UPDATE - Crap customer service spotlight: Currys

An update on the Currys debacle.

Well, we got to Friday and no e-mail or phone call from Currys or Zanussi regarding my newly delivered and rather damaged washing machine.

So I called the Currys customer service number again. 0870 156 5550 if you fancy a particularly unproductive way to kill some time. This is the one I discovered routes the call to Zanussi (if that is what you have a problem with).

Half an hour.

Yes. Oh yes. When I gave up on the call I had been listening to Enya from Beirut for half an hour. The little recorded message had apologised to me over 60 times for their complete and utter inability to talk to me.

I had to ring their other customer service number and have two people try to fob me off again with the same number I had been calling before I could get it through to them I had bought the machine from them, not the other company they were trying to put me through to. (Yes, it appears their 0870 156 5550 is actually run by yet another company who then routes you through to the manufacturer of your choice. Excellent!) Therefore, in my opinion it was up to them to sort it out. They eventually capitulated and agreed to call them for me - and half an hour later I was called by Zanussi. They had to take a mass of details again and then give me an 'uplift code'. How exciting.

The best bit was, I then had to call Currys again to give them the code so they would come and pick up and replace the damaged unit. They didn't need anything else from me, just the code, so why this small task was given to me I do not know. Perhaps Currys and Zanussi just don't like talking to each other full stop. It seems that way. It hasn't ended yet. Currys now have to call back to arrange a suitable time to come round. Oh well, it's only Monday...

So, dear readers, it is official - CURRYS ARE CRAP. I strongly suggest you do not buy anything from them. I am not into holding grudges, so if they do decide to do the decent thing and apologise profusely - and ideally offer me something simply rather appropriate, by way of goodwill, I may change my opinion in future. Genuinely sorting out their crap customer service would be enough for me.