An apology from Julian Richer

Postscript

It was nice to receive an apology from Julian Richer. The apologetic tone of the letter was exactly how I would expect it to be. Whether I will ever order again from the company is uncertain- I have since ordered a Panasonic soundbar from Amazon on a Thursday and it arrived on Saturday morning, moreover I was able to track it on the Hermes and Amazon webpages! 

How is the tv? Happy with the Samsung - a few minor gripes design-wise - unlike Panasonic TVs you can't via one button push return to the tv's own tuner from another input. It doesn't seem possible to record one programme via a usb hd while watching another. 

I'd like to end by noting that I read the founder- a bachelor with no children - has given the shares of his business to its employees. That is a wonderful gesture and I wish the business well for its future. Perhaps if they can sort out the online order delivery system, and keep customers informed during the delivery it will reap the rewards which are available - eg John Lewis and Amazon.

Tv arrives at long last!

Wednesday 4th 2pm - the Samsung UE48H6400 arrived at long last! Took 30 mins to setup, scan Freeview channels, sort and now trying out all the various Smart stuff. Happy with the look of the TV, pic quality both SD and HD with unadjusted settings for now, and sound quality is fine for my substandard hearing. Smarthub works leading to all the catchup channels via wifi. Will report back here in a while.

Wednesday 4th Feb 2015- another delivery promise!

Wednesday 4th Feb (10 days since ordering the TV). Had two phonecalls this morning- the first from Aramex stating that I will be getting a delivery some time today although no time estimate was possible; secondly, an apologetic call from CS at Richer Sounds confirming the delivery for today and telling me that there would be an internal investigation about the delivery problems with Aramex. The guy also said he would be sending me some vouchers but didn't say to what value! Will update if the TV arrives and then on the installation and my impressions of the set.

Poor online service from Richer Sounds- a first time buyer's nightmare

I've been aware of Richer Sounds from the hotukdeals.com website and wishing to buy a smart TV, decided to order on January 25th 2015 (Sunday) a mid-range Samsung model online, noting I could have walked into any of about 8 of their shops on the mainland and picked one up. However I live in Cowes, Isle of Wight, so chose for it to be delivered (free) and noted 3 delivery days were highlighted on the relevant page of the ordering process though curiously, it was not possible to select which day (unlike eg Sainsbury's). I noticed on the order acceptance email, a link to monitor the delivery process from a company called Aramex (turns out to be a separate company though unsure whether Richer Sounds is their only client). On the morning of the 26th the online screenshot looked thus:

Exactly a week later (February 2nd) the track showed no movement!

See the date stamp bottom right!

 

Interaction with the company about the delivery started on Tuesday 27th when I emailed them about the "out for delivery" status thinking the TV might be delivered any minute! I received an email reply promising a phonecall the next day (Wed) but none came. I then sat hoping for delivery for each of the 3 day original slots (Wednesday 28th, Thursday 29th and Friday 30th) but there was no sign of delivery. On the Saturday (31st) I phoned Richer customer services (CS) who advised that Aramex don't work over the weekend and that I would get a phone call on Monday 2nd February.

 

I then composed a letter to the owner, Mr Richer in London detailing my experience to date. I await a response.

 

I phoned Richer CS on Monday 2nd at 12 noon and expressed my disgust at the broken promises and lack of communications. A while later, I received a call from the courier to say that Thursday 5th Feb was the earliest they could deliver. I stated that was ridiculous and that they should rethink and ensure the TV was delivered on Tuesday 3rd. I then had a call from the courier to say they had been trying to contact me from last Wednesday 28th (total lies) and they must have had an incorrect phone number! I then checked my Richer online account and it does have the correct contact details!

A new promise was then made (late Monday 2nd) that the TV would be delivered on Tuesday 3rd. On the Tuesday morning I then had a call from the courier that their plans had been thrown by bad weather (a few snowflakes was all we had on the IW) and that I should get the tv in a "few days". Furious, I called CS immediately.

I contrast this experience with ordering a new iPhone 6 from Applestore last November when the online UPS tracking followed the phone from Shanghai to Hong Kong and at 6pm (local time) was put on a cargo plane arriving in Frankfurt at 5am the next morning, then to East Midlands airport by 9am the same morning and couriered by UPS to a workplace address by 1 pm that lunchtime! So half way round the world and delivered in 20 hrs or so!

Richer Sounds have a glossy website which oozes "customer service" but the reality seems to be quite different. Their CS staff seem pleasant enough but make promises they don't keep. Perhaps I have been unlucky! However I've seen enough to believe this is not a one-off. I'll use John Lewis in future!

Meanwhile I've had no update on when I will get the TV- that's 9 whole days since ordering a TV that's in stock!