Spotlight South Melbourne — Local services in Melbourne

Summary for anyone reading: DO NOT order from them if you want good customer service. I only ordered 2 curtains...and they couldn't even get that right.

TODAY The person who's supposed to install our blinds, told us he called "2402" and waited for 10 minutes. This clearly showed us he went to the wrong building because that is not even the right dial number for our apartment. He then continued to pin the blame on us that we didn't pick up...even though we started by calmly explaining that he was at the wrong building and dialled the wrong number. He would not have it and is pushing out the installation. What to do? We already paid the full amount and are at the mercy of this rude, inconsiderate service to finally get our curtains.

BACK TRACK on the beginning of our experience.

JANUARY 2022. We requested a curtain quote which came in a went swiftly up until they received our deposit. Then it all went downhill.

FEBRUARY 2022 rolled around: They didn't tell us when to expect the completion, we requested customer service to get us this answer, and they replied 2 weeks later to wait 5-8 weeks. It was already 5 weeks so we gave them a grace period due to the crazey Covid spread.

APRIL 2022 We Emailed to ask about the progress after 8 weeks of their promise to find that they have NOT sent the fabric to the Made2Measure department. Citing that there were staff changes. As a Customer Experience Designer - I call this a "terrible internal system" that doesn't support your internal staff to hand over the work properly.

MAY 2022 The 1st curtain was ready, booked in a time to come and install 2 weeks later, and the day came the person was sick. So I decided to go and pick it up to make their lives easier, little did I know that this was going to be a horrible experience. The customer service team said I could go pick it up without having to pay the whole thing. It should be easy. I went to the store, and guess what? they wanted me to pay in full even though they did not complete all the curtains yet, and they were not going to release them without the payment. They also insisted I called them to reschedule, even though I was already there at the store. Your internal system was clearly not made for your staff to collaborate together at all. I finally came back with my curtain because I was already upset and just paid the damn thing and was absolutely in tears with disappointment and frustration.

...To find that the curtain was made 40 cms too long...even tho the quote measured the correct length..... Made2measure? I think not!!!

JULY 2022 Rolled around to promise an installation 2 weeks later. And here we are...curtain not installed...

Seriously guys, hire and listen to your UX & CX designers. This is really an old way to work. I know you just want the money...

DON'T take your sewing machine into Spotlight for service. I did, and was treated with utter contempt by Spotlight. Without a car, I caught a tram and had to carry my Bernina — weighing 15 to 20kg — to the store. I stated a two week turnaround period on the docket and was told the service person — Sam — would be contacted the following day to pick it up. Spotlight then forgot. More than a week passed, no one called. I had to contact Sam, myself, to tell him my machine was at Spotlight. He said he'd pick it up, service it and get it back by Saturday. Great: bad start, but I decided to trust this Sam and go ahead with it still. Once he had my machine, though, he had suddenly to service twelve others before mine. Plus, he didn't phone when that's the deal, and when I phoned to see if he had my machine, he hung up on me. Basically, he'd been stringing me along. In realising, how could I trust him if he found something wrong with my machine? I had my machine returned immediately. I had then to carry/tram my machine all the way back to St Kilda, unserviced, with two weeks down the drain. Extremely disheartening. A really painful, cruel experience, and all the Store Manager could say was 'sorry, but I can't help you' and thereby reneged on all responsibility, claiming they accidentally misplaced my machine. Not true. It was placed in the proper spot for machines awaiting service, prior their current spot. One staff member, who initially filled out the docket, was very decent and helpful. Hats off to her. But Spotlight, South Melbourne, cost me my time and effort, for nothing. And that Sam guy would have taken forever, with one excuse after another. Impossible to trust someone like that with your machine. Impossible to trust...

Poor service with Click & Collect. Note: original review (first) written a year ago, and then an Edit added below, today. Because a staff member didn't know where the item I ordered was kept, they declared they had none in stock (even though the system said there were eight) and the order was cancelled at their end. None of that was communicated to me, of course. So after waiting 6 hours for a 2 hour Click & Collect, I called the store, multiple times. No one answered. And so I walked to the store and found out what happened, as above. I found the item myself, but was then told they couldn't give it to me, because the order had been cancelled and I'll be refunded in 1 to 3 business days (I just had to take their word for that at the time). In order to get the item, I had to pay for it again. Now, the manager on duty did their best to compensate me for my trouble (a discount and an extra $5 off voucher) but I had to trust their word that I'd get the refund on the original online order payment. I've since been notified that a refund is forthcoming (seeing I used PayPal). So much trouble just because staff can't have a proper look around to fill an order. I hope they improve. Edit: A year later and I think they've got worse. Another unfilled Click & Collect order and so I called. Apart from taking an age to answer the phone, when they finally answered and explained why I was calling, I got put on hold and was left there for over 10 minutes before I finally gave up and ended the call. I'll have to go into the store to chase it up....