Fiasco @ Liberty
August 10th, 2009 | 
Author: Une ballade d’article en article me mene sur le site du tres chic Liberty. Une page est consacree a leurs soirees Cupcakes and Cocktails, le dernier jeudi de chaque mois. £15 le ticket mais tentant tout de meme, un cote Cupcakes in the city.
Pour plus d’informations, une adresse mail et un numero de telephone. Il est tard, j’envoie un mail.
Trois jours et demi plus tard, aucune nouvelle. Pas de message d’absence ni d’erreur n’ont repondu a mon mail. Rien non plus dans mes junk.
Je tente d’appeler: le numero sonne dans le vide.
Au bout de deux essais, on me transfere, je finis par tomber sur la messagerie du restaurant, je laisse mes coordonnees.
En fin de journee toujours rien. Je saisis un enieme fois mon telephone. Une dame m’explique que le contact donne ne travaille qu’a mi-temps (et donc apparemment 3 jours maximum par semaine?) et que de toutes facons, desolee, toutes les soirees sont completes, au revoir.
Liberty a beau etre un grand nom, peut-etre devraient-ils apprendre a…
- updater leurs pages d’evenements – une ligne aurait evite bien des frustrations.
- laisser des messages d’absence pour ne pas laisser poireauter les clients.
- apprendre un peu de politesse: a quoi bon sert le repondeur du restaurant?
Je suis une cliente assez rancuniere. Se laisser appater pour etre ignoree royalement par la suite? On ne me la refera pas. Je suis a un fil de ne plus retourner a la boutique.
You know how it goes… An article on the web leads to another and I end up on the Liberty website. A page mentions their Cupcakes and Cocktails evenings, the last Thursday of each month. How so Cupcakes in the city, how tempting at £15!
For more information, an email address and a phone numbre are indicated. It’s quite late, I send a quick email.
3 days and a half later, still no news. There had been no error or out of office message and yes, I have checked my junk file.
I try to call. Ring-ring-ring.
Two tries later, I finally get transferred, end up on the restaurant voicemail. I leave a message, my contact details.
Still nothing by the end of the afternoon. I grab the phone, feeling quite frustrated. A lady explains that the contact only works part time (from what i work out, 3 days max a week?) and anyway, sorry, all the evenings are booked anyway, good-bye.
I work in customer services. As far as I know, there are some very basic and simple rules to follow to keep customer happy:
- If you decide to use the web as an advertising media, keep the information accurate and updates. Like adding a line to an article if the future dates mentionned are not available anymore.
- Be available for the customer. If you’re not able to get back to them quickly -say 24 hours to be reasonable – delegate or at least, put an out of office message.
- Politeness usually works too. Why put a voicemail service if you do not bother calling back?!
Call me vindicative if you wish. If you advertise, you do not then ignore the customers. I won’t be fooled twice, believe me. I’m a thread away from never stepping into Liberty again.
Posted in Fiasco
English
Tu as raison, ce n’est guère commercial !
Il doit y avoir de la concurrence à Londres, ils devraient se méfier !
Quoique, parfois se faire désirer est aussi une stratégie. Certains se disent que si c’est demandé comme ça, cela doit être formidable !
Oui et non – Liberty est bien placee et les tissus sont vraiment celebres et recherches…
Se laisser desire, soit. Je toruve ca tres marketing, pas de probleme. Dans ce cas autant indiquer de suite: hey, les gars trop tard, tout est complet SUR LE SITE! Cela m’aurait encouragee a suivre les prochains evenements pour etre en premiere ligne. La, je n’ai pas envie d’y investir le moindre sou de nouveau… Ni d’encourager mes prochains visiteurs a y faire un tour!
Note que je n’ai toujours pas de reponse a mon mail et que personne n’a encore donne suite au message laisse sur le repondeur.
I also contacted them with regards their cupcake nights and their customer service is non-existent. I shalln’t be bothering with Liberty again – London has plenty of great cupcake places so why bother with a place that really doesn’t care!
Désolée… Je ne connais pas la marque. Peut-être devraient-ils trouver un autre conseiller en marcketing…. Hi! Hi! Hi!
Anne – thank you SO much! It’s so comforting to know I’m not the only and shows it is worth putting a post on the web… I have sent a link to both contact email addresses just in case someone ever reads messages at Liberty’s. Never underestimate the customers’ powers… Lots of love and cupcakes to you!
Nath: ah, les couturieres adorent leur tissu a fleur, tres British, tres chic et donc… tres cher…
Follow-up.
I have sent a copy of this article to bothe email addresses on the site, the restaurant contact amd the general one. No feedback.
Liberty got back to me. My email was sent a Thursday evening, got an email Wednesday afternoon saying that they’re fully booked (obviously haven’t read this article, then) and could put me on a waiting list, which I accepted. I only wanted one ticket.
This morning, Liberty proposed as the next event is on my birthday, an afternoon tea for 2 with cocktail at ticket price. A bit onfusing as 1/ I only wanted one ticket so tea for 2…? 2) was it £15£ for 2 or £30 for 2?
£30 for two, of course.
A lucky cancelation comes in, I can have a ticket. I am asked to call, I do, but the contact is not there. Someone takes a message, have to repeat the information twice.
Fortunately I am called back quickly enough. They expected me to pay for two tickets although I have ever mentionned one. I give my credit card details, am told that they will send the invite by email.
That was before 14.00. At 15.30, I email, asking to get the confirmation by the end of the day as the contact only works part time.
Of course, I have received nothing tonight. No confirmation, no email. I have emailed my frustration: there still isn’t an “out of office message”. Nor is the website updated with a “fully booked” line.
This company seems to take way to much liberty with their customers (soon to be ex-customers, by the way)
Follow-up:
Another person from customer services got back to me – much more polite and apologetic. After explaining what was new, they made sure the part-timer got back to me in the afternoon.
An abrupt email, on the verge of politeness, 2 lines, attaching the invite. The latter is a picture with the date. No indication of my name on it. This was no effort to be emailed last friday, would have taken 30 secondes max.
Glad to have the confirmation.
Hope I will not have any problem on the day.
I was expecting a little more apologies from Liberty, but well: you know what to expect now!