Andrew Massey sent a message to Greg Creed that said:
Contact number 07725626648
Greg,
I am writing to you regarding a painstaking and protracted complaint which your staff seem unable to resolve.
The debacle started following the placement of a telephone delivery order via your Widnes outlet on 31st August. I opted to pay using my debit card, during the call I was informed that there had been a problem with the till and that my payment had not been taken and they would need to reprocess the payment once they had changed the till roll which would take five minutes. In the interests of saving time I agreed to pay cash on delivery instead. I checked my online banking and noticed the payment was already pending, the store however insisted that it had not been correctly processed and assured me that it would not leave my account and I would therefore still have to pay cash on delivery.
On checking my account a few days later it transpired that the payment had indeed been taken on 1st September. I contacted the store directly on 3rd September via telephone to explain the situation and seek resolution, I was advised that an investigation would be required and that I would get a call back, this did not happen and led to me making several further calls without satisfactory response.
I decided to make a visit to the store whilst making a further purchase hoping we could resolve the issue. I took the opportunity to speak with the store manager who was somewhat dismissive advising that the central computer system would need to be checked but there was a written log in the store books and whilst he was too busy to do this there and then, assured me that he would do this by close of business. I took him at his word which in retrospect was clearly a mistake as I didn\'t receive the call which is most disappointing and below the standard of service I have come to expect from Pizza Hut.
My next contact with the store was on 18th September, I expressed my displeasure with their total disregard for the experience I had received whilst still being out of pocket to the tune of £34.48. The lady on the phone clearly has no understanding of how to speak to customers, raised her voice and refused point blank to discuss the matter citing that only the manager would be able to assist.
Having decided that the store had no intention of resolving the problem I escalated my complaint to Pizza Hut UK customer service and explained the above. A 20 minute call ensued, the upshot being that as the outlet is part of your franchise estate the transaction would need to be located via the franchise area manager but a log of my complaint would be made. I received a prompt email response which asked me to provide a bank statement showing the transaction which I did via screenshot, I again noted that the card payment had been taken once but there was also a cash on delivery payment made for the avoidance of doubt.
I returned from holiday and was disappointed that again I had not received a response, as such I again called your contact centre on 10th September baffled as to why a corporation the size of Pizza Hut are unable to understand such a basic error which it must be said would not be beyond the grasp of the average primary school child. I spent over an hour trying to reach mutual understanding of the matter to no avail, what makes this all the more perplexing is that your agents have agreed the following;
A - they can see that the order was paid for as cash on delivery
B - they accept that I have made the card payment for the same amount on the same date as evidenced by my bank statement
The outcome of the call was that still further investigation was required and that I would receive a callback within 5 days, this was after an hour speaking with both your customer service advisor (Rob) and the manager on duty (Victoria) whom both suspiciously identified themselves only on a first name basis refusing to provide surnames, extension numbers or office location and advising they were the only people of these names in all of customer service.
I enquired as to whether they deemed the handling of my complaint to be acceptable and also what SLA\'s Pizza Hut deem reasonable for compliant handling. They became increasingly evasive but eventually admitted 48 hours. As I am sure you can appreciate we are now at a point of 47 days, some 2350% in excess of what is usual.
I ask you on what planet do Pizza Hut believe this could ever be acceptable and what kind of customer experience are you looking to provide? I have never had the misfortune to deal with such incompetent, disinterested and disrespectful individuals who have the audacity to profess they provide any kind of \'customer service\'.
As a minimum expectation I believe the following to be reasonable recourse;
The refund I am legally entitled to under Sales of Goods Act 1979 plus base rate interest on my monies for the duration of which you have unlawfully withheld it from me.
A full explanation as to why I have had to go to such lengths in order to resolve the situation given that the responsibility for doing so sits firmly with Pizza Hut and compensation for the inconvenience and time spent accordingly.
I look forward to hearing your views on the customer service strategy of your organisation as based upon my research my experience is clearly not an isolated incident. I am sure that other customers with less time invested and those who may be less able or tenacious have suffered similarly and decided to vote with their feet which will clearly be to the financial and reputational detriment of your organisation.
I hope that I will not need to resort to litigation in order to uphold my legal rights and principles
Kind regards
Mr Andrew Massey
