On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 09:35:05 +0100, "Paul C. Dickie"
wrote:

In article , IMM
writes
"Andy Hall" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 14:13:22 +0100, "Paul C. Dickie"
wrote:
In article , Andy Hall
writes
Therein lies the point. Normally it's convenient. People get used
to that and get upset when it breaks. As soon as it's fixed,
But which month/year/decade will that be?
I would imagine fairly soon. One doesn't maintain a market leadership
position otherwise.

What "market leadership position"?

Take a look at the Kingfisher Group web site and you can read the
sales figures.

As a group, they are the market leader in Europe and third in the
world.

Is that the "leadership position" in
the market whereby customers' orders are repeatedly screwed up? Or is
it in the market where would-be customers are ignored and generally
regarded as existing only for the amusement of staff?

This may be your experience, but it isn't mine. Most people here
who have commented on orders being screwed up have found that this is
not repeatedly happening. Few people are going to bother to post to
say that they had good service each time an order arrives.

Market leadership is generally defined by revenue and market share
unless stated otherwise. Sometimes it is used in the context of
product content and innovation.
Obviously for a distribution operation, the revenue and market share
numbers are the representation of market position. Customer service
is obviously important because it is required to ensure repeat
business.

Do you really think, in your wildest dreams, that somebody in SF's
head office in Yeovil or their warehouse in Stoke, has a hitlist with
your name on it and deliberately gives you poor service?

All that has happened is that they have relocated their distribution
centre from one part of the country to another.
Clearly, they have had problems in doing so, one reason being not
being able to recruit staff in the new location fast enough.
It's entirely reasonable to assume a level of demotivation of those
being made redundant in Yeovil.

That's about it, though.


some vouchers and promotions will soon help people to forget.
Not me, sunshine. Nor would those folk who'd had to find alternative
(and better/cheaper/more local/more pleasant) suppliers when they
couldn't order from Screwfux.
Oh good. Then perhaps you won't need to go on moaning about it.
For every good service no one says anything. For every bad one they tell 9
people on average.

That's something that Mr Glib-Simplistic seems unable to comprehend.

It's true that bad news travels fast, and in the case of buying
something implying a longish term commitment such as an electrical
appliance or a car, this matters as manufacturers have found to their
cost.

However, this is a distribution operation.

It doesn't have a significant brand in terms of product but in terms
of having a widely distributed catalogue, a reasonable web site, and
until the current blip generally good delivery and customer service.

People buy from SF because for reasons of breadth of product range.
It's far quicker to place an order on one site than to dot around from
place to place, even on the internet.

A small minority of people who have been agrieved by recent service
will shop elsewhere either for a while or permanently.

However, this does not alter the basic premise of why people shop at
places like SF.



One might even wonder if he's still a member of the Tory "Party".

Who's still a member of the Tory party? Personally, I've never
been a member of any party, or ever likely to be.


..andy

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