Tim

I've been buying tools from Rutlands for a couple of years with very few turning up as low quality or poorly made. Their customer service is usually quite good, but recently, I was told that they will no longer be combining orders for delivery. I had three items in my basket - paid for - and so I asked if they could combine post for what I'd already bought before they revealed this new policy. But the customer service person I was dealing with said no.
I pointed out that they had been combining postage for months and months with no issue, but she didn't care, it made no difference. I pointed out that I wasn't asking for any special treatment, just for them to treat this last set of purchases in the same way they had for the many purchases I had made over the recent months. But, no.
When I expressed my unhappiness with this - not rudely or aggressively, just pointing out that it was poor customer service and that for the sake of (I think it was about £17 worth of postage, an absolutely miniscule amount for Rutlands, I'm sure), it would be conducive to good customer service and my continued custom, this woman decided to take it personally. I pointed out that I was unhappy with Rutlands, not her, but it made no difference.
It was like dealing with a child. This person clearly had zero business sense or even common sense and seemed distinctly unintelligent, generally. To say it was exasperating is an understatement.
I always try and support local businesses, UK businesses and avoid Amazon and the like where possible; but I ended up cancelling my orders with Rutlands, unsubscribed from their email list and have taken my business elsewhere.

All for the sake of a few quid and a bit of consideration.

Well done, customer service person.

(vegan / veggie) Food was nice, although there could have been more options. Service wasn't fab, had to ask where our drinks were - which is very poor - and then had to ask twice for a condiment when our food came.
When it came to paying, the service was "optional", i.e. you had to ask to opt out, which might be a bit uncomfortable or embarrassing for some people. It should be an opt-in choice, clearly available. This annoys me. The whole system of tipping in the country is a bit of a nonsense. If you want your staff to have more money, then pay them more! And, yeah, I know this will raise the prices a bit, but don't ask me to make decisions when it comes to paying the bill and put me in a potentially awkward position.