Sealey Welders - got my money but lost my good will

15th December

Sealey have my money, but have lost my good will
Usually I find myself singing the praises of my suppliers or contacts; this game brings out the best in people and it is always great to get online and give them a plug. But today I am furious with Sealey's, the power tool people.You will remember that Bennetts told me they would take my welder away and send it up to Sealey, free of charge, to get me a free, no obligation quote for a repair. After a week of hearing nothing, Bennetts rang them for me and found that they hadn't done a thing with it, so they pressed Sealey to have a look at it and get back to them with a quote. A further week later I heard that Sealey had gone ahead and done the repair and wanted £64 for it.Bennetts confirmed that they had sought a quote, but told me that sometimes it had been Sealey's policy to go ahead if the repair was going to be under £50. I said that £64 was well over £50 and anyway, I had specifically asked for a quote, not a repair, but that if that had been their policy, ok, I'd reluctantly pay £50, as a compromise solution. But they weren't having it. Despite clearly being completely in the wrong, there was no apology; they effectively just shrugged and dug their heels in.You expect this sort of thing with garages, but you do not expect it with power tools and certainly not from an outfit with as big a name as Sealey. Well, they have got my money, but they have lost my good will.

17th December
1. Sealey's are on the case
Just had an email from a chap from Sealey's asking for more info and implying that Bennett's had misinformed me about their repair/quote policy and that I possibly ought to hold them responsible, not Sealey's.It strikes me that I shouldn't have to pay the price for a retailer and supplier not being clear on policy, and anyway, my instruction was clear and so were Bennett's assurances. The instruction was clearly written on the paperwork and the follow-up phone-call reiterated the fact. So if it isn't Sealey's policy to quote for a job, they should just have told Bennett's so and sent the welder back.Still, we will wait and see what the chap from Sealey's discovers and hopefully good will can be restored; the gentleman in question certainly said he hopes so.

2. Sealey's blame Bennett's
Seems that Sealey's followed their policies and that Bennett's should have known them.But that still doesn't explain why Sealey's fixed the welder rather than ringing Bennett's when they saw the request for a quote....or why they didn't put him right on it when he phoned to chase it up, when the job had apparently been overlooked. They are saying it wasn't overlooked - it was turned around in 9 days, but Bennett's had assured me that I'd hear about the quote that week...and had been told then that they'd missed it.I won't feel satisfied until someone acknowledges my right to feel peeed off and apologises...instead of passing the blame to someone else. I don't want customer service telling me how much they value feedback unless they take my dissatisfaction seriously.....and put themselves in my shoes and make things right.