It was going be such an exciting day, a birthday of someone special and you wanted to gift them all the happiness. I headed to my usual Croma store and bought an Ipad mini, Bose bluetooth speakers etc from this store, the sales girl was so courteous and helpful with a encourage smile on her face, little did I know about the horrible experience that would follow.
As it happened someone else also gifted him an Ipad mini and the moment he opened the gift wrap, he told me about the other gift and we decided we would have this replaced and buy a TV from Croma instead. We called up the customer care, we told us that they do not have a policy for exchange but it depends upon the discretion of the store manager. Given that we are such regulars to that store and have bought so many things from there, also we had not even touched the Ipad box, we were already planning to where to put the TV.
I reach the store after work, the manager tells us that if we had not opened the packing he would happily exchange. I told him that we have not even touched it, this is exactly how I got it from the store and he kept insisting that it is not possible and we have opened it (almost implying that I am lying). After a long discussion he agreed to call the sales girl (rem the all smiling lady?), well now he was blatantly lying and saying that she did not open the packaging but rather we did it. After repeated questioning she eventually agreed that she had indeed opened it. Now the partner in deception, the store manager jumps to her (and his) aid and says that had you told her that it was a gift she would not have opened the packaging. Now I had a twinkle in my eye.
I told him that yesterday she roamed with me for an hour and helped me pick the gifts (even suggesting a few herself) and was well aware that it was meant to be gift. The sales girl was quick to save herself by saying that, irrespective of the purpose we are instructed to give a demo and always open the packing. Now this fellow, finding himself in a soup of his lies completely changes the topic and started arguing in completely off track of how a product opened can not be replaced notwithstanding the 20 minute long argument, going back of each of his words, tossing the customer service in the bin and on the verges of immorality. By now I was completely feed-up with all the bullshitting and stormed out of the store, promising myself to never ever buy even a paper pin from Croma.
Well if you don't intent to replace then just say so, you don't have to keep lying, arguing and mentally torture someone for 30 minutes.
When the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal are creating new heights w.r.t customer first here is a real old school retailer. I expected a little morality from a store like Croma. I expected a little empathy for a very regular customer and I expected a little less blatant lying to a customer who just bought stuffs two days back. This is the Croma store at Kormangala, the heart of Bangalore, I wonder how would they be behaving at other locations.
Really horrible customer service. Croma, YOU SUCK. You sure lost a customer today and many more in the coming days, for sure.
