Problems with John Lewis online delivery?

[johnb]

Sorry for this irrelevant post, but I'm fuming at the moment.

Has anyone else had a bad experience with their delivery after ordering online from John Lewis?

I've ordered a wide range of products (big and small) from many different online suppliers in the past and my current experience of John Lewis is that they are by far the worst as far as organising a delivery are concerned. When I say "by far the worst", they are in a totally different league - dreadful. This is the first and last time I will ever order online from them.

[amateur51]

Sorry for this irrelevant post, but I'm fuming at the moment.

Has anyone else had a bad experience with their delivery after ordering online from John Lewis?

I've ordered a wide range of products (big and small) from many different online suppliers in the past and my current experience of John Lewis is that they are way the worst as far as organising a delivery are concerned. When I say "way the worst" they are in a totally different league - dreadful. This is the first and last time I will ever order online from them.

My commiserations, johnb. If you can be bothered you should contact them again with a full complaint, mentioning that you had always understood that they were tops for service and that they have in this instance fallen way below your legitimate expectations.

If this does not work (and I'd be very surprised if it doesn't) then work up the hierachy, they need to know that there is a weak link in their chain. You should not have to put up with shoddy service. Good luck!

[Resurrection Man]

My commiserations, johnb. If you can be bothered you should contact them again with a full complaint, mentioning that you had always understood that they were tops for service and that they have in this instance fallen way below your legitimate expectations.

If this does not work (and I'd be very surprised if it doesn't) then work up the hierachy, they need to know that there is a weak link in their chain. You should not have to put up with shoddy service. Good luck!

I agree with Ams. Have to say that we've always had excellent delivery service from John Lewis and they usually are our first port of call. Every company has their off day ....it's how they deal with the problem that sorts out the Good from the Bad.

[VodkaDilc]

Can't speak for John Lewis itself, but its grocer's arm, Waitrose, has a first class delivery service - locally based, excellent quality products, polite drivers - and they deliver to this remote area when their competitors are scared off by snow!

[Anna]

If you are not ordering bulky items from John Lewis you can have them delivered next day to your local Waitrose and pick them up there after 2pm, which is very useful.

[AuntyKezia]

I've always had excellent delivery service from John Lewis, covering a range of products from small - cordless phone - to big - a large family size fridge/freezer. They're also very good about returns, should you need to send something back, and refund your credit card promptly.

[johnb]

That's useful to know, Anna, unfortunately this was a washing machine. No installation (I will do all that), just delivery of the new machine and collection of the old one (disconnected and ready to go).

I ordered the washing machine online from John Lewis and paid £20 extra for "Express Delivery". Their delivery choices are 07:00-14:00 or 14:00-21:00. The earliest slot was in the afternoon delivery window two days ahead, so I chose that.

At 17:30 on the delivery day the driver phoned to tell me he couldn't get down my road and that someone would phone me to reschedule, using a smaller van (all of which suggests poor vehicle selection and routing procedures in the first place).

Knowing John Lewis's reputation for customer service I was expecting them to pull out all the stops after letting me down. Later that evening I received the phone call and the earliest date they could offer me was in six days time (4 working days) 14:00-21:00 (even though I had paid extra for "Express Delivery"), but the lady recommended going for a morning delivery as it would be easier for the driver and the earliest would be in seven days time (5 working days). I explained I was very unhappy with this delay but the response was "tough", but expressed more politely. She did say she would make a note I wasn't happy - fat good that does.

She indicated that they had had problems delivering in my area (and presumably in other similar areas) of Bristol and that the 14:00-21:00 slot was often problematic. So, it seems that they have a delivery scheduling system that they themselves acknowledge cannot be relied on and which is flawed in design.

This is the first time ever that a delivery vehicle hasn't been able to deliver to me.

In contrast, last year I ordered a tumble dryer from Co-op Electrical. They offer one hour delivery slots (rather than JL's 7 hour slots). There is no need to pay for "Express Delivery" (they are quick anyway). The tumble dryer was delivered within the one hour window and the delivery men couldn't have been more helpful.

If I had been thinking straight I would have cancelled the order and re-ordered from Co-op Electrical - the washing machine would have been delivered much, much quicker than JL's rescheduled delivery.

I will never order online from them again.

[Barbirollians]

I agree it is rather surprising . I have had excellent delivery service from JL.

I would complain - they take complaints seriously . When a fridge they delivered was found to be faulty they replaced it promptly and refunded me £100 .

[Resurrection Man]

..... (all of which suggests poor vehicle selection and routing procedures in the first place).

Why? Is your road particularly narrow or difficult to get to?

[johnb]

Why? Is your road particularly narrow or difficult to get to?

Some of the areas of Bristol have fairly spacious roads (e.g. Clifton, Redland, Cotham, St Andrews) however there are other districts where the roads are narrower and some of the turns are fairly sharp (e.g. Montpelier, parts of Bishopston, etc) and aren't as conducive to larger vehicles, though I've seen plenty of them coping pretty well. To approach my road from the top you have to do a sharp left and almost immediately a sharp right. If cars are parked awkwardly near the turns it can pose problems for larger vehicles.

As JW delivery windows are 7 hours in length (i.e. around a shift length) I assume they ship from a central distribution centre to a local hub, where they trans-ship for local deliveries. If this is so, the local hub should be well aware of the local street patterns and send appropriate vehicles. Of course they almost certainly rely on vehicle routing software to make optimum use of their vehicles, so it would depend on the quality of that software, together with local knowledge.

[burning dog]

The shop would have been very different if it had been called Horace Silver.

[Resurrection Man]

Some of the areas of Bristol have fairly spacious roads (e.g. Clifton, Redland, Cotham, St Andrews) however there are other districts where the roads are narrower and some of the turns are fairly sharp (e.g. Montpelier, parts of Bishopston, etc) and aren't as conducive to larger vehicles, though I've seen plenty of them coping pretty well. To approach my road from the top you have to do a sharp left and almost immediately a sharp right. If cars are parked awkwardly near the turns it can pose problems for larger vehicles.

As JW delivery windows are 7 hours in length (i.e. around a shift length) I assume they ship from a central distribution centre to a local hub, where they trans-ship for local deliveries. If this is so, the local hub should be well aware of the local street patterns and send appropriate vehicles. Of course they almost certainly rely on vehicle routing software to make optimum use of their vehicles, so it would depend on the quality of that software, together with local knowledge.

Well, I guess we all approach these things from different perspectives. Where we live the SatNav will often (depending on variant) direct drivers to the adjacent farm. As I know that this can cause problems then I will be pro-active and contact the delivery company (especially if it is one that has not delivered to us before) beforehand and warn them. I'll also give them my mobile. Our track is also very long and although we have plenty of space for vehicles to turn round, there is one sharp bend that I know may cause problems depending on lorry size. So again I will be pro-active and warn them.

[scottycelt]

As one who worked for the company concerned for a number of years. and who still retains a significant degree of loyalty and affection for it, I'll refrain from easy criticism on a public forum. I'll simply say that there used to be a 'joke' among JL Partners (both at management and shopfloor level) that JL often gets the difficult things in retail right and the easy things wrong. Nothing much seems to have changed!

I have every sympathy for johnb, and his rather sad story rings so very true. However, as others have hinted, if there is one company that will never run away with your money and which will always put 'cock-ups' right in the end it is the very same John Lewis.

The advice Johnb has been given is also correct. The 'Partner' at the other end of the phone has no real power to rectify the wrong as only 'Management Partners' have that power ... yes we used to joke about Animal Farm as well!! ... and I mean 'Senior Management Partners' if you want things done quickly.

Johnb should phone his nearest JL store (or the store responsible for the delivery) and ask for the Managing Director (the JL title for Store Director). I'd be surprised if he got to speak to him/her but he is almost guaranteed to get through to someone with the real power to act. He should also stress his deep disillusionment with JL.

After speaking to this person I'd be most surprised if the goods were not delivered within 24 hours (possibly the same day) complete with a 'goodwill' allowance and a bunch of flowers!

Such are the ways of the sometimes annoyingly eccentric but inherently decent John Lewis!