Ignored by Poplar after asking whether their fitters were insured. I write this review reluctantly as I grew up in the area where Poplar Carpets started as a company fifty years ago, and I remember them from their early days. I believed them to be a good local company, and I also believe in supporting such companies, so we really wanted to buy our new carpets and vinyl from Poplar. My review of my experience with Poplar is objective, and I report what was said to me verbatim, without malice, but with great disappointment. My wife and I visited the Bromsgrove branch on 10th August to place an order for carpet and vinyl, and we spoke to Ewan who had been very helpful when we met him previously at the Harborne branch. I had a question about the fitting of the carpet as we had just had the room decorated, and I wanted to make sure that the fitters would be really careful not to damage our new, (and very expensive), wallpaper when they were fitting. (I had read a few bad reviews on Trustindex https://www.trustindex.io/reviews/poplarcarpets.co.uk which led me to have concerns). I fully expected that they would be insured for their work, but Ewan was unable to confirm that to me. He asked me to leave it with him so that he could make some enquiries, and he said that he would call me back in a couple of days. I told him that I really wanted to buy from Poplar, so I hoped that their fitters were insured, as that was an important issue for us. He emailed me the quotation for the new carpet and vinyl that day, and said in his email message, “As you mentioned you are concerned with potential damages to your wallpaper that you have had recently decorated. We will be in contact with you next week to discuss the finer details regarding this so that we can alleviate any concerns prior to booking your order”. I felt reassured by his message. Two days later (12th August), Ewan called me back to say that Poplar would not be able to supply us with the carpet. He then passed me over to a director/manager, Kevin Harrison. Kevin told me that I seemed to be looking for problems before the work had started. I was quite shocked at his opening comment, as I was merely seeking reassurance from Poplar on an insurance issue. He said that some damage during fitting was almost inevitable. I found that comment quite worrying as it seemed to convey an acceptance by Poplar that damage during fitting was unavoidable. He said that we should have had the room decorated after the carpet had been fitted. That comment was not helpful, as the room had already been decorated and we couldn’t reverse that situation. He also said that he might be able to arrange for fitters who were more careful in their work, but he couldn’t guarantee which fitters would be sent, as that was organised by a different department. My thoughts about that comment were why would Poplar employ some fitters who were less careful than others? Surely they would insist on the highest standard of work from all of their fitters? Otherwise it would be pot luck regarding the quality of fitting. He asked me to leave it with him, and he promised that he would call me back later that afternoon. I told him that I really wanted to buy from Poplar, so I hoped that he could find a way forward with our query. Kevin never called me back. I tried to contact him by calling the store a few days later (14th August), they told that he was away on holiday. Apparently, he is back from holiday now. I’m still waiting for his call ten days later. I also emailed Ewan twice asking for an update, and I received no reply to either email. I cannot understand why Ewan is not replying to my email messages when he had previously been so helpful and communicative, I would like to know why. As a last resort, (as I appreciate that he must be really busy), I even wrote to the owner of Poplar, Stephen Day, explaining the issues and hoping that I could get some reassurance directly from him. I felt that he should be made aware of how my query had been handled by his staff as I was unhappy about that. I also really needed to get the new carpet fitted urgently. Mr Day has not responded to my letter, he may be away on holiday. If I get a response from him I will update my review accordingly. This has been a frustrating experience. I feel that I am being ignored, and not valued as a customer. I am disappointed that Poplar have chosen not to communicate with me professionally in regard to a genuine issue of concern, especially as I have said throughout that I wanted to buy my new carpets from them. I have now ordered my carpet from another firm who were able to help me without any of the issues that I have experienced with Poplar. I wish Poplar Carpets every success, and I hope that they can improve in the way that they deal with customers, so that no one else has to have a similar experience to the one that I have had, which was totally unacceptable.

Fecha de la experiencia: 12 August, 2024