01 November 2010

Think of a high street retailer with a good reputation for customer service and Carphone Warehouse would likely come near the top of the list. It ticks all the boxes: wide product range, well trained staff, independent advice, no commission salary structure…

So, what happens when your phone goes wrong?

When my three-month old, top of the range HTC crashed last week I dropped back into the local Carphone Warehouse shop. They were suitably apologetic, tried a couple of fixes in store and then announced: “Sorry, it’ll have to go back to the factory”.

At which point, the service ethos seems to go out the window.

Sending the phone back to the factory means it’s going to be away for about a fortnight. And, yes, they did offer me a replacement phone. It’s about 10 years old, has plainly had a rough life and can do phone calls and texts.

“Err, excuse me,” I cried “what are you going to do about my e-mails, my calendar and my contacts, all on which are on that phone.” I’m sure you can guess the answer.

Just imagine the outcry if you tried that in your dealership.

“I’m sorry Mr BMW 5-series owner but we’re going to take your car (which is under warranty) off you for two weeks and offer you a 10-year old Kia in exchange. Yes, your business might be affected, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”

The weird thing was: I accepted my fate and walked away – promising to tell this story to every auto retailer I meet.

There are times when I think we are just too good to our customers, despite our reputation. Meanwhile, I apologise if I haven’t called you back or responded to that e-mail. It’s really not my fault!

Have a great week, both in and out of the showroom. If you have a story for us, or want to get something off your chest, email rupert@auto-retail.com

Rupert Saunders

Tags: Carphone Warehouse, This Week