Customer Service Is Dead

Given that I'm not shooting shows for a few days, let's have a quick moan.

Firstly. Debenhams.
Ordered item on Monday, delivery to store within 4 days. No word, called them. Turns out that's "from despatch" which could be from now to kingdom come. Email them, and get told it's shipped. Went to store - store has item - but not the one that was sent for me - so I can't have it.

Where's the joined-up thinking there? Replace the one from stock with the one that's in transit to you. Don't make your customer make two trips. Insane. It shouldn't matter to the end user that you're "not the same company". Because you're replacing object a with object b and the two are identical.

Oh, and the item advertises a £40 rebate on the page I ordered from. Lovely. Except it expired months ago and they couldn't be bothered to update their site.

Secondly, Digitalrev.
Took a risk in ordering a camera from HK. Paid my money. "Ships within 24 hours" it says. Order arriving 12th August the order says. Their online support say "It'll be with you by the end of next week if you order now." Shooting a festival Friday, so that's perfect.

Hasn't shipped. Can't tell me when it'll ship. In the interim I've been approved for V next weekend, and will be furious if it's not here by then.

I don't understand why either of these transactions is difficult, given that they involve having an item and putting in in a box and shipping it. Or if you can't, communicating with the customer.

So what should have been two fairly nice 'luxury' purchases are tarnished by the sheer ball-ache of trying to get a company to fulfil it's part of the bargain.

Tell you what, though. They were both very efficient at one thing - taking the payment.