Name: John Lewis
Rating: 2.67

“This morning I visited the Cardiff store broke down at the barrier with my one week old Mercedes the security team were so so helpful arranging for backup and staying with me through out the ordeal thanks you X x”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I write this review with a heavy heart; being a loyal customer for many years, in part via John Lewis (JL) being a co-operative, and my family always seeing you as a staple store, I have been treated with the worst customer service possible. It has now put me as well as other family members off the JL/Peter Jones/Waitrose brands for life, and should be a warning for all; as when there is a serious problem JL can't and don't want to handle it. To be honest, I am alarmed at all the below reviews (TrustPilot)but it is all clearly indicative of something rotten within the current operational structure. Obiter, from the agents, is that a lot of them are not happy with being TUPE'd to Capita; I think this may well be a factor for the sub-standard customer service experienced by me, and other individuals. Could the main issue be that the agents concerned no longer care about the accountability or the brand of JL as they once did when they were partners, as it does not serve them anymore, other than hitting their individual KPI. It all started with a laundry bin, and ended with a MD, Andy Street, disregarding a child's health (allegedly as advocated and alluded to by the Customer Service Manager for JL online - a FM). Clearly, children, and their protection, are not a top-priority of JL. The above-mentioned item omitted a strong odour - it was akin to a stale urine, and a very potent one at that; it was that bad it permeated all our clothing and damp towels. On smelling this, I contacted JL customer service. My concern was that after I inspected the material within, there was no visible marks/staining. This led me to the reasonable belief that the odour was from vermin, such as a rat (which contrary to the JL customer service managers understanding of rats, but they do affect every part of the UK, and it is via their urine (and other animals) that Weils disease or the milder Leptospirosis are passed onto humans - unless JL have a patented rat repellent and a piece of technology which cleans rats urine). The main issue at this stage was the protection of my son, who has been diagnosed with several health issues (as well as being severely allergic to most broad-spectrum antibiotics, hence my heightened concern) as well as being only 5 years old. It is from here it became a crusade to get any support and advice..... In short this leads me to the belief, JL, is now about getting their money at the outset (short-term Win-Win) and foregoing any logical, practical and safe customer service thereafter, even if an issue could be considered an issue hazardous to health. It is when I contacted the JL customer service the fun really starts... On calling, I spoke to a lady, called Tanja. English was clearly not her first language, however, insults and defamation were definitely her raison d'être. Without going through it all, the lady subsequently informed me it was me who urinated in it. I warned her explicitly to stop defaming and insulting me, but she continued and started to shout at me. I made her aware that this was distressing to myself, and that her behaviour was inappropriate and confrontational. I had to put the phone down as my wife had to leave the room crying and clearly distressed on hearing this rant from your agent. This complete episode of abuse lasted circa 45 minutes. During the call, I asked to speak to a manager; Tanja informed me her manager, Joanne, would not speak to me, yet she never went to ask her and heard her laughing with a colleague. Anyhow, I called back and spoke to a lovely lady, who then went to ask Joanne, but she would not take the call, and instead asked one of her supervisors to call me. This chap took the call, and promised me he would extract the call. On retelling this tale about JL that night, I was contacted in the morning by my lawyer, who asked me to speak to a JL employee directly (rather than a Capita Agent) and asked them to extract the call, and for them to inform you of their findings. I spoke to a lovely partner the following morning, who explicitly said that all the calls are recorded, and that via the nature of this complaint, it would be escalated in the most urgent terms, and someone would be in contact by 14.00. Well that never happened... I then contacted JL again, and this time spoke to Aimee. She informed me that I would receive a call back from Tanja's manager at 20.00, and she would contact me the next day to see how it went. Well 20.00hrs passed, and at 21.00hrs I contacted JL again. Who said customer service and courtesy was a JL staple?? I was then put through to the Capita Call Centre in Bury, and here I spoke to two lovely managers, who could not be any more helpful, and even agreed the process seemed skewed; this was the first time I had a source of a sincere apology. They saw the booking for 20.00hrs on Joanne's diary, and explicitly stated that they could not understand why I had not been called back. Both of them explicitly stated that they actually found it highly unusual that the manager of the individual (yes, this Joanne) would be investigating the individual given the gravity of the situation. Hey-ho, this is the new JL. Again these two reiterated all calls are recorded and the person would be dealt with accordingly. It is worth noting here that the two Bury Managers tried to get through to Joanne in Sky Park for near enough 40 minutes, and they were unsure why she was not picking up given that her shift was from 18.00 - 00.00 hrs. They even emailed her to make this point. So the next day it was a surprise to hear that call was not recorded - it seemed to be contrary to what all colleagues (be it a JL partner or a Capita employee) understood the process to be. I was livid to say the least. Here I encountered the manager of the call centre for the first time. He knew I could not bring a defamation suit, as the recording did not exist, nor could he or Capita discipline the employee either. It is worth noting here though, when I contacted Capita Head Office, they are under the belief, that all their agents calls are recorded. So clearly there is some miscommunication, or is someone trying to hide something, namely, the explicit defamation. As a gesture of goodwill, he offered me £100, this was up from a derisory £50 for the whole episode of the bad customer service. I am thankful for this, and have donated this accordingly, because as I said earlier, I could never shop with this group again as if something goes wrong look at the debacle what ensues. The laundry bin was then picked up, and the delivery driver commented on the smell, and said it was revolting. It was then examined by JL, who then contacted me and informed me it was a manufacturing issue, as the strong smell was via a lacquer to preserve it. As a result of this, I then contacted JL to organise the compensation for the clothes and towels (for me, my son and wife - and the very reason I got this bin in the first place) which I had to throw out. However, after being promised several manager call-backs again, I never got any, this is despite that after speaking to FM, who ensured me that he would personally look at why there was no call-backs from managers during this case, clearly, nothing has changed. Therefore, JL, are a company of giving customers lip service, as opposed to learning from mistakes. All I wanted was a proper apology, and to be put back in the situation before this terrible mess, i.e. having unspoiled towels and clothing, is it too much to ask??? Well clearly it is, as according to Andy Street, MD, via FM! I should not be compensated as I should have washed them. Well no!!! Completely not reasonable! Nor was I afforded this advice at any avenue. Should I have exposed myself, my wife and our son to the potential harmful bacteria (as it could have been at that time as it was not clear what it was) (moreover, what degree should it have been washed at??) (if there was transfer, and my son can't have antibiotics are they willing to accept putting my son at risk - as his GP has confirmed today, if there was a transfer, even with the mild Leptospirosis, the choice would have needed approval from Leicester in our area as the only antibiotic available for him would have been a Carbapenem (as never had that before, and is literally the last line of defence in medicine) - using this needs to be documented with PHE; on informing why I needed the information he could not believe what he was hearing and was so gobsmacked at a company he thought was a leader in the market-place. Therefore, CAN YOU TELL ME WHY this was not taken seriously, and it should just be washed, especially relevant given that if it was rat pee we would be having a very different conversation. What a disgrace of a company, and when something goes wrong, and they accept that it was the suppliers fault, it is beyond belief they can't compensate me to how I was prior to this manufacturing defect (specific performance), not asking got anything else, but rather it would seem that JL wants to cause me undue anxiety and stress and damn the health proclivities of my son! IN SHORT, ITS NOT WORTH SHOPPING WITH A COMPANY WHO CANT RESPECT INDIVIDUALS OR PROTECT THEM FROM HARM!!! The care-free response is as follows (and shows support from the MD and chairman according to FM): Further to my letter of 28 July and our telephone conversations prior to this date I wish to reiterate that the odour from the basket you purchased from John Lewis was related to the lacquer used to preserve the item and did not pose any health risk. During our conversation I accepted the service you received from our online contact centre was not to the standard I would expect and as a token of my apology I offered a gesture of £100 which you accepted. Following receipt of my letter I understand you now wish to claim compensation for clothes you feel you had to destroy, it is regrettable that you did not discuss this with me in our telephone call last month. As I advised, John Lewis can not be held responsible for any decision you took in relation to the destroying of your clothes. l understand you have written to the Chairman, our Managing Director, and parties outside John Lewis, please be assured that the Customer Relations Department deal with all complaints on behalf of our Chairman, Managing Director. It is always disappointing when we are unable to reach a conclusion that is satisfactory for our customers but occasionally this is unavoidable. I am sorry that this has proved to be such an occasion and whilst I regret you may remain dissatisfied, I feel we have responded fairly and appropriately to your concerns. John Lewis will not correspond any further on this matter. THEREFORE IS IT REALLY WORTH SHOPPING WITH JL as customer safety is not a priority.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I wanted to buy an apple laptop from John Lewis as they offer two years warranty instead of the one offered by Apple, but it said sold out when I checked online so I perchased it from Apple.com. Then a colleague suggested I call John Lewis to check if they did have any and they said yes. I returned my new laptop to Apple and called John Lewis to order the laptop. I was told they didn't have any and couldn't tell me when they would be getting any more. I decided to call another branch to see if they could help me. They could and I ordered it over the phone. I was told it would arrive in two days time. Great! Not great. I called John Lewis on Saturday as no laptop had arrived after waiting in all day (on my birthday) and was told that the order had not been confirmed by the person I had spoken to two days before. I was told it would come on Wednesday. This was frustrating as I needed the laptop to look for new jobs as I had specifically booked this week off to do so. On Wednesday- no laptop. I was told it would come on Thursday. On Thursday- no laptop I'm told it will arrive on Friday. This is definitely the worst customer service I have ever received. The people I have spoken to also can't give an estimate of what time of day the laptop will arrive so I've spent most of my week off waiting in the house. I will never shop at John Lewis after this. Anywhere else has to be better than this level of incompetency.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Bought a tablet which was meant to be Android 4.4 and advertised as such. Twice they supplied me with tablets with Android 4.2 which isn't upgradable. They were effectively stuck on the old version. They compensated me £15 cash when I complained after the second failure, but it doesn't excuse them talking up specs on a device they're selling. Anyone non-techie might have been screwed by this.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Very Very Poor is the rating I would give the majority of John Lewis customers, Abusive, Aggressive, Racist, money hungry for "goodwill/compensation", never taking any ownership for their own mistakes, always the fault of somebody else if something doesn't go to plan! Those people make me sick, disgusting the way people behave, there are soo much more concerns in life rather it being the end of the world if your wardrobe didn't arrive! Get a grip on the more important things in life and have some decency and respect!”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I ordered a dining table with chairs and leather sofas from John Lewis. The table arrived broken with faulty screws that could not be attached. The sofas came with bird droppings all over the packaging and damaged leather cushions. My repeated calls to john lewis customer service to arrange for return of damaged goods and refund, were met with dismissive remarks and delay tactics. Avoid this so called reputable retailer at all costs. This business is a has been and not equipped for modern customer service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“EVERY TIME I have ordered product(s) with John Lewis something goes wrong. From broken glass lights, threatening delivery drivers, getting charged twice... Then yesterday I waited in all day (with my 3 children!) for a delivery that was booked in over the phone - that never arrived. The list goes on, I will never be shopping with them again -AVOID AVOID AVOID!”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I have been a John Lewis Customer for around 50 years and there is no doubt in my mind that service now takes a very low priority in this chain once for renowned for it. I have visited the Peterborough brnach three times in the last six weeks and had two very disturbing experience. The first, to buy a washer/dryer, led me to the opinion that staff are simply not trained as the female assistant talked complete rubbish not understanding the product at all. We did not buy the machine! The second visit was to look at a new camera. This female assistant knew the products inside out and was marvellous. I bought the camera. Today, three weeks later, I returned as the camera had developed a problem which I do not believe is in any way my fault. The first young man looked this way and that and led me to technical support where we waited but not as long as one customer who had been there for over half an hour. I sat in the chair and started talking to the male assitant who promptly turned his head towards my husband and addressed his comments to him until I reminded him who was the customer. Thereafter I was accused of damaging the camera myself despite it have been kept in the makers hard pouch. I was forcefully told the guarantee would not be honoured and I would have to make my own arrangements for repair under the additional insurance purchased. I was kept waiting whilst a female manager was fetched who forcefully re-iterated that it "must be my fault". We left vowing that we would not return to this chain in the forseeable future. It seems that at the John Lewis Partnership the customer and customer service are the least of their concerns in 2015. Avoid them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Treat loyal customers like scum... will NEVER shop in John Lewis or any part of the Waitrose chain again. - wrote to the manager of the Ipswich store after receiving possibly the worst returns experience I've ever had in a UK store - was made to feel like criminal for returning a faulty product, which, when I looked on the store's website had attracted several bad reviews for exactly the reason I was returning it for... I posted a negative review of the product and the service I'd received on the company's website and it wasn't published (no explanation) - never received a response from the manager of the Ipswich store - which looks more like a branch of Poundland by the day - sorry Poundland, your service, stock and store management is actually far superior to John Lewis - in a bid to avoid the horrible Ipswich store, I made the mistake of purchasing online... the goods were of a poor quality, so I returned them and had to fight for nearly a month to get my money back.... endless, endless emails and calls.... dealing with customer service operatives who drone on about how your custom is important to us and then lie, lie, lie and then lie some more. I saw a Guardian article a few months ago highlighting the problems John Lewis was having with customer care.... at the end of the article John Lewis asked people to write to the head of customer services.... unfortunately the biggest problem I had was with the head of customer services' team.... great. Only the threat of writing to Sir Charlie Mayfield the chairman and the Inland Revenue seemed to shift things along... Truly sad and shocking...”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“You'll all be familiar with the routine, ring customer services and receive excuses rather than solutions. Having purchased a very expensive pen from their website, it arrived with no paperwork, guarantees etc. As this was a gift, I made the effort to telephone JL's customer services. Exhausted by the excuses and lack of initiative, I contacted the manufacturer, received the paperwork and so end of that particular strand of the story. So I left a 4* review on the John Lewis website, 5* for the pen, minus 1* for the poor JL service. Needless to say, I got a "rejected" email saying "reviews need to comply with our conditions". These of course tell you nothing. But doesn't this tell you a lot about JL's mindset - won't accept negative reviews of their own performance, only those of their suppliers presumably. Other, more enlightened, big companies are more open minded and, one assumes, willing to learn from their mistakes.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I've ordered my product and collected it at the local Waitrose. The service was very fast (ordered on Sunday and received on Monday, before lunch time) and I did not have any issue with the product. I am happy of it :)”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I last week went on line and ordered a Bosche Fridge Freezer, it was duly delivered a few days later and it is entirely to my satisfaction. I was worried it would be noisy but I am pleased to say that so far it is very quiet, no doubt when it defrosts it might be a bit noisy but perhaps for only a short time. I think Bosche are mean not to supply Freezer blocks although they provide a narrow space in the door for them but they are not now part of the package. Well done John Lewis, entirely satisfied.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“When they get it wrong, they don't like it when you tell them, as I was told this morning by a customer services senior person that she was 'disappointed by my email'! Not that I had to write it because of their incompetence but she was disappointed I had sent it! A week apparently is not long enough to get her act together after I had been told she would phone me in two days! They full story: I'd tried to purchase my wedding dress! So you can imagine the need for them to get it right and why I thought they'd be a good store to go to for reliability. Sadly, they didn't turn out to be. The first lady I spoke to on the phone to order the dress to be delivered to store, set it up to be sent to my home address which had been inputted wrongly and not fully. I called to tell John Lewis. The second lady that was dealing with me then cancelled my order and said 'it was the last one and so I have sent you a refund'! The tone was not sympathetic just factual. I asked to speak to her superior, she didn't put me through and tried to sort it out herself, I told her I wanted to speak to her superior but to no avail and she told me effectively (in a tone implying I should be being grateful for her assistance) that she would get the dress sent to a different address, as I can't have it sent to store... The dress never arrived on the expected day of Wednesday, so I called and was told on the Thursday that it was with the driver for delivery that day. Thursday came and went and still no dress and so on Friday I called and received the bad news that as there was only one it would be shipped back to the supplier and it had been sent back to the West Midlands depot beforehand and that sadly was it, the dress was gone! It was suggested that I write an email to the complaints department and I should receive a voucher by way of an apology. I did this and informed them that I still thought they could pull it back and get the dress, as originally requested delivered to the store the following day. I got the usual reply email of 'thanks for your email, here's your case number and we'll get back to you in 24hrs'. 24 hrs came and went and then 48hrs later I received a phone call from Marie. Marie informed she would investigate this but because she was working on the Sunday, she would not be in on the Monday and therefore, she'd pass it over to a colleague. I informed Marie that I had since got another dress and the urgency was no longer there. She said she would therefore call me on the Tuesday. Tuesday came and went. So on the Sunday a whole week later, I wrote another email stating that 'I was now beyond disappointment' and gave my reasons for feeling like this. Marie the next day being Monday called me back and one of the first things she said to me was she 'was disappointed by my email'! This pressed my button and demonstrated to me that John Lewis don't care about their customers in the way they think they do! My email was short and sweet, it only informed of factual information of how time and time again they as a customer service department had failed to keep their own set timeframes. Marie was supposed to be a more senior customer service representative and she spoke to a customer in such a way. Apparently, she thinks that she told me she would write to me and informed that she had written to me on the Wednesday. So, I don't see how she thinks that I would have received that the day before on the Tuesday. Her tone was condescending and almost lending its self to none of it was her fault and I should just accept her incompetence as help! Even stating that I should give it a couple of days. I think a week to be more than a couple of days but as I had not received the letter she claims to have written to me and I have not received an email informing me a letter had been sent. All I have received from John Lewis is disappointment from the majority of staff I spoke to on the phones. Apparently, I should expect a phone call again though to ensure that I do receive her letter and this should happen on Wednesday of this week. I won't hold my breath and nor do I expect Marie to be polite or apologetic, if she calls! I have to add, if I ever shop from John Lewis again it will be in store only and I will want to take the item there and then. When things go wrong John Lewis doesn't appear to have the staff to resolve the issues or the processes. Customer service was supposed to be your thing John Lewis! The differential that set you apart from the others. You have now lost my custom which included my wedding list etc. Sadly, having spoken to friends and family about this, it seems they too have had issues and it would seem according to this and other websites, so have other people! Keep going like this John Lewis and your competition will finish you off which honestly makes me sad!”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I ordered a fridge freezer from Jhon Lewis because I thought if anything goes wrong they will sort it out...... How wrong was I ? The delivery man came in looked at the location of my old fridge. Pulled it out of the alcove unplugged it then told my nanny the new one was larger and he could not now deliver it. Event although I had measured it and it was the same. He also said my door entrance was to narrow ... The same one all my appliances have gone though! He pushed the fridge back in the alcove unplugged my nanny then put the food back in and we ate from it for almost 3 days during this time giving my whole family including my 11mth son food poisoning. And my aunt who had lost her husband that weekend very bad vomiting? So instead of sorting out funeral arrangements she was at home being sick. When I phoned Jhon Lewis to tell them this they said it would take 11 wks to deal with the complaint? My kitchen floor has also lifted where the freezer food defrosted. They are a disgrace do not use them. What company behaves like that......”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I purchased a Sony TV And a sound bar, the service by the set up and delivery driver was superb they did John Lewis proud, as did the young man who I purchased to from at the Wellyn Garden City store. Full marks”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Tried to buy a Samsung television online, with an HDMI cable as a bundle package. Did not happen no matter how many attempts, so called customer service. They couldn't order this either on my behalf, informing me the system was "rubbish". Tried again to order without the bundle package saving, with an "express" delivery within 48 hours ! Website hung again and would not let me order....... I then drove 20 miles to the Edinburgh store, where although dealt with a helpful gentlemen, was informed the "express" delivery would take 10 day's !!!! Ok had enough of John Lewis. Called Curry's on my way home, ordered the exact same television, with an HDMI cable given with the TV, delivery within 48 hours guaranteed and cheaper, as was the installation cost. John Lewis has just lost out on a £3K order from me, however they won't care about that and continue to faff around with there customer service.. Real pity as the Samsung chap showing off the tv's in the Edinburgh shop was a joy to deal with and the reason we went for this TV in the first place. Don't waste your time,go to Curry's where they understand what you want and deliver when you want.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I had paid extra for a speaker to be delivered on a named day (27.6.15). Got an email from the DPD. They said they had not received the item and delivery would be delayed. Called John Lewis who have no idea what is going. Very poor service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Bought an AEG dishwasher which broke down. Engineer appt was booked but he didn't turn up. That was a week ago. 18 calls (18)!!! and 12 emails later and they still haven't rebooked the appt. It's classic customer service fail. No one at he callcentre knows anything and they promise to call you back then fail to do so. They take 24 hrs to reply to emails and it's a different person each time so you go back to zero and nothing gets done. Their level of incompetence is astonishing.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“I was usually happy with this shop until recently. I have bought a quite expensive bbq and after 2 weeks I still dont have it. Here is a summary of what happened: 1- I ordered a bbq (so it is in stock...you will understand later) with assembly, 2- before the delivery, I realise that, if assembled, the bbq will not fit in my building corridor so I call the customer service and cancel the assembly. I receive confirmation and refund few minutes later. I asked also whether the delivery would still arrive on the same day and they have confirmed, 3- I did not receive anything on the date but they did not contact me to let me know there was an issue. I had to call to chase and tell them I did not receive anything. They said that the bbq was not delivered because it was lost in the warehouse (how possible?) and decided to rearrange the delivery 8 days after, which is a very long time, 4- on the second delivery, they came (finally) but with the bbq assembled. I had to return it as a consequence. 5- On the same day, they email me and say that I returned the bbq because it was damaged, no idea where this is coming from...and they say that the bbq is no longer available! They then offer me 3 options: exchange with another bbq, refund or wait more than a MONTH to get my purchase! 6- Over the phone, when I told them that I saw the bbq in the delivery truck and therefore it was not out of stock, they were adamant that it was out of stock and that the issue was because I ordered the bbq with assembly at first...meaning that it was my own fault! (although the assembly was cancelled more than a week before of course) Long story short, pathetic service for bbqs in John Lewis, it looks like they do not plan properly their bbq stock and book of purchases and that, if you buy a bbq with them, you need to buy it in the winter to get it in the summer! Do not buy bbqs in John Lewis.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“John lewis brent cross branch completely rubish in service. I m partner of company and giving this review completely non sense for me but they deserve last quality customer service pArticular electronic division.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier, Own Driver
Average Delivery Time	Over A Month
On-time Delivery	Greater than 40%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 67%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.3 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

John Lewis Reviews