[Alex Gardiner]

Just to clarify for all of our customers - you can still call us on the phone & you can still speak to someone on the phone if you really need to 

However the method for accessing our Customer Service team has changed somewhat.

Previously it was a lottery when you rang up with some clients always getting through and others getting an answer machine. Now all calls are routed to an answer phone message - at this point if you really need to speak to someone you can leave a message & our team will call you back to talk through your issue or order if a phone call is needed.

Why have we taken this step? Several reasons:

1. The volume of customer service calls we are receiving in the last 4 months has grown dramatically. Most days we now have in excess of 500 individual callers ringing in. Most calls need more than just a few minutes discussion so can consume a lot of phone time.

2. Call volume tends to bunch together at peak times with in excess of 150 calls per hour at popular times. With just 4-6 operators on the phones it is simply not possible to talk to & call back all within minutes at peak times.

3. The new system allows for more informed operators to call clients back. This is because before we return your call we can look up the details of your technical query or your order details & are subsequently better able to answer your query or assist you in the most efficient method. This ultimately saves clients time on the phone & frees up our operators to assist more clients.

We know we can’t please all of the people all of the time, despite our best efforts. However we believe that this new method will help us provide higher quality & more efficient customer service.

[Go]

I’ve always found Mr G very generous in answering questions.

[Slacky]

With reference to the title are you suggesting we try to use Extra Sensory Perception to contact Gardiners?

Is this what you meant when you say 'thoughts'?

[Go]

Telepathetic window licking.

[Splash & dash]

I also am a dionosour and won’t order stuff on line since Gardiners have taken this step I now deal with Grippatank who will answer the phone and speak to you , I understand why Alex has done what he has but feel it’s a backward step and they will loose custom by doing this as was confirmed by Grippatank when I ordered a 35 extream and a few other bits this week they said that there orders had increased quite dramatically since Gardiners had taken this step .
Gardiners are a big player in the market so a few lost sales won’t bother them it’s a shame as I always found there staff knowledgeable and helpful but I will not use the Internet for purchasing stuff it’s all to easy to to order the wrong bit or you want to know the difference between this or that what’s going to work best for a certain job etc ,I personally don’t want to be emailing company’s with questions I want to be able to speak to someone who can answer my questions and explain things to me , if they are that busy then they should be taking on more staff to answer the phones shorley? Not cancelling phone orders , since I have stoped shopping on line I have not had any credit card fraud , when I did buy stuff on line I had a number of fraud transactions happen on my accounts , all web sites I shopped on were supposedly secure , I am not saying that the issues I had with fraud were anything to do with Gardiners Ime just saying I don’t want to use my card details on any web site and I don’t now , if I cannot speak to a company I wont trade with them , I will go else where , I hope that Alex might have a change of heart when he reads the comments that ones have put on hear , as I feel it’s a backward step for a good company to have taken

[jo5hm4n]

With reference to the title are you suggesting we try to use Extra Sensory Perception to contact Gardiners?

Is this what you meant when you say 'thoughts'?

No, i just wanted to know the thoughts on this matter from other window cleaners, or lickers, or whatever you lot on here actually are!

[jo5hm4n]

Just to clarify for all of our customers - you can still call us on the phone & you can still speak to someone on the phone if you really need to 

However the method for accessing our Customer Service team has changed somewhat.

Previously it was a lottery when you rang up with some clients always getting through and others getting an answer machine. Now all calls are routed to an answer phone message - at this point if you really need to speak to someone you can leave a message & our team will call you back to talk through your issue or order if a phone call is needed.

Why have we taken this step? Several reasons:

1. The volume of customer service calls we are receiving in the last 4 months has grown dramatically. Most days we now have in excess of 500 individual callers ringing in. Most calls need more than just a few minutes discussion so can consume a lot of phone time.

2. Call volume tends to bunch together at peak times with in excess of 150 calls per hour at popular times. With just 4-6 operators on the phones it is simply not possible to talk to & call back all within minutes at peak times.

3. The new system allows for more informed operators to call clients back. This is because before we return your call we can look up the details of your technical query or your order details & are subsequently better able to answer your query or assist you in the most efficient method. This ultimately saves clients time on the phone & frees up our operators to assist more clients.

We know we can’t please all of the people all of the time, despite our best efforts. However we believe that this new method will help us provide higher quality & more efficient customer service.

Thanks for clarifying this Alex.  I now understand why you have taken this step.  My query was solved within the hour after i received my 2nd callback.

Thanks again.

[John Mart]

Hasn't it been this way for years?

[AuRavelling79]

Maybe Alex could set up a luddite line? A special number for well off but 20th century dwelling customers? 

Then one day a week each of his staff have to "man" or "woman" the luddite line number.

This would have the benefit of helping his staff deal with people on the spectrum which would increase their "people skills" enormously. Only having to do this one day a week shouldn't overload them but if they have a bad run of awkward customers then ice packs could be provided as could therapy or a nice lie down in a darkened room.

[Klean07]

This is why I use The Cleaning Warehouse in Wolves. It's 10 miles away, they answer phone and have a separate phone extension for technical stuff to the guy that actually fits systems to vans as part of his job. I visit them a couple of times a year to pick new parts up etc and book my van in with this tech guy for an hour (£20) to check that every thing is as it should be and to replace or add new parts!

[robbo333]

If i've requested a call back, it usually happens within an hour or so, and I am quite happy to accept that level of service.
Companies that don't phone back...now that's a different matter!
The girls are really good too, helpful, knowledgable and polite.
It sounds like, if they just did a normal service, then I'd be phoning all the time, just trying to get through to someone.
Personally, i'd rather let them call me.

"Fork handles" lol!

[brianbarber]

If it's planned items, ok online.
If I'm out working and something breaks then yes it's a phone call only, as I can't wait till I'm home or deoendong on the time I will miss the cut off time for items to be sent out to me.
  or it's a phone call if I'm not sure exactly what size fittings or clips for example that I need urgently.

Realistically a phone call at 15 mins has an intrinsic cost to the employer for example if employee is on £10 an hour then it's  cost £2.50 to take the order.....then it has to be processed.
However this may work out ok for gardiners, it's all down to the average sale value, and call time.

That is all

I'm off now to order something online😄
MrB

[lee_dewing]

Always been happy with gardeniers but would be happier if you could speak to real people.

Seems most businesses would rather not talk to their customers.

e.g. energy suppliers, multitude of keypad options, talking to a real person seems last resort!

Been using other suppliers for some stuff now, xline, window cleaning warehouse, daqua systems usually get to talk to someone fairly easily, I call daqua first thing to catch Doug 👍

[Alex Gardiner]

Always been happy with gardeniers but would be happier if you could speak to real people.

Seems most businesses would rather not talk to their customers.

e.g. energy suppliers, multitude of keypad options, talking to a real person seems last resort!

Been using other suppliers for some stuff now, xline, window cleaning warehouse, daqua systems usually get to talk to someone fairly easily, I call daqua first thing to catch Doug 👍

Hi Lee

As I posted earlier -      3. The new system allows for more informed operators to call clients back. This is because before we return your call we can look up the details of your technical query or your order details & are subsequently better able to answer your query or assist you in the most efficient method. This ultimately saves clients time on the phone & frees up our operators to assist more clients.       - you can speak to a real person 

[Slacky]

I've never had a problem speaking to a Gardiners telephone operator. I leave a message, they call back within the hour. Im polite, they're polite. Problem resolved.

I had Alex on the blower a month or more back about a long standing R.O. issue, he wouldn't shut up giving me advise 

[Crystal-clear]

Listen I really like gardeners the girls are extremely helpful as is Alex even for little tedious problems I'm talking about a few pounds of an item here and there so I can't fault them on that

when I heard the message we no longer take calls I was a bit disheartened I did leave a message but I didn't expect them to call me back so quickly I think it was within half an hour during that time I did call grippatank to be fair and managed to order the part I needed who turned out also to be very helpful and pleasant to speak to .

Here's my summary
I'm guessing this is a trial for them because in fairness a lot of items are straightforward that people can order from the website
And the people that have questions would like to know what connectors best or would like to know which poles the best or which this and which that
They leave a message mind you even if you have a basic item to order but you prefer speaking to a person you also leave a message I think the plan is just to deter and save Manpower where necessary
That's not really a bad thing Alex mentions he's inundated with phone calls yes he could employ more people but at the same time most of those enquiries could literally just order online

Like i say they did call me back pretty quickly I was not expecting that so all I think we can say is for now if you require their assistance on the phone leave a message as long as they're calling you back like Alex says
Then they are still giving us good customer service

[Soupy]

The next step would be a bigger customer service team. Larger overheads = higher prices.

[Spruce]

The next step would be a bigger customer service team. Larger overheads = higher prices.

....... and then another post complaining about prices. 

[Stoots]

cant understand why anyone would need to speak to them anyway, arent most items they sell self explanatory?

[Walter Mitty]

cant understand why anyone would need to speak to them anyway, arent most items they sell self explanatory?

Yes, but there are times when there needs to be verbal communication.  For instance, if you need to pay extra for a pre-10am delivery or if there's some ambiguity over which clamp size might be needed due to the SLX sections being re-numbered some years back.  Also, sometimes a part may be needed that isn't directly listed on the site.  It's much better to have a quick conversation than have a misunderstanding about what is required and the subsequent posting back and forth to correct it.