Bad customer service – the decline of the high street.

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for not updating as regularly as planned. I’ve been busy editing the second book for release in late April/ early May. I have to go back and do a new sweep on the first to update that too as a couple of errors slipped through the net. I’ve been using an editing tool this time called ProWritingAid, which has helped immensely. I tend to scan read just about everything, so don’t pick up on errors, but this programme analyses everything, which means thinking about each sentence carefully, allowing me to spot errors more easily. The downside? It takes longer to edit than it did to write.

Anyway, onto today’s topic: Reported in the news this week was that Grainger Games are suffering. Credit lines have been withdrawn, the company lost 1.3m last year and they are no longer restocking their shelves or taking pre-orders. The future looks grim for the chain. In our town, they remain the only dedicated gaming shop in town after Game closed its doors for the final time last week.

It is easy to blame their woes on online shopping. I feel the answer is a little more complex than that in reality. Digital gaming has expanded, but on consoles (the primary source of shops income), digital new releases are usually around £50 for the basic package (sometimes up £100 with all the bells and whistles attached to AAA releases). The same game in retail will go for around £42, these figures are averages based on things I’ve specifically looked at in the past. The same game can be ordered online usually £2-3 cheaper than in the shops and often will arrive a day before release.

Already, you can see a huge advantage to ordering from an online retailer. It is cheaper and you can obtain the item first. For the consumer, there is an added complication–faulty goods. If you order a defective item online, returning the item is a pain in the arse. You have to wait for a returns slip for free postage, then often pay for new packaging, then wait for the replacement or refund. The whole process at its quickest can take a week, but in a store, you can take it back and get the exchange/refund instantly. Or at least that is the theory.

In Grainger Games’ case, this isn’t the way it works. In recent months, two people close to me have been burned by customer unfriendly policies that verge on the ridiculous. My brother purchased a new PS4 controller which had an issue where the pad wouldn’t remain synced with the machine and eventually would turn itself off. It wasn’t an instantly noticeable issue. He usually buys products from Amazon etc. but on this occasion had gone to the ‘high street’ after a conversation with me about how annoying it is replacing faulty goods ordered online versus the ease of a shop. Man, do I hate being wrong. He was at work, so gave me the receipt and the pad to ask for an exchange. It had been two days since purchase. I took these and visited the store expecting no issues.

I explained the situation (I had tested the pad at home on both my, and my housemate’s PS4) and the same thing happened and they tested the pad in the store. They said, “It works fine”. Patiently, I explained that it does at first and repeated my description of the problem, stressing that we weren’t looking for a refund, simply an exchange for a working pad. I explained it had been tested on multiple machines, the same thing occurring on all machines. They said that unless they could see a fault, Sony would refuse to refund their coffers. I attempted reasoning that I had nothing to gain to attempt to defraud them. The pad had all of its packaging, was clearly new and I had provided receipt. What would someone have to gain by claiming a product was faulty to exchange for the same product? I understand a cash refund is a different scenario that people will sometimes attempt to game for extra cash. I was getting nowhere, so decided to leave as it was making me angry and I didn’t want to take it out on the minimum-wage staff that have no bearing on the farcical decisions made by their corporate overlords. I felt as though I was being called a liar.

I took to Twitter, the go-to complain machine to try to solve the problem by their centralised customer service department. They messaged me informing that someone would call me soon. Five days later, I received a phone call. I explained the situation, the fault and the fact all that was required was an exchange. I basically had the same conversation as before. It was clear that was an almost scripted response given to the staff, explaining that Sony would not accept it as a fault. I countered this with the fact that as a customer, my contract was with them, not Sony and it was their responsibility to provide a replacement, not Sony’s. They essentially told me to fuck off. They didn’t use those words exactly, but it was made clear they weren’t prepared to help.

I explained what had happened to my brother, who took time out to try to resolve the issue himself. I have been known to exacerbate situations in the past with liberal use of sweary outburst, so I don’t blame him for second guessing my attempts. On this occasion, I didn’t. I’m nearly a grown up. He was met with the exact same deference as I was, with the same stock responses. Even more frustrated than I was, he contacted Sony, who sent a delivery slip and then provided an IMMEDIATE replacement. To save the hassle of online returns, he paid extra for a product to receive a lesser service.

My housemate also visited them in December to buy a second hand mobile phone as his old one recently died. About three weeks later, the phone screen simply stopped working, so he went to the store to return it. He said his interaction lasted 30 seconds as he explained what had happened, the staff member held the phone up to the light and stated, “Screen has a scratch on it. Can’t replace it” That was that. Wasted money. It is important to note that my housemate is a careful, meticulous person. It is highly unlikely he scratched the phone since he uses protective cases and treats just about everything he owns with care. He is partially blind, so I checked the phone when he got home. There was indeed an infinitesimal scratch on the screen, so I’d hazard a guess it was there on purchase, but could not confirm it 100%. I can confirm was that it wouldn’t cause a screen to break.

My long winded point is that high street stores, not just Grainger, all must be aware that the majority of products are available cheaper online. To combat this, they need to offer levels of customer service of a far more personable nature. Because of our experience, we would never shop at Grainger again and our social circle would be unlikely to risk it either based on what we had said. I’m confident based on the standardised responses, that these things are not isolated issues and have driven many a customer away over time.

I’m not gloating at their potential demise. It is awful how many companies are struggling in the UK at the moment and it is only going to get worse. I’ve had people I know work for them and was staggered by how poorly the staff are treated. Mandatory breaks not adhered to, required to stay longer hours for unpaid training and only offered minimum wage to begin with. I sympathise with those staff and hope that their closure doesn’t cause any long term damage to their lives. I also understand why that wouldn’t motivate them to be more helpful than they are. It is the central decisions that causes issues such as the ones I described, not the person behind the counter. If Grainger does indeed fold, then other businesses need to start paying attention quickly before the UK high street simply becomes a huge Wal-Mart incorporating Poundland.