The sofa that wasn't!

 Dear Marmite

There are few things worse that the disappointment that comes when something you have been looking forward to doesn't happen. As you know, I haven't owned a sofa since November 2019. I brought a futon back to the UK as I thought it would see me through a couple of months and double up as a bed. Well, that couple of months nearly ran to a couple of years - or that is how it has felt.

When I finally got round to buying a house, the first thing I went out and bought was a sofa. The wait time was around 12 weeks so I knew that I'd be in my new home for a short time before I got it. As it was one I really liked, I thought the wait was worth it. What I didn't expect from Marks and Sparks was a broken promise and interminable delays.

They told me both on sms and in an email that my sofa would arrive on the 19th July and that two days before I'd get an sms to tell me the two-hour window. This sms never arrived so on the Monday morning bright and early, I went round in circles trying to find a way to contact them. First of all this is nigh on impossible. Secondly, once you do get a number, you have to wait for over 30 minutes before a human being deems you worthy of being spoken to. This in itself drove me to a point of fury.

Once I got to speak to the delivery team I was transferred - another delay - to another human being in another department who told me my sofa hadn't got to the delivery depot. According to her, there are delays on everything. Is this the "pingdemic" or Brexit? Whatever the cause, customer services should be a bit more on the ball letting people know where there purchases are- urrrrgh...

Whatever it is, the result is me not having a sofa. I pointed out that I would have to pay £25 to change my delivery date within 3 days of the delivery. They didn't even tell me they weren't going to deliver. I won't hold my breath but I bet they won't pay me £25 for their incompetence.

The "pingdemic" / Brexit problems have spread havoc to more than my sofa. The supermarket shelves were short of all sorts - most notable being the tonic water and alcohol. As I mentioned before, this area is a high G&T consumption area. 

The NHS finally got round to telling me I have three prolapsed discs. The MRI was on the 22nd May. If I had been in Singapore, I would be recovering from a fully reconstructed spine by now. I have decided to go for a private consultation as I'll probably be walking around on my hands and knees before I get seen by anyone in the NHS or even get to hear about making an appointment. 

Despite my poorly back, I even managed to play a mini tournament yesterday and got to the final. So Marmite, I know you are a bit of an old crock yourself these days. Just keep one paw moving in front of the other and you'll keep going. From my side, I'll try very hard to maintain my sanity in the face of companies who forget they have customers who they need to keep them in business. I think this will be hard for me to do.

Love you!!

XXX