Summary
John Lewis used to be a byword for customer service excellence. That reputation is why I placed this order in the first place. Instead, after paying thousands of pounds, I have spent weeks chasing progress and still have nothing to show for it.
To me, the worst part is not simply the original failure. It is the apparent impossibility of reaching somebody inside John Lewis with the authority and accountability to deal with what has gone wrong. When customer service fails, customers need a genuine escalation route. In my experience, that route has been missing.
This case is ongoing. I am not describing a past inconvenience that has now been sorted out. I am describing a problem that remains unresolved while I continue to chase answers.
Why this page exists
When the complaints route leads back into the same failing process, how are customers meant to get help?
That is the question behind this site. In my experience, customer service has been outsourced and complaints have effectively been outsourced too. So when service fails for weeks, trying to escalate can leave you dealing with the same under-performing structure again, detached from UK operations and unable or unwilling to fix the problem.
- I paid a substantial amount of money. This was not a trivial purchase.
- I am still chasing. The matter is not resolved and I still do not have the outcome I paid for.
- I do not appear to have a meaningful route to John Lewis proper. That is why I am documenting the case publicly.
Timeline
Sequence of events in unresolved case 30670928
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 19th March | Order for Richmond Stoves 100Ei with installation and recycling placed via phone call to Customer Services (as website states must be placed by phone if installation/recycling needed.) I explicitly mention the need for gas disconnection. Customer Services agent assures me this will be possible. |
| 24th March | Phone message received from John Lewis regarding price match, asking me to call back. When I call the number provided, agent tells me they can’t put me through to the team in question, even though that team asked me to call. Several more calls ensue, as I attempt to navigate the Catch-22. Eventually I have a conversation with someone who alters my order to lower the price. |
| 25th March | I get a text from Glen Dimplex proposing 31st March as delivery date, but with no mention of installation or recycling. I email on the address they provide to query this. |
| 26th March | It turns out the John Lewis changes from 24th Match broke the order. Glen Dimplex emails to confirm order now covers installation and recycling and gas disconnection, and that Kaboodle will be contacting me shortly to arrange. |
| 30th March | I email Glen Dimplex to check if anything else in wrong, since I’ve heard nothing. |
| 31st March | Glen Dimplex replies to say order has been sent to Kaboodle again and I should hear from them shortly. |
| 8th April | Having still heard nothing, I call John Lewis customer services, since I paid John Lewis, not Glen Dimplex. It takes a long time for the agent to understand what the problem is, then the agent puts me on hold while conferring with the delivery team. After a long wait, the agent tells me that all the team has done is send an email to Glen Dimplex, and that we will have to give them 7 days to respond. I explain that this is unsatisfactory since I paid weeks ago, but the agent says there’s nothing else they can do. (Call duration: 27 minutes) |
| 14th April 09:22 | I call John Lewis again to explain there’s been no movement, and that I now wish to open a complaint. Agent again takes a long time to understand the situation, then offers to confer with the delivery team, and puts me on hold. After another long wait, the agent offers to call me back. (Call duration: 40 minutes) |
| 14th April 10:21 | I email Glen Dimplex again, explaining there has been no movement, and asking what escalation steps can be taken. |
| 14th April 11:48 | Agent calls me back and states a number of contradictory ‘explanations’, including: 1. The problem is that Glen Dimplex won’t answer the phone. 2. John Lewis delivery team spoke to Glen Dimple on the phone this morning. 3. Glen Dimplex (or possibly Kaboodle?) has already sent me a text/email about a gas disconnection survey (they haven’t.) 4. John Lewis is expecting to hear from Glen Dimplex tomorrow morning. 5. The price-match alteration to the order was done wrong, and it didn’t include the installation/recycling afterwards. 6. Kaboodle are waiting to hear from Glen Dimplex, so Glen Dimplex is the problem. 7. The whole order needs to be deleted and done again. I reiterate that Glen Dimplex is very aware of the order details and has already sent them to Kaboodle multiple times. I explain that cancelling the whole order and starting again is extremely unlikely to be the right solution, and will only set us back to square one. Agent offers to transfer me to her manager. I accept, and spent 5 minutes on hold. Agent asks if I can continue to hold. I explain I can’t, and request that the manager calls me back after 1pm. Agent assures me this will happen. (It doesn't.) (Call duration: 15 minutes) |
| 14th April 15:00 | Glen Dimplex replies to my email to say that they already followed up with Kaboodle, who don’t have any gas engineer coverage in our postcode area, and so can’t perform the gas disconnection, and that John Lewis has already been informed of this and should have been dealing with it. |
| 14th April 15:57 | I call John Lewis again to find out why no-one in Customer Services apparently knows about – and has seemingly done nothing about – this information from Glen Dimplex, as well as to explain I have been waiting for a manager to call me back since 1pm. The agent tells me that I have in fact been scheduled for a call back between 8am and 12pm the next day! This is not what I was told and not what I agreed to. The agent eventually agrees to reschedule a call for me between 12pm and 6pm tomorrow! This is very, very far from good Customer Service problem resolution. I attempt to get the agent to investigate the discrepancy between information Glen Dimplex has provided and the incoherent and conflicting information John Lewis is presenting, but the agent is unable to do anything about it. |
| 14th April 16:26 | I scour John Lewis website to try to find contact information for anyone who might be able to deal with this case properly. I find a ‘complaints’ number, 0345 605 0144, but find that it routes to just the same options as the Customer Services number on my invoice, 0345 604 9049, and that these options don’t include any dedicated complaints selection, so that callers are routed to exactly the same under-performing team that is responsible for all the above. |
| 15th April 11:40 | I get a call from a Customer Services manager, on a phone line that turns out to have a lag of 5 seconds, making communication very frustrating. The manager spends a long time recapping the situation and stating how obvious the upshot is, contradicting the complete lack of communication I have had from John Lewis about it. Eventually he insists the best John Lewis can do is refund the cost of third-party gas disconnection that I have to arrange myself. There is no mention of any compensation. He explains that I will get further details within 24 hours. (Call duration: 14 minutes) |
| 15th April | I spend a considerable amount of time trying to find a local gas engineer who can perform the disconnection. Eventually I get a quote for £90 in total. |
| 15th April | I get the following email from a John Lewis ‘Customer Experience Partner’: “Thank you for speaking with us earlier today. Following your conversation with John Lewis & Partners Supplier Team, I'm writing to confirm the next steps regarding the third-party installation and disconnection services for your recent purchase. As discussed, please proceed with booking your preferred third-party service provider. To ensure we can reimburse you promptly, we kindly ask that you follow these steps once the work is complete:
This email evidently expects me to get the existing stove disconnected without having any information about when the new one is going to arrive and be installed. It includes a UK phone number, but calling that just takes me to the same switchboard of the same under-performing team. |
| 15th April | I reply with the following email: “Thank you for confirming you can reimburse the cost of third-party gas disconnection. I have obtained a quote for £90 in total. However, before I book the disconnection in, I need to know on what day you will organise delivery, installation and recycling of the disconnected appliance. Otherwise, we might end up with nothing to cook with for weeks. Please can you confirm the following ASAP:
|
| 15th April | In a continuing attempt to do the Customer Services job for them, since the department is so under-performing, I email Glen Dimplex to ask for confirmation that they can deliver, install and recycle, if the gas disconnection is performed by a third party, since in their previous communication, only the gas disconnection was deemed to be problematic. |
| 16th April 10:55 | Having had no update, I call Customer Services again. I attempt to get confirmation that this case is being treated with urgency. After another long time on hold, I am told that John Lewis is expected to take next steps between 12pm and 4pm that day (Call duration: 16 minutes.) |
| 16th April 11:20 | I receive the following unclear and inconsistent email from John Lewis: “We want to take this time to apologise for any inconvenience and confusion caused, As confirmed by a manager on our end, The next steps regarding the third-party installation and disconnection services for your recent purchase. Our supplier unfortunately cannot complete the services, including installation. As per our previous email, please proceed with booking your preferred third-party service provider. To ensure we can reimburse you promptly, we kindly ask that you follow these steps once the work is complete: Secure your invoice: Ensure the service provider issues a formal invoice or receipt clearly showing the service date and the total amount paid. Reference your case: To help us process your payment without delay, please ensure the case reference number 30670928. Please respond to our email, We appreciate your patience while we finalise these arrangements. If you have any further questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out.” This is extremely disappointing since it shows John Lewis not only expects me to do even more of the work I originally paid for myself, but doesn’t even confirm that it includes the removal and recycling of the old appliance. In addition, it defeats the object of ordering from John Lewis in the first place, which is supposed to be 1. to get good customer service and 2. to have a single point of recourse for issues, whether they concern the product itself, or some failing in its installation. |
What should happen now
What I want John Lewis to do
- Take ownership of this case inside John Lewis rather than leaving it inside the same failed process.
- Resolve the underlying order problem without further delay.
- Review whether outsourcing customer service and complaints in this way leaves customers trapped in a self-policing loop.
Context
Why I am making this public
I would far rather have resolved this privately. This page exists because I have not been able to get the problem dealt with properly through the channels available to me.
This is a personal account and opinion based on my own experience of an ongoing case.
Official links
Relevant John Lewis pages
Customer services contact page
Complaints escalation page
John Lewis Partnership corporate site
Corporate media contacts
Included for context and transparency only. Listing these routes does not mean they have resolved this case.
For social sharing
Suggested post text
I paid John Lewis thousands of pounds and still have nothing to show for it. The case remains unresolved, and when customer service fails, the complaints route seems to lead back into the same outsourced system. Timeline here: