Recently my MIL used diapers from NTUC fair price brand for my baby. The day she started using, by the 3rd piece that she changed for the baby, my baby suddenly develop a rash in her groin area. (For that, we got a scolding from FIL for buying cheap diapers).
Again, this was the case of me stocking up when the product was on sale. I had bought 4 packs when it was on sale. Receipt was thrown away since I bought these months ago. So I called up NTUC customer service hotline. The customer service officer (CSO) was impressive. He spoke very well, smooth, assuring and well-articulated. He said he will call me back after he spoke to the NTUC branch near my house so that I can bring the diapers there for refund. He called me back pretty soon, and pretty much resolved the issue. All I had to do, was bring the diapers down, get exchange for anything of the same value.
So on that very evening, i went down. Unfortunately at the store level, it's a different story. I followed the CSO's instructions - look for chief cashier, tell him CSO has spoken to him abt my issue. The auntie cashier whom I spoke to buzz the bell, and upon knowing I wanted to exchange the diapers, asked for receipt. Unfortunately for me, the chief cashier had gone home. The guy-in-charge did not seem to know about my issue, which means there was a communication breakdown as the chief cashier did not inform him. Both auntie cashier and the guy-in-charge were not too pleased that I had no receipt to exchange. They also grumbled that the diapers were old stock (cos of the packaging). Isit my fault? The receipt was superflous anyway, considering that these are your inhouse brand diapers. And the auntie cashier pointed out that I should have exchanged the items within 2 weeks. So if these diapers were purchased two months ago, having a receipt would again, not make any difference since its defintely past the deadline for refund/exchange. One more point to add was that the receipt was printed on thermal paper. The ink would have faded after a few months. Oh and I had to stress to her, I was STOCKING UP. My baby finally grew big enough to use size L recently.. In the end, the guy-in-charge let me do the exchange because I could 'quote names' (I had to repeat the CSO has spoken to chief cashier). The guy-in-charge scanned the item, and was able to determine the price (so what do u need the receipt for????) So while I got my exchange, the total service level there sucks. The duo were reluctant and unhappy about my exchange. Almost to the point of blaming me. I had to point out to them, I haven blame you for your lousy product which gave my baby a painful rash that lasted a few days!
The bottomline is, your impressive customer service hotline was ruined by the store's personnel.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
A Spate of Bad Customer Services
The world is imperfect, hence I am active again with complain stories to share. Seems like companies these days are getting stingy, they do not offer freebies upfront.
First incident: Mouldy Milk Powder
Opened a brand new can of Friso Formula Milk (no 2) and found a visible speck of mould inside. As I do not have the receipt, I could not bring it back to exchange, so I called Friso customer care. The person was apologetic enough, but would not accede to my request to get a full refund, or replace with a bigger can of Friso no 3 (I had too many cans of no 2, and a similar size no 3 was cheaper.) In the end after much negotiation, she came over to pick up the faulty can, and replace with a small size of no 3 , 2 t o3 vouchers and a can of friso-crème cereal. The vouchers were $18 each, but could not be combined, so they could only be used to offset subsequent purchases.
Second incident: Unused referral discount
Bought stuff from iherb.com and was given the option to key in referral code at the check out. One of my ex-colleagues was probably a member, but I did not bother to ask her. Subsequently then I knew abt the $5 discount for first-time purchase with the referral code. So I emailed them:
Hi, I first knew about iherb from a friend. When I chose to buy from iherb recently, I was given the option to indicate referral. However I did not want to bother my friend, and went ahead to purchase my items. I was not aware that I could have gotten $5 off my purchases had I key in the referral code.
I would very much appreciate it if you could still extend the $5 discount off for this purchase. As I have shared items in this order with another friend, the $5 purchase will help to offset delivery fee and hence we need not think about how to split the delivery fee. This will give us an encouraging and positive purchasing experience with iherb.
On a related note, iherb website states that "International Airmail (available to selected countries): As low as $4.00 for the first pound! This option applies to orders valued up to $80.00, and weighing 4 lbs (1814 grams) or less." Strangely, my order (within 4lbs) was billed $6.00. While I still paid for it, I'm not very satisfied with the inaccurate cost info.
I hope to hear from you positively on these.
No luck. Their response was short, generic and did not really address my point. Or maybe they intentionally overlooked the shipping fee issue.
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting iHerb Customer Service.
Due to the mechanized nature of our order system, once placed, an order cannot be altered in any way, nor combined with another order for shipment.
Thank you for the courtesy of your patience and understanding with this tradeoff for our low prices.
We appreciate your shopping with us!
Third incident: Late delivery and expired coffee
Bought 2 nespresso machines from Reebonz.com. One machine was bought by my boss using my account. Both machines were supposed delivered late. I was quite unhappy about this and wrote to complain. Then I discovered that the coffee capsules that were provided with the nespresso were expired! Outrageous. Here’s the correspondence
Me - Mon, Nov 7, 2011
I ordered 2 nespresso Krups on 28 oct and the preferred delivery time was sat 9am - 1pm.
Order 158519 finally came on sat night (5nov), while 158499 has yet to be delivered.
Your late and non-delivery is unacceptable. Was unable to contact the customer service as it is long weekend.
Pls contact mr XXX regarding order 158499. It has been a great disappointment to have to wait so long for the nespresso, not to mention the inconvenience of having to make sure someone is at home in case it is delivered.
Very displeased with your unreliable service . Totally not trustworthy!
Reply from Reebonz:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Thank you for shopping with Reebonz.
On behalf of the courier, i would like to sincerely apologize for this incident.
#158499 had been dispatched to the courier as of the 31st of October. It had been scheduled for a delivery on the 5th of November, Saturday. As advised by the courier, a delivery attempt was made on the 5th of November, at 2134 hrs, but there was no one available to receive it. The item has since been delivered on the 7th of November at 1149hrs.
I certainly understand the frustration in having to wait for a failed delivery and i would like to once again apologize for all the inconvenience caused. Your feedback is extremely valuable and we will highlight them to the respective courier for a review. Your gracious understanding for this matter is greatly appreciated and we hope that it would not dampen your confidence in shopping with Reebonz.
Me - Wed, Nov 9, 2011
Hi,
is this all you are offering for the inconvenience caused? Our gracious understanding for the trouble we took to wait at home, and it was delivered when finally the person was not at home? That was my boss whom I highly recommended the purchase from reebonz! The unreliable delivery service caused him much inconvenience. I had to be apologetic for your problem.
I just found out that the capsules that came with the nespresso machines have EXPIRED. This is unacceptable. The coffee is being consumed by my family, including my sister-in-law who is heavily pregnant. Can you imagine the consequences. Again, how many times must I apologise on reebonz’s behalf? Please replace the capsules asap. I wish to close this incident and get it over with. The whole thing has been one big frustrating mess!
They did replace my coffee capsules in the end. But during the reply correspondance, the staff sent an email wrongly to me. This email was meant for the nespresso supplier. It was pretty insightful.
Hi ___,
I have another customer who received an expired set of capsules. His order number is #16__50 and he actually made a complain on Facebook.
The customers who received an expired set of capsules are:
#1____9 (The replacement set is still with me)
#15___9 (The replacement set is still with me)
#15___3
#16___0
Please kindly advise if we are able to provide a replacement for #15___3 and #16___0. Thank you~
First incident: Mouldy Milk Powder
Opened a brand new can of Friso Formula Milk (no 2) and found a visible speck of mould inside. As I do not have the receipt, I could not bring it back to exchange, so I called Friso customer care. The person was apologetic enough, but would not accede to my request to get a full refund, or replace with a bigger can of Friso no 3 (I had too many cans of no 2, and a similar size no 3 was cheaper.) In the end after much negotiation, she came over to pick up the faulty can, and replace with a small size of no 3 , 2 t o3 vouchers and a can of friso-crème cereal. The vouchers were $18 each, but could not be combined, so they could only be used to offset subsequent purchases.
Second incident: Unused referral discount
Bought stuff from iherb.com and was given the option to key in referral code at the check out. One of my ex-colleagues was probably a member, but I did not bother to ask her. Subsequently then I knew abt the $5 discount for first-time purchase with the referral code. So I emailed them:
Hi, I first knew about iherb from a friend. When I chose to buy from iherb recently, I was given the option to indicate referral. However I did not want to bother my friend, and went ahead to purchase my items. I was not aware that I could have gotten $5 off my purchases had I key in the referral code.
I would very much appreciate it if you could still extend the $5 discount off for this purchase. As I have shared items in this order with another friend, the $5 purchase will help to offset delivery fee and hence we need not think about how to split the delivery fee. This will give us an encouraging and positive purchasing experience with iherb.
On a related note, iherb website states that "International Airmail (available to selected countries): As low as $4.00 for the first pound! This option applies to orders valued up to $80.00, and weighing 4 lbs (1814 grams) or less." Strangely, my order (within 4lbs) was billed $6.00. While I still paid for it, I'm not very satisfied with the inaccurate cost info.
I hope to hear from you positively on these.
No luck. Their response was short, generic and did not really address my point. Or maybe they intentionally overlooked the shipping fee issue.
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting iHerb Customer Service.
Due to the mechanized nature of our order system, once placed, an order cannot be altered in any way, nor combined with another order for shipment.
Thank you for the courtesy of your patience and understanding with this tradeoff for our low prices.
We appreciate your shopping with us!
Third incident: Late delivery and expired coffee
Bought 2 nespresso machines from Reebonz.com. One machine was bought by my boss using my account. Both machines were supposed delivered late. I was quite unhappy about this and wrote to complain. Then I discovered that the coffee capsules that were provided with the nespresso were expired! Outrageous. Here’s the correspondence
Me - Mon, Nov 7, 2011
I ordered 2 nespresso Krups on 28 oct and the preferred delivery time was sat 9am - 1pm.
Order 158519 finally came on sat night (5nov), while 158499 has yet to be delivered.
Your late and non-delivery is unacceptable. Was unable to contact the customer service as it is long weekend.
Pls contact mr XXX regarding order 158499. It has been a great disappointment to have to wait so long for the nespresso, not to mention the inconvenience of having to make sure someone is at home in case it is delivered.
Very displeased with your unreliable service . Totally not trustworthy!
Reply from Reebonz:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Thank you for shopping with Reebonz.
On behalf of the courier, i would like to sincerely apologize for this incident.
#158499 had been dispatched to the courier as of the 31st of October. It had been scheduled for a delivery on the 5th of November, Saturday. As advised by the courier, a delivery attempt was made on the 5th of November, at 2134 hrs, but there was no one available to receive it. The item has since been delivered on the 7th of November at 1149hrs.
I certainly understand the frustration in having to wait for a failed delivery and i would like to once again apologize for all the inconvenience caused. Your feedback is extremely valuable and we will highlight them to the respective courier for a review. Your gracious understanding for this matter is greatly appreciated and we hope that it would not dampen your confidence in shopping with Reebonz.
Me - Wed, Nov 9, 2011
Hi,
is this all you are offering for the inconvenience caused? Our gracious understanding for the trouble we took to wait at home, and it was delivered when finally the person was not at home? That was my boss whom I highly recommended the purchase from reebonz! The unreliable delivery service caused him much inconvenience. I had to be apologetic for your problem.
I just found out that the capsules that came with the nespresso machines have EXPIRED. This is unacceptable. The coffee is being consumed by my family, including my sister-in-law who is heavily pregnant. Can you imagine the consequences. Again, how many times must I apologise on reebonz’s behalf? Please replace the capsules asap. I wish to close this incident and get it over with. The whole thing has been one big frustrating mess!
They did replace my coffee capsules in the end. But during the reply correspondance, the staff sent an email wrongly to me. This email was meant for the nespresso supplier. It was pretty insightful.
Hi ___,
I have another customer who received an expired set of capsules. His order number is #16__50 and he actually made a complain on Facebook.
The customers who received an expired set of capsules are:
#1____9 (The replacement set is still with me)
#15___9 (The replacement set is still with me)
#15___3
#16___0
Please kindly advise if we are able to provide a replacement for #15___3 and #16___0. Thank you~
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Two drinks , Two responses from Two different companies
Recently I bought a 12-can carton of Fuji Apple Sparkling juice drink from Giant. The drinks were discounted as they were expiring in another 4 months. Unfortunately, the taste had 'expired' before the actual date. There was an unpleasant and chemical taste in the drink. Having thrown away the receipt + we tried about 4 cans to see if the whole batch was like that, I thought we would not be able to get refund from Giant. So I went to Pokka's website and emailed them this complaint, and asked to be compensated with a carton of their green tea instead. Lo behold, they replied, and were very polite and apologetic. They arranged a date to pick up the Apple drink and also delivered the green tea. Ok , I am appeased.
Another day, another drink - Bought a bottle of chrysanthemum tea at ZTP. This was their self-brewed kind. We have bought from them numerous times, as the drink was thick and cheap ($1). This time was not our lucky day though, the chrysanthemum drink was diluted - only a faint fragrance of the chrysanthemum, plus lots of sugar. Enraged, I went back to the shop to 'feedback'. The guy reluctantly allow me to change for another bottle, all the while saying that they brewed the drink for hours, hence the taste should not be diluted. The other bottle turned out to be the same, just as diluted. Still not happy, I went into the shop where all the sales assistants were gathered and chatting as there were no customers. I told them that the drink was still diluted and not that I want any exchange. Another guy tried to appease me by saying maybe they did not brew long enough. I left.. but on hindsight, I should hv argued that chrysanthemum doesnt need hours to boil for the taste to be there..obviously they cut the chrysanthemum portion or added too much water, but its not politically correct to tell the customer that. Hmm... still very unhappy over this incident. Definitely will boycott them.
Another day, another drink - Bought a bottle of chrysanthemum tea at ZTP. This was their self-brewed kind. We have bought from them numerous times, as the drink was thick and cheap ($1). This time was not our lucky day though, the chrysanthemum drink was diluted - only a faint fragrance of the chrysanthemum, plus lots of sugar. Enraged, I went back to the shop to 'feedback'. The guy reluctantly allow me to change for another bottle, all the while saying that they brewed the drink for hours, hence the taste should not be diluted. The other bottle turned out to be the same, just as diluted. Still not happy, I went into the shop where all the sales assistants were gathered and chatting as there were no customers. I told them that the drink was still diluted and not that I want any exchange. Another guy tried to appease me by saying maybe they did not brew long enough. I left.. but on hindsight, I should hv argued that chrysanthemum doesnt need hours to boil for the taste to be there..obviously they cut the chrysanthemum portion or added too much water, but its not politically correct to tell the customer that. Hmm... still very unhappy over this incident. Definitely will boycott them.
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