Tag Archives: complaint

Dear Mr Sainsbury

Today when I sat down at my desk for lunch I was really looking forward to your King Prawn Tom Yum soup. I had purchased it on my way into work from your much advertised “400th” Sainsburys local store which has recently opening in Wolverhampton.

I hope you can understand that after carefully following all the procedures you’d printed on the label to warm the soup – piercing the lid, stirring halfway through the 3 minute cooking time and then letting stand for the customary 60 seconds –  how disappointed I was to transfer the soup to my bowl to discover that the soup did not live up to the other direction on the label –  that it actually contained prawns!

ONE King prawn was floating forlornly in my bowl and it was ever so lonely – I should know I looked! I scooped up every mouthful in an attempt to find him a friend, hoping that they were simply hiding further in the bowl but alas there were none!

Mr or Mrs Sainsbury (or whoever this email gets to) can you please rectify this in future tubs of soup as I’m sure your prawns would appreciate the company of other prawn friends in their travels from your warehouse to your shops – and I’m sure my stomach would too!

With regards

Steph Jennings

A Complaint to Virgin

UPDATE 09:30 12th October:

15 hours after sending this email and I’ve just received a call from Virgin Media’s Chief Executive Office apologising for their appalling service! – Sometimes firing an email off to the right person does yield results!

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An email sent to the complaints address I was provided and cc’d to the CEO of Virgin Media

I have been provided with this email address from the people who run your twitter profile as a way of directing my complaint to you.

In the last week I have NEVER received such diabolical service from a company as I have yourselves!

I have been a customer with Virgin for 5 years and have consistently upgraded my account to include more and better services and would have considered myself a loyal customer. However if something is not done to rectify the experience I have had in the last 7 days I will not only be taking my business elsewhere but I will be shouting from the roof tops to anyone who will listen as why they should never use Virgin Media either!

Last Monday (4th October) I called your service centre from my fairly newly installed land line to enquire about upgrading my TV service to a HD service. I wanted some clarification on prices as on your website there are two options, one for a standard HD box and one for V+ HD – which I understood – I was however intrigued as to why on the Standard HD price the installation fee is listed as optional.

I spoke to a lady called Sarah who I explained this to and she said the option was for a “HD or V+HD” – I again explained I knew the difference in options for the services but wanted to know why the installation price on the option for the standard HD was listed as optional and V+ HD it wasn’t – Her response….

You’re not listening to me” – to which I responded “How rude are you being?” to which she responded ” WELL YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME” – I asked to be put through to cancellations immediately to which she responded “Fine” and I was put on hold. I was furious and ready to leave you company there and then and it was only through speaking to a lovely lady in your cancellations department, who’s name I unfortunately can’t remember, who apologised profusely and agreed that her colleagues behaviour was unacceptable that I decided to stay.

She opened up the website I was looking at http://shop.virginmedia.com/digital-tv/set-top-boxes.html (screen print attached) and agreed that there is confusion as she couldn’t understand why the installation fee was listed as optional either.

She apologised again and again and offered to waive the fees on, and supply a V+HD box free of charge. I explained this was unnecessary as I unlikely to have any real use of the V+ package at this time and instead accepted to take delivery of a standard HD box as way of an apology as well as requesting that a formal complaint be made.

Delivery was due Thursday 7th. My partner took the day off work and waited in all day….at 17:30 when I returned from work and there had still been no delivery I again called your customer service team where I was informed that delivery could be anywhere up until 18:00 and to call back then if there had still been no delivery

18:00 came and went and still no delivery, so I called back a second time, this time a different member of staff informs me that delivery could be any time up until 20:00 but as they have no tracking number on my account they can’t say for sure and supply me with a number to the home delivery service to call myself to track the order YOU had placed with them.

I called the 0871 number supplied to be greeted with a recorded message telling me delivery could be any time up until 19:00 (the third different time I had been given) and if I wanted specific details on a parcel to enter the 8 digit tracking number – which of course I don’t have!

Luckily having had some experience with automated services I repeatedly keyed in 8 zeros until it overrode the computer and put me through to one of their advisers.

I explained who I was and why I was calling and they took my address details and looked into it for me…..They had NO record of a delivery being made to my address on their system. The Gentleman was very apologetic and explained that some of their drivers were still out and maybe I should call back after 21:15 in case there was a fault with there system and my parcel was still with one of them…

21:15 Still no delivery so I call HDN on the 0871 number again, once again working my way through thier automated system to speak to the same man as earlier who confirmed they have no delivery due to my address!

I subsequently call your customer services again where the individual I spoke to was less than helpful! “there’s and order on your account” – yes I know there is an order on my account but why haven’t I received it? “hmmmm”

I don’t know where your advisers were trained but I’m sure “HMM” is never an acceptable answer to a customers question. I had to push and push and push to get her to make another order for a box – none of my questions as to why as YOUR customer I was having to call home delivery network to chase YOUR order with them – I am your customer, you are theirs – I should have never have had to call them myself in the first place and finally when I convinced to do her job and actually help me I wanted to know if I placed another order what guarantees I would have it would turn up as it meant either my partner or I staying home from work again to wait for it.

I was told the earliest delivery date that was available was today (Monday 11th) but I would be able to choose my delivery slot – I wasn’t impressed that after an administration error with yourselves or with the courier YOU had tasked with delivering my box I hadn’t received it on the due date and was going to have to wait longer still but I accepted this as being my only option and chose the 09:30 to 14:30 delivery slot…..

My partner again opted to stay home and wait….

9:30 the post man arrives with a letter from yourselves with our new “contract” in it that started on 7th October ( the original delivery date) and includes a £49 charge for set up – which I had been told would waived as an apology for the behaviour and attitude of your staff in my initial dealing with yourself back on the 4th October- A subsequant phone call to “Kimberly” has at least confirmed to me for the time being that I will not be charged this.

14:30 comes and goes and still nothing!, 15:30 nothing. 16:30 nothing FINALLY at 17:00 a delivery driver knocks our door and we take delivery of our now LONG overdue HD box! – My partner questioned the driver as to why it was late only to be informed he’d only been given the package at 14:00 and there was nothing in his notes pertaining to the bar code about a timed delivery despite there being a clearly visable sticker which reads “Avoid school runs deliver between 09:30 and 14:29” on the box – the driver has supplied us with a number to call Home Delivery Network to complain about this but quite frankly I don’t see why I should after all I am YOUR customer and YOU are THEIRS.

After being a customer for years and having defended you business to others citing my own experiences with yourself as a case to allay their complaints I find it absolutely outrageous that I was completely unfounded in my belief that virgin media knew how to deliver customer satisfaction.

My partner has had to take 2 days off work, I have had to make countless telephone calls not only to yourselves but to YOUR service providers to try and rectify what should have been a pretty simple upgrade and I would like to know what exactly can now be done to compensate me and make up for all of this as this was supposed to be an apology for the original poor service and attitude I received.
A copy of this email has also been posted on my blog which which can be viewed here:

https://www.weirdbutinagoodway.co.uk/blog/2010/10/11/a-complaint-to-virgin/

I trust I will be hearing from you soon.

Miss Stephenie.Jennings
Account number: *********

Education….Education…Education….

Is it a bird....?

I’m going on Holiday in October Term time AND taking my 9 year old son with me. I take him out of school every year for a holiday and for other activity days, as was agreed with his school that I be allowed to do so in advance of enrolling him.

Flexi Schooling is the correct term for it.

I take my responsibility as a parent very seriously and TBK consistently scores in the top percentile in his class  and receives glowing praise every year from his teachers, he has friends in school who come home to play (please read create havoc), and is fully integrated into society, he is bright and articulate, and as bias as I may be as his mother I do have the school reports to back this up, His education and social skills are not suffering because of it, if anything they are prospering.

YET the local paper is yet again reporting on an increase of “Truancy Fines” and while the article itself didn’t really rub me up the wrong way.  As, I will never have to pay a truancy fine for my son  as we’ve the proper protocol in place for our educational choices, But taking out holiday leave from the debate,  it still leaves the question unanswered of WHY these young people feel the need to play truant in the first place?*,  What really wound me up was the ignorance of some of the commentators who posted both before and after me.

These trips or in some peoples eyes “absenses” provide an education kids just can’t get when in school and also teaching shouldn’t just happen, and in our life DOESN’T, just happen from 9am – 3pm in the classroom!

On our holiday, just like last year, we will be teaching TBK Maths (currency conversion), Geography (he knows where we are going and surrounding countries) History, (we often like to visit cultural and historical monuments while away and actively encourage TBK to involve himself in the culture). R.E. (Turkey (this years destination)  is a predominantly a Muslim country) and much more, all on a one to one basis for periods of time he would never get in the classroom.

Previously he’s also been out of school to have the opportunity to attend HESFES, (the home educators seaside festival) where he has taken part in wood work and metal work excersizes,  fabric painting and labyrinth building amongst other things, using skills he’d have never developed sat behind a desk.

We’ve taken him out of school to have a hands on learning experience  as a zoo keeper for the day.  He’s had time off to go to an archery day, and to attend other exhibitions and events. Once, when he was in reception class, I even kept him off school on a Monday JUST so he could have a day off, As over the weekend he had participated in clay building with us, visited a monkey sanctuary, spent an afternoon playing drums and for a child of only 6 this was a lot, he needed the rest!

So how about we stop stereotyping parents who take their kids out of the classroom for any period of time as losers (as one commentator metioned) or selfish (as another did) and look at the beneifts these extra curricular activities can and do provide!

The real time and effort should be concentrated on dealing with the parents who’s children aren’t getting any education through truancy because the parents just don’t care!

* Yes I played truant as a teen, and I was duely punished for it by my mother, But I know why I did it. I hated my English teacher and she hated me, proven fact as she marked all my work down and told me , and my mom, I woudln’t get higher than a D,  myc oursework was sent to the invigulator and came back marked higher and I left school with a B (lit) and a C(lan)  Take that Mrs Smith!

Maybe if I’d have been listened to as a teen and moved to another class I’d have attended those sessions I missed and maybe that tis the answer now, listening to what our young people want!