the most horrible, annoying, bad experience. Especially with their online customer service . One minor thing could be considered good is that they answer quicly, but they can't find any solution. An item that I bought online was delivered by Hermes to the wrong address or disappeared and after five calls in two days nothing has happened. My item still missing and whenever I call again they say the same story the same bla bla....My First and the last experience with John Lewis as I don't need any further headache!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Really disappointed!!! Not recommended I've been in the UK for about 4 years. My experience with John Lewis is the most horrible, annoying, bad experience. Especially with their online customer service . One minor thing could be considered good is that they answer quicly, but they can't find any solution. An item that I bought online was delivered by Hermes to the wrong address or disappeared and after five calls in two days nothing has happened. My item still missing and whenever I call again they say the same story the same bla bla....My First and the last experience with John Lewis as I don't need any further headache!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I ordered (no: 105612423) a washing machine and selected a delivery date. Waited one week for my delivery date to arrive and arranged a family member to stay in for collection. I even called up twice during the day to confirm delivery will be taking place, customer services confirm this. Then at 7pm I call up again, to be informed a third party will be arranging delivery. I call up the third party who know nothing about my pre-arranged delivery date and now want me to commit to another date the following week. Complete shambles. Over a week without a washing machine to then be messed around. I really did expect better from John Lewis. In future I shall be taking my business elsewhere.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Having always shopped at John Lewis, safe in the knowledge that if ever I had a problem with any goods purchased, it would be resolved. However, this is no longer the case! Having spent thousands with John Lewis over the last 2 years alone, having completely refurbished my property from scratch, I thought that when a problem with an integrated Zanussi Fridge/Freezer purchased last year occurred a few weeks ago, that the problem would be dealt with and resolved. How wrong was I? The engineer visited and I was told that the circuit board was faulty and he therefore, replaced it, but said that in order to complete the repair, I had to defrost the entire unit for 24 hours with both doors open. So, what happens to my food you may ask? It gets spoiled, that's what! John Lewis accept NO responsibility for loss of food in a fridge or a freezer as it is stated in their terms and conditions that they accept no liability for this. This is what a particularly ignorant individual in their customer service team, Gurmet, who, in her droning, monotonous voice kept repeating as if she was some sort of robot. Her only advice to me was that I defrost it when I have less food in it! What sort of advice is that? She continually talked over the top of me and would not listen to what I was saying because as far as I am concerned, if a product is under guarantee, the consumer should not incur any loss whatsoever - regardless of their policy. Sometimes, it is just common sense to waive such ridiculous terms. She also kept harping on that their terms and conditions complied with Trading Standards. Not sure, in this instance, how accurate that is. I also asked what if I didn't defrost the appliance and her answer was "well, the engineer will have to visit again". Eventually, as I felt like punching this condescending idiot, I hung up and since then, I have sent two emails, but of course, to date, they have been ignored. So, anybody thinking that John Lewis is a safe bet to purchase any goods from, I strongly advise you to think again. They are utterly useless! I expect they'll reply and repeat themselves again regarding their terms and conditions, or they'll complain that I've used an individual's name. Why, I don't know because this is a review site and any seeing as John Lewis do not reply to my emails regarding a complaint about a staff member, then they should be named and shamed on public review sites.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This company really needs to wake up. They are stuck in the last century and still being kept afloat by people who like to pay top dollar for a poor service. They cannot deliver on time as they seem to only work Monday to Friday. A Saturday does not seem to count for a working day at the distribution department. I will stick to Amazon on the future.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I.placed an order on 28.12.2016 for a double divan bed and the order was confirmed and I was given a delivery date of 05.01.2017, I then received a call on the 04.01.2017 to say that they could not deliver as they have no stock and that I needed to contact John Lewis.com? I found that a bit strange as I had placed the order thru the Liverpool Store. I then called John Lewis .Com and guess what they couldn't help as the order was placed in store . I then had to wait a further 3 hours for a call back to be told that something has gone wrong (obviously). I was then told that I would have to choose another item and If it was in stock they would try and deliver on the arranged date,as I needed the bed delivering before the weekend as I am moving into a new house I had no alternative but to choose another bed (not the one I wanted) appalling service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I've been promted to write this review after the terrible service received regarding an order my brother placed for my Christmas present. An email was sent confirming the items were due to arrive in the Abingdon branch of Waitrose on the 28th of November. On the 28th of November the order wasn't in store and they had no record of the order. Nor was it in store the next day ( and on a third occasion they tried lying about 'being too late to collect it'.) I contacted customer services with the order number but they 'could only deal with the email address from which the order was placed.' When my brother contacted them, the response was priceless 'someone could have contacted you to tell you that there was a problem processing the order - you'll have to cancel and reorder.' No thanks. I wrote another email to which I received no reply. Appalling.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“So we order a TV before Christmas on the #JohnLewis website, they sent us an email and text message confirming that the TV will arrive on the 30th of December 2016, between 7am and 2pm. No TV arrived in that time slot, so we called them and they said TV is out of stock!! They failed to notify us in anyway. The TV is now not available and will not be back in stock. They didn't care that they had made an error on their end up in a major way. The customer service standards are so poor. Well you just lost a valuable customer #JohnLewis we will gladly take my money elsewhere!!! #JohnLewis #JohnLeiwspoorservice #JohnLewisbadattitude”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Purchased a sports shirt today and asked if I could pay contact less, 'no, we don't do contact less, most of our customers spend more than £30' oh dear, I must be a cheapskate!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The worst! Guaranteed delivery before Christmas, by them and equally as bad delivery service Hermes. Nothing arrived. Made two 20 minute calls from the USA to two idiots. Then received an email wanting my CC details. No refund, no product. That's it.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Only giving john Lewis 1 star because a no star rating was not available . Ordered Jean Paul gaultier perfume on 6th December 2016 , after repeatedly checking the tracking feature of my parcel (which said on it's way to courier) I eventually phoned them in the 18th as my item had not arrived in the 5 days it stipulated on their web page , the operative had no idea where my parcel was weather it had been delivered or lost . I was told the following day the courier , Hermes, would contact me to arrange delivery or tell me wot was happening . Gues wot ... Nothing so I phoned john Lewis again , no help wots lever again and by this time the product was out if stick so I could have another delivers , I had no option to have a refund . Their left hand doesn't know wot their right hand I'd doing , between john Lewis and Hermes the outfit is very disjointed and it seems no one wants to take control once they have ur money . A very poor service from a company which seems to have a very good name for itself , but after this experience I cannot see why .”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Bought £1500 worth of TV and stuff, delivery arranged for 2-9pm one day, but at 8pm (1 hour before deadline!) they phoned to say unable to deliver. Wanted me to re-schedule or cancel, after I had waited in the whole afternoon. Also I had already removed old TV from wall, so left without TV and a messy living room for whole weekend. Eventually delivered 3 days later. Should there not be some compensation? JL refused any compensation, and seems to think that just because they delivered a few days later there was no breach of contract. Nothing on goodwill either.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I called to put an order in for few Christmas hamper on Friday night, the lady who picked up the phone sounded like a 5 year old, over duration of 40 minutes( while I was paying 30pence a minute) she kept on making a mistake and appologising for it, to the point that Amex stoped my card because of all the suspicious activities on the card, I asked to speak to the manager snd she said there are no managers available!!!! Now I have never experienced such poor service in my life! So at the end I went to another company and they were more then happy to take my money! My advice is try somewhere else before you try John Lewis!!????”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier, Own Driver
Average Delivery Time	Over A Month
On-time Delivery	Greater than 40%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 67%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.3 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

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