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I ordered a table, sideboard and a side table from the Surat range from Marks and Spencer online on August 21st. I was emailed confirmation and was told that my order would be about ten weeks to delivery.
On the 18th October I received a phone call from Marks and Spencer to say that the furniture was now in stock and that I would be receiving a phone call from the delivery department sometime within the next couple of days to arrange a date for delivery.
After a further five days and still no call I decided to give them a ring to enquire about the delivery date. I was advised by the receptionist to ring the warehouse and was given a direct number that I could call. When I got through to them they said that there was a problem with that range of products and that they were waiting for Marks and Spencer to arrange an inspection. So I waited a few more days and still no one called about the delivery date. I decided to call Marks and Spencer customer services again.
This time I was advised that the products I ordered had been withdraw and that they would cancel my order. I have since been in contact again since to enquire to what they intended to do as I had ordered the furniture early so that I would have it in time for Christmas and now I have no way of ordering from any where else.
They said they can only apologise and that there is nothing else they can do. Now the worse bit is that they are still taking orders for this range online and in the shops, so can someone please tell me whats going on here?
May I also add that I have only just got my money back from them!
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Marks and Spencers..... The new BT
Awful awful awful. Spent £1000 on hampers just before xmas as thank-you gifts to our customers. We are now 3 weeks into Jan and M&S have charged us but only delivered 30% of the hampers... most of which were wrong. They then cancelled our outstanding orders without telling us.....
We ordered 12-bottle hampers and those that did actually get a delivery only got one bottle!
So basically we paid £75 for a £5 bottle of wine....
Since then have made 28 calls to M&S to sort the problems out.
Their manchester office have given us false names, false POD's and have failed to call back and resovle the problem. Our CS contact that promised to help "Nick Martin" cancelled our order and put his phone on "Busy" for 5 days so nobody could contact him...
Some CS reps were professional and helpful, others were just ignorant and didnt care.
Even today we are having to go through the whole thing again with a new customer service rep. We have given then 2 days to sort the problem or we will be issuing them with a CCJ. If anyone else is having difficulty I advise doing the same. They will respond immediately. A country court judgement can be applied for at your local county court and M&S will actually have to pay the £80 fee.
I actually thought M&S had sorted themselves out but their infrastructure obviously cant cope with the sales. Its pathetic and they are quickly getting the reputation of being crap, just like Sky or BT.
I have been a life-long M&S customer but from now on I will use M&S for food in-store, but any bigger purchases will never use them.
Not only disappointed but shocked and very angry with this situation.
Not only have M&S let our customers down but they have cost me money, reputation, and valuble time trying to fix their mistakes.
Why dont M&S take a leaf out of Vodafones book and actually employ decent staff that have the skills to troubleshoot problems whilst on the phone.
16/01/08 NotHappyShopper
Awful awful awful. Spent £1000 on hampers just before xmas as thank-you gifts to our customers. We are now 3 weeks into Jan and M&S have charged us but only delivered 30% of the hampers... most of which were wrong. They then cancelled our outstanding orders without telling us.....
We ordered 12-bottle hampers and those that did actually get a delivery only got one bottle!
So basically we paid £75 for a £5 bottle of wine....
Since then have made 28 calls to M&S to sort the problems out.
Their manchester office have given us false names, false POD's and have failed to call back and resovle the problem. Our CS contact that promised to help "Nick Martin" cancelled our order and put his phone on "Busy" for 5 days so nobody could contact him...
Some CS reps were professional and helpful, others were just ignorant and didnt care.
Even today we are having to go through the whole thing again with a new customer service rep. We have given then 2 days to sort the problem or we will be issuing them with a CCJ. If anyone else is having difficulty I advise doing the same. They will respond immediately. A country court judgement can be applied for at your local county court and M&S will actually have to pay the £80 fee.
I actually thought M&S had sorted themselves out but their infrastructure obviously cant cope with the sales. Its pathetic and they are quickly getting the reputation of being crap, just like Sky or BT.
I have been a life-long M&S customer but from now on I will use M&S for food in-store, but any bigger purchases will never use them.
Not only disappointed but shocked and very angry with this situation.
Not only have M&S let our customers down but they have cost me money, reputation, and valuble time trying to fix their mistakes.
Why dont M&S take a leaf out of Vodafones book and actually employ decent staff that have the skills to troubleshoot problems whilst on the phone.
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Marks and Spencer really let us down over delivery of furniture before Christmas. Their carriers were described by their own customer services as 'a real problem'. Even customer services had problems getting in touch with the carriers (they take forever to answer the phone) and told me that there were hundreds of complaints. To be fair to customer services they were very professional and pleasant but they were unable to do anything and couldn't tell us when, if ever, we might get delivery of items that were already with the carriers! When I said it sounded like the tail wagging the dog, they agreed!
We had deliveries from other stores before Christmas without any problems; John Lewis and Curry's delivery services went out of their way to help and be flexible. I cancelled the order with M+S out of frustration and was told I would get a letter to confirm and a credit within five days. It didn't happen. When I chased I was told I needed to go to the store where the order was placed!
The strore staff processed the cancelation straight away. In some ways I feel sorry for M+S staff as it seems obvious that it is a fault of managment who give the impression they really dont care about customers any more.
07/01/08 Divad
We had deliveries from other stores before Christmas without any problems; John Lewis and Curry's delivery services went out of their way to help and be flexible. I cancelled the order with M+S out of frustration and was told I would get a letter to confirm and a credit within five days. It didn't happen. When I chased I was told I needed to go to the store where the order was placed!
The strore staff processed the cancelation straight away. In some ways I feel sorry for M+S staff as it seems obvious that it is a fault of managment who give the impression they really dont care about customers any more.
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I am also having problems with M&S on line ordering service. They have sent the wrong item twice and it is costing me a lot of mone to try to get it sorted - every time I telephone (0845 number) they promise to call me back but so far have never done so. I have orfered from quite a few websites for Christmas presents but M&S is the only one I have had problems with. My complaint is still not resolved.
07/12/07 Julie H
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I too am having huge problems with M&S ordering. It seems to me they have a huge I.T. problem. Only the Order Dept can see my order and nobody else in any other department can. This morning I have spent over an hour on the telephone and spoken to eight different people and they are still trying to sort out my order. It has been dispatched but no-one can trace it! I have been charged for it - a tumble drier- but it has disappeared inot the ether. I think they need to focus a lot of attention on behind the scenes departments that cannot function because the infrastructure ets them down. Everybody is so apologetic but as am tearing my hair out it isn't helping!
18/10/07 Lesca
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At the end of April I ordered from Mark and Spencer Online a pair of trousers, a jumper, and a beauty item. All three items were marked "delivery in 1-3 day". For almost two months M&S bombarded me with emails (once every two days) telling me that the jumper was there but the trousers were "delayed". All the emails were conveniently sent from a no-respond automated account. When after almost two months the trousers were finally ready to be dispatched, I got a message telling me that the jumper was now out of stock (i.e., it has been sold to someone else). As the season is now at the end, I am left with trousers that will not be able to wear and no jumper. This is an absurd, incompetent and unacceptable way of treating customers. I regularly buy on line but this must be the worst buying experience I ever had. I would suggest other potential customers to think twice before shopping on M&S online, at least until they get their act together.
24/07/07 Anon
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Flowers ordered in store on Sat 30th June and delivery was for Monday 2nd July. When I arrived home from work on Mon 2nd July there was a message asking me to ring Marks & Spencer. On doing so I was told there was a delivery problem and the flowers would not be delivered until Weds 4th July. I said that was too late and could I cancel the order whereupon I was told it was too late the order had been despatched! To where? When? If they had been despatched why was it going to take another 2 days for them to be delivered? None of these questions were answered. I was then offered the chance of having the bouqet delivered free of charge. I pointed out the cost was not an issue and I didnt want them free I just wanted them delivered within a reasonable time. Eventually I was allowed to cancel the order and was told the money will be refunded to my credit card. I wonder how long this will take? Marks & Spencer I am not impressed. I ordered the flowers elsewhere and they were delivered by 10.00am Tuesday.
03/07/07 Mary
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It appears that the M&S online ordering service has all but collapsed.
Rather concerning, M&S continue to push this service, presumably to keep their headline sales and online growth figures up but they now seemed to have reached the point where the serious underlying problems are coming out into the public domain.
Having spoken to line management at the online call centre, it’s quite clear that some staff are demoralised by the level of complaints. They are told that there are special teams in place to resolve the difficulties but months later the service seems to be getting worse, not better.
According to the M&S call centre, the problems stem from M&S’s systems failing to reflect true stock levels.
Of course there is the facility to show items as being out of stock. Anyone using the online service will have seen that some sizes and lines become unavailable to order over time, presumably when they sell out on line or more likely are sent to a store.
The problem, however, is that other items are shown as still being in stock when they are not. As a result, seemingly large numbers of order are accepted when they cannot be fulfilled and according to staff, M&S know this!
It is, therefore, hard to see how any claims M&S makes for its online sales can be accurate. With orders placed ending up in limbo - one item unavailable so the rest of the order just stays on the system rather than being delivered (as previously) and partially fulfilled order being returned to the stores – for example where the suit jacket is delivered but the trousers never turn up because they have gone “out of stock”, it must be near impossible for M&S to keep track.
However nice the staff and however tasty the food, repeated poor online experiences will drive customers away and damage the whole M&S brand.
29/06/07 Bertie
Rather concerning, M&S continue to push this service, presumably to keep their headline sales and online growth figures up but they now seemed to have reached the point where the serious underlying problems are coming out into the public domain.
Having spoken to line management at the online call centre, it’s quite clear that some staff are demoralised by the level of complaints. They are told that there are special teams in place to resolve the difficulties but months later the service seems to be getting worse, not better.
According to the M&S call centre, the problems stem from M&S’s systems failing to reflect true stock levels.
Of course there is the facility to show items as being out of stock. Anyone using the online service will have seen that some sizes and lines become unavailable to order over time, presumably when they sell out on line or more likely are sent to a store.
The problem, however, is that other items are shown as still being in stock when they are not. As a result, seemingly large numbers of order are accepted when they cannot be fulfilled and according to staff, M&S know this!
It is, therefore, hard to see how any claims M&S makes for its online sales can be accurate. With orders placed ending up in limbo - one item unavailable so the rest of the order just stays on the system rather than being delivered (as previously) and partially fulfilled order being returned to the stores – for example where the suit jacket is delivered but the trousers never turn up because they have gone “out of stock”, it must be near impossible for M&S to keep track.
However nice the staff and however tasty the food, repeated poor online experiences will drive customers away and damage the whole M&S brand.
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Ordered a suit for my son's Cambridge University graduation online from M&S on Tues 19/6/07 the following Tuesday 26/6/07 told it was out of stock. He graduates on 29/6/07! What use is an online service that doesn't know what's in stock or not? And then waits a week to let you know?
26/06/07 mark howard
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The M&S flower delivery problems seem commonplace. I ordered a bouquet for my mother - with the intended delivery date for June 8th. On June 8th I received an email from M&S, asking me to ring them, as they couldn't complete my order without 'further information'. I duly phoned - and was advised that the flowers had been dispatched to the wrong depot, and that the earliest a new bouquet could be delivered would be June 11th. June 11th came and went, and no flowers were delivered. I checked my online account, to find the estimated delivery date is July 3rd. My advice? Don't bother with online M&S.
13/06/07 disgruntled
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I took back a jersey to Marks & Spencer, after Xmas as it was too big, hoping that I would be able to exchange it for a smaller size. Unfortunately they had no stock. I therefore took it to the exchange and refunds dept, and was advised that as I had no receipt I could have a credit note.
This was fine, excepting for the fact that the price had now been reduced, and I would therefore only be allowed the new 'sale' price. On discussion with a very helpful gentleman I was advised that they do make it quite clear that gifts should be returned with a (un-priced) gift receipt, and I would then be allowed a full value refund.
I explained that my brother did not have such a document, and certainly whenever I have made a purchase at M&S I have never been advised that if I was purchasing a gift that I should obtain such a receipt. I ALSO COULD NOT FIND CLEAR SIGNS AROUND THE ILFORD STORE TO THE EFFECT THAT ONE SHOULD ASK FOR SUCH A DOCUMENT.
This is surely a 'jobsworth' response, which I would only expect to receive from some shady corner shop, not for a Company of their standing.
07/06/07 Dave W
This was fine, excepting for the fact that the price had now been reduced, and I would therefore only be allowed the new 'sale' price. On discussion with a very helpful gentleman I was advised that they do make it quite clear that gifts should be returned with a (un-priced) gift receipt, and I would then be allowed a full value refund.
I explained that my brother did not have such a document, and certainly whenever I have made a purchase at M&S I have never been advised that if I was purchasing a gift that I should obtain such a receipt. I ALSO COULD NOT FIND CLEAR SIGNS AROUND THE ILFORD STORE TO THE EFFECT THAT ONE SHOULD ASK FOR SUCH A DOCUMENT.
This is surely a 'jobsworth' response, which I would only expect to receive from some shady corner shop, not for a Company of their standing.
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Generally speaking, my experience with M&S has usually been ok, both in store and online, but my recent experience with them and reading this recently discovered forum has made me even more doubtful of them. I ordered a large amount of casual/separates womenswear on May 2nd which were all available as next day delivery; Ist problem, couldnt deliver for a week and site wouldnt acknowlege nominated delivery day. 2nd problem, after waiting a week received automated e-mail saying order delayed but will let me know asap new delivery date. Ongoing problem, now on 30th May, still waiting for delivery date, no response to e-mails, (darent phone them, might say something I will later regret!). They can afford to spend vast amounts on expensive television adverts but when it comes to those who 'pay' their wages (us) we're not worth the time of day!
30/05/07 happyshopper - ha ha!
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It is now Saturday. No flowers, no explanation, no suggested delivery date,no apologies, no replies to emails - perhaps the small claims court is the answer.
14/04/07 fedupwithrubbishservice
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M&S strikes again..........two different flower orders to two different destinations - nominated delivery day Saturday 7 April. Ordered online, no sign of the goods on the nominated day, two days later I am told that they will be delivered on Wednesday 11 April..........a bit late for Easter. No sign of the flowers on Wednesday either. Now I am told that there is a supply problem (both bouquets??) and that they will not turn up until Friday! This is appalling service and a great disappointment for the intended recipients - WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON MR ROSE??
11/04/07 fedupwithrubbishservice
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M&S online services strikes again!
This time it is flowers. I ordered a bouquet of flowers from M&S for my wedding anniversary from their brochure which proudly proclaims on its front cover "Order by 5pm for next day delivery".
Next day I received an e-mail telling me that they could not deliver that day. So much for their claim!
Four days later an e-mail from M&S advising that they had refunded the money in full for the order. No apology offered.
I contacted M&S Customer Services by phone to seek redress and was simply cutoff! I wonder just how they can justify calling it Customer Services?
Enquiry at the local M&S store reveled that they were aware of the problems over the periode in question as they could not place any oders themselves. Why then had M&S not blocked people from ordering on line?
Moral, do not use M&S online services as clearly they do not care about the customer.
10/04/07 SARC
This time it is flowers. I ordered a bouquet of flowers from M&S for my wedding anniversary from their brochure which proudly proclaims on its front cover "Order by 5pm for next day delivery".
Next day I received an e-mail telling me that they could not deliver that day. So much for their claim!
Four days later an e-mail from M&S advising that they had refunded the money in full for the order. No apology offered.
I contacted M&S Customer Services by phone to seek redress and was simply cutoff! I wonder just how they can justify calling it Customer Services?
Enquiry at the local M&S store reveled that they were aware of the problems over the periode in question as they could not place any oders themselves. Why then had M&S not blocked people from ordering on line?
Moral, do not use M&S online services as clearly they do not care about the customer.
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jlo
So I've cancelled, they've lost a customer. If I'd read the gripes first I'd have saved myself a lot of wasted time as it does seem to be a totally unreliable home delivery service.