A standard button that’s OK

Bear with me. There are two key points before I continue:

• I work in PR – I understand the power of the customer voice. The following tirade does not reflect my employer, clients or anyone else related to my professional career. This is an entirely personal manner.
• I am an extremely polite person. The opinions expressed in-store were articulate, understanding and patient. I am not the average rude customer.

Purchasing a Jacket

Right, to the matter at hand – Next. I’ve been shopping with the UK retailer for six years. I’ve never once had an issue with its clothes, staff or service. This is the first bad experience. It could be your sixteenth, or like me until today, your first. Regardless of how many complaints, good customer service is crucial especially in the modern marketplace.

On September 29^th October I bought this navy jacket for £120 in the Oxford Street branch of Next. I gave it a quick once over (as you should with all new clothes) and walked away happy. It’s a nice jacket. It fits well and it’s smart.

Series of Events

• I wore it for the first time to work on the Wednesday, 2^nd November. I put it on like any normal coat, took it off and hung it up on a community coat rack.
• At lunch I put the jacket on and a front button fell off. Not great, but these things happen. I decided to leave the jacket in the office.
• At the end of the day, I picked up the jacket and noticed that another button was already hanging loose and the build quality of several others looked poor.

Some people might be OK with this. I however am not. It’s obviously a defective jacket – buttons don’t break within an hour of wearing something, and while many would be content with sewing them back on, you don’t buy a jacket to do work on it. The price was also an issue – this is obviously a quality good, not a cheap knockoff from the market.

The Return

Unhappy, I went to my local branch (obscured unless requested by Next for obvious reasons) on Thursday 3^rd November. This is what happened:

• I explained the situation, stating the build quality was not up to scratch.
• I requested a replacement – happily they ordered one for delivery in store (preventing the need to trek over to the Oxford Street branch).
• I walked away happy.

Now this is where it gets odd. The woman who served me was fairly abrupt, but I can accept it was probably just another return – protocol if you will. I left it at that.

The Next Step

Today, Tuesday 8^th November 2011, I returned (following a helpful text) to the branch to collect my replacement.

Obviously I don’t want to keep returning jackets, and to make sure it’s not a flawed design, I wished to check the build quality of the replacement, especially its buttons.

This is what’s wrong with the service I received:

1. When I’m looking at the jacket, please don’t hurry me to sign a receipt. Even if it means you could forget to do it before I leave, I’m looking at the product. Hassling me isn’t nice.
2. I wish to inspect the jacket thoroughly. This means moving the buttons to make sure they’re securely fastened. It means checking the seams. It’s checking for marks. It’s called being a consumer, someone who’s paying money to shop in your branch.

That might not seem like much – maybe I’m old fashioned. The above isn’t really any problem, the following is the issue.

The manner of which I checked the buttons

180 Degree Turn

When I asked the same woman who originally handled the replacement how long I’d have to return it if the same issue occurred, she suddenly turned on me.

She started proclaiming that of course I’d have to return it if I “kept wiggling the buttons”.

This confused me. I was gently (and this isn’t put lightly to seem in the right, it’s the very truth) checking the buttons. That means moving them. I wasn’t tugging on them, nor was I trying to rip them to cause an issue. I was just seeing that they were all sturdily connected and wanted to know the return policy.

I expressed that I’m within my right to make sure it’s not another defective product, especially considering the cost

“We’ve never had any issues with this particular jacket, of course you’ll have problems if you’re pulling at the buttons.”

Last time I checked you have to manipulate the buttons to fasten the jacket. In the future I’d be exerting more force on the buttons to attach them to the holes.

Oddly they don’t stock that particular jacket in branch, so the chances of other people coming in would be slim anyway, especially considering the fact it’s a fairly new line.

I again said I’m within my right to be happy. Coats shouldn’t do this after an hour of use. I even laughed and asked why she was being abusive. She didn’t make the jacket, why did she seem so offended? She did make a fuss. Anyone would have thought she was the disgruntled consumer. Her colleague gave me an approving nod when I said the jacket shouldn’t need sewing just after purchase, especially with its cost

Anyway – to conclude.

• The abusive staff member means I will not return to the branch in question
• If the jacket breaks again, I’ll be returning it for a full refund – it’s obviously a less than satisfactory line.
• Please Next, be sure your staff aren’t being rude to customers

It’s up to you if you think I’m petty, wrong and whether this article was even necessary. I think it should be. Usually I’d send a letter – nowadays this is just as effective.

If you wish to discuss this Next, I’m available on Twitter or via email marco@marcofiori.co.uk.

• Update 08.11.11: Please note: while I’m obviously unhappy with the quality of the clothes, I realise they no longer last for twenty years. This isn’t about the buttons. It’s about the poor customer service.
• Update 14.11.11 – Please see the follow up article having received correspondence from Next.
• Update 27.12.11 – Please see the final post for how this was resolved.

So. Cannes. That was fun. Guess what though – the fun doesn’t stop there. This week is the London International Technology Show and I’ve got a press pass for that. It’s a mega-convention of Mobile, Gaming, Gadgets, and everything else cool in the world.

One stall I’m particularly interested in is Bit Gamer’s. It’s going to have world exclusive playable code of Serious Sam 3: BFE. Oh yes. FPS goodness. There’s some official related information over here, but it’s more fun to look at the above screenshot.

The show (LITS for the cool kids) should be another great opportunity to talk technology with those who live and breathe it. Obviously if you’re after any coverage from the event, feel free to contact me on marco@marcofiori.co.uk. I’ll be there looking around for Bamboo PR on the Friday as well.

Say hi if you see me. Twitter for live updates.

It’s been eight months since I last shared a reason to hate the Tube. In that time, the mechanical behemoth has continued to plod along; left stations with doors open, closed large portions of the network and struggled to cope with mosquito swarms. At least it wasn’t looted.

Anyway, Rain. We don’t get a lot in England and us Brits certainly don’t talk about the weather a lot. Summer 2011 has been a scorcher – a spectacular display of su…

Oh, who are we kidding? It’s been pants and in particular, the extremely damp kind. Why is rain particularly bad for the Tube? Surely being in an enclosed carriage, metres beneath the earth makes the whole issue of rain defunct, right?

Wrong. People stop walking. Tourists in particular are renowned for their ant-like behaviour – back to the safety of the hill! It only takes a single drop to overload the Tube with soggy armpits. It’s hot in the tunnels, and having dripping businessmen rub up against you is hardly the most enjoyable of situations.

Pour Show

Not only that, everyone runs around with gigantic umbrellas – the branded, golf kind that shout “I went to an Insurance trade show and all I got was this lousy umbrella”. They’re massive – you could do a pole-vault with them, they’re so big. They’re particularly adept at poking people’s legs and eyes still coated in the acid rain that London inevitably produces.

So in a moving greenhouse that’s the Circle Line, rain above ground is the last thing you want in August. Everyone’s jetted off to whatever poolside retreat suits them – it should be a clear run. The commute should take 40 minutes as opposed to over an hour. Everyone has a seat. August is nice on the Tube, even with the 63 degree heat and the swarms of families standing in doorways and on the right.

Except it’s not. It keeps raining and people keep catching the Tube from Leicester Square to Covert Garden. Climate change – what a washout theory.

Despite my love of the Underground and photography, I rarely mix both together. Last Friday when I was heading home on a late train (around 11PM), I got the camera out. I often read about ways to improve your photography and challenge your conventions. Obviously picking a niche and honing your craft is a good way to do it (I think I’m slowly getting there).

Sticking to a single focal length, area, lens or photography type are other ways. So constrained to a Tube carriage I tried to look at different angles, shapes and things in the train to come up with some work. Not my most impressive work, but still pretty cool – that bee was gigantic by the way, it was scaring what little passengers were on the train.

All work is under copyright.

I visited my cousin last Monday and there was a fox, bold as brass, sitting in her garden. For her it’s an ordinary occurrence, but we’ve only ever had one fox in ours and that was at night. It was happy to sit there as I took the above two photos. I love both, the first is a brooding shot while the second makes it look so happy as it scratches.

Yes, completely sensationalist and misleading, but then again, I do work in PR… These little guys were in some bushes outside our living room window. It was taken early morning, so a fair bit of light enhancing has been done. Couldn’t avoid the darkness around the beak area without it looking unnatural.

I’m going to upping the photography sizes from 500 – 640 pixels now. The showcases will stay 500 due to loading times.

Fridays are never a good day for One A Day. The above was taken on Valentine’s Day. It’ll appear with some other shots on Faces of London soon.

Last night I trawled through my favourite parts of West Side Story (1961) on YouTube. Originally touted as a failure, this Broadway classic has since been classed as one of the best Musicals ever made. It tells the age old story of forbidden love (a not so subtle relook at Romeo & Juliet) in a NYC1950s envisioning. This means racial tensions, disillusioned youth and gang warfare that looks more quaint than menacing to audiences in 2011.

What this (regular) ritual did bring up was the thought of how the majority of Hollywood today is dreadful. Stagnant, overly glossy, no creativity – 85% (I made that percentage up) of films nowerdays are remakes devoid of any character or simplistic cash cows that exist to add nothing in terms of artistic merit. Take a look at the video before – it’s a wonderfully choreographed scene that brings the above issues to life. Combat between gangs through the medium of dance – a literal dancing with death.

Throughout the film, you’ll notice that there doesn’t have to be violence, swearing, grit and yet it’s a cultural snapshot. Immigration in New York was a pressing issue for the Baby Boomers and you can see that throughout the film. Menacing adolescents terrorising the streets – sounds familiar? There’s no Sky News in West Side Story (WST) – no fear to be peddled. Stealing fruit, mindless graffiti, going toe-to-toe with each other with pirouettes. That’s not to say that it’s all harmless fun – anyone who’s a fan will already know the outcome of the film.

Still, skulduggery aside, WST manages to stay relevant for audiences today. This is thanks to the craft that is Leonard Bernstein’s fantastic score – a sweeping mix of delicate love songs and bombastic Latino numbers. Take the lyrics of the playful Officer Krupke as an example.  It’s a witty song that not only deals with the issues of abandoned youth, but at the same time is full of humour and drama.

If you’ve never seen it, go out and and catch it on DVD. It’s a shame it’s not on at the West End any more – it’s very good in the flesh.

3.4 billion. That’s right; you read correctly, that’s billion not million. That’s how many yearly journeys take place on the London Underground and bus network. 4 million people get the tube a day. The amount yearly is equivalent to the entire UK overland rail network. It’s proof that while the rest of the country continues to struggle to pull itself out of recession, the capital still remains the powerhouse it’s always been.

You might hate the Tube, there are plenty reasons why you should, but negativity is counterproductive. This is a rail network built in the 1830s and it’s the lifeline of so many Londoners. Chugging away, despite the best efforts of strikes, signal failures and broken trains, it marches on.

Investment, which is on its way, is crucial as its capacity is already at maximum and numbers are continuing to rise. It’s the busiest network in the world by a mile – an astonishing achievement for such a small country. New York lags behinds while Paris’ figures are pitiful.

So here’s to London Underground and its continued success. The fun has only begun, especially with the Olympics on the way in 2012. Regular commuters may be used to the daily pain, but showcasing London’s prowess to the world means the network upgrades have to be completed by then.

TFL may have already won the silver, now they just need to go for the gold.

Two minutes to spare for today’s One A Day – an interesting photo taken at London Zoo in the rainforest walkthrough. There were some funky lights that changed colour and I had to capture them!