Brakes Avis 

The worst company in the world !!!
How you can cancel so many customers with one day notice and you hope for them to return to you when you sort your s*** out ?
Do you really think that this people they will ever work with you again?
for sure was another way to solve this staff shortage. I close my coffee shop for a week to find other supplier .
you should make at least a day every 2 weeks for small business, or tell us in advance !
i wish you all the best and i hope nobody is going to work with you again

This company is killing small businesses , we are a small business in the hart of Newbury , we change our menu in june 2021 base on the brakes catalogue and a week after they didn't want to deliver to us , we spent lots of money to develop our menu and also to print them. The pizza place next door is having deliveries from brakes every week but they said they cant deliver to me because they don't have drivers !!!
Probably you treat your drivers how you treat your customers !!

I have used Brakes as our sole provider of food since I bought the business 6 years ago.
A charming lady called Aileen came and helped me set up the menus and worked hard to give us a great deal.
How things have changed.
When trying to place an order we ended up getting an automated message saying that we would not be able to order with them again and our account was suspended.
When we actually built the whole menu around their products this is pretty poor business.
I’ve never heard of a business model that thinks it’s a good idea to tell customers to find another supplier.
I did manage to speak to a human after a long wait and they just verified their stance.
I’m not sure how they can come back from this as this is a pretty catastrophic decision but guess that’s not my problem as we will adjust and it seems other food suppliers are happy to take our business.
If Aileen still works for the company I’m sure she will be mortified by this shambles.
Not the staff fault they are only following orders. They must be struggling to defend the indefensible bless them.
Anyway there’s a saying that nothing lasts forever and that’s true with these.
Avoid.

Been with brakes since 2019 but all of a sudden no delivery have spoken to finance manager! Who said would love to help me get my order back but only if I can guarantee 25k a year!we are a small pub that does some food but 2k plus a month is beyond us.very bad business as was ordering all through lockdown.

I started my business in 2020 and had an account with Brakes, with the situation with covid and going into lock down i have not ordered as much products from them, but ordered last month and went to place an order today to find they can not deliver to me i have recieved nothing from them informing me of this and i am now having to find a new supply or change menu due to this .. it is disgusting the way they have approached this and did not inform me so i could prepare before stock ran out.. had to give a star to write review otherwise wouldnt have even given them any stars

During covid its the small businesses that kept Brakes going. They would call twice a week to take orders. All of a sudden no more deliveries! At least we should have been given some notice. Even though there are Brakes deliveries coming to schools in our area 2 min away they still refuse to deliver. Not a care for their customers who kept them going. To top it off, good luck to anyone trying to contact them. They know they can't show face and ask for your customer ID on automated phone calls as soon as you key it in a message says they are not delivering to you and the call disconnects. Absolutely disgusting the way they have treated their customers. Don't give a toss. We were spending 25 - 30k a year with them and that was just on cakes. Why can't they even set up a collection service?
If anyone knows a suppliers with similar cakes please let me know on 07369269646. They don't deserve our custom!

One of the worst suppliers i've ever dealt with.

They've decided that they'll no longer deliver to my pub despite the fact that they're continuing to deliver to a restaurant just 500 metres away. Their response? because we do not use them as their main supplier we aren't allowed a delivery.

Why don't we use them as our main supplier? When we signed up as a new customer we were offered an super cash back deal based on our average purchases. When this ended they reneged on the deal and refused our cash back.

One of our biggest purchases are potatoes. We order 25kg sacks and they're advertised as washed.
whenever they arrived they would be unwashed. The company can't guarantee that i will get what i've ordered.

When deliveries come they almost always come in the middle of a busy food service.

And as for their rep - Laura McGill - She clearly isn't interested in keeping us as customers.

alex at brakes!! if you think its ok to leave my pregnant wife a delivery outside to carry up the stairs on her own in the middle of a public street when you have another full grown man with you to help, then what kind of person are you. Brakes sort it out if the people arent there to help vulnerable people then what kind of people are you employing

My experience is like everyone else. Dropped with a day notice, while I still see their van drive pass our business every day. The way you have dumped everyone without any notice to search for another wholesaler is just RIDICULOUS and so unprofessional.

At Brakes: don't even dare reply to this saying how your customers are everything to us and hope we will be back. We clearly are NOTHING to you and we will NEVER be back. Your "unprecedented times" are also OUR unprecedented times, and leaving your customers hanging so abrupt, is the reason we will never be back after you sorted your sh**t out.

As many stated before, I was dropped as a customer with zero notice. First multiple hikes in the minimum order amount, to then 2 days later hear that I can't get deliveries anymore? What a joke.
My other suppliers managed to cope with the driver shortage. Why can't you?

Brake does not care about small businesses.
Avoid

….to your reply: what business notifies customers on a spin after 20 years of business.
What, you just ran out of drivers everywhere overnight?
I know there are issues in the logistics industry, but 2 days notice… The joke is, I still see your vehicle only 10 miles away and even saw the vehicle pass the bottom of my lane since…..JOKE…….
Emailed me 2 days before delivery on issues as stated by everyone else. Really poor and left me in a real position at the height of season by leaving me in the lurch, in this manner.
I’ll never go back now. I hope their poorly planned business plan backfires.

I concur with a lot of other reviews at this time Brakes sudden "Temporary Block" on accounts is a total disgrace and it shows the level of customer service with the standard response.
Having just come off the phone I was told it is not the fact they have product shortages, they have had to put care homes and schools on block as well because of lack of drivers. That comment is an even bigger cause for concern and showed the total lack of empathy for the customer.
Like all major companies and corporations you should rename customer service as customer lip service because the intention is not to support but to fob off because "computer says no". I feel sorry for your employees who are put in the position of complete uselessness.

Zero Star Actually
Absolutely shocking.....soon be out of business I hope.
Been using you for 15 years and now you don't give a damn about my custom. Won't be using you anymore, I'll stick with people who care about my business and offer a great service....HOLDSWORTH!!!!
Carole Burton, The Three Crowns, Barrow upon Soar

The service from account team and customer care team is great, however the delivery side, I would personally not recommend as all my deliveries have been incorrect and takes too much time resolving each one, either shortages or incorrect products sent. A driver when doing a collection took products that they shouldn't and not even record them. Don't use Brakes is my opinion as a new business who has recently started up.

Only got one star coz wouldn't let me leave 0 ... this company have let down so many small businesses they have no loyalty whatsoever !!! They only want the big money now everything is open and are screwing over the small fish !!!! Shame on you.brakes your a disgrace !! UPDATE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN IN MY NAME SINCE 2019 WHEN MY HUSBAND PASSED AWAY ... YOU ARE FULLY AWARE OF THIS YET YOUR RESPONSE IS SENT TO MY LATE HUSBAND ... WAY TO GO BRAKES WAY TO GO !!!!

Do you own a small business? AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Like all the below we have been loyal customers to Brakes for years and yes we have also been dropped via automated message with no warning. My deliveries never turned up and they couldn’t care less. **** your automated reply. How about you stick it to the chains and make a statement. Support those who supported you throughout the pandemic because those you have chosen to keep on your books certainly weren’t those keeping you going by the sounds of things.

The lack of HGV drivers isn’t an excuse … every other food delivery service is coping with these unprecedented times … MAYBE there is another reason they don't want to work for you..

We will never use you again.

Absolutely disgusted by the so called service of this company, as many others have started, we have been a loyal customer for years, and the just dropped without notice. Rude staff I’m the customers services department. This is greed at its finest! Surely this is a time to support smaller businesses. All other decent catering companies are dealing with the “unprecedented” demand. Cue the automatic response that really sums up what you you mean to this company.

I have been using Brakes for the last year and was disgusted to find out today 29th June 2021 that they will no longer be supplying our business. I was basically told we are small account holders and they have to prioritise larger companies. Small businesses don't count anymore. Our money isn't enough for this company. Shame on you Brakes, you have let all the small businesses down through your greed. Mrs C Eken

I’ve been reading all your reviews regarding how other customers have been treated recently.
Your so called apology reply should read “Our teams have been working tirelessly to maintain service to our larger customers & forget/remove our smaller business’

We’ve been a loyal customer for eight years. To be informed by a automated message that we can no longer use you is appalling. Very poor communication not to even email or write to us.
Will never use your company again!

Unbelievably poor service. Cancellation of orders without notice for the last several weeks, and now they won't even accept orders. Completely killing our small business. Breach of contract. No apology. Laughably, they blame 'high demand'. Was that somehow unexpected as pubs and restaurants reopen? Other suppliers seem to have predicted it and are coping. Brakes blame lack of HGV drivers too - which is a direct result of Brexit and the government's failure to allow EU HGV drivers to work in the UK - but they way they have handled this is utterly appalling. Looking for alternatives so we never have to go back to this untrustworthy shower.