Customer Service!
For the last month I have been attempting to contact ALKO by phone and then email and as of today still no reponse. They are not alone though in offering this non-service as I am also awaiting information from WSL Caravan Wheel Safety Bolts. No response despite both organisations providing the customer an email portal to enquire, ask questions or get a technical answer.
I have tried telephoning and in the case of ALKO I have made four attempts each time being told that they are busy etc etc in two cases I held on so long the calls cut off, so I followed their advice and went to the web site.
The exception to the above experience was Tyrepal who responded to my email within 1 day (they are part of WSL) and provided me with all I needed.
If organisations are incapable of responding to emails then they should make it clear on their web site, So it would seem the manual writing instrumentation needs to be brought back into use - but then again will they know how to respond to such ancient means of communication?
Comments
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I have to disagree with you regarding Swift customer service. I had occasion to contact Swift about an issue and they were most helpful. My emails were replied to promptly, all phone calls were dealt with professionally and they phoned me back when they
said they would. The matter was resolved promptly and to my satisfaction.0 -
My questions to ALKO are not dificult to answer but need a technuical person to answer and dealers had no idea when I asked around. The wheel bolt question can only be answered by them so I am stuffed until they do - I guess I could go find another supplier.
What annoys me is the lack of any response even a bu**er off would have been better than nothing at all, it is just not good enough and shows disdain beyond belief.
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I have had a running conversation with Swift who always replied by email or phone call in a timely and polite manner.
I did not get the resolution I wanted (a repair to cracked countertop) but they always replied to my request so I cannot fault them for communications and response times.
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I can only repeat our experiences, in a bit more details here, because it's with both Swift and Alko, when our brand new Swift had a problem with a failure of the Alko suspension rubbers in the axle assembly. We noticed within twenty-four hours of picking it up, after our first overnight away in the van to test it, that the wheel arch on one side was almost touching the top of the tyre. We had no idea what the problem was, but rang our dealer (Barrons, no longer in existence), who told us to take it to the nearest approved Alko dealer who were Dickinson's of Bradford.
The fault was reported immediately, initially a new axle assembly was sent up the following day, and replaced by Dickinsons. However, when the job was finished they noticed that the problem had not been resolved and rang Alko and Swift, who both got involved - and agreed it was likely that the replacement axle was also faulty. A day or two later we actually had the Technical MD from Swift meet up with a rep from Alko on site at Dickinsons, and they agreed to take the caravan away on a low loader to Alko's workshop in the midlands, where the whole unit was replaced and the van brought back to us in two days so we could continue our holiday.
As a result of our experiences, Alko checked their quality control and discovered that a whole batch of axles were affected - and those vans were all sorted out by Swift. They were all part of an order produced for export to the Dutch market - ours is a 'dealer special' only sold by Barrons so the vans were easily traced.
This is now fifteen years ago, but in the meantime we've had occasion to deal with Swift and our dealer several times, and had absolutely no problem in getting our issues sorted out.
We still have the caravan - and have had no consequent problems.
And, because Dickinsons were so impressed by the service we got from Swift they became Swift dealers soon after - and all the mechanics in the workshop still remember 'the lop sided Speedbird' so if we ring with any problems they know exactly what we're talking about.
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I have no doubt that all those positives responses above,are what one would 'normal' get but in my case it is not about resolving a problem but getting a really simple answer and one I need before I go purchase something I require. So I phoned yesterday and waited some 5 minutes and when I eventually got through no one knew anything about my emails but would call me back later, that was as I say yesterday now Friday pm so I guess 'later' means next week now.
So a letter is on its way to the MD in Southam ....
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I had the misfortune to have to speak to Alko last month ,
The lady I spoke to was very snotty , and told me it was "illegal" for me to open up "my" atc unit.
I suggested she better get the cuffs ready then .
She also told me rather snottily that If any also engineers spoke to me they would be sacked.
When I told the lady at my local caravan dealer she said you're lucky you only had to speak to them once, we have to deal with them all the time.
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I had the misfortune to have to speak to Alko last month ,
The lady I spoke to was very snotty , and told me it was "illegal" for me to open up "my" atc unit.
I suggested she better get the cuffs ready then .
She also told me rather snottily that If any also engineers spoke to me they would be sacked.
When I told the lady at my local caravan dealer she said you're lucky you only had to speak to them once, we have to deal with them all the time.
Write your comments here...Regardless of the rights or wrongs or the must and must not of doing something to ones OWN equipment there is absolutly no good or valid reason to be spoken to like that. I often wonder if these people forget who the customer is.
I called them today and whilst not having the same experience the manner was a tad condesending suggesting that I did not really know what I was talking about so I gave up in the end as it was clear there would be no help forthcoming.0
