Very poor service from…

[Fader]

American Golf in Maidstone.

Im always happy to applaud good service as I did from the Pro at Kingshill recently. But today I was extremely disappointed for the 2nd time I'm just over a month by the American Golf shop in Maidstone.

Today I went down there with my old man as he has had his eye on some Callaway forged wedges, they're currently showing on the AG website as a multi buy option of 2 for £140 my dad also rung up in the week to confirm the offer and fact they had the wedges in the lofts he was after and if they'd do a deal on 3 wedges and guy on phone says yeah we'll do that for £200 for 3 so far so good.

So we get there today shortly after 1pm to buy the 3 wedges and what happens? The guy in shop says the offer has ended 2 days ago! So that would be same day my dad rang to confirm it was still on and would be when he came down today! So still in the shop I get up AG website on my phone and show the guy the offer is still showing as being available to which he responds "so I don't care what website says I'm telling you the offer has ended". Ask to speak to manager bloke says he is the manager and the offer no longer stands if you want clubs pay full price and I might throw in some tees!

Unsavoury words said by my dad to manager and leave the shop, meaning they lost £200 in sales and customers that will never return. Dad will be buying the same wedges from golfgeardirect as they aren't based to far from us and said they will do him the 3 clubs for £210. Slightly more than he wanted but better that than fill AG pockets after today.

At the start of this thread/rant I said this was 2nd time in just over a month well that's because at the end of January AG had an offer on some Nike Golf shoes going for a song at about £20, so I went over there to pick up a bargain and exactly same problem. I got there and they said no offer ended few days before despite the offer still being valid on company website only to be told well you can have the shoes at full price of £48 but regardless of website that's what we're charging! They lost a sale that day to as I went off to my local range and bought the same Nike shoes for what AG were advertising on the web as the range priced match the website.

Sorry to bore you all with my little rant but I do feel better now.

 

[RichardC]

I would have just missed you as I was in there about 12:45. I was exchanging a couple of gloves I got in Liverpool St, and the guy behind the counter was querying that as well :angry:

 

[Fader]

I would have just missed you as I was in there about 12:45. I was exchanging a couple of gloves I got in Liverpool St, and the guy behind the counter was querying that as well :angry:

Probably crossed over in the car park at the very least shame could have introduced myself. They just really don't know what good customer service is in that place.

 

[Andy808]

I would send a letter to head office explaining that on two separate occasions you have had terrible service from one of their stores and tell them how the "manager" treated you. If on the other occasion you weren't served by the manager let them know that this seems to be the attitude he is having his staff use towards customers.
I would suspect that the manager is relying on people not bothering to check on offers, back down easily and pay full price for a product he is then putting through at a discounted rate and creaming the extra off the top. I am pretty sure AG won't be happy about this one little bit as it tarnishes their reputation.
I have been to AG a few times in Plymouth and the service has always been top rate. When I tried out a driver last time he offered me a discount there and then even though there wasn't an offer on for the club. As far as they are concerned a customer is a customer and a happy customer encourages other golfers to go there and spend more money.

 

[jason6r]

The only way to punish bad customer service is by buying elsewhere and letting them / Head Office know that they've lost both a sale and all future custom. On its own, it will have little impact, but if enough people do so, then they can choose to improve and stay in business or perish.

Trouble is, people love a bargain and tend to return to a place that perhaps had treated them shabbily if the price is compelling. I would definitely do as Andy 808 says and let HO know. Tweeting often gets a very quick response too, especially if re-tweeted a few times - companies hate this!

 

[Shakey]

Sorry to hear that. It sounds spectacularly dumb of them to treat you and your dad like this.

By the way, if you're still after some Nike shoes, I just got a pair of Nike Heritage off ebay for £22... delivered & brand new.

The shop only had certain sizes....PM me if you want the gen, mate.

 

[Fish]

I would suspect that the manager is relying on people not bothering to check on offers, back down easily and pay full price for a product he is then putting through at a discounted rate and creaming the extra off the top.

How can you make such a damming unsubstantiated accusation of fraud and or theft against an individual!

Obviously the time management of the website and the information dictated to the retail stores to abide to is crossing. You can make errors in retail by even showing incorrect prices and simply apologise for the mistake, there is nothing in law that states you still have to sell at that displayed price. Discounts will be offered through the manufacturers to pass on within certain periods so no doubt they couldn't make a loss and had to state that the offer had closed.

The thing to do in these circumstances and what I do as par-the-course is, if you want something at AG which is advertised at a discounted price then use the collect at store web facility as then you are in essence in a contract, otherwise if its an error in any way and for any reason, its just that, no longer available.

Maybe they could have handled it better but, its corporate company and as such the manager will have little leeway.

 

[DappaDonDave]

Tell head office the manager is more of a tool than the wrench on a Taylormade r11.

There is no excuse for bad customer service.

 

[Marshy77]

I had the opposite today, went back to the Menston branch and they couldn't do enough for me. Bought a Nike polo in the sale in Feb but didn't try it on, put it on yesterday and it was too big, rang the shop and explained the above but said I didn't have my receipt. They said that wasn't a problem as they would check the system. Went down today and got chatting to the guy I'd spoke to on the phone who was/is a really nice guy who I've seen and spoke to before. He checked the system, confirmed my purchase and I swapped the polo for a box of balls.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It seems the bloke is being a fool and you have to wonder how difficult he is being with other customers. He does seem to have a strange idea of customer satisfaction. Interesting to hear what head office say if you do complain

 

[Fish]

It seems the bloke is being a fool and you have to wonder how difficult he is being with other customers. He does seem to have a strange idea of customer satisfaction. Interesting to hear what head office say if you do complain

I'm sorry but I just don't get this, these stores will be on an Epos system and possibly all centrally linked and to that end the fault is down to the website not being in sync with the store but the store and its manager is possibly acting correctly and couldn't discount back after the date he has been told has expired.

Everyone seems to want to jump on this bloke and all he may have done is work within the guidelines dictated to him, its not his store!

If the website is out of sync then yes write to the head office and they may offer you the discount but that's not under the jurisdiction of the store manager IMO

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Maybe so, but from how it is presented in the OP it sounds like the guy had a crap attitude and that was the main issue rather than the price - plus he could've have mentioned the offer was expiring on the day his old man called up.

For the record, I think the Tonbridge AG is excellent with an excellent driving range attached to it which offers superb golf coaching (hunterknIghtgolfcoaching.co.uk)

 

[Fish]

Maybe so, but from how it is presented in the OP it sounds like the guy had a crap attitude and that was the main issue rather than the price - plus he could've have mentioned the offer was expiring on the day his old man called up.

For the record, I think the Tonbridge AG is excellent with an excellent driving range attached to it which offers superb golf coaching (hunterknIghtgolfcoaching.co.uk)

But as the OP has stated, Their dad phoned "in the week" which if that was more than 2 days before today they were still on sale at that time, but have since ended. Its the website not being then in sync which is the only issue. We can't comment on the attitude as we were not there.

 

[Shakey]

Come on, admit it Fish.........you're the manager of the Maidstone AG.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

But as the OP has stated, Their dad phoned "in the week" which if that was more than 2 days before today they were still on sale at that time, but have since ended. Its the website not being then in sync which is the only issue. We can't comment on the attitude as we were not there.

Actually, the OP said he called in the week (on the day the offer was due to expire) to confirm that the offer would still be on today. Plus the OP has posted some quotes from the manager suggesting a bad attitude. I'm simply commenting on what had been presented by the OP

 

[Fish]

Come on, admit it Fish.........you're the manager of the Maidstone AG.

No, but I understand how the hands can be tied of even managers in corporate retail stores as I used to sell hard against that process through my retail businesses. As an independent retailer the situation would possibly not happen, unless you didn't have stock but I am aware that from knowing some AG employee's that they are not always, if at all, forewarned of offers and may not even be told when they are ending, its simply a call on the day or day before from an area manager and EPOS systems changed centrally. This protects products from standing still prior to sales and is common practice with corporates.

I never told any of my staff or managers of offers until end of business the day before and told them to remove them when I felt the time was right or when I could no longer get the discounts from the manufacturers to retrospectively discount. I did however change the websites myself so they were always in sync which I think is the main problem here.

 

[DappaDonDave]

A sale is a sale. Sod the website not apparently being in sync! I'm sure a store would rather turnover £200 than not? Lets face it mark up must be 50% so they wouldn't be losing anything!

Absolute joke!

 

[Shakey]

A sale is a sale. Sod the website not apparently being in sync! I'm sure a store would rather turnover £200 than not? Lets face it mark up must be 50% so they wouldn't be losing anything!

Absolute joke!

I do agree. If it was advertised on their site, they must have been making a profit. Alright, the manager could have hammed it up as much as he liked with; "I'm not supposed to do this" / "The offer's ended, but I'll make an exception just this once " etc......but acting like this, he hasn't done AG or himself any favours.

It's the old marketing saying: "A happy customer will tell 2 others about it....an unhappy one will tell 20" (something like that, anyway!).

 

[Fish]

A sale is a sale. Sod the website not apparently being in sync! I'm sure a store would rather turnover £200 than not? Lets face it mark up must be 50% so they wouldn't be losing anything!

Absolute joke!

Not if the discount was not still being offered by the manufacturer still, what's the point in making a loss, turnover is nothing without profit!

Manufacturers are very strict on what you sell at so it would have been something offered by the manufacturer for a limited time, that time expired and was no longer available 2 days after the phone call to the shop!

Could the manager have dealt with it a bit better, possibly so, but could he make an independent decision when working in a corporate environment, I'd say no.

I'm simply looking at this objectively rather than jumping on the band wagon of the business/shop/manager is always wrong, sometimes he doesn't have a choice.

 

[DappaDonDave]

Not if the discount was not still being offered by the manufacturer still, what's the point in making a loss, turnover is nothing without profit!

Manufacturers are very strict on what you sell at so it would have been something offered by the manufacturer

That is absolute mulyakum! The discount is on stock they already have, they are not brokering between the two parties, they are selling stock they've already bought.

Corporate or not...they buy for £30, they RRP for £85 they offer you a deal at £140 for 2. They are £80 up!

How are they able to sell last years big thing at £150 when last year it was £275?...because they bought it originally for less than £150