A rant - sorry. Nothing to do with the garden either.

[Glutton4...]

Stop it you two - I've got to clean coffee off my keyboard now!

[Incy]

Stop it you two - I've got to clean coffee off my keyboard now!

You and me both G4. Thanks for the giggle guys

[HeyWayne]

Oh dear, that was bad

Obvious maybe, but bad?

[kirsty b]

I hate buying jeans and find that the real cheap brands like Tesco value (�3 a pair) fit me much better. Sainburys clothing range also nice and allow for you to have a bit of a bum or chest without having misshapen clothes that don feel quite right. Don't like hipsters either, feel like I keep having to hitch myself up when I have worn them.

and as for Wayne and Alison, thanks for the laugh just what I needed after a cold 6 mile walk.

[zazen999]

I see we have given birth to a new comedy double act

[Alison]

Just bored today, snowed in and supposed to be working but can't access any of the systems and can't contact anybody from IT to help.............

[zazen999]

Just bored today, snowed in and supposed to be working but can't access any of the systems and can't contact anybody from IT to help.............

Yeah right - I'm booking you and HW for the summer season as we speak...

[Glutton4...]

Yeah right - I'm booking you and HW for the summer season as we speak...

They can be the entertainment at Grapestock!

[zazen999]

They can be the entertainment at Grapestock!

I was about 5 minutes behind you there.........

[HeyWayne]

I'll be Statler.

[northepaul]

Why can some companies just get it right and some get it so wrong?

Around a year ago I decided to treat myself to some Levi 501's as the Jeans from Next started to get a bit "trendy", and getting some decent looking jeans in my size was getting tough (as it does periodically for some reason).

LadyWayne said, "why don't you get yourself some Levis - they'll last foreever, and you will get use out of them". I replied that they were chuffing expensive, to which LW replied that as I only buy jeans once every 4-5 years, they'll work out well. Besides, Levis last "forever".

Well, a few weeks ago I noticed that there were patches worn through around the seam near the crotch.

Not happy, given that I've had jeans from Next at half the price that have lasted for 5-6 years before the same thing happened to them.

So, I contacted the local store - who said they couldn't help as they don't stock my size in the stores, and as I'd purchsed them online I'd need to contact Head Office. They gave me the number, and I called.

Oh, you'll need to speak to someone in "Consumer Relations" she said - and put me through.

Nobody available in Consumer Relations to speak to, but by the sounds of it you'll have to speak to Germany as they deal with all online purchases/queries.

I call Germany.

I speak to "Michael". Michael tells me that he'll need to send me a UPS label and send the jeans back to them for "evaluation" to see if there's a fault, or if it's just wear and tear.

I wait for the label.

I wait a little more (appreciating that Christmas is happening at the same time).

I receive a hand written envelope.

Inside the envelope is a UPS label - nothing else.

I trawl through the UPS site trying to find a number.

I speak to someone at UPS, but there will be a charge for arranging the collection over the phone. You can do it online for free.

I attempt to book the collection online. I fail.

I call UPS again - they tell me that the label is invalid.

I am told to call Levis again.

I speak to "Louisa".

Louisa is going to send me another label....

Tune in next time for the next installment of "10 Reasons I Will Never Buy Another Pair Of Levis"

Wayne, Levis years ago used to last forever, they were workers jeans meant for the toughest use you can imagine.....todays "technology" means the material used all jeans is not strong or hardwearing etc due to the elastic to make them "stretch" and supposedly fit better. This is so the companies can get you to buy more pairs of jeans - at the same cost, therefore making them loads more money.

[HeyWayne]

I may have made some progress!

Having had no response to the two emails (not even an acknowledgment) via the Levis UK (Europe) website, I decided to have a mooch around the web to see if anyone else had mentioned similar problems.

I stumbled accross this site:

Get Satisfaction - People-Powered Customer Service

I posted my "complaint" and didn't expect much to be honest.

However.

Today I received an email from one of the Levis staff in the US, asking me to contact her directly as she would like to resolve my issue.

Fingers crossed.

It's true what they say - if you want the best customer service, you have to go Stateside.

Such a shame.

[HeyWayne]

Excellent!

Email this morning from Levis lady asking me to let her know what jeans I have (details on the label), what size and colour I want, and where to send them.

She's going to send me some replacement jeans and I don't even have to send the old ones back.

Well done Levis (US), great turnaround.

[Pumpkin Becki]

Wow, I thought you had as much chance as an icecube in the Sahara of getting anywhere with this one. Well done for being persistant...or did they back down when you told them what leg measurement you are. They didn't want any tall angry Brits turning up on their doorstep!!

[HeyWayne]

Well, after much too-ing and fro-ing, two pairs of jeans arrived by courier the day before yesterday, along with a Levi's T-shirt and a hand-written card from the lady whose been handling the issue.

Not the same as my original jeans (they no longer manufacture them, and not in the US anyway), but still decent enough.

Well done Levi's.