Finding it hard to be Glad about Mountain Buggy/Phil & Teds bad customer service

Well Happy New Year! I'm very late but it's been an amazingly fast year so far! We had an amazing beach break in Jervis Bay and came back to Sydney to a whirlwind of events.

Very happy times.

The people at Phil & Teds have ruined my 2011 buzz.  I hate bad customer service with a passion and Man they have taken the cake with their latest stunt.  I cannot buy something that they have in stock because I live in the wrong part of the world! Yep, their online shop manager tells me they have a policy of not sending orders across market borders. Guess what? The item is soon to beextinct because Phil & Teds changed the design of the Mountain Buggy Urban when they took over the company and my pre 2010 model buggy needs a pre 2010 part that is not available in the Southern Hemisphere.  So if it isn't available here... where's the market to have a border???  I'm first of all amazed at the illogical thought process that tries to make the Internet into a local marketplace instead of global as it is and secondly when they didn't like me pointing out the stupidity of their stand they CANCELLED the order, very rudely.

I had requested that I be passed on to a higher person in the company, which I believe triggered the cancellation as a way to save face.  It is astonishing that such bad customer service exists in a service based world.  Anyway I sent a copy of the whole correspondence (ahh the evidence in writing thanks to email) to the owner and MD, Campbell Gower of the company. I am yet to receive a response. I'm not surprised though as I have since googled and discovered that they are known for crappy customer service and not responding to problems, questions or requests.  campbell@philandteds.com for anyone looking for his email.

I am really struggling to see any Pollyanna gladness in this situation. :( The best I can come up with is, now that this has happened they will fix their website and send some people for customer service training, but you see I don't believe they have taken it on board at all.

I am however Glad I don't work there! I wouldn't want anyone to associate me with such unprofessionalism and bad customer service!!