Early Learning Centre

Yesterday was my darling Gracie's 3rd birthday, much merriment was had and I think everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly. However, not all went 100% according to plan.

As you may have read in the past bad service, especially in service industries bothers me, it bothers me greatly. So...

Last Friday we ordered a scooter (3 wheeled thing, we're not trying to kill her) from the wonderful shop that is the Early Learning Centre. They amazed me with next working day delivery... for FREE, a decent price for the item, which annoyingly we found 2 other places the same shortly after placing the order.

It looked beautiful (as scooters can be I suppose) pink, flashing lights, like an epileptic fit with wheels and adjustable handle bar height!

Now first annoyance, after expecting it the Tuesday we found a little note on their website, next day delivery on this particular Friday didn't actually mean it, obviously skip the bank hol, but then for some reason all orders would be delivered on the Wednesday, bit annoying, no big deal though as the birthday was the Thursday.

Morning breaks on a sleepy Wednesday morning in Merthyr Tydfil, I trundle my way down the a470 as I do every morning, back in Merthyr the entirely predictable plot plays itself out, hours pass, hours upon hours dawn does turn into day and day into evening and evening into getting quite late but still quite light (they deliver up til 9pm) and does the scooter show, of course it doesn't.

An excited 2-about-to-be-3-year-old wakes up in the morning of her birthday. She runs downstairs and opens her presents, she's very excited, but her parents feel bad, as one of her main presents is missing! While stuff goes on to distract, her wonderful and caring father (cough*me*cough) nips down to argos and buys an almost identical one for the same cost and gives that to her instead. Still any sign of Yodel, the ELC's unreliable delivery agents? Go on guess, I'll give you 2 goes...

So we head out to take Gracie for her wonderful birthday lunch over in Ebbw Vale Brewers Fayre, she loves it. We then visit family members, she loves it, we get back home at say 6:20 or so... delivery note! Eventually they've got to us and left it 2 houses down the road. Nice.

Suffice to say they'll be getting their scooter returned, and along with it will be a little complaint letter. If Argos has been out of stock I'd have had a very sad little 3 year old on my hands. Bastards.

Think it's worth writing to Watchdog?