Another example of non existant SAV in France. GGRRRRR!

[Mutiara]

I had over four thousand points (culminating from frequent shopping trips here whilst on holiday) on my Hyper U Carte from the large supermarket in Mayenne . My card was stolen and the shop has basically said tough sh*t your points are all lost. I have even got a French friend to contact the shop but to no avail.  I have been shopping there for around 16 years and so am a client fidele.

I am sure if this had happened in the UK , I would have not only got my points back but probably a weekend in Champneys too, and had my bags packed for me at the till!

Basically for those who don't already know, the standard of the service apres vente in France sucks! Anyone got any more fine examples?

Mut.

 

 

 

 

[Pierre ZFP]

I'm not going to 'name and shame' but there is a very large and well known hypermarket chain that would do well to improve their service apres vente as it is costing them sales.  I know many people (me included) who would not consider making large item purchases from this shop however attractive the price because you have very little help if things go wrong.

[Suze01]

We've had both good and bad service here from various shops.

I'll name and praise: This week I took back a maillette de pansage (toolkit type plastic box with handle for horse brushes/kit) to Decathlon that had cracked right open when my daughter's friend stood on it to reach the horse's head - it is designed to take up to 80g and she's half that.  They changed it, no questions asked, bought last november for a Christmas present. Great service I thought [:D]

[Jeanneclaire]

We've long felt that customer service is something that largely eludes the bigger companies. Individual artisans have given us a virtually faultless service, but generally we have been disappointed by the responses of regional and national companies. When we pointed out that two of our corner margelles on the pool were clearly darker than the rest of the margelles we were told that the these would darken and match eventually!

[Catalpa]

We've encountered apres vente service (or actually wanted to return an unpacked item when it was found to differ from how the assistant described it) twice. Once at Leclerc Espace Culturel - very good and helpful response and fixed the problem - and Leroy Merlin with the unpacked shower screen. They were good too - took it back with good grace and we were offered either a cash refund or a credit note. In contrast, we've had more problems with smaller shops or suppliers and several artisans.

But I know our luck will change. [;-)]

[Bob T]

But if you have your chip and pin card from a UK bank stolen and money is taken from that they will not always refund the money. So a few surpermarket points in France fades into insignificance in comparison. There are good and bad retailers everywhere around the world, not just in France and not all of them are bad.

If a thief has your loyalty card and redeems the points then why should the retailer suffer the loss and give you those points back when you did not look after your cards?

[Ron Avery]

Just to get this into context as it has buggar all to do with after sales service, this is about a Supermarket who would not give you a replacement card that you say has 4000 points on,  on your word only.

OK, you say the card has been stolen, where was it stolen and with what else? Stolen in France or the UK? Have you reported the loss to the police, have you actually visited the shop yourself?  If so, have you asked them if the points on the card have been redeemed?  Unfortunately, the only record of the points on a Carte U card is the card itself,  so how would they know that you had 4000 points anyway?  Seems to me that you are judging Hyper U and even worse French "after sales"on the basis of just one "bad" experience, when perhaps if you read the T&C of the card they will not replace stolen cards, tell you what, try losing a Tesco or Nectar card and see how quickly that gets replaced before you sound off about poor service in France.

[Russethouse]

Ron, I think as long as you could prove that you had been a victim of theft (crime number ?) Tesco would give you your points - they have a record after all.

[BJSLIV]

Unfortunately, the only record of the points on a Carte U card is the card itself

That's not strictly true, as I just logged on to the System U website and checked my points balance. So what shall I spend my 528 points on??????

I think it will have to be the bath towel with Dolphin pattern or the blanket with puppies..

[Mutiara]

[quote user="Ron Avery"]

Just to get this into context as it has buggar all to do with after sales service, this is about a Supermarket who would not give you a replacement card that you say has 4000 points on,  on your word only.

OK, you say the card has been stolen, where was it stolen and with what else? Stolen in France or the UK? Have you reported the loss to the police, have you actually visited the shop yourself?  If so, have you asked them if the points on the card have been redeemed?  Unfortunately, the only record of the points on a Carte U card is the card itself,  so how would they know that you had 4000 points anyway?  Seems to me that you are judging Hyper U and even worse French "after sales"on the basis of just one "bad" experience, when perhaps if you read the T&C of the card they will not replace stolen cards, tell you what, try losing a Tesco or Nectar card and see how quickly that gets replaced before you sound off about poor service in France.

[/quote]

 

Ron, you are entirely wrong of course in the assumptions you make ; In answer to your questions; The card was stolen in France from a locked vehicle; The crime was reported within an hour to the commisariate of police in the town of theft, from which a porte plainte was made and relevant documents were given to me;  Bob T - How far does one have to go to look after the property you own - it was clearly not my fault the card was stolen as you insinuate in your post. 

I have been to the shop three times and spoken to them twice on the phone, had a native French speaker ring them and sent them a letter recommnadé avec accuse de reception; On my first visit to the shop they looked me up on their computer and told me I have 4217 points on the card so you make a silly assumption here, as confirmed by the other post; I can understand if the card was lost through negligence, but because of the way it was stolen, I personally think that the shop could have been more symathetic. Even a bon d'achat would have been nice! I was wondering if you had been a loyal customer for 16 years at this shop and this had happened to you, would you have had the same view ?- We were hoping to redeem our points next month for a bicycle for my daughter, so perhaps this puts it into context.

 

 

[Ron Avery]

There were no "of course" assumptions in my post just questions, unlike you who is trying to make out that all after sales service in  France is crap just because Hyper U won't give you your points back.

I stand corrected about the computer records, it never seemed that sophisticated system to me!! 

Under the circumstances that you now detail, if the points have not been redeemed and Hyper U do not incur a loss, I cannot see any reason why they should not replace the card, if they have your records on their system and you have the police reports etc. Try asking to see the Director of Commerce next time.

[Bob T]

Just one point. It was not Super U's fault that your card was stolen either.

[Russethouse]

Was this theft the subject of an insurance claim ?

I have to wonder that given that someone trying to redeem the points 'could' be the thief, the shop/police are not more interested. Perhaps they have been redeemed already ?

[Deimos]

When I have "spent" my Super U points there has been no validation that I am the person "on the card". They just take the card, remove the points from it and give me the gift. In that regard the points seem equivalent to cash. When my card has been replaced they require both the old and new cards (to move the points from the old to the new card - both are put in the machines, first old, then new). Thus, were Super U to give you the 4000 odd points then in all probability somebody else would also be spending your 4000 points and thus they would "take the hit". Maybe they should be able to stop the card, maybe things should be organised better but it seems they are not.

Many of these supermarket card systems are actually quite lo-tech. For example, whenever I use my Leclerc card in a store I do not usually visit I and always asked to enter the PIN twice. Even if some data are held centrally the updates might be by overnight or occasional batch update rather than truly on-line. I guess they are trying to minimise the cost overhead for the loyalty cards.

If you do not like they rewards card system then maybe you should not join it. I' afraid I can appreciate and understand why the are not prepared to just give you the points on a new card.

Ian

[Blanche Neige]

"When my card has been replaced they require both the old and new cards (to move the points from the old to the new card - both are put in the machines, first old, then new). "

 

LOL ...............................................and don't they make a meal of it!!!

I had about three attempts before they would give me the new card.

"Madame you have to bring in your old card"

So I took in my old card only to be told that I had to wait three weeks for new card to arrive!

"No" I said, "the new card is in the drawer behind the counter because I saw it last week" the assistant finally produced new card but no apology.

 

That said, I have had some good "free" gifts from Super-U especially when they were giving things away for half the number of points.[:)]

 

 

[Blanche Neige]

[quote user="Blanche Neige"]

"When my card has been replaced they require both the old and new cards (to move the points from the old to the new card - both are put in the machines, first old, then new). "

 

LOL ...............................................and don't they make a meal of it!!!

I had about three attempts before they would give me the new card.

"Madame you have to bring in your old card"

So I took in my old card only to be told that I had to wait three weeks for new card to arrive!

"No" I said, "the new card is in the drawer behind the counter because I saw it last week" the assistant finally produced new card but no apology.

 

That said, I have had some good "free" gifts from Super-U especially when they were giving things away for half the number of points.[:)]

Update:

I have just been informed by a very helpful assistant at Super-U that they are changing the design of their cards and because of this all cards ( including any cards that would have expired this year) are now valid until 2008.

[:)]

[/quote]

[Graham & Brenda]

On the topic of Super U loyalty cards here's a cautionary tale I have previously posted in another forum:

I exchanged points on my card for a €30 bon d'achat. The bon looks a bit like a cheque. The hotesse stapled my receipt to it and handed it over. Having read the bit on the receipt saying what you could and couldn't use it for I chucked the receipt and pocketed the bon. When I came to use it the hotesse at the till said Non - as I didn't have the receipt which had the activation code on it!

After grovelling at the accueil I got a new code - eventually, plus a lecture on not detaching that which she (who must be obeyed) had stapled. Needless to say there is nothing on the receipt or the bon saying a code is needed - but as she gave me a new code I thought it best not to mention that and bit my tongue accordingly.

[Georgina]

Yes Graham you would be wasting your breath.

I must get this off my chest.  I shop and have spent thousands of euros at my local Monsieur Bricolage. they know me well, E500 on a wood burning stove, E400 on a rotivator to mention but a few very large purchases

I bought some  expensive wallpaper and asked the girl, if I had too many, could I obtain a reimboursement,  (before I bought it).  The lady said I could.

However when I brought one roll back for my reimboursement I was told that I could only have a credit note. But I had been in the day before and spent about E100 on something else.  I asked to see the manager who was most obnoxious and said that I probably was not understood. ha!

 My question is why would the manager risk losing thousands of euros of business from people by p... sing them off over E20.  I really was annoyed that and I know it is not my french as I have never had a problem with their staff in two years explaining things. I was not rude and feel I stood my ground.  I usually shop there because their staff are so polite, but that's it for them.  He said it was the policy in any shop (not true).  But this is a common problem with wallpaper surely and I returned it within three days. Brico Depot  however always give you a refund - I feel robbed.[:@] Sympathy please?

Georgina

 

[Renaud]

Credit where it is due. Ikea in Bordeaux have a radically different idea from their London counterparts. Their staff are pleasant and helpful, they even seem to enjoy their lives in contrast to the depressed drones in Brent and Croydon.

Their returns department dealt with the faulty items I returned speedily and pleasantly. There was even an apology.

[Graham & Brenda]

To be fair Georgina, many places only give credit notes. This does not condone rudeness of course, which, as you say also risks their client relationship. The manager of our local M. Bricolage in Cognac greets me so warmly that a) he has mistaken me for someone else or b) he treats everyone like that!