Some companies just get it so wrong Home Counties Pub Restuarants

It never ceases to disappointment how so many companies make poor decisions about the customer relationships. We have seen it with people like Egg and there culling of card members who did not run up debts and paid of their accounts every month. They tried to suggest it was because they had reviewed their risk profile, implying people were too high a risk, instead of the truth of being no risk at all.  They scored a bad own goal and were royally chastised everywhere including the house of commons and a few legal letters to boot.

On a lesser basis we see it happening all the time. just look at the letter below to Home Counties Pub Restaurants in response to letter they sent out to customer who hold a loyalty discount card.  simply appalling.  When will people learn.

Dear Mr Price

I am receipt of your letter today, it is undated and I think tells me that Bluebeckers and Edwinns have been sold, but not sure. I think the real purpose of the letter is to tell me as of the 1st of October 2010 some 20 days ago you changed the terms of your Gold Card scheme which in effect renders it completely useless to me and my family given our location.

As someone who has made a successful business out of advising clients on customer relationships amongst other things I am frankly disappointed in your approach for the following reasons

1. The letter relates to something that happended 20 days ago – a little bit late don’t you think
2. It does not say who Graham Price is
3. Your approach is in my opinion full of spin and diversion to mask your true intent which is to render the cards useless
   1. It be better to have said it as a scheme is no long economically viable and thank me for my custom and express a desire that we would keep on coming to your establishment
4. If I wished to be cynical I could imagine you did some data analysis discovered which of your restuarants had no gold card holders living near by and selected those for the scheme to remain active in with no fear of you being hit with discount request.
   1. I hope you have not sent different letters to people based on their location as it would be I suspect in flys in the face of a numeber best practice and possible laws by in effect selecting different venues for different customers based on their location just to avoid claims using the card.
5. The suggestion that further changes in your menu are a good thing leave me cold. We lived for many years with declining standards at the Bluebeckers in xxxxxx called xxxxxxxxx which were remedied by moving it out the Bluebeckers brand and a major refurbishment.
   1. The staff and menu now are excellent
   2. You may be interested to know that many feel it is a little over priced and a little cramped due to what people suspect is a desire on your part to pack in as many covers in as possible.

Please do not be under any illusion that your communication has achieved anything positive for me or my family. I have scanned in the letter and will now use it as an example when lecturing and running courses of what I personally believe is a sign of contempt for me as a customer and a disregard for good customer relationship.

The local pub up the way from you has just re-opened, I think I will cancel my Friday reservation and go there instead. I can assure when asked about the xxxxxxxxx I will say staff and food good company running it do not in my opinion understand how to build and maintain good customers relationships

END