| To: Homebase Customer Satisfaction Manager Dear Sir or Madam,
Today I had a rather frustrating experience and I hope you can help me
resolve what must be a minor issue for you.
It all started a couple of days ago when I bought three pieces of
'Image' tile edging strip from the Bracknell Homebase, at ?5.99 each. A
bit pricey, I thought, but you cannot go wrong at Homebase. I picked one,
checked it for size against a tile, and then took two from the same
dispenser.
Today, I was tiling and needed to create a mitre around a corner and so
cut two pieces to shape. I was baffled to find I could not match them
until I realised that the two strips I had used were of different size.
Examining the third one, I was amazed to find that this was a different
size again. There was no obvious indicator that they were different and
only a close examination showed this. All were white and the difference
was but a millimetre or two.
Oh well, I thought. At least I bought them from Homebase, who have a
good customer service policy. And so I took them all down to the Camberley
store where I was told by the manager that because I had cut one of the
pieces, it could not be replaced. I told her that I had taken the pieces
from the same bin and she just said that customers often put things back
in the wrong place, effectively washing her hands of it.
I have worked in customer service and am amazed that a local store
manager first lacks the training in handling unhappy customers and, even
more ridiculous, is unable to write off ?5.99 to assure customer
satisfaction. I did not get angry because it seemed unfair on her as an
untrained, unempowered employee but, as you can imagine, I am rather
disgusted with Homebase. I had to fork out another ?5.99, which perhaps
gives you a little gain, but it also gives you a great big loss, as,
unless you can do something about this I will now be taking my custom to
one of the many other DIY stores in the area.
In hope of treatment as a valued customer,
Yours faithfully |