Dear Manager,

Frankly I have been completely appalled by the customer service and organisation of this store and know I am not the only one. I therefore felt compelled to share other parents views, tell you where you are gong wrong and what changes you should make to make life easier for both your staff and customers.

1. First of all your website is utterly useless. It needs a big note on it saying “please do not bother to check this as we do not update. Do not bother to contact us on the details provided either, as we do not answer the phone or emails. There is a shop here and you should just come on down but be prepared for terrible service” (more on that later).

You would be much better off employing someone to just concentrate on the website. Most busy parents in this day and age just want to be able to shop online quickly and easily at the start of the holidays or as their child grows.

2. As a customer, trying to contact you is a nightmare. The phone is never answered and there is a very rude answer phone message saying something along the lines of “we can’t take your call and you can’t leave a message”. Hearing this over and over is truly frustrating. When I actually visited your store I was told the phone is rarely answered before 4pm and the staff were obviously quite distressed by the sound of the constant ringing and voice message recording.

During busy times such as Summer Holidays and the start of September term you should employ someone to purely answer the phone in a office away from the shop floor. It would make life so much less stressful for both customers and staff. A friendly voicemail message with the option to leave your details would be much better too. Frankly your current system is just ineffective and rude!

3. Your shop, system and staff customer service are severely lacking. I know you cover a huge number of schools but small changes in the way you set up your shop would really help everyone.

  • You have staff but could use them much more effectively. You should have someone on the door to greet and direct customers to the area they need or a staff member who could help them.
  • You should have clear signs like ‘pay here’, ‘wait for assistance here’ etc, even the School names. I was stood around for ages before anyone would help me.
  • Your staff desperately need some customer service training. They might be overworked and stressed but customers should not see signs of it. They should be polite, helpful and smile at all times.

Unfortunately your shop is the dedicated provider for my Daughter’s school so I have no option but to buy from you. If you weren’t though I would take my custom elsewhere as would the majority of other parents in the School.

I do hope you take some of my ideas on board.

Karen