"The very opposite of 'Great practice'"

Their first contact with me was via letter telling me to expect a phone call at a certain time on a certain date. They did not call at the time they specified, instead calling 2.5 hours earlier. I had planned my entire day around the time that they gave to ensure that I could be available.

Blaming this on "staff shortages" is the most pathetic excuse possible.

1. They called *earlier* than they said they would, not later, so clearly the capacity to make those calls was there, they simply decided that their time was more valuable than their potential customers';

2. Hire more staff. If you can't find people who can do something as simple as making a telephone call then there I can only assume that there must be something very wrong with your business.

It's that simple.