7dayshop - how to fail

Once upon a time, Guernsey company 7dayshop had a strategic edge over mainland suppliers, in the shape of a VAT concession. Then the UK government closed the loophole.

Where does that leave 7dayshop? Striving hard to make itself a top-notch retailer who holds their own against mainland competitors? Seemingly not.

I wanted a Bluetooth dongle, and was willing to pay a bit more than it would cost on eBay for the reassurance of a company I trusted. But as I checked their website, I found two dongles that proclaimed support for Windows 7 but were silent about Windows 8. And one dongle where the site was completely silent on operating system support.

So I tried to use their "Live Chat" system. Nobody there, so could I leave a message? Certainly. But nearly one working day later, there had been no response. So I tried the Live Chat again - and got an operator who confirmed that my enquiry was being "dealt with". Impatient, I repeated my question to their Chat agent - who answered:

Have you checked this with the manufacturer as we only receive the descriptions printed on the website from the manufacturers

Don't ask how one is meant to track down the manufacturer for an unbranded item. Nor wonder how a company's buyer can purchase an item for which they have such incomplete information. Just marvel how any company can stay in business when they display such a lazy approach to customer service.

I've been a loyal customer of 7dayshop for many years, but I won't be looking to them for anything at all complicated in future.