Online4baby Reviews Number 13 of 16 in Baby Shopping

Good

Is this review helpful? (1)

I ordered a Joie Tourist stroller from Online4Baby because they were cheaper than their competitors and my maternity pay has sadly come to an end. Initially I was quite impressed, ordering was easy, the delivery was prompt, product looked ok upon first inspection so I couldn’t wait to test it out with my 15 month old. I decided to take it out at nap time, reclined the seat and it worked a charm. My daughter fell into a lovely dreamy sleep and we had a lovely walk - that is until she woke up and wanted to sit up. I tried to put the seat upright however pushing it as far as it would go it was still considerably reclined. Pair this situation with a curious, headstrong toddler and you have a disaster! When we got home, I tried once more to push the seat into an upright position with no success. I didn’t think it was unreasonable to expect that a modern day stroller should be capable of this so I assumed it was faulty and emailed the customer service team. The initial response was in good time, the representative asked for images and a video to demonstrate the issue I was having to enable them to investigate further. I replied with the requested items and waited a further 9 days for a response before sending another email to follow up. They replied to inform me that someone would be in touch within 24-48 hours to discuss my query. Someone claiming to be a manager called me the next day. She said that they had looked at the information I had presented and there was nothing wrong with the stroller, the product was designed this way and isn’t supposed to sit upright. She also said I should have checked it sat upright before I took it outside. Now call me a crazy person but to assume a stroller sits up would be like assuming it had wheels - One would just expect that surely?! I explained that this rendered the product unfit for purpose. She said that it was my own personal opinion, some would not see this as an issue and and they would not be assisting any further. I tried to further question how they had come to this conclusion about the strollers design and she was kept repeating the same phrase “I cannot assist you any further” like a robot, suggesting she wasn’t actually listening to me and wasn’t interested in explaining herself to me. I asked to speak to someone else to which she responded “There is no one else, I’m the manager”. I’ve worked in customer service myself for most of my adult life so I know that there is always someone else...... she denied that there was and said we were going around in circles and she wouldn’t be assisting further. I asked her if she had children herself and if she could relate, at which point she said she did, that I was rude and that she was ending the call. I told her I wasn’t finished discussing my query, she told me to put a complaint in writing. Unsurprisingly and rudely, she hung up. Her manner was extremely unbothered and patronising. It was almost as though she was quite happy that my written complaint was not not going to be taken seriously which didn’t give me much confidence in the management team but all the same, I did as she abruptly told me and I wrote a complaint and requested that someone reasonable contact me. The very same day, the general manager called me back but sadly I missed it. He left a voicemail but by the time I got to my phone their lines were closed. He tried again the next day which sort of gave me the idea that he was actually keen to resolve my query but I missed that call too. I asked my husband to call him back when their lines opened, just for my own peace of mind that I am not a rude, confused alien from outer space, expecting too much from a £100 stroller and the customer service team. He has just got off the phone and confirmed my suspicions that I am not. He said pretty much exactly the same as the previous “manager” did and that they would not be assisting further. My husband asked if they would be continuing selling products which are unfit for use and he responded “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak of our products in this manner” suggesting that they would be continuing to sell this and he was backing it up. He basically told my husband no refund, no exchange, no goodwill gesture and to “have a nice day now” so we can see where the staff get their unhelpful and patronising manner from. Advice to potential customers: Avoid like the plague. Buy cheap, buy twice and waste your time and energy trying to resolve the situation. Advice to Online4Baby: Check the products you’re selling are not in fact junk and perhaps enrol on a communications seminar when this lockdown is over to learn how to properly address the customers that have so far kept you in business. “Have a nice day” does not equal customer service.

Is this review helpful? (1)