WHEN companies grow too big or are dominant in the marketplace, they become complacent. That is when they begin to think that they are too big to fail and become too arrogant to be ashamed of their follies.
I empathise with Arni Shahida Abdul Razak, who experienced poor service from a well-known retail centre, and wrote about it in a letter, “Uphold reputation or lose buyers” (NST, Jan 2).
In the current environment where the consumers’ purchasing power is being eroded by inflation and currency weakness, certain companies are becoming more brazen to ride roughshod over customers, to the point of downright bullying — it’s as shambolic as it is shameful!
It has become necessary for me as a customer to remind a hypermarket, its management and workers, that when they produce an advertisement, it means that they are communicating with the intention to inform accurately, in order to build a mutually trusting relationship.
From my recent experience, the hypermarket in Kepong, ironically the headquarters of the chain, has failed miserably in this aspect. In its advertisement of Jan 1, the hypermarket made the right proposition to its customers but failed to deliver. It not only failed to deliver on its promise, but also failed to deliver in terms of the appropriate level of service to me, a customer.
As a large and reputable company, customers expect the hypermarket to at least listen to their requirements and to deliver some semblance of service professionally. What I got instead were negative responses, denials and suggestions that I did not know my facts.
To make it worse, I was blatantly told that I had misunderstood the terms of the offer in the advertisement, which according to the customer service manager, had “ended”.
I was denied the opportunity on Jan 2 to purchase a smartphone, which was legally on offer for sale until Jan 3. It was only after I brought the matter up to the general manager that the sale was approved.
Subsequently, I was also questioned by the same customer service manager on my entitlement to the “No-purchase limit” of a floor lamp in a purchase-with-purchase promotion in the same advertisement. It was only after my insistence to speak again to the general manager that she was instructed to honour the terms of the promotion.
There was absolutely no apology offered by the customer service manager for her irresponsible and callous treatment.
Are her actions and values aligned and consistent with that of the hypermarket?
Malaysian consumers must be aware that this domineering trend has crept onto our shores, as demonstrated by my first-hand experience. As consumers, we must exercise our right to curb this unhealthy and disrespectful treatment. Consumer action groups must take note and step up their surveillance.
To the hypermarket’s customer service manager: when you are wrong, just admit it.
MIN HAM, Kuala Lumpur