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If you read my post on How not to do customer service you would have thought that I’d had a really bad day yesterday.

Well it turned out to be frustrating sorting out the issue with Scottish Power but that was the only thing that upset me.

I actually ended up feeling pretty good because I’d taken action about everything else that had happened – which if you read on is not inconsiderable considering that I also did a full days work which  involved four hours of conference calls, 150+ emails, two sets of powerpoint slides to prepare and a document to review (even just that sounds exhausting now looking back on it!).

To put my problems with Scottish Power problems into some perspective my day started with me knowing that my Marks and Spencer order for a sofa and two chairs had been blocked by my credit card company because it would have taken me over my card limit (made slightly worse because M&S had told me they would only charge me two weeks before the estimated delivery which was always going to be at the earliest the 14th of December. It really is amazing how one small thing going wrong can turn into a cascade of problems).

You would think that the logical step here would be to have pay some of my credit card bill off so that I could authorise the transaction. Bad Move!  I tried that and found out that it would four to five days for the payment to reach Egg. (So much for the new European system of instant transfers between banks!).

I’d also changed my direct debit arrangement so that I wouldn’t pay the full amount each month anymore. For the next few months I know that I will need to take a more active role in managing my credit card.

When I did that the the t Egg’s website told me that it could not change it until next months payment as it was too close to the next payment date – the 30th. Now it said 5 days when I paid the full amount off as a one-off payment. Of course it meant five working days (Lesson: Never do personal financial in the evening after two days of meetings when you are absolutely exhausted).

It was only then that the horror of what I’d done dawned on me.

I’d just paid off nearly £5000 on my credit card and they were going to take the same amount as an automated direct debit on Monday the 30th! At this point it was nearly 10pm and there was no point in worrying about it. Well that and I wanted to get to watch True Blood on Channel 4. (No spoilers please, we Brits are still only partway through Series 1!)

Thankfully yesterday I had to work at home as I’ve had a carpenter  installing some  doors and a frame on my bedroom wardrobe. Anyway enough waffling and on with the the story of what occurred yesterday.

So I get up early and start work at 8am so I can spend a bit of time trying to sort out this mess. Apart from actual work I end up doing the following today (in about this order):

• Checking that my credit card situation is as bad as I think (yes it is )
• Logging into M&S website to pay for my order on my Barclaycard (not the first time I’ve had to revert to my backup because of problems with Egg)
  
  • Just at this point I get a phone call from M&S asking about my order. I explain and they are very understanding and ask if I want to wait – but I instead organise to pay on my Barclaycard (after checking with them the details of my order). First Customer Service plus point to M&S.
• Almost immediately afterwards I get an automated fraud prevention telephone call from Barclaycard because the M&S order is over £1000. Second Customer Service plus point goes to Barclaycard.
• I then get around to ringing Egg. They are very understanding but the only option I have is to contact my bank and cancel the direct debit. Not sure that deserves a plus point but it was at least helpful. Now I needed to go into town to get a few bits of shopping so popping into my bank isn’t going to be that bad.
• Back to work then an early lunch.
• Straight down town and into Natwest where I only wait a few minutes before being seen by someone at the Information and Queries desk. Well actually the person behind there was busy but someone that was free came out from here office and asked if they could help. So I go in and sit down and explain the situation. She says its not a problem, the direct debit is cancelled and I will need to set up a new one with Egg the following month. She also spots some old Egg direct debits from a few years ago and gets rid of them from the system for me as well. As I’ve explained the situation and how it all occurred because M&S had charged me a week early and we get to basically chatting about my furniture and new house move. A big plus Customer Service point to Natwest there as I leave my local branch pleased that the situation has been sorted and after having a nice chat.
• Next stop is Nationwide – I’d needed to change my buildings and contents insurance because I’d basically been missold my policy when buying my house. I’d asked for £50,000 worth of contents and insurance and only been given £15,000. When I found out I spent a few hours last weekend and got a few quotes for a similar price to what I was paying. When I found out a few days ago I’d immediately phoned them and asked for it to be increased. Imagine my horror when they raised the monthly payment from around £19 to £66 just for the contents insurance. That was just insane because I’d already got a quote that used the same insurance underwriter for only £10 more a YEAR that offered me cover I wanted. The people in Nationwide couldn’t actually help me but suggested I phone their customer services department.
• Back home and almost immediately I get a call from M&S. My order has been blocked again because of the Barclaycard fraud prevention – now the fact that they had called me back and knew that this was likely to have been the case actually is yet another plus point to them. After going through my card details again I’ve now sucessfully paid for my new sofa and armchairs.
• Then into a teleconference call that lasts until 4pm. After sorting that out and catching up on email it was after 5pm.
• I call Nationwide and get through immediately and then get transferred straight-away to someone that can help me. After explaining my situation he explains that actually although my mortgage policy states this they don’t need to be involved. As long as I’m happy with the cover it’s my responsibility. Next Customer Service plus point to Nationwide
• So I then apply online to MoreThan which offered a fantastic deal on combined Builds and Contents insurance and pay for a new policy straight-away to start next Monday.
• Of course I can’t get through to my current Insurance company after 5pm – so I get the joy of calling them tomorrow morning to let them know the good news

That plus my carpenter has almost finished fitting my wardrobe doors, working even when he has a terrible cold, which look absolutely fantastic. So all in all a busy but good day.

So there is good customer service out there, even in Britian, at least for the following companies from my experience:

• Marks and Spencers
• Barclaycard
• Natwest
• Nationwide
• MoreThan

The real star of the show was Teresa at the Grays Branch of Natwest. She could see that I was stressed out and took the time to chat to me and put me at ease as well as sorting out probably my biggest problem of the day.

Today I finally sorted out the remaining issues, cancelling my current Buildings and Contents Insurance, cancelling my Direct Debits with Scottish Power (again credit to Natwest again as it took less than two minutes doing this over the phone!). Then whilst in the middle of lunch with some people from work I get a call from Marks and Spencers to arrange a delivery date for my Sofa and Chairs

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