Not to put too fine a point on it, but I’ve been without glasses for two weeks because these guys are rude, incompetent idiots.
My glasses were broken at the Shambala Music Festival. I shouldn’t have left them on the floor of the tipi, but I did and they got trodden on. It happens. One of the arms (legs?) had snapped off.
After the festival, I took them back to my optometrists, who had changed ownership since I bought the glasses, but who said they’d get them fixed. It would cost £15. A week and a bit later, and after quite a bit of chasing, my glasses were returned to me, wonky but in one piece. They hadn’t fixed the spring hinge, but merely glued or possibly soldered the arm back on.
Of course, three weeks later, they fell to bits again. I took them in and made a fuss, as you do. I wanted them fixed properly – spring hinge and all – I wanted them done for free, and I wanted them as soon as possible.
‘About a week’, I was told.
After the week was up and I hadn’t heard anything, I went into the shop and asked what the deal was. After a bit of phoning the other branch, it turned out they were waiting to find out if the part was in stock. The glasses were exactly where they’d been left the day I dropped them off. Yes — a week to find out if they were in stock.
I was told they’d find out on Monday whether they could be fixed soon. So, after hearing nothing, I went back in on Tuesday. Ten days had passed. Why hadn’t anyone let me know what was going on? Why wasn’t I being allowed to see while they arsed about wondering whether they might have a part in stock for a week and a half?
They blamed their supplier — but assured me that they’d never had any problems with them before.
‘Well, that’s not true is it?’ I insisted, ‘Because we kind of had a problem like this last time too.’
The woman behind the counter reassured me that, no, they never have problems like this, and that this was all just me. Then the phone rang.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, and then began to talk for ten minutes to another customer on the phone while I stood there fuming. I mean, sure, answer the phone, but say ‘would you mind holding? I’m just serving another customer at the moment.’ I pointed this out, to which the cold reply was ‘I said excuse me…’.
Once off the phone, I repeated my demand that the glasses be fixed properly — as soon as possible — and that they better do the spring hinge. Replace the whole frame if necessary. Just bloody make it right, you intolerable, rude and customer-hating morons (I didn’t actually say that bit, but I meant it).
So anyway — long story short (honestly, this really is the short version), I finally got my glasses back today.
They’ve just kind of glued it back together, and there is no spring hinge on the ‘repaired’ side.
A letter will be forthcoming, demanding a new pair (I am not going another day without eyesight for those cretins), and then I will be collecting my prescription and going somewhere they know what they’re doing, know how to communicate with human beings and deliver what they promise.
Because Eye Society have just won the coveted prize of ‘worst overall customer service in the Moseley area’.
Avoid.
Right now:
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11 Comments
Get over it. Eyeglass frames have warranties that include manufacturers defects, but not stupidity, as in leaving them somewhere to get stepped on.
The opticians were trying to accommodate you. You brought in pulverized eyeglasses and expect a free miracle. It’s not unusual for a frame part to take WEEKS to arrive. They were probably afraid to tell you to buy a new frame. If you’re too CHEAP to cover your own damage, don’t get “wonky” at music festivals.
All I can say is… WAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
grow up dude
Interesting. So the appropriate response to appalling customer service is stoicism?
No, the appropriate response to breaking your glasses is to appreciate the effort to fix them. Apparently, the frame company, the optical, everyone but you is responsible for the fact that YOU broke your glasses. A manufacturer’s warranty should not have to cover your carelessness.
Now try crashing your car into a wall and then bring it back to the dealer to have it fixed under the warrantee.
To think you wanted fast and free service for your stupidity is laughable.
nteresting. So the appropriate response to appalling customer service is stoicism?
>>>>>
No, it IS appropriate to complain if your complaint is legit. YOURS isn’t.
No, I think I haven’t made myself clear. I asked for them to fix the glasses. They quoted a price and a time it would take to repair them. I paid the price, and then waited the time.
Only once they were fixed incompetently once (and fell to bits after only a few weeks), and then they offered to put things right for free did my issues really begin.
When I am quoted a fair price, and I am offered a service in exchange for that price, I do (perhaps unreasonably) expect the people I pay that money to do what they promised to do in the time they promised to do it.
These people did not do what I paid them to do, and nor did they do it in anywhere near the amount of time they said it would take. I still don’t have what I paid £15 for.
Sorry if this was difficult to understand.
I’m not sure where these commentators’ antagonism is coming from, Andrew, though it seems that Berry Maultsby is also the name of an optician in VA. :)
In fact, the deliberate misreading of your blog post to make it seem like you are the party to blame here does make it seem somewhat coordinated…
This is not my area of legal specialism, but let me reassure you: it’s entirely clear that your complaint is more than legitimate. You were not asking for something to be done for nothing. You paid for something and got nothing in return.
Let’s forget that it’s the same shop you purchased the glasses from in the first place, because there was no warranty claim involved here.
You took a broken pair of glasses into a business that repairs glasses. They quoted you a price to repair them to your satisfaction. They took your money and did not do the job. That’s a contractual breach by anyone’s standards. Not only that, they were clearly rude and failed to communicate with you when the work they had promised to do had been delayed. You are out of pocket as a result, and they will not only lose a repeat customer, but probably the custom of everyone you’ve ever met. And rightly so.
If these people had any sense, they would launch into damage control immediately, replace the glasses free of charge and hope to make things right with a lifetime customer that they treated so badly.
If I were you, I would take this to Trading Standards. It’s a clear breach of your consumer rights.
So ask for your money back–they’ll be glad to give it to you. Take it somewhere else you feel can fix them. Throw a hissy fit when they can’t fix them and when you have to wait while they answer the phone. Slam another business online. Too bad they can’t respond in kind to your behavior, I’m sure they have their side too and I doubt it’s pretty as you make out. Yes go to the Bureau of Consumer Whiners and hire Mr. Patterson, the solicitor. Maybe he can sue them out of business and have the staff executed and the shop burned down. I’d sure love to hear the other side of the story.
Wow — and I thought I was annoyed.
I was quite keen to hear their side of the story too, but when they had my glasses, it was very difficult to get them to communicate with me in any helpful sort of way.
I have no intention of suing anyone, getting people sacked or burning buildings to the ground, and nor am I preventing anyone from using the internet to respond. And I don’t really think I’m being unreasonable here. Annoyed, perhaps, but fair and honest.
I’d really like to think that if I took my glasses to another optician, and they told me they could fix them, took my money and told me it would be done in a week, that they’d be true to their word or let me know — perhaps by phone — if there were delays. I’d also like to think that they’d know a thing or two about customer service.
But perhaps you’re right: I haven’t had enough experience with opticians to say that with any certainty.
For the record, the people who ran this particular store when I bought the glasses had been nothing but delightful for the two years I’d dealt with them. But they’re not there anymore.
Can anyone please recommend somewhere local that at least do what they say they’re going to do and care whether their customers return or not? That would be most helpful.
And could somebody please call off the optical retribution squad? I complained about customer service. I didn’t say that all optometrists are thieves and liars. Get a grip.