Good selection, bad customer service (office.co.uk)

Member Name: olly374

Product:	office.co.uk
Date:	14/07/05 (244 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good selection of shoes especially if you can't find your size in the shops

Disadvantages: Non existent customer service

I decided I needed some new shoes so after searching the high street I found that I could not get any shoes I liked in my size. I then order a pair from a well known store I knew their sizes would fit however the shoes fell apart on the first wearing. So I sent them back and searched on-line for another store that had the same style of shoes. I then discovered the office.co.uk site.

The online site has a bright entry and once you get into the store you get to a menu which has the categories men's shoes, women's shoes, shoebox (your shopping basket), about us, news, terms and conditions and jobs. Navigating to the women's section (I'm female) you get to another menu which is divided into categories including high heels, ankle boots, mid heels and low heels. Selecting one of those categories brings you to a list of the shoes they have in that range. The list consists of a photo of the shoe, the name of the shoe, the pricing and whether they are going to have new stock in. The photos are well taken and look very similar to the actual shoes. I knew this before I ordered on-line as I had been into an Office store to look at the shoes.

You then select the style you want and the size if they have it in stock. Payment is easy and done through a secure server indicated by https.

Postage is now £2.50 per order if you are in the UK and they claim that delivery should take 7-9 working days.

When you order on the store you will receive a confirmation email within an hour stating they are processing your transaction.

The site is designed so it works in lots of browsers i.e. firefox and IE. (If you don't know what I mean don't worry.)

Now for the bad bit-
That is all you hear from them.

You don't get anymore emails from them stating that they have dispatched your order so that you can chase up the order if your order hasn't arrived within the stated time.

If your order hasn't arrived within working 9 days like mine did you can try and phone the customer service helpline. However you will ring the office, someone/something will pick up the phone and you will get a few clicks and silence at the other end.

You can email them but don't expect a quick reply or an acknowledgement - infact I am still awaiting an acknowledgment that they have received my email after 3 days.

Infact the only way to know how whether your order is going to be dispatched soon is to check your credit/debit card account on-line. Once the money is taken off that your order should arrive within 2 days.

The reason why I am making a fuss about not knowing whether your order has been dispatched is that anyone who has done any shopping on the internet will be aware that some orders are never delivered by delivery companies.

The order at the current time is delivered by Royal Mail Next Day Delivery and can only be delivered to the same address as the debit credit/card.

Marks-
1. Website 4/5 as the colours are too bright however the site is easy to use and has a good layout.
2. Range of stock 4/5 It is silly stating that you are going to have another delivery in July when the month is July.
3. Customer Service 0/5 There is no customer service. Lots of stores make money on the internet due to people not having a branch in their town having good customer service is vital.

Total 8/15

Summary: Good website and range non-existent customer service