The Controller Of The Bus

Buses remain a popular (perhaps by necessity), if somewhat frustrating, means of transport. There are various bus companies dotted around the country, with some performing far better than others.

My local area is served by Arriva, and sadly I have had some recent cause for complaint. Despite the fact that fares seem to increase every few months, services don’t always run as expected and communication with customers is rather lacking.

Living in a more rural area, we certainly seem to get a rough deal. With buses timetabled at varying intervals of between one and two hours, we suffer terribly when a certain bus fails to turn up, which seems to be happening more frequently. What makes this even more frustrating is that our complaints and comments fail to be met with any concern by Arriva.

Following a disastrous journey, when yet another bus failed to turn up as expected, meaning a two-hour gap between buses, I used the online complaints procedure operated by Arriva. The automated email response assured me that I would receive a reply within ten working days – over two weeks later I was still waiting!

Eventually, nearer three weeks after the event, I was called by an adviser, who although uttered an apology, did not make it heartfelt, nor were there any promises to endeavour to provide a better service in future. Despite the mechanical ‘sorry’, the tone of the whole conversation indicated more of a ‘hard luck’.

The missing bus was blamed on a breakdown, which I appreciate does happen, but my real gripe was lack of information. Considering I was boarding the bus at a major bus station to journey home, and had spoken to an inspector who had assured me that the bus was on its way, I was naturally frustrated that I was not told when it was discovered that the bus was taken out of service.

According to the adviser at the other end of the telephone, this was because the bus station had not been informed. But why ever not? Surely keeping passengers informed of such circumstances should be a priority. It should have been quite straightforward to notify someone at the bus station of the problem, with that person then passing on the message to waiting passengers. This should just be basic procedure.

However, it seems that bus operators can just do as they please, even if it involves leaving passengers stranded for hours, without much thought for their welfare. Communicating with the public seems totally beyond them and they really don’t seem bothered by this. The problem is, in many areas, there is no decent competition to make the bus companies try harder. There is no incentive to be more customer friendly.

There are, I believe, some bus companies that serve passengers better than others. On a trip visiting family in Dorset, it struck me how much cheaper and how more frequent services were than in my area. Indeed, I’ve heard that in some areas fares are very reasonable, but Arriva South East certainly run a more costly service that leaves much to be desired.

Indeed as I write this post I’ve heard of a reduction in services on certain routes, combining a current half-hourly service with a twenty-minute one, forming a hybrid of the two routes with buses running half-hourly. Yet their advert for this new service proclaims: “Buses more often”! Can’t work that out at all; Arriva obviously can’t do their maths.

What do you think of your local bus service?

Merging Into One

I’ve recently heard about a couple of companies that are about to be ‘swallowed up’ by larger ones, which is bound to have an effect on consumer choice.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (formerly the Competition Commission, in turn formerly The Monopolies and Mergers Commission) is supposedly meant to strengthen competition in the marketplace, thus protecting consumer choice. Why is it then that in some areas our choices are becoming increasingly more limited?

One of the big issues at the moment, I feel, is that of mobile phone providers. I used to be a customer of Orange, which merged with TMobile (referred to in our household as Torange), which then became part of EE. It has now been announced that EE are to be bought out by BT – just the company I do not want to provide my service!

One of my concerns is that my current, excellently priced SIM deal will change. Originally taken out with Orange, but honoured by EE (although that stopped providing it to new customers) my immediate concern is that this will be scrapped. But from a wider point of view, I realise that if I’m not happy with the new service, there will be very little choice of other providers available. With it appearing that O2 is about to be taken over by the owner of the ‘3’ network, that leaves only Vodafone as a mobile provider on its own.

With our choices of mobile provider basically down to three, where is the incentive for the remaining companies to offer the best deals? With competition rapidly dwindling it certainly makes their life easier, but not ours!

Also in the news is the plan for Poundland to buy out 99p Stores – another bad move I believe. Certainly in my area, the 99p Stores are much better than the Poundland equivalents, stocking better products in a more welcoming environment. Of course, that may not be the case nationwide, but it’s still nice to be given the choice of where to shop.

Time and again shops and companies are being taken over by larger concerns, reducing competition and limiting our choices. Competition is healthy for businesses. It encourages them to deliver the best possible customer service, product ranges and consumer care. Insufficient competition can create complacency, resulting in poorer deals for customers and severe lack of service and care.

I’ve always believed that if I don’t get good service from a company, I should take my custom elsewhere. But if my choices are limited, where do I turn?

A Year In Supermarkets

With only weeks left of the present year, I thought it was time that I started looking back at some of my shopping experiences for the year, and in particular, what has been happening with the supermarkets.

Tesco were in the news this year for dodgy accounting, which has resulted in a criminal investigation. Now whilst this is serious stuff, and we should theoretically be concerned, as a shopper, I’m more interested in what is actually happening at ‘ground level’ so to speak. All the while I can go into a Tesco store, find what I want at a reasonable price, get good service from the staff and earn valuable Clubcard points I will continue to shop with the chain. They certainly operate the best loyalty scheme around, with points amounting to four times their value when exchanged for days out and Clubcard send out a regular supply of relevant money-off and extra points vouchers too.

Sainsbury’s, on the other hand, announced that they are set to cut the number of Nectar points that you earn on your weekly shop. (Loyalty cards) With their loyalty scheme already offering a poorer deal than the likes of Tesco I don’t think this is a very clever move. They are, however, pledging to cut more prices, so we’ll have to see how all this works out in practice.

Morrisons launched their new ‘Match & More’ card this year, (I want more) an interesting twist on a loyalty card, whereby you earn points on items that you would have been able to buy cheaper elsewhere – a price comparison that includes the likes of Aldi and Lidl as well as the other major supermarkets. What pleased me about this card was that Morrisons offered three options when it came to registering the card – online, by post or in store – a refreshing change from companies that expect you to do everything online!

Asda has never been one of my favourite supermarkets, but they’ve certainly put themselves in the doghouse recently. My daughter placed an online grocery order with them, but the goods never actually materialised (Oh dear Asda) and despite phone calls, completion of an online form, a blog post and a Twitter conversation (which reaps results in most cases) the company failed to properly apologise for the inconvenience, or offer any explanation as to what went wrong. Needless to say it’s not an experience she has rushed to repeat. In fact, my prize for “The Worst Customer Service of 2014” is hereby awarded to Asda. Perhaps they’d care to take note!

Whilst I continue to give Aldi a wide berth, having rated previous shopping experiences with them at 2/10, I have become a bit of a fan of Lidl. For me, Lidl have been one of the great emerging retailers of 2014. Most recently I’ve found them a great place to stock up with Christmas spirits – port, cream liqueur and cherry brandy all costing around the £5 mark, and tasting delicious – and I love their Stilton too! I’m sure that I’ll have much more to say about them in 2015.

So wherever you shop, I hope you’ve had good experiences this year – if not, let me know, I’m always keen to hear your shopping stories too!

Oh Dear Asda!

Personally, I do not opt to purchase my food shopping online – I’m much too fussy a shopper to elect someone else to make specific choices for me! However, there are many customers that find this a convenient way to shop.

My daughter often buys her food shopping online, as she has a young son and relies on public transport, so having at least the heavier items delivered can be a big help. Buying groceries from Tesco using this method had proved reasonably reliable. Although the occasional item was missing from the delivery, the shopping did at least turn up and mistakes rectified where appropriate.

However, she recently decided to try home shopping with Asda, which in her case turned out to be a big mistake!

Online shopping may not be the key

Despite receiving two confirmation emails relating to her order, stating the delivery time slot, the shopping never arrived. After waiting a suitable amount of time (sufficient to allow for unavoidable delays), she contacted Asda. The first customer service adviser that she talked to was somewhat brusque, intimating that the order may not have been properly confirmed, despite the receipt of two emails.

She was then passed on to an adviser in store, who at the outset appeared more helpful, but did not go on to fulfil this promise. Despite their assurance that they would track down the relevant order and inform my daughter as to what was happening, they never did get back in touch. And the shopping never did arrive!

My daughter contacted Asda again the following day, when she was told that they would not take the money for the shopping! Did they think they were doing her a favour saying this? They can hardly charge for something that they’ve literally not delivered!

When my daughter expressed her displeasure at the whole debacle, the adviser decided to offer her free delivery on her next order – as if she was going to trust Asda again in a hurry.

I relate this tale as an example of what I consider to be appalling customer service. My daughter was left without vital shopping (including milk for her young son), no explanation has ever been made for the error, and their half-hearted apology doesn’t go far enough!

I was so incensed that I contacted Asda myself via Twitter - a method that has had favourable results with other companies in the past. Although Asda did respond, it was all a bit half-hearted, only providing me with the suggestion that she spoke with the store in question. Not very clever, when I'd mentioned that she'd already done this! Asda home shopping is definitely not an experience that I would recommend.

What online shopping disasters have you experienced?

I Love My Loyalty Cards

Like many shoppers, I was quite incensed to hear that Sainsburys’ are halving the amount of Nectar points that they award to customers as of April next year. They will only be awarding one point per pound spent, as opposed to the current two (two points are only worth 1p ).

It’s true to say that Nectar points always have been slightly inferior to those awarded by Tesco Clubcard, with the exchange rate of the latter being four times their face value when converted to Days Out vouchers, and each point being equal to 1p .

There are some shoppers (misguided in my opinion) that question the value of loyalty cards, but I believe that any reward you are given for shopping is better than no reward at all.

Less effective than a loyalty card

The argument goes, that if stores are operating reward schemes, they subsequently have to set their prices a little higher to offset these incentives. However, I would refute this, as many good value items I buy are purchased in shops that offer reward points.

Many of the products that I purchase in places such as Tesco and Superdrug, are not only cheaper or at least comparable to those offered at other shops, but earn me points. Over the years I have acquired so many points under the Clubcard scheme, that we have been able to pay for several family days out each year, including trips to expensive theme parks, which we would not otherwise have afforded. Even if I have occasionally paid a few pence more for the odd product or two, I have received this amount back umpteen times over. It’s true to say, that if I could have bought some items slightly cheaper elsewhere and put the pennies I’d saved into a savings account, I would not have accumulated anywhere near enough to pay for the equivalent number of fun outings.

I regard all loyalty cards (and I can boast a considerable collection) as mini saving schemes that allow me to enjoy life’s little extras. Unless prices are considerably higher in a shop that offers a good value scheme, I am unlikely to shop for identical products somewhere that does not offer me these extra benefits.

So my message to Sainsburys’, and any other stores planning to reduce or withdraw their points schemes, is that this may result in a customer-cutting exercise as opposed to your intended cost-cutting one!

The Quest For Ginger Preserve

It’s really annoying when you start using a product and really enjoy it, then suddenly it disappears from the supermarket shelves.

That’s exactly what’s happened to is Duerr’s Chunky Ginger Preserve, which I’ve previously blogged (see here ). I just loved its spicy tang, which helped to wake me up when spread on my morning toast. But since its disappearance I’m mourning its loss.

I had been buying it at Tesco, but as I could no longer find it in the store, or in any other local supermarket, I decided to email Duerr, who replied within hours, so a big thank you to their customer service department.

I was pleased to learn that they have not discontinued the product, although Tesco have withdrawn the brand from their shelves. Duerr urged me to write to Tesco to complain about this move, which I am in the process of doing, and would encourage other Ginger Preserve fans to do the same. Send your letters to:

Tesco Customer Service Centre

Baird Avenue

Dundee

DD1 9NF

In the meantime, Duerr tell me that I may still be able to pick up the preserve at larger branches of Asda (which sadly does not seem to apply to my local branch) and they apparently make Sainsburys’ Ginger Preserve for them, although I have not managed to find this as yet either.

However, in recent weeks I have managed to buy some Asda, Chosen By You, Ginger Preserve, which whilst not quite on the par with Duerr’s, will suffice until I manage to get more of my preferred variety. The Asda version is too jelly-like in consistency and therefore not so easily spreadable.

Have any of your favourite products disappeared from the shelves in recent times?

Mini Oven Review

(It’s the oven that’s mini, not the review by the way)

Due to our current, somewhat strange living arrangements ( read more here ) we decided to invest in a mini oven, which would allow us to cook some of the foods that we’d been missing, and were unable to conjure up on our basic camping stove and grill arrangement.

After doing a bit of research and reading various customer reviews, we plumped for the Andrew James Mini Combi Oven from Amazon. With a two-plate hob and multi-function oven, it seemed a good buy.

I’m pleased to report that we’re really getting on quite well with it and have appreciated all that it has to offer. On the downside, it does take longer than the average oven to heat up (the hob too) but once it gets going it cooks really well. In fact, pastry for example, cooks much better than it did in our previous oven, becoming a lovely even, golden brown colour, of which any Bake Off contestant would be immensely proud.

The oven capacity is a decent size, enabling me to cook a full roast dinner, and the internal dimensions allow enough space for a large pizza tray.

With a choice of five oven settings, however, it seems a shame that the instruction booklet doesn’t explain which setting would best suit which type of dish. The settings consist of: upper heating and low heating with fan; upper heating and fan; upper heating and lower heating; lower heating; upper heating. The instructions merely advise that four out of the five settings are suitable for baking, with the other function acting as a grill. So we’ve resorted to good old trial and error to work out which arrangement is best for which dish, and slowly but surely we’re getting there.

So if you’ve got limited kitchen space, are looking for a temporary cooker whilst living in a shambles, sorry doing a renovation project, or just fancy an economical change, then I can recommend the Andrew James Mini Oven, despite its sketchy instructions

Customer Service – Responses

I’m a stickler for good customer service and am of the opinion that we should always speak up when service falls short of reasonable expectations.

Since starting my Shopper’s Joy blog nearly two years ago, I have taken up customer service issues with various retailers and service providers with rather mixed responses.

In the fledgling days of my blog, I experienced problems with both Sainsbury’s and Greggs, both of whom I sent letters of complaint, in addition to featuring them on the blog. I was pleased to report that both responded promptly and reasonably sympathetically, assuring me that they would address the issues raised and sending some handy vouchers by way of apology.

Long before my blogging days, I occasionally had cause to approach a company, either by letter or phone call, with regard to poor customer service, sometimes receiving an appropriate response, although at other times being totally ignored. It is fair to say that since any complaint that I’ve made has been shared on the public domain, responses are much more forthcoming. Thank goodness for the likes of Twitter, Blogger et al.

In the days when our grievances were only aired behind closed doors, companies had the option of brushing any complaints under the carpet, in the belief that they would be unlikely to become common knowledge. Although some firms have always responded well to reports of customer dissatisfaction, others have had to improve their reactions in the light of social media. Let’s face it, when we’ve had a poor experience, first and foremost we want an understanding reply, backed up by the promise that future service will be improved.

It is true to say that sometimes it is only an individual employee or isolated branch of a chain that lets customers down, but if the company as a whole does not respond positively to criticism, they risk being given a bad name.

More recently, I blogged about my experience of two different branches of the Hungry Horse pub/restaurant chain. One branch couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly; whilst the other gave the impression that they really couldn’t be bothered with my custom. On this occasion I cut straight to the blog without directly contacting the company and lo and behold, the manager of the poorer branch responded with a request for further details so that she could resolve the issue. The only sad part is that despite an encouraging first response, I never heard from her again. For the record this was The Star at Gillingham in Kent – just so you know!

Needless to say I have not returned there since!

In the last couple of weeks, a trip to my local B&Q store resulted in me leaving without my intended purchase, following what I can only describe as total indifference from the staff.

My attempt to by a floral arrangement in an odd-shaped pot was thwarted, when staff could not supply the means of transporting said pot without either crushing or totally losing its contents. A request for a box resulted in being presented with the most pointless, shallow example of its kind known to man – totally useless. An additional colleague was summoned who shrugged off the request with a kind of ‘haven’t-got-anything-hard-luck’ attitude. Right, thanks for your help guys!

Interestingly, however, a single tweet about my trip elicited a response from the B&Q help team, promising to investigate the matter. Great! Trouble is I’m still waiting for the result of that one …

And now BT is in the doghouse. My recent move saw me cut my ties with this company – a more expensive transaction than I would have thought. Watch this space for more news on this one.

So the point of all my waffling? Well, I have several in fact:

- When you receive poor service, do speak up; it’s the only way to get things improved.

- If you have access to social media, then use it! Pushing your complaint into the public domain increases your chance of a response.

- If you are a company on the receiving end of a complaint, then for goodness sake acknowledge it, investigate it, improve on it and say sorry! Remember, ignoring a complaint is just another form of poor customer service!

Which companies do you find are good or bad at handling complaints?

March’s Random Thoughts

I hate it when I see someone wearing a garment identical to one that I own and love. If they look awful in it I think, “What? Do I look that bad?” Yet if they look great in it I think, “Damn! They look so much better in it than I do!” Either way I can’t win!

I don't need a grand tea, just some peace!

I’m amazed (and a bit irritated) that when I opt for a quite cup of coffee in a supermarket café, that at times my peace is shattered by some kind of staff meeting. Do they really not have the facilities in a large supermarket to hold their meetings behind closed doors, rather than take up a large area of the customer restaurant? It’s most annoying.

I sometimes wish that supermarket trolleys were fitted with little motors and footplates too, so that we could stand on the plate and ride them round the supermarket like little scooters. It may help to take the strain out a big weekly shop.

Further to my blog post earlier in the month reminiscing about the sweets that I used to enjoy, I realised that I totally forgot to mention floral gums. Do you remember them? Tiny little gums in a small packet with a squirrel on that tasted, well, flowery.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Re-usable Shopping Bags

There has been talk of late about placing a charge on carrier bags that are issued by shops, as if this is some new innovation. However, this has been done before, and quite honestly I don’t really know why it was stopped in the first place.

When I was a child, people tended to take their own bags when they went to do their weekly shop. I remember my mother gathering together her sturdy bags without giving it a second thought. Once in a while, if she bought an extra lot of shopping that wouldn’t quite fit in the bags, she would select a cardboard box from the pile provided by the supermarket for customer use.

By the time I got a Saturday job in Fine Fare (whatever happened to them?) carrier bags were much more in evidence – but customers were charged for them. Rival supermarket Safeways (another blast from the past) provided large paper sacks, which although were more environmentally friendly, were hard to carry as they had no handles.

Re-usable bags don't have to be boring!

So basically, there were generations of shoppers who were quite prepared to provide their own shopping bags, or at least pay for the ones available in the shops.

More recently, customers have come to expect that stores will provide bags for free. Many shoppers bear little regard to the number of plastic bags that they stuff their shopping into, or give much thought to the impact on the environment.

Carrier bags have almost become a habit, they are taken for granted as part of an average shopping trip.

Supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsburys have long offered an incentive, in the form of extra loyalty points, awarded for every reusable bag used by the customer. I have often thought incentives (points) work better than punishments (charges) but sadly in this case many customers have not been persuaded to kick the carrier bag habit.

I would quite happily see as much as 5p charged per carrier bag, with proceeds going to good causes if possible, to hopefully reduce the amount of bags used and see a return to shoppers providing reusable bags of their own. This is definitely a good habit that we should all get into.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Customer Service Update

A couple of weeks ago, I related a tale of what I considered to be a bad example of customer service at my local Tesco. I was kept waiting for some time at a checkout when the delay was easily avoidable (see here)

A big cheer for good customer service!

I was thrilled therefore, when on a shopping trip to Sainsburys last week, I experienced customer service working as it should. A problem occurred with the shopping of the customer in front of me, but rather than keep everybody in the queue waiting, a supervisor came over, suspended the transaction (which involved printing out a slip) and took the customer and all her shopping to the customer service desk to complete her transaction.

This was the ideal solution as it meant that the customer in question was given assistance, but the rest of us were spared a tedious wait. Well done and thank you to Sainsburys for a very good customer service experience.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Customer Service – Queues

Levels of customer service can vary greatly, not just between different store chains and shops, but also between individual branches, and indeed, individual shop assistants.

I’ve previously chronicled some of the good and bad examples of customer service that I’ve received and now have a couple of new stories to relate.

Hands up who's fed up of queues?

On the whole, I’ve always received a good standard of customer service at my local Tesco stores. However a recent shopping trip to one branch left me feeling rather annoyed. I’d popped in for a few necessary items and joined a checkout queue with only one other customer in front of me. I should have whizzed through the checkout easily, however this was not to be. There was a problem with an item that the customer ahead of me was purchasing – some fault with the bar code. The item in question was only worth a couple of pounds and the easiest solution was for the cashier to total up the few other items of shopping and refer the problem to customer services.

However, she chose to send a colleague to track down a better bar code, who proceeded to do so in the manner of someone taking a Sunday afternoon stroll. Ten minutes later the assistant finally returned with the new code and finally the queue got to move!

At no point during all of this did either the cashier, or her colleague, attempt to apologise to those of us waiting in the queue. When it was my turn to be served I was just met with the customary, “Thank you for waiting”, said without any feeling. I did not reply, “That’s OK”, because it wasn’t.

I am quite prepared to wait in a queue if I 1) feel there is a valid, unavoidable reason for this and 2) receive an apology for the delay. As neither of these points applied to this situation I was far from happy and will be contacting the store manager.

On the flipside, my local Sainsburys, who I’ve previously had to take to task over a 20-minute hold-up with a customer service query, appear to have upped their game. How refreshing it has been to arrive at the checkouts with a full trolley of shopping and be met by a smiling-faced individual who proceeds to take me to the checkout with the shortest queue. It’s these little personal touches that make a difference to a shopping trip.

The same branch of Sainsburys sent a letter to me just ahead of Christmas, thanking me for my custom and enclosing a gift voucher. OK, they probably did that to lots of customers, but once again it made me feel appreciated.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Is The Customer Always Right?

In the early days of my blog, I wrote a post about being a good customer, which I called my customer code

I was reminded of this recently as I sat enjoying a latte in a local branch of Costa, positioned quite close to the counter, where I could hear customers placing their orders.

One lady approached the assistant at the till, almost thrust a baguette at her, simultaneously ordering a drink in very gruff tones, then snapped back sharply when asked the question, “Is that to eat in?”

Now obviously, I don’t know what kind of day this woman had been having, but whatever may have occurred, there was no need to take it out on an assistant who was a) trying to be helpful and b) nothing to do with her day up to that point.

Think of something to put a smile on your face

Immediately following this, I popped into Boots, where a man (I refuse to use the term gentleman in this instance) was publicly berating a member of the pharmacy department, who was actually trying to give him advice about the medication that he was taking, only to be met with the retort, “It’s none of your business, what I do with my medication!” This was accompanied by numerous expletives that I am too polite to record here.

I’m always put out if a shop assistant is brusque or rude towards me, saying something if necessary or even withdrawing my custom, but by the same token I think that we, as customers, should also be polite and approachable.

At the end of the day, customers or shop assistants, we are all just people and should at least attempt to be civil to one another, especially during what is now supposed to be the ‘season of goodwill’.

So please, let’s all be pleasant to one another when shopping, so that we can all have an enjoyable shopping experience.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

So That Was October

October – a nip in the air, mists moving in, the faint smell of bonfires, leaves turning gold and in our household the return of casseroles, jacket potatoes, cottage pie and yummy henhouse pie (recipe here) to the menu.

I hate the onset of the long, dark evenings, but always find that this time of year I return more enthusiastically to the many crafts that I love. I’m currently preparing to embark on some cross stitch projects for Christmas, and have just bought the latest issue (number 10) of Enjoy Cross Stitch, a magazine full of cross stitch projects that comes in a zip-up plastic wallet, which also contains threads, cards and envelopes, felt frames, ribbons, Aida fabric and a needle all for the price of £7.99. I’m also back to knitting jumpers and gloves, rediscovering latch-hook rug-making after several years away from the craft and finishing a couple of tapestry projects.

On my blog my thoughts seem to have been very much focused on clothes – leggings, pyjamas, shoes and wardrobe favourites have all had a mention. With the onset of autumn it’s certainly a time to review our wardrobe, weeding out the summer clothes that we never did wear, and the jumpers from last year that we’re not really sure why we kept. Now’s the time to see what items we’re missing to complete our outfits for the new season – any excuse to go shopping!

Amongst all my ramblings I championed StayNew Leggings from the M&S Collection, but have to say the second pair I bought of these did not appear to be as thick as the first when it came to wearing them, which was somewhat of a disappointment, though I still prefer them to many other versions that I’ve tried.

There’ll be plenty more reviews and tales of customer service next month, in the meantime I’ll leave you with these little gems:

Best thing I’ve seen this month: Joseph And The Technicolour Dreamcoat performed at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford, Kent, a vibrant performance of the old favourite. This should have starred ‘H’ from steps, but on the night we went he was 'indisposed' and therefore replaced by Rob Wilshaw, who gave a stunning performance.

Best thing I’ve read this month: ‘The Sleep Room’ by F. R. Tallis, a subtly chilling read that leaves you wondering about the realities of life. Set in a part of Suffolk that I know well, it seemed all the more disturbing for me.

In my bad books this month: Marks and Spencer Café, Hempstead Valley, where a very surly assistant was rather rude and abrupt to me, resulting in me abandoning all ideas of lunch there! I promptly took my custom elsewhere – somewhere that treated me as a valued customer as opposed to a nuisance.

Thank You Morrisons

On several occasions I’ve written about the highs and lows of supermarket cafés, and in a comparison of them all, looking at what they provided and at what cost, I decided that Morrisons cafés came out the best.

I would now like to go a step further and nominate one particular branch for its friendly staff and great customer service.

When we go on long journeys we often track down a supermarket café to stop at for a meal, as they tend to be more cost-effective and have more appetising food than the average motorway service station. A recent trip, which involved some nightmarish stretches of motorway heading in a northerly direction, was no exception.

Studying our route before we left, we decided to stop at the Morrisons café in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire. This we discovered from the internet was open until 8pm, which is actually later than many supermarket cafés, although we expected to be there by 6.30 at the latest.

However, things did not go according to plan, thanks to motorway mayhem and a rather tedious diversion, which together resulted in us arriving at 7.30pm. I know from experience that some restaurants stop serving hot food about half an hour before closing, or at best offer a very limited menu at that time, so gingerly approached the assistant with a tentative, “Are we still able to get hot food?”

He greeted us with a smile, informing us that yes, we could have hot food, and apart from jacket potatoes we could pretty well have anything on the menu. We then proceeded to order four different meals, which were freshly cooked, and served with a smile. The choice of food was very good and the food itself was lovely, as were the staff members, who were helpful and friendly.

You may think I’m getting a bit excited over nothing, but let me remind you, or for those of you who have never read the dreaded ‘Sainsbury’ saga inform you, that an evening trip to one of their restaurants was quite a disaster – poor choice of food, disinterested, unhelpful staff and a weird service system (Sainsburys Stanway, Colchester read more here ) Though I must admit, I have not returned to this branch since, and it may well have improved – well, hopefully!

Anyway, back to Morrisons, particularly the staff of the café at the Cambourne branch, who I would hereby like to present with the Shoppers’ Joy award for great service. Thanks guys!

Shopping Around

You may well compare prices when purchasing goods in the shops, getting to know where the best offers are and stocking up on them when you can.

However, many consumers aren’t as good at shopping around when it comes to buying services such as insurance or roadside assistance cover. Because of this many of us may be paying far more than we need to obtain these services, falling into the trap of automatically renewing cover, however much it may have risen in price, rather than comparing a quote with what else may be available.

Our AA cover recently came up for renewal, but my husband positively balked at the price, which had risen to £129, despite being loyal customers of some 10 years standing. He decided that the time had come to look at other roadside assistance providers.

Hubby duly got to work online, not using price comparison websites you understand, that may in turn have their own agenda, but visiting the sites of individual companies. He discovered that if he bought AA cover online as a new customer it would cost £79; he could get cover from Green Flag for £64 per year and cover from the RAC as a Tesco Clubcard holder for £55 per year.

Armed with this useful information, he promptly rang the AA to reveal his findings. A very charming adviser listened carefully, apparently did a few calculations (probably referring to a crib sheet telling him what to do in this situation, i.e. match price, adding a few pence so it didn’t seem too obvious) and promptly declared that full relay cover could, on reflection, be provided for the reasonable sum of £55.80!

Delighted with the new price, hubby renewed the AA cover, but the point is, if he’d just paid the requested amount on receipt of the quote, he would have been £73.20 poorer, whilst the AA would have offered identical cover for more gain.

So a word from the wise, never automatically renew any insurance, roadside assistance or similar policy or service, without first checking directly with other companies offering the same thing, as to what price they will charge.

Be sure to shop around!

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Short Measures

When buying many products, it’s often possible to tell when selecting them whether we are being ‘sold short’.

It’s obvious if a loaf of bread is shorter than its neighbour, or whether a bar of chocolate doesn’t fill out it’s wrapper as much as the next one. But the way in which some products are packaged can mean that we don’t know that we’ve been given short measures until we get home from shopping and open our purchase.

At least you can see how many eggs are in a box

Multipacks of crisps, biscuits and sweets may often contain fewer bags than the stated amount. But let’s be honest, do you always count?

I recently bought a multipack of Curiously Cinnamon Cereal to take away on a short break. The packet was supposed to contain five bags of cereal, but in actual fact there were only four inside, leaving me short of breakfast supplies.

Although this wasn’t a major catastrophe, I decided to write to Nestlé with my complaint. Well, I say complaint,  I kept my letter light-hearted, adding humour, and was rewarded with a reply within the space of a week. Not only was it a reply, it was an apology accompanied by £8 worth of vouchers to spend on cereal.

I have to say I was impressed by Nestlé’s speed of response, the fact that they held their hands up to their mistake and more than reimbursed me for the shortfall. I, in turn, would like to thank Nestlé for their efficiency in dealing with a customer complaint and congratulate them on having a customer services department that actually works for the customer, as opposed to defending the company at all costs.

In my early days of blog writing, I wrote posts about ‘How To Complain’, ‘Saying Sorry’ and ‘Saying Thank You’. I think this blog post illustrates all of the above very nicely!

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Complaints Resolution

Sadly we all have cause to complain to a company every once in a while. Sometimes it’s not the fact that we have to complain in the first place that annoys us, it’s the way in which that complaint is then handled that can make or break the situation.

Back in January I wrote about a complaint I had to make to EDF (EDF – Customer Services To Complaints, read more ) concerning their billing. I was impressed that the ‘Complaints Resolution Manager’ responded quickly and resolved the situation to our satisfaction.

In the last couple of weeks, I have again had cause to contact the Complaints Resolutions Manager via email, when the billing department  tried to do strange things with my account once more. I am happy to report that the response was once again quick and efficient, and resulted in the desired outcome, demonstrating that my previous experience was not a ‘one off’.

If you are an EDF customer experiencing a problem that is not being solved by contact with the regular customer service advisers, then do email complaintresolutionmanager@edfenergy.com

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Change For The Worse

Change is inevitable and can sometimes bring improvement, but certain changes definitely mean a turn for the worse.

Sometimes changes to goods and services are promoted as being ‘new and improved’ or ‘updated to improve customer satisfaction’, when what is actually meant is increased costs, reduced availability or poorer service.

Unfortunately, I’ve recently become aware of some quite negative changes, which have left me feeling rather annoyed.

NatWest Bank has recently announced changes to account charges to take effect in July. Whereas many customers with arranged overdrafts were previously not charged for the first £100 ‘borrowed’, with interest charges only applied to amounts above this sum, they will now only be given a £10 interest-free amount, not only paying interest on any sum borrowed beyond this, but being charged a flat £6 fee for using their pre-arranged credit zone. I consider this rather a cheek, whilst banks continue to pay overblown salaries and bonuses to high-ranking managers etc, instead of keeping costs to customers at a minimum.

I'm glad for changes in how we dress however

Meanwhile, my local physiotherapy department, to whom I have been extremely grateful in the past six months or so, have decided to reduce the hypermobility (for information on Hypermobility Syndrome click here) class that I attend on a weekly basis, to monthly sessions. This class has not only taught me exercises to minimise the risk of dislocation and other injuries to my joints, but has provided me with ongoing support, checking my joints are really in place when I’m not sure (being unaware of joint position is part of the condition) and helping to get joints in place when they are ‘out’. I’ve been told two different reasons for this change. Firstly budget cuts (the version I believe) and secondly to improve patient care and get more patients seen. None of these arguments work with me, as in an hourly class, one trained physio can see up to 10 patients (or sometimes more), instead of just the usual one per 15 to 30 minutes, therefore being cost-effective whilst providing physio to high patient numbers.

Finally, on a lighter note, but still frustrating, my local Tesco has once again been having a bit of a change round, swapping some of the aisles with each other. Their plan may be to get customers to notice things that they don’t normally buy, whilst looking for the things that they do, but this doesn’t work with me. I’m more likely to give up searching and go somewhere that I can actually find what I want!

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

February’s Random Thoughts

I’m always bewildered by cafés that offer on their menu a ‘large’ tea for a higher price than one in a smaller cup, when all they do is add a bit of extra hot water. What all places should really offer however, is a pot of tea, much nicer.

Why do I always start reading a magazine from the back and work forwards? I wouldn’t do it with a book, so why with a magazine?

Virgin Media have sent me so much (junk) literature in the past year, I could have wallpapered my whole house with it. I AM NOT a Virgin Media customer; I HAVE NEVER BEEN a Virgin Media Customer and DO NOT INTEND TO BE a Virgin Media customer. Thank you for asking, but can you just leave me in peace now?

Do you remember when we used to get a second postal delivery each day, and even that usually came before midday. Now we only get one delivery a day, and in my case I’m lucky if that arrives much before 3pm! So much for progress.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy