# Total Incompetence By Cousins Uk Customer Service (Again)



## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Let me start by saying that I think Cousins UK are *brilliant* .... 99% of the time. :thumbup:

I mean, where else (as a hobbyist) can you place an order for watch parts, and get next day delivery ? :lookaround:

That is, as long as you know exactly what you're ordering (some of their descriptions leave a LOT to be desired).

See, for example, the hassle I went through trying to find the correct screw-down crown for a Yema Spationaute III:

Need Help With Sourcing A Screw-Down Crown.

In the end I gave up trying to point out to Cousins that some of their descriptions / dimensions were obviously wrong ....

and ended up having to go (cap in hand) direct to ISO Swiss (their supplier) to source the correct crown that I needed.


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

SEIKO7A38 said:


> Let me start by saying that I think Cousins UK are *brilliant* .... 99% of the time. :thumbup:


No doubt many of you will have acted on the literally dozens of 'plugs' I've given them on here too. :wink2:



SEIKO7A38 said:


> I mean, where else (as a hobbyist) can you place an order for watch parts, and get next day delivery ? :lookaround:


That is also dependent upon whether they have the part in stock, at the time of order ....

.... and whether the part number you wish to order exists on their database, of course. 

Has anybody else gone through the rigmarole of adding a non-listed item to Cousins database ??? :lookaround:

See: http://www.cousinsuk.com/images/pdf/SearchingRequestNonListed20-4-11.pdf

Believe me, I've tried it a good few times - usually ending up with having my entry cancelled too ! :angry:

Most times, from memory, without any kind of acknowledgement / response from Cousins, either. :disgust:


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Well, earlier this week I needed to order a part that wasn't on Cousins' database - a simple Seiko sweep second hand:










Not for that particular Seiko 7A38-727B (whose movement has long since been broken up for parts) ....

But for one of my recently acquired Junghans High Tech Chrono's (which appears to have a non-original sweep hand fitted).

I thought that Seiko hand would probably do the trick, and look 'right', but Seiko Oceania's database listed it as obsolete. 

I noted the Seiko part number 13SC04AB down (it was used on quite a few other calibres, but only that particular 7A38).

Funnily enough ....

Cousins do actually stock the gold-plated and red-painted versions of exactly the same hand: 13SC04A2 and 13SC04AR.



SEIKO7A38 said:


> Has anybody else gone through the rigmarole of adding a non-listed item to Cousins database ??? :lookaround:


So I thought, on this occasion, it might be worth trying to add a non-listed item. Wouldn't you too ? :huh:


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

So, I duly added the previously unlisted part number 13SC04*AB* to Cousins' database, as you do.

Don't bother looking for it, because you won't find it on there saying 'Obsolete not available' though. :disgust:

However, the following day, I received an encouraging email notification:










It was an 'automated' email, from a [email protected] Cousins UK address, but perhaps this time I'd got through. :clap:

The following day, I did a partial search on Cousins website on 13SC04-- and it still wasn't there. :dontgetit:

I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't find Cousins' 'Self Serve' particularly easy to navigate, but ....

eventually I found this in the quotes pending of my 'Self Serve':










They appeared to have cancelled my non-listed part add (yet again) - but this time were offering me an alternative.


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Presumably, someone had gone to the trouble to contact Seiko UK, to find out if 13SC04AB was available ....

.... and presumably someone at Seiko had offered p/n 3AA125F0ANB as a suitable alternative substitute part.

Now, I have in the past, been offered some what I'd class as 'less than satisfactory' alternative parts by Seiko. :thumbsdown:

Particularly on obsolete crystals - indeed I've found Sternkreuz replacements which were closer to the originals.

So initially, I was a little bit sceptical about using 3AA*125*F0ANB in place of the *13*SC04AB I actually wanted.

Particularly as the part number format suggested it was probably only 12.5mm long, as opposed to 13mm long.

So I did a 'where used' reverse look-up on Seiko Oz's database on p/n 3AA125F0ANB (as you do).

I found it was used on quite a few later Seiko's, including various 7T27's and 7T32's, besides various 'Kinetics'.

I already knew that the 7T32 and 7A38 use the same size 0.20mm bore sweep second hand, so it would fit. :thumbsup:

Couldn't really find a decent sized photo, apart from the few various catalogue images:










But I thought it looked close enough, so .... what the heck I'll try ordering one.

You'll note that Cousins have allocated their own p/n S24632 against the Seiko p/n 3AA125F0ANB.

Not quite sure why they do it that way; other times they'll just use the Seiko part number, adding a SEI prefix.

Later that day, I checked p/n S24632 on Cousins website. I'm pretty sure it had only just been added.

I'm not in the habit of taking screen dumps (to prove a point), but yesterday, it looked something like this:










Note - it clearly said '*ORDER ITEM ONLY*'.  That much I definitely remember. The delivery ?


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Yesterday I needed to order a few more parts from Cousins: Crystals; pushers and crowns, for other projects.

Regular stuff that I've ordered from them on previous occasions, and that I knew they always had in stock.

But this sweep second hand S24632 / 3AA125F0ANB was a 'special' *ORDER ONLY PART* - not a stock item.

In the past, I've found that Cousins will just cancel any items that aren't in stock, expecting you to re-order it.

Obviously, I needed to kick-start the process, to get them to order this sweep hand from Seiko for me ....

See the 'Add to Basket' check box on their quote form in post # 4. I hope you're all following my logic.

So, apart from my order for the regular bits, I entered a *separate order* for the sweep hand ....

Using their quote number QTE00017969 as my PO reference. Being a good citizen, I added the minimum Â£2.34 postage.

I duly received this automated order acknowledgement email reply:


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

So I got home from work today, at 2:45, and on my doormat there wasn't just one jiffy bag from Cousins, but *two*. 

Obviously the regular 'stock' parts I'd ordered, and was expecting today - and something else - on a separate order.

I'm thinking WOWeee !! :notworthy: They've managed to get that hand from Seiko for me already !! :clap:

Wrong ! 

I opened the other jiffy bag first - to find (only) this inside:










Yes, not only had they cancelled the 'special' order I'd specifically placed, but charged me postage and VAT on it !! 

You'll note in the description field it says: 'See website for up-date'. So naturally, I went and looked.

Today, part number S24632 / 3AA125F0ANB shows as:










Note - 5th January, 2012.


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## Roamer Man (May 25, 2011)

Having a little difficulty are we? You're not the only one. I don't think Cousins are very strong on customer service!


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Why I'm really hacked off, and why I've taken the time to write this thread is ....

At 3:00pm, after a ciggy :smoke: and a coffee, to calm my already fairly frayed temper, I telephoned Cousins. :telephone:

I'll say now, that since Sam Emmery left, most Cousins customer service people I speak to don't inspire me with confidence.

One person who has always been most helpful is Ian Morrish. He's always managed to sort out any such problems. :thumbsup:

I got though to another person, whose name I didn't recognise, so I asked if he could transfer me to Ian Morrish.

He said Ian had just taken a call, so I then asked to be transferred to Sam Cousins - who I also needed to talk to.

Sam still owes me 5 off Sternkreuz p/n MSM310 crystals (of the correct thickness) from last May / June time. 

Apparently he was in a meeting - or unavailable (to talk to me perhaps). So I hung on the phone for 5 minutes ....

.... until the customer service person took my phone number and said one of them would call me back.

So, I sat by the phone till 4:00 p.m. waiting for one of them to return my call.

Of course, no one did - and Cousins don't answer their phones after 4:00 p.m.

That's why you're reading this here. :disgust: 



SEIKO7A38 said:


> Let me start by saying that I think Cousins UK are *brilliant* .... 99% of the time. :thumbup:


PS - Don't let this put you off, by the way. Like I said, Cousins are brilliant - 99% of the time. It's that other odd 1% :taz:


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Roamer Man said:


> Having a little difficulty are we? You're not the only one. I don't think Cousins are very strong on customer service!


Cousins are obviously a lot busier now than they were when I first started ordering from them in July 2009. :sweatdrop:

I generally place one order a month with them, sometimes for my own stock, or sometimes for specific projects.

You've only got to look at the incremental order number (from your last one) to realize how many orders they process.

Unfortunately, as a result of their increasing turnover, their customer service appears to be inversely deteriorating. :thumbsdown:

One area they are apparently falling down on is (any kind of) customer back-order management, and ....

it makes a total mockery of having: Chase up back-orders; Chase up special orders, etc. in your 'Self Serve'










Because I don't have any - and I should have (more than just this sweep hand, I hasten to add !) :disgust:

Cousins appear to have adopted it a covert policy of: If an item can't supplied from stock - Don't back-order it ....

instead, simply cancel the item and leave the onus on the customer to re-order at the new given availability date.

As some of you may know, I worked in, and effectively ran intel Europe's spare parts department for 17 years.

We were measured against many factors:

Inventory value held / spares cost vs installed machine base / contract revenue, MTBF's / repair turnaround times, etc.

One of the most critical was Logistics performance against back-orders. Back-orders aged over 30 days were verboten.









Think about it, what's the easiest way of managing your back-orders and meeting all your management's KPI indicators ? :lookaround:

*Cancel them*. :shocking: Not that I ever did that myself, of course. :naughty:

I wonder whose performance in Cousins UK is being measured on customer back-orders.


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

I must ask you to do my orders for Cousins SeikoFAN, I' can never even find anything far less order it. Is there a BHI module on how to navigate their website and order stuff? I've said elsewhere, I used to wander into Temple's in Edinburgh and ask for stuff, and if they didn't have it in the shop, they ordered it up and you could pick it up a few days later.

Alas, with the demise of watchie's generally, Temples Supply House has GONE! :sadwalk:


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

mel said:


> Is there a BHI module on how to navigate their website and order stuff?


I used to be pretty well up on TLA's (*T*hree *L*etter *A*cronyms), Mel.

From what I remember of intel culture, I think they probably invented them. 

But BHI module ? :huh:

Do you mean Brain Heart Infusion ldman: Better Hearing Institute







or perchance British Horological Institute ? :grin:

Try this: http://www.cousinsuk.com/page/Help.aspx .... he says, trying to think of an alternative TLA for FAQ.


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

I wonder if their automated system has a glitch in it, Paul...last week I ordered a seal for the vintage Seiko I was re-furbing, and one of their watch battery selector gizmos...the black plastic card with the different sized holes stamped in it. The package duly arrived a couple of days later, in a Jiffy bag, but the battery selector was snapped in half. I put in a returns request, and they said 'Very sorry, throw the broken one away and we'll send a replacement'. Today, I have come home and there are not one, but two gigantic boxes, packed full of polystyrene chips and two battery checkers! Perhaps they just wanted to make sure......

OK...I've never had a problem with Cousins before, and I shall continue to use them, but this automated system must be costing them a fortune!


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Now I've calmed down a bit :angry:, I've proof read it a couple of times, and it still makes sense to me. :yes:

So, I've just penned a polite and factually worded email to Cousins including a link to this thread. :read:

But I did miss my opportunity for a (stating the bleeding obvious style) punchline. :dontgetit:

In case anybody missed the point of what made me so angry this afternoon (by my slight omission) ....

Today, Cousins UK charged me Â£2.81 (made up of Postage +VAT) for sending me an empty* jiffy bag. :bag:

*Empty that is, apart from their invoice. 

PS - Note the post number *3838* !! :grin:


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## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

SEIKO7A38 said:


> I used to be pretty well up on TLA's (*T*hree *L*etter *A*cronyms), Mel.
> 
> From what I remember of intel culture, I think they probably invented them.


No, it seems I hadn't forgotten. :grin:

Check out this (now 11 year old) article: http://www.cyberwalker.com/features/inside-intel.html


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