John Lewis and me...part two

After my post here about the problems I had with my John Lewis Partnership card I had a message from John Lewis Customer Services on Twitter to contact a 'senior manager' at the Financial Services.

That was easier said than done.

First I had a rather long-winded conversations with a rather unpleasant person, who denied any knowledge of Twitter, 'To be honest with you Madam, we would never have 'blogged to you' (sic) and I have personally never used Tweets (again; sic...), or even know what it is.'

I explained until I was blue in the face what Twitter was and that I'd been asked by a legitimate JL Customer Services Twitter feed to speak to a senior manager, 'They are not available,' came the reply.

After being put through to another, even more unpleasant person, I finally reached a supervisor. She at least knew what Twitter was but said they did indeed not use it and that the message I'd received about my partnership card constituted a breach of security. She would investigate and write to me.

'You are going write to me? Not email?' I asked, desperately. John Lewis and me had form in regard to Royal Mail. 'Or I could call you,' the woman said brightly (Hallelujah) and continued, 'But I must warn you, there is absolutely no way we can re-instate your card.'

I put the phone down and felt my eyes fill up out of sheer frustration. After writing the blog post I'd accepted I'd no longer be a customer of John Lewis Partnership. It was only because of the Twitter message that I contacted them again, only to be treated in the same way as before.

I actually felt like hitting somebody or something, but the terrier looked so cute I just couldn't, and there were no humans in slapping distance. (Where's the Husband when you need him?)

The next day I had a message on my mobile from a very friendly man calling himself a 'senior manager'. He left a number to call him back. I didn't - you can see why? Then the following day another call from John Lewis. This time the first thing the woman said was, 'Sorry'.

What?

'I've looked through your records and I can see that it absolutely makes sense that you would not have paid your account if we didn't send you statements. And I can see that this is totally out of character for you as a card holder.' Or she said something like that. I thought I must be dreaming, and had difficulty in taking in all these kind words uttered by someone working for John Lewis Financial Services.

I pricked my ears when I heard this, 'We have re-instated your card.'

'Oh,' was all I could say. After the initial shock I thanked her and also told her that I wasn't in the habit of 'outing' companies on my blog - it was just that this one meant so much to me.

I am so happy.

Finally I must also thank you, my dear 'real' and 'virtual' friends, who took it upon themselves to post links to my blog on the John Lewis customer services pages. I am truly indebted to you!

I am now off to buy a new red floaty dress....from John Lewis, naturally.

End of a Beautiful Relationship or How John Lewis Is No Longer My Favourite Store

A couple of days ago I bought some kitchen stuff from the John Lewis web site. The next day I received an email saying, 'Your order has now been cancelled. You do not need to take any further action.' I was puzzled; I wanted the goods. There was a number to call.

John Lewis card was the first ever store card I applied for a few months after I moved to the UK. I remember it well. It was after my second interview at the BBC Monitoring Service in Caversham when I was offered the job and had signed the contract. The salary seemed astronomical to me, so on that same afternoon I skipped and hopped into Heelas in the centre of Reading and opened an account with them.

John Lewis has other significant memories for me too; it was the favourite store of a dear friend who tragically died of cervical cancer. She was only 35 when she finally succumbed after three years of suffering. She left three small boys behind. We'd got to know each other through the Navy and often lived in different parts of the country. But whenever we met up, a trip to the nearest John Lewis was always on the agenda. The men would look after the children and we'd spend a day talking and shopping. She was such an avid John Lewis customer, her husband joked that she kept a small private warehouse for them at home, because there were always bags of stuff ready to go back to the store.

The reason I'm telling you all this is that when I phoned the number it turned out to be John Lewis Financial Services. They told me the reason my order was cancelled was because my account had been closed. 'You owe us money,' a tired-sounding woman told me.
I gasped, 'What?'
The woman at the other end sighed loudly. I got the feeling she'd heard it all before. I tried to explain that I had no idea I owed them money and thought I'd paid the account in full each month. She looked at her records. The statements hadn't reached me since January.
'January! And you didn't try to contact me?'
'The letters were returned from your address so we don't resend them after a while.'
But after she checked, the address they had was correct. What's more, they had my email and my telephone number.
I repeated, 'You didn't try to contact me?'

I admit that not paying the account for items that I'd bought for the new flat was my fault. However, I pay things on statement, so if I don't get one I forget. I tried to say all this to the woman but she wasn't interested. In the end I paid the amount owing and asked if I now could use my card again.
'No, your account is closed.'
'What?'
'You have to wait a few months and then reapply for a new card.'

It may sound silly, but I'm really upset about this. First of all the woman's attitude; it was obvious she thought I was lying all through the conversation. I worked out that I've had a John Lewis account for 27 years. I'd never before had a problem with the account, something the Financial Services must have on record.

But I don't want to reapply for a card - I really don't even want to buy anything from John Lewis ever again. Yet, I feel a real connection to the store - not only because of all the time I've been their customer, but also because of my dear friend. I know I'm being too emotional about this, but I thought I had a relationship with John Lewis. I felt I was that woman in the red dress in their advert, having the store as part of every stage of my life. Now I feel I've received a 'decree absolute'.  It's as if they've told me they never loved me in the first place.