Saturday 20 June 2009

Success of a sort

Remember the entry I wrote for BADD this year?  Where You Least Expect It.  It was about going to my local pub for lunch and finding it had been done up and made less accessible in the process.

Anyway a few weeks after that I finally got around to writing a letter of complaint to the brewery/head office.

And today I got a reply.

He visited the pub and has instructed the team to measure up and install a ramp as soon as possible.  I am hoping this will be a permanent ramp and not a movable one (and if it is a movable one they put signs up saying they have it).  And I'm now planning to go for lunch in a couple of weeks and insisting on sitting up there.

So I'm really really pleased and hoping that things do happen as he says they will and that they happen quickly.

What I'm not so happy about is the comment in the letter about how they are not required to provide access to all parts of the building.

Hmm.

No, they are not legally required to do so but what is being missed here is the fact they had it and they took it away without thinking about it.  Saying that feels a bit like a cop out.  And as I wrote before I didn't feel welcome there as I always had before.  Reading that line is a bit like "yeah, you are welcome... but not as much as you used to be."

Oh and he thanked me for writing as it is the only way they have of being able to improve their service.  Or some such.  Never mind the fact that I shouldn't have had to complain.

So to recap: I made a complaint, got the reply and they are going to put a ramp in.  This is so much made of win and I am happy.  However they managed to make it less so by certain inappropriate comments in the letter.

And on the scale of the three responses to complaints letters I've had this week:

Holland and Barrett lose for replying to my letter with a load of answering but not actually answering or doing anything stuff.

This letter came second for doing something but not enough or doing it well

And FGW have responded to my phone call with a "we know it isn't good enough and we're sorry, send us your tickets and we'll give you a refund."  It's a standard response I know but they win.

1 comment:

terri said...

It sounds like they are saying we will fix it, but we don't HAVE to (so you should be really grateful...) I hate those kinds of responses and those false apologies when people say "I'm sorry IF you are offended." It's like someone made them apologize against their will so they half-do it--and think no one knows what they are up to.

Sorry to rant. This is a pet peeve of mine!

Good that you let them know your needs.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails