Harrods' Customer Service...

chloehandbags

chloehandbags

ChloéClutchCollector
O.G.
Mar 23, 2006
13,314
175
#1
...Sucks! :tdown:

I'm sorry to have to be so blunt, but it's true!

So, I saw a bag I liked on the Harrods website, but when I checked back a few days later they had removed not just the bag, but the entire sale section.

That would be their prerogative, of course, except the website, itself, had said that the sale ended on the 26th and yet, the sale section had been removed almost a week earlier than that.

I thought it was unlikely the bag had sold-out, so I decided to email them via the online form to ask about its availability.

No reply. :shrugs:

Thinking this might be because I was emailing the wrong department, as I had selected 'Harrods Direct' from the drop-down menu (even though I would have thought that, if I had been, it shouldn't really be too much to ask for them to pass the message on?), I re-sent my message to the store itself.

This time, I received a reply saying, yes, they did still have the bag (two of them, in fact) and if they could be of any further assistance not to hesitate to contact them.

Success! Or so I thought...

I then replied to their email, asking what the current sale price was and whether there were any differences between the two bags (I, obviously, didn't want to be sent a dud!).

No reply, again. :shrugs:

So, I thought maybe it was asking too much of them to inspect the bags and tell me whether there were any differences/faults, so I replied to their (one and only) reply, again and asked, assuming the bag was the same price as it had been on the website, whether it would please be possible to reserve it for a few days, as I wanted to transfer some money from a savings account to a current account (I don't like using credit cards for store purchases, especially when I have the cash available).

No reply, yet again. :shrugs:

At this point, as I had only received one reply to my four messages/replies, I assumed they couldn't be receiving my emails; especially as that one reply was to the second message I sent via the website and the last two they hadn't replied to were direct replies from our email account.

So, my partner and I decided to called them today, expecting that they would plead ignorance, but were surprised to be told that they had been reserving the bag for me ever since they had received my last email and that I would have to pay for it by tomorrow (Saturday), otherwise both bags would be shipped off somewhere (sounded like Osterley, I think [but I could well be wrong!]?).

I told them that I had received no reply to my request to hold the bag and their answer was; 'Oh, someone was supposed to email you.' :blink:

No apology, or anything - as though, because someone had been supposed to email me, that made everything alright.

I was left feeling as though it was somehow my fault that they hadn't replied and certainly that it was my fault that I hadn't just assumed they would hold the bag, as per my request and transferred the money, anyway. :sad:

I, obviously, didn't want to transfer the money if I didn't need to (say the bag had already been sold, for example) and I was still more than willing to purchase the bag, assuming they had been willing to hold it for a few more (as it turned out) days.

Thing is, had they not wanted to hold it for a few more days, for me, due to wanting to put it back on the sales floor, I would have understood to a certain extent, as even though I wasn't informed that they were holding it, I wouldn't have objected, as much, had the reason for taking it off hold been to give other people a chance to buy it; but to refuse to hold it for me when the alternative was shipping it back to the distributor, or to an off-price retailer, or something, doesn't seem to make any sense, to me?

Surely, selling it to me, even on sale, would be preferable to that? :shrugs:

When we told them we would try to transfer the money anyway (which I realise is totally futile, as it'll take at least 3 working days to clear), as if to add insult to injury, they asked; 'Have you ever had anything shipped from Harrods before?', to which I replied; 'No, only from Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.' (I later remembered that that was incorrect, in a way, as I had on numerous occasions via the catalogue), they said; 'It'll cost £15 to £25.'.

Now, on the Harrods website, the shipping charge is £4.95 standard and £9.95 next day delivery and the highest possible charge is £13.00 for next day Saturday delivery.

All the items on the website are shipped from the store, apparently, so why should I be charged up to £20.00 more, just because the item is no longer listed on the website?

This bag isn't enormous, BTW, it's just a clutch and I've never had to pay more than £10 for shipping from any other London store, ever.

I realise I could give-in and pay for the bag via credit card but, quite frankly, why should I? I'm not even sure that I should buy anything from them, ever again, after this debacle.

For such a supposedly 'prestigious' store, I am extremely disappointed with Harrods' 'service' and if you can possibly avoid them and go with another store like Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, or Liberty, instead, quite frankly, I would.

Sorry for the looooong vent. :flowers:
 
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#2
Their website is pretty nightmarish and I'm never ordering anything from them again. I was charged £15 postage on a bottle of perfume sent over to Northern Ireland, instead of the £4.95. Of course I queried it and got a very matter of fact email back saying that £15 was correct!:wtf: I order stuff from London all the time and have never had to pay excess postage (as NI is part of the UK), so I don't know what they're playing at. They must be making an absolute packet for these extortionate postage rates!:tdown:

Sorry OP, that's my mini-rant over! I don't understand why your postage should be so high, it doesn't make any sense, and I really don't understand why their CS sucks so much either.:shrugs:You have my sympathies.:yes:

I personally will never do business with them again, unless it's in person.
 
#3
^ Sorry that happened to you. :sad:

£15.00? For some perfume? :wtf:

Of course, they can charge what they like, but if the website says £4.95, that's how much it should be. :yes:

Thanks for the moral support, BTW, Cornflower! :flowers:
 
#4
Your welcome!:flowers: As you can tell :nuts: I am still mighty peeved with them!! I think they stick NI in with the Highlands and Islands on their website for postage, which is just ridiculous imo, as most other online shops just recognise a UK postcode and that's it, standard UK shipping and I receive the items a day or two later.

If it's a bag I really, really wanted and there's no chance of getting it anywhere else, I might suck up the postage of £20 too, but it would leave a terrible taste in my mouth, especially with the failure to reply to emails etc.:sad:
They should really get their act together.

I hope your bag is wonderful though :yes:, and more than makes up for it all.:heart:
 
#5
^ Thanks again, Cornflower! :flowers:

But, TBH, I haven't decided whether I'm still going to get it, yet...

At this point, if the money hasn't transferred in time (which it, almost certainly, won't have) and if they still refuse to extend the hold/refrain from sending it off to Osterley (or wherever!), I really don't feel like buying it from them. :nogood:

Maybe I should ask where they're sending it and see if I can buy it from there, instead? :idea:

ITA about NI - the reason the Highlands and Islands cost more is because they're so inaccessible, whereas NI isn't, as far as I'm aware, is it (just stick it on a flight/ferry and there you are)?
 
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#6
That's awful-sounding customer relations. I will cetainly avoid Harrod's online like a plague after hearing this. If I were you I would send them a letter of complaint. A friend of mine received very poor service from CS at Tesco. She complained by letter, they apologized and sent her some vouchers. I always complain about that stuff. These people need to be told where to get off.
 
#7
^ That's a good idea, heather. :yes:

Thanks! :flowers:

I'll write to them and then report back. :tup:

Of course, I'll have to find out the right department to send it to, first, as if I send it to 'Luxury Handbags Collections' (BTW, shouldn't that be 'Luxury Handbag Collections'?), I expect it'll go straight in the bin! :lol:
 
#8
That is really not good customer service at all and I am quite surprised as I do most of my shopping harrods and have had things sent to me even internationally without any hassle. However, I have always dealt with people over the phone and a specific department and sales person. Honestly, I have never payed much attention to their website as it looks more for show purposes rather than to actually order things off of. That is no excuse, a paying customer is a paying customer and their lack of replies and general unhelpfulness is quite awful. I would make a complaint, and if you do decide to go ahead with the purchase I suggest dealing with someone else over the phone.
 
#10
Maybe I should ask where they're sending it and see if I can buy it from there, instead? :idea: (quote)

That's a good idea! If they don't tell you, I reckon it could possibly be tracked down on the web or maybe with a few phone calls, especially if you put the word out ... I'm sure a lot of UK (and Ireland) ladies might have super-sleuthing skills when it comes to this sort of thing!:smile:


And yes, Browns rock with their postage, speed of delivery and CS - I once bought a Pucci sarong and had it in my hand the very next day!
 
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#11
noon said:
That is really not good customer service at all and I am quite surprised as I do most of my shopping harrods and have had things sent to me even internationally without any hassle. However, I have always dealt with people over the phone and a specific department and sales person. Honestly, I have never payed much attention to their website as it looks more for show purposes rather than to actually order things off of. That is no excuse, a paying customer is a paying customer and their lack of replies and general unhelpfulness is quite awful. I would make a complaint, and if you do decide to go ahead with the purchase I suggest dealing with someone else over the phone.
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Thanks, noon and ITA. :yes:

The person my partner asked to speak to was the Sales Manager of the department (she was the one who replied to me).

I'm not sure of the hierarchy in Harrods, but I assume a Sales Manager would be near the top of that department? :shrugs:

I think I probably need to talk to/write to the Customer Service Department (assuming there is one and they haven't all died of exhaustion! :lol: ). :yes:
 
#12
hautecouture15 said:
Thats riduculous, I bought a bag over the phone from Browns London and it cost £3.95 for next working day delivery.
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Actually, not to start another rant(!), but I did have a slight problem the last time I ordered from Browns, too - I'd ordered the same ring in two different sizes (the sizing wasn't standard, so I had no idea which would fit), but they only sent me one of them, despite both being in stock at the time.

They, obviously, guessed I intended to return one and didn't want the trouble and expense. :blink:

The one they sent me didn't fit (of course!) and when I emailed them about why they hadn't sent the other, they told me the other size had been sold-out when I'd ordered it; which was clearly incorrect, as I'd ordered them both in the small hours of the morning and the size that wasn't despatched was still in stock (there was one left) even after I'd purchased mine! :rolleyes:

I told them this and when they realised they'd been rumbled, they said that just because I'd placed an order didn't mean that they had agreed to fulfil it, which (again) is their prerogative, I know, but I thought that was pretty shoddy, too, TBH. :sad:

Naturally, because there was only one left on the website after I'd ordered mine, the other (in the size they didn't despatch) sold-out before I'd found out I hadn't been sent mine, so I ended up without one.

I used to buy from them quite a lot, a few years ago, but I haven't ordered from them since. :nogood:
 
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#14
Oh my goodness, I'm sorry to hear that re. Browns - I have only ever bought the one item from them, that thankfully(:sweatdrop:) didn't involve sizing!

It sounds to me as if several shops with online shopping should be concentrating a lot more effort CS-wise on the internet these days....
 
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