October 22, 2013
Rating
On 20th Oct 2013 around 1:30 pm I went to buy toys from Sapphire Toys -Koramangala Branch, Bangalore. I wanted a box cover for the toy that I selected (toy box was covered only from two sides, leaving the other two walls open & the toy bare.). I requested customer service executive âAbrahamâ for a box, which after some persuasion he said can be taken care of after billing. At the billing counter, I requested Praveen for the same & lo, behold â that was it. This fellow Praveen snapped back so rudely telling me âIska koi box nahin haiâ (This toy doesnât come with a hard box). To me, this seemed totally unwarranted a response but my friend & I still requested him if a hard box can be arranged, may be from some thrown-away packaging material.
He still snapped back and a little more this time, saying that we donât get any boxes and instantaneously picked up the phone to call âAbrahamâ to the billing counter. What I witnessed after that was really disappointing, almost saddening in this world where customer service is given utmost importance. Praveen scoffed & scolded Abraham in front of all customers, which I believe is a sign of super-lousy management. He challenged Abraham to go and bring a box and do the packing from wherever-on-earth. Amazingly, without speaking a single word, Abraham got to collecting some old, torn boxes and did a fantastic workaround job of covering my toy in not more than 5-7 minutes.
At this, my friend very politely, but wanting Praveen to realize his mistake asked him to look at the wonderful job accomplished by Abraham at whom he had thrown this challenge some minutes ago. To this Praveen retorted and told us that itâs not Abrahamâs job to do this.By this time, I was sure that expecting an apology from Praveen to his continuing rude behavior would be foolishness but keeping silent was one option which wouldnât have cost him much. But Praveen continued to flaunt his frustrated state of mind with the unruly and undisciplined speech.
After repeatedly asking to speak to the manager, no one at the billing counter helped us. After being treated in such a demeaning way, my friend told another customer at the counter (who was asking for a packaging done) that probably he shouldnât expect that kind of help from the store. To this, another gentleman behind the counter asked us to not speak a word as our case was sorted (Reminder: They had done nothing to help us and it was rather Abraham who took the insults in a positive stride and remained true to serving the customer at his doorstep). The things went heated up from there as rather than accepting their mistake, they were teaching us the Doâs & the Donâts.
With regret, I want to tell that this is my first and the worst retail or any kind of customer experience ever. As much as I would like to reinstate my appreciation for Abrahamâs excellent selling, managing and crisis-resolution skills, I would make sure I never walk into that store & not let my friends/acquaintances do so too.
After repeated telling to Praveen that his behavior, tone and body language is not acceptable and he should tone his ways down, he beautifully managed to do just the reverse. Kindly train your staff well on how to behave with customers, how not to refuse every customer request blindly without even analyzing whether something is possible or not (I am not talking about heavy customization for someoneâs fancy but just the basic things that can bring huge amount of customer delight and hence, customerâs loyalty to you) and most importantly, how to behave with your own employees. I learnt from Abraham that he has been serving your store for 3 years now (so much so for this employeeâs loyalty). Sigh!!