A mattress from Argos [or not as the case may be] : simple lessons in customer service

Our mattress is starting to make funny noises when you turn over in the night. The double mattress in the spare room is worse, so we decide to get ourselves a new mattress and inflict our noisy mattress on visitors or for when I need to get up at silly o'clock to travel somewhere. How hard can it be to get a new mattress in Aberystwyth? Umm, yes. The only realitic option we found was to order it via Internet. Myra found one which sounded OK on the Argos web site, so ordered it on the 30th of September. The timeline is as follows. We expect to have to wait 2 or 3 weeks for delivery and were OK with that. Some dates are approximate

• 30th September Order Mattress
• around 20 October courier calls to arrange delivery sometime between 8 and 6. Thats OK, I was working from home anyway
• around 22/11/12, damaged mattress delivered
• around 23/11/12  : reported to customer service who arrange for replacement. E.T.A. 3 weeks later
• 7/11/12 van arrives to pick up mattress, does not deliver new one. Customer service claim order was cancelled (wish I had) and money had been returned (it had not). We can order a new matress and that will take an other 3 weeks.
• 8/11/12 Clive finds email address of Argos C.E. john.walden@argos.co.uk via 30 seconds with Google
• 9/11/12 Get call from nice chap in Argos Directors Office saying he will sort out new mattress for following week plus some compensation for the hassle
• Following week, call from courior that it will be delivered on 27th. We refuse delivery on the 27th as commitment  was for that week. So Courior put order on hold, said they would contact Argos for guidance, but seems they never did
• 29/11/12 Email John.Weldon@argos.co.uk again. Director Office left phone number in Voice Mail and when I called back multiple time there was no answer.
• Eventually got hold of the chap trying to deal with this issue called Lee. Very nice man, but seems to have the infleunce of a road sweaper when it comes to getting a matress ordered 2 months earlier delivered.
• Courier calls and tries to arrange a delivery for the 19th of December. We refused because a) we probably won't be in that day b) its 10 weeks after we 1st ordered it. They said if we don't accept delivery that day (and we had to be in all day), then it would be middle of January before next delivery. Seems manufacturer will not make the mattress until there is a accepted and committed delivery date.
• Lee from Directors office calls back, can't get earlier delivery, we will have to accept either 19th December or January
• 4/12 I cancel order and ask for money to be refunded into account
• Seems Argos are still in the banking stone age, 5 days later I get a cheque, so an other 10 days delay before we can use the money to by a new matress from somewhere like http://www.matressnextday.co.uk

Argos are now on the naughtly step till 2015.

Lessons for customer service

• If you leave a customer a number via voicemail, make sure the phone gets answered.
• This was not a technically challenging situation. If the directors office can't sort such a straighforward issue out once they are aware of it, then the company is in a very bad way.
• Argos blame manufaturer, manufacturer blame Argos, Courier blames Argos and manufacturer. As a customer I should have no idea of the business model in place and certainly the various parties should not be blaming each other.
• If the directors office has no influence over a manufacture, then they need to find a new partner.
• A courier can not expect a customer to be in all day for their convience. Anytime between 8 and 6 is not good enough. Kids to take to school, etc. Quite amazing that Argos tolerates and even supports it. We had already sorted out someone staying in all day twice.
• If you say you are going to compensate, then actually do it. Don't just forget. It is shambolic and insulting. We don't care abotu compensation, but it is an other let down.
• An easy solution would be for someone in the Director's Office to order a similar mattress on their credit card from somewhere like http://mattressnextday.co.uk, have it delivered to us and expense it. Appears Directors Office staff can't do that, so what is the point of a Director's Office when they are powerless to resolve a situation.