Scan customer services experience

[Ttaskmaster]

Interedsting that no one from Scan has posted here yet to refute anything or give their perspective.

Only been a few days... Gotta give them time.

[GoNz0]

Interedsting that no one from Scan has posted here yet to refute anything or give their perspective.

They only post in their forum section so they can moderate it

[DavidM]

Dashers, we've not received any response since contacting you on the 13th.

Unfortunately, we have not been unable to locate any information regarding your order.

If you are able to contact us either by email - feedback@scan.co.uk, live chat or phone - 01204 474747, we would be more than happy to help in getting this resolved.

kind Regards

[Dashers]

I've had a PM from a Scan rep asking for details so they can follow it up, but I don't really want special treatment because I've given them a bad review.

I want them to give me what is legally my protected rights without a fuss. And if they want to be considered good for customer service, they need to go above and beyond the legal minimum (which they can't achieve currently).

I will though drop a follow up email to them about the postage cost refunds.

[this_is_gav]

I remember when OcUK were derided as the cheap components but poor customer service option, while Scan were usually considered more expensive but better support, though not universally as shown by this thread. That's switched completely in my experience.

At work I had a similar experience to many others here. I will say that, in my experience, Scan had been very helpful previously, both personally and through our work account, but this complaint ended up being in a succession of poor experiences (four out of five orders had support issues as I recall).

This particular instance involved a hard drive, which when I installed it was riddled with bad sectors. No problem I thought, these things happen, and I expected a straight forward RMA replacement. No such luck.

On receiving the item Scan complained that there was a dent in the hard drive, and when I pressed for a photo from our account manager, sure enough there was a corner of the drive which had a sizeable dent in it (small enough to miss without closely inspecting it, but easy to spot if I'd done so).

Looking at our other drives, the dent was on the solid metal corner of a drive, and I argued I couldn't possibly have caused such a mark short of sticking it in a vice and repeating hitting it with a steel hammer or driving a tank over it or something equally ludicrous. Still no luck.

In the end, I resorted to me filming myself flinging an old faulty drive at the hard floor in an attempt to show the ridiculous lengths I would have had to gone to to damage the solid metal corner of a hard drive and sent the video (showing nothing more than scuff marks) to our account manager. Eventually, after several weeks of attempting to weasel out of it, they caved and we received our RMA replacement.




The other, less successful experience we had was with a paltry Corsair USB stick, which was supposedly a refurbished unit (I suspect it was just repackaged, as lots of others reported similar issues with those Corsair USB sticks).

As it was bought through work I couldn't quote the consumer protection act (think that's the one) to them and the measly warranty (a couple of months or something) had expired by a few days. Considering the value of the item I didn't expect them to dig their heals in over an obviously defective product, but ultimately I had no means of taking it further. I did contact Corsair and they too didn't want to listen. So I don't use either anymore.

Even when there is no legal obligation (that I know of) as shown in a few posts above, common sense and a gesture of goodwill can go a long way in the long run.

[Giraffe]

Just by chance I found this topic whilst looking for Scan's free delivery: put in 'Scan delivery' and this was near the top.
Been a couple of years since I used Scan (big orders infrequently) and didn't know if the criteria had changed.
Pity that Scan can't clean up its act - the sales people are knowledgeable and helpful.

I wanted a VDSL modem/router and Scan has it but, after reading this...!
Went to Amazon, same price, Click & collect - but min. order 2! How many want 2?
Ebay, a quid more, authorised reseller, ready to collect in a couple of days (where's the emoji for crossed fingers?). Ordered a saucepan at the same time - must not get them mixed up as I don't have enough wet string to connect the saucepan to the cabinet!

[Disturbedguy]

Just by chance I found this topic whilst looking for Scan's free delivery: put in 'Scan delivery' and this was near the top.
Been a couple of years since I used Scan (big orders infrequently) and didn't know if the criteria had changed.
Pity that Scan can't clean up its act - the sales people are knowledgeable and helpful.

I wanted a VDSL modem/router and Scan has it but, after reading this...!
Went to Amazon, same price, Click & collect - but min. order 2! How many want 2?
Ebay, a quid more, authorised reseller, ready to collect in a couple of days (where's the emoji for crossed fingers?). Ordered a saucepan at the same time - must not get them mixed up as I don't have enough wet string to connect the saucepan to the cabinet!

Problem is, people only post the negative experiences, never the positive.

I've been ordering fro SCAN for years and the only bad experience I've had, ever, was when a courier essentially destroyed a case, they must have been playing football with the thing it was that twisted.

Placed an order recently for some components, delivery date was last week, I got messed around with work so wasn't going to be in to accept it, contacted SCAN and changed the date without hassle, got messed around and had to change it again, again no hassle.

My 3XS order, a few days after the order was placed, I decided the monitors I had ordered weren't what I wanted so requested them be changed, they were, without hassle.

Before the 3XS system, I bought parts for a build, the thing just wouldn't boot. Contacted SCAN via these forums and ended up speaking to Pands (I believe was his name), he advised usually they want the parts back separately, but if I could get there he ends his shift, he'd take a look. Got there and spoke to him, he took the rig to a test bench, came back a few minutes later and advised it was working, took me to show me it working and it wouldnt boot again, he kept the system in to look at it. By the time I got home (about 30 minutes) I had a PM on these forums saying the issue had been resolved and the machine was on the way back to me. All of it, at 0 cost to me.

As I said, people are quick to post negative threads and others are quick to join in, but very few people say anything when things go well, so thought I'd add another perspective to it.

[Giraffe]

ISTR posting about good service from Scan - a couple of times - on Scan's old forum (the one that no longer exists).
Regardless of the percentage of good experiences, if mine is bad at the first time then it's 100%

[Dashers]

People do post positives - but just selling a product is not a positive, that's a neutral.

Fantastically good actions by companies often receive praise, but the expectation that just doing business gets praise is a bit hopeful I think.

Take Amazon for example, whilst they get slated for their poor business practices they probably get even more praise for their customer service.

I have been using Scan for years and I have never had anything positive to say about them, but equally, nothing negative. Until I tried to do more than give them money.

And I'm by no means saying people shouldn't buy from Scan, just warning how they handle their RMAs, the standards they apply, and how they treated me. Personally, I won't be buying anything of note from them in future, and as others have pointed out, EBuyer is also out of the running for the same reason - the group is rapidly thinning to Amazon only.

[Giraffe]

Why do companies do this? Even John Lewis is using external CS now and apparently it's poor compared with how it used to be - I now rely on Richer Sounds as the only large retailer with proper shops and good advice.
Argos isn't too bad on CS but I did, reluctantly, use Currys once for a household item that was £100 less for the same thing.
Pity about Scan as was once the best.

[watercooled]

Sorry for thread revival but want to get something off my chest, nothing to do with Scan but a similar story. I'll try to keep it short. This was a while ago now (so working from memory) and I originally intended to take it further but just couldn't be bothered in the end.

Basically, I bought a new drill to go with some batteries/other tools I had. Nothing overly expensive of fancy, but in theory ideal for what I'd be using it for. Found it cheapest on one seemingly popular (at least, high in search rankings) website.

Upon arriving I had the chance to try it out on a couple of jobs and noticed a couple of problems. The first was that the chuck was a fair whack out of being straight, so much so that it made drilling into metal difficult. The second, more major, it kept slipping out of gear and grinding all hell out of the gearbox.

I contacted the retailer, and after the usual 'are you sure you're not a total idiot and are using it properly' checks, they asked for some proof, so I sent videos. They blamed the chuck wobble on my drill bit being bent (it's not). After some back-and-forth they just tried to back-heel to the drill manufacturer for repair. The thing is, it's not the manufacturer's responsibility in that scenario, and a full replacement/refund was reasonable given it was DoA. They outright refused that and soon after became fairly obnoxious in messages.

I made several attempts to remind them of their legal obligations which they just ignored and kept pointing me back to the manufacturer. At one point they even tried it on saying 'we only sell to businesses so the same terms do not apply' which is total nonsense as I'm sure you're all aware (edit: to clarify, businesses do have different terms, but it's not an excuse in this case because they didn't sell to a business, and never claimed as such beforehand). Ignoring the fact I ordered from a residential address, with a debit card, and no such warning is made on their website.

Eventually, and since I actually needed a working drill for a rapidly approaching task, I did just return it to the manufacturer for service, who after bewilderment that the retailer didn't sort it, did take it back at their own cost, fully repaired it with replacement parts and shipped it back to me within something like two days.

I was still fuming at total lack of respect for consumer law by the retailer and originally intended to complain/rate/trading standards but in the end I was so busy around the time it just dropped down my priority list. And it's so long ago now there's probably little point. There are other very similar stories on their third-party review ratings though, same staff member refusing any returns, etc.

It's quite right what has been said though, what companies promote as *positive* reviews are mostly really neutral reviews. It's not really a positive if a company takes your money and you actually receive something, is it? IMO if it's a company you've had no dealings with before, it's always worth looking around and looking at the 1-star reviews. Yeah, of course some of them will be nonsense but you can ignore those. It's always worth looking to see if there are any recurring themes though. A handful of similar "they don't accept returns" reviews are worth hundreds of "yeah, they took my money" reviews IMO.

Reminds me of this: https://xkcd.com/937/

[Saracen999]

Completely ageee on the nature of reviews. "You got my money and I got the goods I paid for" is not worthy of a positive review - it's basic fulfilment of the contract.

Where you really find out about a company is how they handle it when something goes wrong.

A point that, IMHO, many people miss is that if you choose to buy from a cut-price box-shifter, you cannot expect the same level of customer service that you might expect from a more expensive store with a reputation for service. You can, obviously, expect even a cut-price box-shifter to comply with minimum legal standards .... though that expectation will often be in vain.

This is partly why I tend to buy locally, where possible, usually from businesses I have direct personal knowledge of, rather than online, even from well-known online stores. If I have a problem, I can reasonably just go back, talk to those responsible in person, and usually get the problem resolved right there and then. It beats the frustration of telephone or email tag. I no doubt pay a bit more for this (sometimes) but to me it is worth it in the name of hassle-avoidance.



Note: This post is in response to watercooled's, and like that post, I'm not referencing Scan in any way, other than that I rarely use them as doing so means remote-ordering. I'm not close enough to pop in. That said, my local computer shop usually either matches prices, or comes pretty close, and they're a 15-min walk, or 5-min car ride away. Why mail-order and mess about with couriers, etc?

[watercooled]

You can, obviously, expect even a cut-price box-shifter to comply with minimum legal standards

Expect? Absolutely. Receive? Not necessarily as I found out - some seem more than willing to drag their heels and risk ending up in court because they know most people simply won't bother I expect. I know people say the 'you've lost a customer' thing doesn't really mean much to companies given how many customers e-taillers tend to serve, but I know I'd be very unlikely to ever deal with that company again, and I've made others aware of my experience to warn them. Like I said, the manufacturer of the tool was luckily very supportive and efficient but they shouldn't have to clean up the dubious e-tailer's mess, and the experience could be very different with other brands. They did seem to be about the cheapest tool e-tailer for many products, seemingly undercutting fairly consistent prices set by a few other competitors. I guess we know why now...

Why mail-order and mess about with couriers, etc?

In my case, because the nearest major e-tailer I'm aware of is the best part of an hour's drive away.

[Saracen999]

Expect? Absolutely. Receive? Not necessarily as I found out - some seem more than willing to drag their heels and risk ending up in court because they know most people simply won't bother I expect.

Indeed. which is the "though that expectation will often be in vain" bit of my comment. I've been disappointed in that regard more than a few times, and occasionally let it go, but also on several occasions, made it clear (by actions) that I absolutely was going to take it all the way and, by the way, was looking forward to it.

In my case, because the nearest major e-tailer I'm aware of is the best part of an hour's drive away.

That's unfortunate, and not a lot you can do about it.

I wasn't just referring to buying tech bits, though. I use a car hifi dealer that's about 20 miles away, and has been through three changes of ownership in the 45-ish years I've been using them. But they've given excellent service over the years, and really know their stuff. I get a good price, as a regular customer, but still pay more than a bix-shifter and mobile fitting service would be.

Similarly, I've been using a small car servicing company for 25 years because they've given first-rate service .... which is more than I can say for a couple of major local franchised dealers, even of pretty pricey cars.

We're just about to get some decorating done by the same one-girl decorator we first used last year. Not cheap, but certainly not expensive and almost OCD about getting thingsright. Even if it means extra time, another coat, whatever.

We buy most of our meat from either a l8cal farm, or a local butcher, purely on product quality and service. We don't even ask the butcher how much, anymore. We just tell him what we want, and pay the bill.

In these, and many more cases, to us the real benefit is hassle avoidance. As I've got older, I'm much less inclined to be "up for it" if it comes to threatening court. Yeah, I s'pose I'd still do it if necesssary, but I go out of my way to avoid needing to, even if it costs more. My clock is visibly ticking and, well, the "opportunity cost" is more important than money cost. Every hour, or day, I spend hassled over or fighting battles about is hours or days I can't spend doing something I want to do, like listening to music, reading a good book or just sitting in the garden on a spring morning lustening to the wind, and birds, etc.

I find it hard to put a price on hassle avoidance, but I do value it highly. Which, on a different note, is a big part of why I stood down from adminning. Now, if someone's views are too much hassle (not talking about you, by the way) I can just walk away and even utilise the "ignore" function. I no longer have to tolerate or waste time on those I regard as not worth the hassle.

It's all about quality of life, for me, and mail-order / online shopping, and especially couriers, fall into the "too much like hard work" category.

I would, however, certainly pick an hour's drive to my nearest "trusted" (by me) supplier rather than mail order. I'd probably make a trip of it, find a friend to visit, or something close by or on the way I wanted to see. Fortunately. I have the luxury of having time to do that which most working folk just don't.

[watercooled]

Oh I do agree. With bigger purchases I do make an effort to support local companies, and try to avoid putting all eggs in one basket.

As for small independent companies I also agree and they're invaluable to know! Through the recommendation of a friend I've found a great MOT place - reasonable price and last time I went he let me watch from a safe place and explained exactly what he was doing, looking for, etc. Very thorough and seemingly has a good local reputation, is always busy, etc. Likewise for a few other tradespeople.

Another one that springs to mine - a mobile air-con guy also recommended by a friend. After getting a cheap regas elsewhere a few months prior, it was blowing warm air again. I phoned this guy who, after asking which car I had, told me with confidence which fault it would most likely be, and planned a day to come and visit me in work's car park. Upon arriving he proved the leak with some soapy water on the condenser. All sorted right there and then for a reasonable price, and I fully intend to get the same guy back out for a 2-year service.

As for the drive, yeah if I was paying out for major new PC components or the like I'd probably make a trip out of it if necessary.

And for the negative bit of my post, my dad recently had his van serviced by a franchised place. Not one of the first you'd probably think of, I think it's more of a regional one. Anyway, full service for a ~3 year old van and paid extra for brake fluid change. Not an unreasonable price for what was advertised but not great either in my opinion.

Anyway, this was a couple of weeks before the van's first MOT. It failed the MOT... on worn-down brake pads. Yeah, seriously. Again, just recall that I said he'd paid extra for brake fluid change. I mean checking the brakes is an obvious thing regardless (and included in the service checklist), but what sort of idiot could bleed the brakes and not notice worn pads? And yeah, they were my first thoughts too - they probably haven't even touched the brakes.

In another story, going back about a year or so now I copped an unavoidable pothole on a country road. The wincing, sharp intake of breath through teeth kind. Well, maybe not that bad but enough to concern me. So, I took a popular franchise up on their free tracking check a while later. Obviously, I didn't tell them what I was looking for, but did keep a close eye on the monitor as it was running - nothing at all wrong with that particular wheel. But the seemed-to-be-in-charge bloke did make a big deal out of showing me the 0.05 degree discrepancy on total rear toe. That would be 0.05 degree off the ideal for too-parallel-running, and then proceeded to lecture me on how this would cause significant tyre wear(!!!) I'm sure my facial expressions gave away more than any words but he still never backed down. He originally tried to sell me a two-wheel alignment, before telling me that this would usually knock off front alignment so I would be best getting the (expensive) full four-wheel alignment. Maybe he was just trying to cram as much nonsense into one sentence as possible? I momentarily considered arguing before thinking better of it and just asking for my car back, thanking them for the check, putting some money in the charity box and driving away shaking my head.

[Saracen999]

The car business, I have to say, is probably full full of conmen and cowboys than any other, including estate agents, and none of those incidents surprise me.

About 25 years ago, I had my (fairly old) Granada MOT'd by a Ford main agent. It failed miserably, on about 5 or 6 items including ABS and I was informed that "it will cost more to repair than it's worth .... have you seen our car showroom round the corner". Yeah, that blatant.

I drove it out of that dealership, and on the advice of a friend who told me a ,ogal independent garage was honest, drove it in 10 inutes later. It was about 1.5 miles fro the dealership.

I just said "MOT it please". I said nothing about having just had it done, and this was before MOT was computerised.

Half an hour later, I had a shiny new pass certificate. Only then did I tell them what it had failed on, and their first comment was to tell me where it had failed, and the second was to point out that one of the things it failed on (can't remember what, but for argument's sake, a rusty subframe) was a good trick because that modrl didn't even have one, so it was unlikely to be faulty.

The local independent guy was fuming. He said the dealership sere a bunch of charlatons and wanted me to take both his pass and the dealership's fail to the nearest proper Department of Transport centre and complain. He said he stood by his pass against any check or audit.

Years later, I even had some pretty iffy treatment from the BMW dealership I'd just bought a new M3 from.

I really, really do value my little local guy.

I took the wife's Polo in at about 5:20pm a few years back. We were due to go away fir a week the following morning. He managed to source a new alternator at 5:20, had it delivered on the supplier's way home, and I got a phone call at 6:30am the following morning to say it was ready, they'd stayed late last night fitting it .... if they deliver it, will I be ready? Hell, yeah. They even said "pop in and sort out the bill (which was modest) when you get back from your trip".

If you find someone like that, nurture them and tell your friends. They deserve the business.

You're right about the hour drive, too. I (probably) wouldn't do it for a minor, trivial item, but I did once do it, almost exactly an hour each way, for a £40 set of ear-buds, to get what I wanted from a trusted source rather than mail-order.

So "trivial"? No. But it doesn't need to be that major an item either.