A Frustrating Trip to Brighton: Lessons in Customer Experience and getting scammed

Introduction

Bad user experiences are everywhere.

It’s really easy to disappoint customers, upset them, and just make them never want to return.

Here’s my latest example from a recent trip to Brighton.

The Journey Begins

Arriving in Brighton

So, on Friday, I travelled to Brighton a day before the Brighton Guitar Show, which was on the Saturday. I thought I’d leave early, get to Brighton for around lunchtime, and spend the afternoon exploring the town. However, I should have probably considered that it was a sunny day on a Friday in a beachside town—it was going to be busy.

Parking Woes

I drive a van, which posed a significant problem because all the car parks in Brighton have height restrictions. After hours of driving around, I finally found street parking and squeezed into a space. When I went to the parking meter, I saw a sign that said, “Scan the QR code to pay”.

The Scam Unfolds

Payment Issues

Given my rush, I scanned the QR code, entered my car details, and my credit card got blocked. I tried a different card, but it didn’t work either. That Friday, CrowdStrike and Microsoft were experiencing issues, so I assumed the payment gateway was down.

Unable to pay for parking, I decided to risk it.

Discovering the Scam

A few hours later, I returned to find a parking ticket on my van. After investigating, I realised the QR code was placed by scammers, and the website I entered my details into was illegitimate. Luckily, no money was taken, but I ended up with a parking ticket.

It looks like the payment form on the website was collecting card details, and then the scammers were trying to add these to either a Google Pay account or Curve card. If successful, they would have been able to start making payments which would be difficult to trace.

Seeking Help

Contacting Authorities

I knew parking ticket appeals could take a long time (and cost me more time), so I decided to report the scam to the police and get an incident number. However, the police weren’t interested and directed me to Action Fraud. After explaining the situation to Action Fraud, they told me to contact the website to check its legitimacy.

So I now have to prove it was a scam before anything can be done about it 🤔

Brighton and Hove Council

I then phoned Brighton and Hove Council. They confirmed there were no QR codes on their pay machines, and the scammers frequently placed fake ones. They advised me to make an appeal, but I had already paid the parking notice to avoid further complications.

The council said they needed photo evidence and a written letter from the police for a refund, which seemed impractical (as the police weren’t interested) for a £35 fine (£70 if I paid after 14 days).

Surely if the parking attendants are handing out fines, they should be checking the meters to ensure (a) that they are working, and (b) that they haven’t been tampered with. When I asked this, apparently “I” was responsible to provide evidence of this 😅.

The Aftermath

Feeling Let Down

I had contacted the police, Brighton Council, the parking authorities, and Action Fraud. All acknowledged the issue, but I still had to pay the fine and deal with the consequences. As a new visitor to Brighton, this experience left me dissatisfied and unlikely to return, especially with a van.

Broader Implications

This incident highlights a broader problem.

The police found the issue too trivial, Action Fraud pushed the responsibility onto me, and Brighton and Hove Council seemed indifferent to the scamming problem. The parking authorities acknowledged the issue but offered no real solution.

Lessons in Customer Experience

The Importance of Touchpoints

For businesses, this situation underscores the importance of monitoring all customer touchpoints. Ensure you audit the entire customer experience, from account creation to issue resolution. This could have prevented my frustrating experience.

If you are business owner, try signing up as a new customer for your own service. Try to pay for something. Try to contact customer support. If the experience isn’t where it needs to be, you’ll find out quite quickly!

Customer Care

Whether you run a public service or a private company, showing that you care about your customers is crucial. Simple coordination and better management could have resolved my issues, ensuring a more positive experience. (Not to mention that out taxpayers money goes into these poorly managed services!)

Conclusion

My experience in Brighton was marred by poor coordination and a lack of responsibility from various authorities. Businesses and public services must ensure they provide seamless and supportive experiences to their customers.

It’s often the little things that can make or break customer satisfaction.

Oh, and never make the failings of your processes your customer’s “fault”!

That’s my rant over.

Peace.