Good Service - Mechanic From Kah Motors

I received this email from Mr Lim about his experience with Kah Motors and it just shows that usually, service staff just want to do a good job and many times, the actions of some staff can sabotage the entire image.

Name : Sebastian Lim

Date & Time : 19 April 2009 / Sunday / 1:30pm

Place/Website address : Location of incident: Pine Close, my block downstairs.

Person Serving Me : Mr. Juraimie (Mechanic)

What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Battery for My Honda Jazz was flat and unable to start. Called Honda 24hr Tow Service hotline and spoke to Mr. Juraimie.

Any Other Relevant Information : While Juraimie's conduct was exemplary, I can't say much about Kah Motor Co. Sdn. My last servicing(30k) was done in early Feb 2009. On the checklist, inspection on the car battery was marked as 'having checked' and good to go. I'd my reservations even though i reminded them to check and verify if it's in optimal working condition. I'm even prepared to pay for a new unit if required. Obviously, the mechanic in charge merely ran through the motion. Good grief my car broke down just below my block. I would imagine how nasty it's going to be to caught in that situation with my wife and daughter around.

My Experience : Conduct by Juraimie is very professional and friendly. He began by asking what problem(s) encountered and slowly walked through the trouble-shooting checklist. Was told to expect his arrival within 30-40 mins. Juraime turned up within the stipulated time and proceeded to conduct inspection. He had also given some valuable advice on how one should monitor the car battery's condition. Battery was promptly replaced and all these were completed within a short span of time. Due to the service lapse on Kah Motor's part, the tow fee of S$70 was waived and i only paid for the battery unit. Juraimie deserves a pat on his back. Job well done! Thank you.

Overall Rating : 4 Bouquets (for Juraimie)
1 Brickbat (for Kah Motor Co. Sdn. Workshop at Ubi)

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More Bad Service Elsewhere

I have been informed by a reader about more bad service stories elsewhere on the internet, here in Singapore.

You readers be the judge.

Bad Service From Recaptured, a home decor shop
Fraudulent Service From Best Denki

The stories will shock you.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Bad Service - PA Mart @ Sim Lim Square

I received this via email and thought I would share it with you readers.

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I would like to share my experience with PA Mart in Sim Lim Square.

I bought a MacBook during the IT show in Suntec Mall. Shopping around, I thought I found the best deal and with the friendly service from the booth girls, proceeded to buy the Macbook from PA Mart. The offer was a memory upgrade from 2GB to 3GB, including a free printer and screen protector.

They installed the memory chip on the spot but upon returning home and attempting to use the Macbook, it would not start and started to beep. Stopping the beeping and starting the macbook took 5 minutes of dongling the power cord and, pressing and holding the start button. I called the Asian customer service hotline who advised me to bring the Macbook to my point of purchase for an exchange as this was a faulty machine.

Bringing the macbook to PA Mart in Sim Lim, Mark changed the memory card but the problem persisted. He refused to make an exchange because I had registered the Macbook online with Apple. He advised me to call the local service centre and bring the Macbook there for repairs.

The local call centre said the problem would be the upgrade of the memory chip as the Macbook should be fitted with an equal memory module in each of the 2 memory slots. Hence the free upgrade to 3GB would cause a problem. I double checked this with the apple website and found it to be true. The call centre further explained that Apple's licensed resellers all know this and upon checking said PA Mart was not found to be their licensed reseller. He advised me to return to PA Mart for either an upgrade to 4GB or downgrade to 2GB.

When I returned to tell Mark about what the local call centre said, he asked his colleague, Azar, to do an exchange. We settled on 4GB which meant another S$45. Already unhappy that I'm topping up just to get the Macbook to work, Azar continues to astound me with his bad attitude and surly demeanor. His burly size ensures customer compliance. After installing the memory chip, he wanders off, leaving me to reattach a dirty screen protector and pack up.

I give credit that PA Mart eventually exchanged a faulty Macbook, but they appear to be dishonest in their selling practices.

1) Sending me on a runabout instead of exchanging the faulty Macbook.

2) Having to top up to get the Macbook working properly. S$45 is not a lot of money, but that free memory upgrade really isn't any free gift!

3) At the IT Fair, the memory chip was taken out of an unopened packaging. The subsequent times the memory card was changed at Sim Lim, PA Mart seemed to take random chips from behind a counter, leaving me to wonder if these are old memory chips or unauthorised ones. My queries on this were brushed off. Like I said, Azar is a huge man and I felt under duress. Mark later assured me that the memory chips had a lifetime warranty and I could return to PA Mart if there was any problems. I really don't know if I could trust that statement!

With bad publicity surrounding Sim Lim, I would not normally buy there but during the IT Fair, I failed to check if PA Mart from Sim Lim. I would like to advise consumers at the IT Show to be vigilant about the vendors. I would definitely avoid ALL Sim Lim vendors no matter where they set up their booths!

Kind Regards,

Fxxxxxxn (name edited for privacy reasons)

Author's addendum, added on 28/03/2009 - After seeing an apple advertisement in the newspapers today. PA Mart is an authorised reseller of Apple products after all. That probably meant they might be ignorant of their products which is a notch less than being dishonest!PA Mart is an authorised reseller of Apple products after all. That probably meant they might be ignorant of their products which is a notch less than being dishonest!

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Good Service - Xbox 360 Replacement

I received the following good service story from my friend Glenn when he tried to help his son repair their Xbox 360 console.

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Hey folks,

Here's the rundown on my experience with replacing my son's Xbox 360 game console...

It all started in December last year when my son's Xbox 360 game console decided to just quit operating, and i think there's a term for it in the gaming wold..."the red ring of death", where Xbox 360 game consoles stop operating and a flashing red light appears around the on-off switch...

Being a good father, I took it upon myself to find out how to get it serviced as unfortunately enough, the one-year local warranty on our machine expired just before it quit on us...hmmmm, i wonder why?

I then went to Funan at North Bridge Road to investigate options of getting it repaired, which I found at the 6th level next to Challenger store. A simple sign on a standee at the counter says "FOR XBOX QUERIES, PLEASE CALL> 8004481330", but I still decided to ask the guy behind the counter if i could get it repaired there. I got a prompt reply "This is not an Xbox repair center sir..." and pointed at the sign. (Editor's note - Glenn was probably hoping he could send the set in on the spot)

I called the number after a few days as I forgot to write down the serial number of the console.

During the call, I only waited for a few rings before a service officer answered my call and politely introduced himself and asked how may he be of assistance. Plus 10 points here folks!!!

I proceeded to give him my particulars, the serial number of the console and the problem with it. He even registered it for me as well to ascertain the warranty's validity, as I also forgot to do this one year ago...as expected. He ran through his FAQ manual and gave his best suggestion on how to try certain operations to check if the console is still salvageable, but I quickly asked "Well sir, how much would it cost to get it fixed if this all fails as it is beyond the warranty period?"

"Fixed" is somehow not mentioned but "replaced" was suggested, as expected again... it turned out that it would cost me S$159 to get the console replaced and if I agree to this, the transaction would require a valid credit card in order to proceed with the matter...

I gave him my credit card particulars and proceeded to agree with the terms as verbally noted by the service personnel on the phone... I was also informed that it would take two (2) working days for this whole process which I also agreed to.

After the whole question and answer exercise, I asked the service officer for an email of a receipt for the transaction which they promptly sent right after. Plus 10 points here again!

Two days later, a spanking (new?) replacement unit was handed over to me, after I surrendered my old Xbox 360 unit at the same Funan shop where i first got the query number from. The person behind the counter even registered my replacement machine after issuing it to me. A one-year warranty covers this replacement set as well, as stated in the email receipt plus a month's worth of free Xbox360 Live vouchers as a token of appreciation.

My son and I are now enjoying the latest Xbox 360 game "Halo Wars" in this replacement set. Nice game btw, if you're a Halo fan.

Overall experience I'd say was good if not better than the usual crap that I get from other online service desks. I'm not gonna name names, eherm...sam eherm... sung... eherm...!!!

So if you folks need to replace your Xbox 360 consoles, just call the number and not ask any stupid questions to the guy behind the desk ok, and help avoid any untoward situations or embarrassment.

Here are the steps again:
1) Call the number 8004481330 between 9am-5pm;
2) Make ready your xbox 360 console's serial number located either on the original box or the machine itself marked as "SN: XXXXX"; oh btw, I forgot to mention that if your machine is still within the warranty period, it will be replaced for free plus a 90-day warranty or the remaining original warranty validity period, whichever is longer;
3) Unplug all wires, cables, accessories and the hard drive for you to bring the original set to be replaced at Funan the IT Mall, 6th floor, the shop next to challenger store after two (2) days of waiting;
4) Make sure you request for a receipt by email after you've agreed to get your console replaced via the credit card payment/transaction;
5) Have the replacement console checked if it does power-up and there're no funny noises while it's operating;
6) And lastly, don't ask any other unrelated questions to the guy behind the counter;

Hope this helps other folks who need to go through the same experience...

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Pet Lovers Centre Parkway Parade

I received this in the email regarding Pet Lovers Centre at Parkway Parade. You readers be the judge if the actions were called for from the staff. I have only edited the grammar but the essence of the story remains the same.

Name : GZ
Date & Time : Late Feburary 2009
Place/Website address : Pet's Lover Center at Parkway
Person Serving Me : Various
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Hamster Items/Food
My Experience : After about 6 years of not taking care of animals, I decided to get a pair of hamsters to keep my girlfriend and I company.

A bit about my past here. I used to own a pair of hamsters, but poor birth control measures allowed them to procreate, up to about 30 hamsters at its peak. After the last hamster passed away, I decided that's that and stopped having any animals for a while. So you can say that I have experience in dealing with hamsters, especially baby hamsters.

We went to quite a few pet shops to look for hamsters, and the particular breed we were interested in is Winter White. They are much easier to tame and get along with compared to other breeds. I also did quite a bit of research before this on their habitat, food and items they need so as to refresh my memory.

We ended up at PLC (Pet Lovers Centre) where I saw the Winter Whites in the cage and proceeded to ask the staff how old the hamsters were. At first I was attended to by a Chinese staff, who told me they were about 3 weeks old. I take a second look at the critters again and felt that their size definitely put them in the 1 and half month range, rather than 3 weeks.

In the end, I didn't buy the hamsters from them, as I wanted a pair of young hamsters, about 3 weeks to 1 month old. This is because young hamsters are easier to tame and they get used to the owner's scent compared to the older ones. I never got to tame my first 2 hamsters before (about 2 months old) and they would often bite me, whereas their offspring are much better behaved.

I bought the WW from another shop near the area, but decide to go back to PLC to buy the items and food over there as they have a larger selection. I refused to let my girlfriend into PLC as I felt that it's rude if we walked into the shop with hamsters bought from another store (Editor's note - I see nothing wrong with that but I guess some people prefer not to, which is perfectly fine).

Unfortunately, for some reason or other, she followed her friend into the store while I was halfway through buying the items for the hamsters. What followed next is disastrous to say the least.

One of the store helpers wanted to see the hamsters, so my girlfriend showed them, and he then loudly exclaimed that the hamsters are too young to be sold. Mind you, this was during a weekend afternoon and there's a bit of crowd in the store. He proceed to dig inside the box and took out the hamster and showed it to his fellow keeper who start agreeing that it's "too young", and kept saying why the other store did that. I gave my girlfriend a "See, I told you not to come in" look, but the damage had been done. I was holding a pack of hamster mix food from a brand called "Marukan" and the shop owner keep telling my gf that this particular hamster mix is not good for the hamsters, as they were too young. He then start moving around the shelves and took down some small packs of food for the hamsters, which consists of meal worms, milk tablets and shrimps. He kept insisting that they need this as they are young, even after I told them I have had hamsters before and it is safe for them to eat the mix, since they are fully weaned.

Nonetheless, after constant persuasion from my gf, I bought those items instead of the Marukan mix so that I'm not labeled as "BAD OWNER" by the crowd, and probably, my gf.

I also intended to buy bathing sand for my hamsters but they didn't have stock on the one I wanted, which is the Sluis Chinchilla Sand, as many hamster owners on the net rave about it. The shop keeper brought this packet of sand which is scented, and claimed that a lot of people have brought it. I was very doubtful about it and kept asking whether it is safe to use, as I heard stories of hamsters having problems with some types of bathing sand and he keeps insisting it's good. He also kept trying to get me to get the bigger pack saying that its better for value but in the end I get the smallest pack on the pretext of trying it out.

At the same time, another member of staff kept trying to persuade my gf to buy coloured cotton balls for the hamsters, which he claims will give them warmth. I told my gf not to get it as I have never used cotton balls before for the hamsters. Also cotton does not break down easily compared to paper and tissues, which I have used for the hamsters. Not to mention that these critters will actually chew on any stuff and might accidentally choke on the cotton. They also tried to get me to buy the coloured version of the bedding I'm getting, which they claim gives more warmth.

By that time I was getting irritated by them and quickly made my purchase, which included a silent wheel, the 3 packs of small food, the white bedding which I originally wanted, the scented bathing scent and a toilet house.

Fast forward 3 weeks later. These 2 little critters have grown bigger and become fatter (lazier too). Here's the surprise...

The first thing, the food. THOSE ARE NOT FOR THEIR DAILY MEALS. It is meant for treats to the hamsters. Too much of it is unhealthy for them. It was only when I reached home that day and managed to look through the food topic that I realized it. I was right all along that hamster food mix is enough for them.

The second thing, which I'm peeved about, is the scented bathing sand. As seen in this topic, this owner apparently also bought the same brand of bathing sand from another PLC branch and it caused her hamster to develop rashes and drop fur. Luckily, I stopped my usage after reading this and promptly went out to buy Sluis bathing sand from another shop. It's also apparent that this brand and other brands of scented bathing sand have had compaints but PLCs still stock them when I last checked this Saturday at the Simei Branch.

Thirdly, the cotton balls? Those are dangerous for the little critters as they will actually choke on the balls if they start chewing on it, and who knows what the cotton balls are made from. Not to mention that it's dyed in colour. I have no idea what kind of chemicals they use.

Lastly, about the hamsters being too young. Well, they are currently running about in my cage.

I'm severely upset by the way the shop keepers drove down a lot of incorrect facts and how they tried to sell the products despite the numerous complaints received. It's as though they have no regard over the little lives. This is not the first time PLC has been under fire by other pet owners but obviously this is not going to improve either.

Overall Rating : 3 Brickbats, for the workers who are clueless and try to bullshit their way through, for providing incorrect facts and hard selling and finally for the fact that they still sell products that has problems even though there have been complaints about it.

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Aston Specialties

I received a story from one of my readers of the good customer service he has received at Aston's Specialties, along East Coast Road, Katong. Below is his story.

Name : i_used_to_be_fit
Date & Time :06 Mar 2009 Dinner time.
Place/Website address : Aston Specialties, 119 East Coast Road(Opposite Katong Mall)
Person Serving Me :Didn't get the name.
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought :Food. Steak and Char grilled chicken.

My Experience : It didn't start well. They forgot the soup , and served the steak first. No big deal . They rectified the error after I asked what happened to the soup.

The food is great value for money. For the price you pay , it's almost unbeatable. It explains the queue outside always during meal times. (Just be there before 5.30 , you should be able to get a seat easily)

We enjoyed everything including the sides, of garden salad, whipped potatoes, pasta salad and even the french fries. I must also state that I am quite a difficult man to please with regards to food standard. Steak was medium done. (And although it's a thin cut, you can still see a bit of redness and blood . Soft in the inside and char-grilled on the outside). Chicken was not overdone and marinated well.

But the best of all is the service staff who really needed commendation . The table was small. And I was struggling with both the soup bowl (with a saucer underneath) and a big plate of steak. An attentive waitress , quickly asked me if I needed more space and she could take away the saucer. (A big plus point)

After we finished the meal and were ready to leave, we made our way to the cashier. We forgot about the backpack which we were carrying. And there was a 1 month old laptop inside filled with my fiancee's current masters program notes!!!

An attentive waiter this time. Quickly called after us and brought us the backpack we left behind. A huge huge plus point. They could just have kept the bag pack . Which is a Crumpler by the way. And they could score another huge hit with the laptop. But they didn't.

With the place packed to the brim , and still enough attentive waiters and waitresses , I must really commend the management.

I will definitely be going back there for my western food craving . Worth queuing for your food.

Overall Rating : 1 bouquet for the attentive waitress. And 3 bouquets for the alert waiter. Finally 1 last bouquet to the management for a place ran very well. With good food at very affordable prices. (If you don't go for the steaks . You can actually get a main course with 2 sides under $7 or $8.)

Editor's note - It is the little things that count. All the waiters and waitresses did was to pay a little attention and the experience is so much better! One's laptop is more than just a machine, it is literally these days, a way of life! Much of our data is stored electronically on portable devices such as laptops and mobile phones. The staff were attentive and honest enough to alert the author about the oversight, truly commendable! I have passed Aston's a number of times, considered going in but changed my mind after looking at the long line outside. I think I will give them a shot the next time I am in the area.

P/S - Aston's Specialties are open from 11:30am - 11pm everyday except the first Monday of each month

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Good Service - The Coffee Connoisseur Changi Airport

I have received a story sent by Mei via email about her experience at The Coffee Connoisseur (TCC) at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

Name : Mei

Date & Time : 4th March 2009, Approx. 9.20pm
Place/Website address : The Coffee Connoisseur (Changi Airport)
Person Serving Me : Michael
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : N/A
Any Other Relevant Information : N/A

My Experience : I was with my family at Changi Airport T3 waiting for the arrival of my sister and her husband. We decided on TCC as it was closest to her arrival belt and gave a clear view of it. The waiter, Michael, noticing that we had a toddler along, immediately asked if we needed a baby chair for him. He was quick to bring it over and even helped in setting the chair up and checked if it was secure enough for my nephew to sit in.

Once we were ready to order however, it took the staff there several minutes to notice me waving for them (maybe because we were in a corner so they couldn't see us very well). Again Michael was the one who served us and noticing that my parents were busy trying to occupy my nephew, he came over to my side so that he could take our orders.

When my father asked him about the difference of the coffee that he wanted to order, Michael then explained to us what Coffee Essence, the beverage that my father was inquiring about, is. He meticulously went over our order again and even double checked with us when my father made a comment that we ordered 3 dishes when in fact we only ordered 2. Without us even asking, Michael brought 3 sets of utensils over, guessing that we were going to share our orders.

During payment, he noticed that my father had a credit card that entitled us to a 15% discount and informed us about it.

His attentiveness really made the whole experience very pleasant indeed!

Overall Rating : 3 Bouquets

Editor's note - Such simple attention detail is all it took to make an experience a memorable one, even if it is a simple act of answering a question. It is obvious that Michael made an effort to know his products and went the extra mile to ensure the comfort of the establishment's patrons. Coming right after the article on Service Star Awards, this is truly encouraging and anyone who is going to Changi Airport TCC for coffee or cakes, do remember that it's the people like Michael who make the experience a good one.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Another Camera Shop Complaint?

Just two days back, I posted a user's complaint about a camera shop and today, there is another post on bad service from a camera shop, it seems. Perhaps it is the expectation that if one pays a large sum of money, and to many, a few hundred and above is a large sum of money, then one expects some form of service.

Again, I was in Clubsnap and came across this thread entitled, "Parissilk (Lousy service)" which obviously caught my eye.

I can empathise with the thread starter, that if I plan on buying a camera or a lens, I'd like to be able to do some preliminary tests to see if there are issues or not. Some lenses are notorious for QC issues and sometimes, the same two lenses from the same manufacturer might have different image qualities. If anything, almost all the time, I've had no problems with asking if I could test a particular lens or camera body.

While I also can see why the shop has a policy of not having test units available or using allowing one to test a lens on a brand new unit simply because once several people start testing a particular camera or lens, it soon becomes "2nd hand and slightly used", a better attitude could have been adopted.

Perhaps an explanation in a nicer tone could have been more effective? Afterall, if one is in sales, one is in the service industry. By answering in this manner, it makes the customer feel unwelcome and unless the customer urgently needs an item or there is no other choice, the chances of making a sale with such lousy and bad service is not going to happen.

On another note, I have added a link with a poll on Clubsnap conducted by a user and details which shops have the best service according to the various voters. Interesting stuff!

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Half Priced Camera Bags? Or Just A Marketing Gimmick?

As an avid amateur photographer, I often visit websites such as Clubsnap and today, I came across a post in the forum about how a user felt "cheated" by a well-known camera shop's methods of offering a "50% discount" off their camera bags. The reply from most of the forum members range from a possible mistake in the quotation of the price to one reply which suggests that "retailers are opportunistic and if you look like a carrot head (Editor's note - a carrot head is Singaporean slang for someone who looks gullible and can be taken advantage of in a financial way at retail outlets), they will chop you (Editor's note - chop is a colloquial term to mean take advantage of)... and it's about how you stage yourself."

Even the thread starter noted that "... the way CP (Cathay Photo, a premium reseller of major camera brands and accessories in Singapore) works is that they have an exorbitant(sic) list price for Lowepro bags and then reduce the list price by 50%. Most of the bags have this inflated price tag on it except for this CompuTrekker AW. When they bring this out from the store, they quoted that it is listed as $350, hence the $175 price to me. I seriously think they may have quoted me the AW Plus price."

What is puzzling is how the shop's prices, compared to their competitors, have such a wide disparity since the thread starter also mentioned a few other shops selling the same bag for as much as S$46 difference in pricing. I certainly hope it is a case of a erroneous quote. If so, does the buyer have any way to get a refund?

It is indeed strange that some retailers, especially those in electronics and photography, are still going by these methods of marketing and if we really want to be a world class service centre, such practises are certainly outdated and not the way to get there. In fact, it can backfire on the retailers even as in the case of the thread above.

If the intention is to indeed sell it at a certain price, why not just tag the bags at the intended selling price? Perhaps the reason for tagging it at double the intended selling price, and then giving customers a "50% discount" off the bag is deemed a good way to give the customer the sense of great value considering how we Singaporeans love to bargain? :-P

I am aware of raising prices by a little then cutting them down if a buyer pays by cash. This is usually done to factor in the added charges the bank imposes on the retailer should a customer pay by NETS (a cashless payment system using your ATM card) or credit card but a whopping 100% increase?

We consumers should also do our homework and find out what the market price for a product we want is, before just rushing into buying things. At the end of the day, the onus is on us, the consumer, to do our homework before plunging into a buying spree. Having said that, straightforward pricing on the retailers' end will definitely be appreciated, don't you think? And as consumers, we should also be fair. Afterall, people run a business, not a charity.

Addendum (25/02/2009) - I have just been informed by the thread starter that Cathay Photo has made a full refund of the price of the bag, as an act of goodwill, and it is deserving of bouquets.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Observant Waitress At Fish & Co Bugis Junction

We had dinner last night at Fish & Co and I am pleased to be able to share my experience. The waistress's attention to small details is commendable and deserving of bouquets.

Name : Gareth
Date & Time : 22/02/2009
Place/Website address : Fish & Co Bugis Junction
Person Serving Me : Nam
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Dinner

My Experience : Service at the Fish & Co Bugis Junction outlet was as expected, pretty decent. We did not have to wait too long for our food, our request for extra condiments was quickly despatched to us and despite a birthday party going on, the staff were attentive to other diners. However, what really made an impression was how Nam, our waitress, paid attention to the fact that I took hold of the dessert menu and was scanning it. She pointed out the three that were cheesecakes, and even pointed out two that if we were chocolate lovers, we should give either of them a try. She also informed us that if we were interested, there was a 20% discount on the desserts in the menu. Although we did not order the desserts as we were too full, her attention to detail definitely made a difference.

Initially, I did not get her name, but as I paid the bill, I asked a member of staff who the lady who served us was. He very quickly gave us her name without even asking why, probably very confident that his colleagues were giving good service, and quite rightly so!

Nam deserves commendation for being observant and paying attention to detail. In fact, most of the staff there seemed cheerful and looked genuinely happy to be working there.

Overall rating : 1 1/2 Bouquets. It is the little things that count, such as paying attention to the ones you are serving, being as fast as possible with the food and still keeping that smile on your face.


Fish & Co Bugis Junction, where the waitress, Nam, who served us was observant and recommended desserts without being pushy. Deserves 1 1/2 Bouquets

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Brickbats For Design T-shirts Store Graniph, Bugis Junction

A story here about how nonchalance and a could not care less attitude can earn a store brickbats. A nice store, really nice products, but let down by slipshod service, or in this case, almost non-existent service.

Name : Gareth
Date & Time : 22/02/2009
Place/Website address : Design Tshirts Store Graniph, Bugis Junction
Person Serving Me : Did not bother to find out, you'll see why.
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : T-shirt
My Experience : I stepped into the Design Tshirts Store Graniph at Bugis Junction. This store sells some of the coolest designer t-shirts around but sadly, they hardly ever have the size I am after (Large). I understand the constraints of stocking and am not expecting them to stock every single item in my size. However, I have noticed on two occasions when I went into the store and could not find what I was looking for size-wise, the sales people there did not bother to approach me but seemed quite occupied chatting among themselves. Ok, perhaps the policy is to leave the customer alone, fair enough by me.

When I asked about the availability of my size, the answer was rather nonchalant, more along the lines of "I'm sorry but there isn't one in your size." without even making any effort to perhaps check with the other outlet, located at Plaza Singapura. Today I saw at least two designs I really liked and the sales guy said I could just unfold it to look at. I said, I could not find any in my size to which he mumbled something along the lines of "oh, then too bad" and walked off.

Instead of offering to place an order for me (I'll be more than happy to make partial or even full payment on the spot and wait for my items to arrive), or even calling another store, he even told me on my first visit there a few months back, that I can go to their website and see what's coming in. Think I will go one step further. I will go to the Graniph website, see what is available and place my order with the online store.

It is fine if you do not have the t-shirt I want in the size I wear, but surely a call to one other outlet is not too hard to do?

Overall rating : 2 brickbats. Nice store, nice T-shirt designs, lousy sales staff. This definitely ranks as bad service from a potential customer's view.


Design Tshirts Store Graniph at Bugis Junction, awarded 2 Brickbats.

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Dell Customer Service Takes Hits

In an article dated 20 February 2009, technology portal Cnet.com reported that Dell's customer service has taken a massive hit.

Reading the article, it states in a survey that Dell's service ratings have been slipping over the last few years.

What's interesting though, are the comments that come from readers of the article. It seems many are in agreement with the article and have found consolation that they are not alone. But if you ask me, to read such comments shows a clear sign that many are unhappy with Dell's service. One reader has even gone on to describe the experience as Dell Hell. It's encouraging to know Dell are taking measures to improve their service to their customers but some have questioned if it is already a little too late. How many times have we encountered situations where after buying an expensive item, the after sales service is shoddy at best and we hardly get any help at all?

In my opinion, computer manufacturers, distributors and resellers need to constantly evolve in the aftersales area in our increasingly wired and tech based world to win consumer confidence. Consumer confidence in your brand will only come with continued support from your backend and a constant improvement in offering better support and service to your customers, from the marketing to the aftersales end.

Here is a video I dug up, dated 11 March 2008, where Dell's Steve Schuckenbrock, president of global services and CIO at Dell, talks about the bad customer service reputation they have been getting.


Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Insensitive Staff at Carl's Jr Marina Square

Name : Gareth
Date & Time : 28/10/2008
Place/Website address : Carl's Jr Burgers, Marina Square branch
Person Serving Me : N/A
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Burgers
My Experience : We went to Carl's Jr Marina Square for dinner. As we both do not take beef for religious reasons, but loved their burgers, we went for a little something different.

I ordered the standard Santa Fe Charbroiled Chicken while she had the Portobello Mushroom but instead of a beef patty, we requested a change to Chicken Patty. This was duly recorded in the receipt given to us.

Well, considering the "special" order, we were prepared to wait awhile. Then the burgers came. First, my Santa Fe, followed by her Portobello Mushroom with Chicken Patty. Somehow, I asked her to take a small bite to see if they indeed changed the patty. I am not sure why I told her that since it would be assumed, quite wrongfully I might add, that the change would have been done.

She took one bite, showed me the meat and we both realised it's NOT been changed. It was beef! I got rather upset, seeing as how we SPECIFICALLY asked for the change, which was then reflected in the receipt! I went up to the service counter and informed them, asking to speak to the manager.

The manager was apologetic, to be fair, as was the guy who took our order. They made the change and upsized it to a double BUT the damage has been done. Unlike a simple screw up in an order, this one touches on religious issues. As such I am less tolerant towards insensitivities to ANY religion. I noticed the guys at the kitchen were still pretty nonchalant about the whole issue and when the manager came over to ask how was everything, I seriously was in no mood for anything more than curt replies.

My point is, if you want to be in the F&B line, I expect you will be taught to be ATTENTIVE, SENSITIVE and HAVE BASIC KNOWLEDGE of differences and sensitivities in food tastes, preferances and taboos.

Anyway, I sure won't be going back to the Carl's Jr outlet in Marina Square.

Overall Rating : 4 Brickbats. The manager did service recovery but I think the damage had been done. In this case, there really is little that can be done once a sensitivity has been breached so service personnel should learn basic religious sensitivities and taboos whenever possible.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Unethical Prices & Bad Service - Ultra Supplies at Queensway Shopping Centre

This story was received together with the previous good experience, PC Themes at Sim Lim Square. In this, the result is negative feedback as you will see.

Name : GZ (user chose to use only initials)
Date & Time : June 2006
Place/Website address : Ultra Supplies at Queensway Shopping Centre
Person Serving Me : N/A
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Printing services and materials for projects
My Experience : As my courses relates to landscape design, I have a few projects where we need to print out A3 or larger sized drawings for submission of reference. We didn't know where we can find CAD printing shops and after recommendation by our lecturer, we went to Ultra Supplies at Queensway Shopping Centre for our printing needs.

It was located at the top floor of the shopping centre, and our first visit was less pleasant than it would have been. I remember at that time we need to submit an A3 CAD drawing of our project and after stating to them that, they quote us a price of S$12, which is quite expensive. (Editor's note - I remember printing large A0 architectural plans for significantly less but oh well...) I asked them why so expensive since it's only printed in black or white (we were still new to printing big sized drawings) and the worker replied curtly that it's the standard without looking at us. Having no alternative, we had no choice but to pay for the ridiculous pricing, which came up to about $40+ per group due to 3 to 4 sheets of drawings. I thought this would be the end of the unpleasant experience. When I went home and tried to plug in my thumb drive which was used at Ultra Supplies earlier on, I discovered that all my drawings and backup data was gone. Not only that, my thumb drive was infected with virus which proceed to destroy the data on my computer. I was pissed off!

Moving on to Year 2, we had to print our projects again, and I was very unwilling to patronise the store as I didn't have good experience with it. But some groups went to Ultra Supplies to print and they came back with different pricing for the printing, which is weird because we are using standard A3 size and it was in colour, so the pricing should be standard. My team went down to Ultra Supplies as we had no other alternatives and we were once again quoted a ridiculous pricing,(by now we realised that they look at people before quoting their prices).

At which I start to make a ruckus at the place as I feel it's not right to do so. The manager quickly came out from the store and tried to explain to us the pricing, which I saw. Indeed their staff have been charging prices according to their whims. I told the manager about it but he said it's impossible since the pricing is standard(AGAIN SAME BULLSHIT EXCUSE). At that time I was very pissed and intent to make a complain at CASE (Consumers Association of Singapore).

The manager, seeing that the situation is getting bad with the customers at the shop staring at us and the commotion I was making, tried to give us discount for the prints we needed. I accepted and waited calmly for the paper to come out. I would have thought the matter would have died down by then but I get even more pissed when I saw that they tried to scrimp on it by giving us a lower quality colour printing. Another round of commotion and threatening to report to CASE finally got us the project printings at good colour quality, and "discounted" price.

After this incident, I have sworn off this store and would never patronise them EVER. In fact, I make it known to all my course mates so that they would also avoid getting ripped off by them.

The good news is, the printing shop near my house have upgraded their printing services and this includes printing A1 size and colour printing, which fits my project needs perfectly. Not to mention that I had years of dealing with this shop and this upgrade came at a good time for me. The best thing? Inexpensive and good service. Subsequent projects, especially our last Landscape Design projects (which consists of almost more than 20+ CAD drawings) were all printed out from this shop.

Overall Rating : 5 Brickbats (I would add more Brickbats if it allows) Such shops with shoddy dealings should not even exist in the first place.

Editor's note - It's very obvious that bad service travels faster than good service and that people almost always remember bad service as well as good service. Even after 2 years, the memory of bad service remains. The point is, be ethical, be honest and be fair in your dealings with your customers. I have a personal experience with one of these printing shops, something I will post up soon, as the circumstances, although different, showed a lack of ethics and honesty with the company.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Good Experience - PC Themes, Sim Lim Square

I received another two more stories by email and I want to drive home some points. Here is the first story.

Name : GZ (user chose to use only initials)
Date & Time : June 2007.
Place/Website address : PC Themes at Sim Lim Square
Person Serving Me : Gary
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : DIY PC
My Experience : My PC setup of 5 years broke down after short circuiting my motherboard and graphics card. At that time I have most of my project files stored in the PC, which meant that I has to get a new one ASAP in order not to delay my projects.

It was a trip to internet borrowing my girlfriend's laptop while I try and finish some of the more urgent projects with my thumbdrive (Which is backdated as I didn't do a backup for some time) I sourced and looked around for a PC setup around my budget (about $1.2k) It was during that time I heard of PC Themes from Sim Lim Square. For a while now I have purchased my old setup from another store called Best Bargain, which at that time was reputable with their clean cut service, however for some odd reasons, there's a change in the management and location and Best Bargain now is definitely not "Best Bargain" with their pricing.

I'm quite skeptical about this new shop at first even though people rave about the pricing and their good service, since coming from Sim Lim Square, where most of the shops are always known as "Black Shops" (Editor's note - A black shop is basically a black listed shop, due to unethical or dishonest practises).

As time was running short for me, I made a trip down after school to look around. After a bit of walking about I managed to locate PC Themes, where it was tucked away in a corner of Sim Lim Square, unlike other more well known competitors which are much more visible at the front of the levels.

As it was a weekday afternoon, there were a few customers, but not packed. Gary came over and talk to me, asking what I would want. I told him about getting a new PC and he promptly reach over the price lists and hand it over to me, passing me a highlighter and ask me to take my pick slowly. As I went through the list and took my picks, I saw that indeed the pricing was cheaper than most shops around the area. After I hand over the highlighted list to Gary, he took a look at it and immediately commented that he did not have stocks for the graphics card I wanted (MSI 8800GTS) which made my heart sank as I thought I might have to buy from some other places. However, he look up to me and said he will try and find one for me, but no promises. After confirming the list I wanted, which I had to add, he was honest in his dealings as he tried to dissuade me from getting a higher wattage PSU (Power Supply Unit) and assured me that the 550W version will do just fine powering the whole system, he proceed to call on his phone and then went out of the shop, giving a smile and states to give him a minute. He returned around 10 minutes later, at which on his hands were the 8800GTS and some other stuff that were not present in the shop.

As I paid the price of the system, Gary explained to me to give them about an hour or two while they fixed up my computer(they waived the fixing charges after I tried to bargain with them) and would call me once it's done. I left the shop and went around the area doing sight seeing and after slightly an hour, Gary called my mobile and said the computer is ready.

I went back to the store and was attended to by Gary again, at which he showed me the system specs of the computer, double confirming that it's the list of things I wanted. He also open up the casing and point out individually where are the components, before briefing me on what are the extras left and he has packed into the motherboard box. To me this is important because I paid the full price for the items and I do not like it if it's missing from the packaging, and trust me, some shops take out the extras and sell it. After confirming everything is working and fine (and he took time to arrange the cables inside the casing neatly), he reached under the table and pull out a whole bag of boxes, all of which are the boxes for the component parts and he placed the casing into the box and proceed to seal it up, ready for taking home. He even offered to hail a cab for me.

It was definitely a fuss-free experience for me and their patience in dealing with the customers are obvious, there's not a time I see them shouting or raising their voices at the customers, even if some of the customers are a bit rowdy. Needles to mention, they still currently have one of the best pricing around and I'm a frequent customer to their shop. In fact, 2 of my friends have bought their own PC from them through me as I still find their services and prices are top notch, and tomorrow another friend is going to buy a PC and of course the place would be, PC Themes.

All these stories about Sim Lim's black shops tainted the shops in the building, but PC Themes is definitely the white sheep of the whole pack.

Overall Rating : 3 1/2 Bouquets

Editor's note - Even after more than a year, it seems PC Themes' good service is remembered and people will go back there to patronise establishments that provide good and reliable service. I agree with the 3 1/2 Bouquets rating at this point as they went about their job professionally, ethically, honestly and followed through the entire process right up till the time the machine was collected by the author of this story.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

A Warm Welcome In Canada - Lodgia Vancouver

I received another email, this time from Mr. Sebastian L, regarding a serviced apartment he stayed in when he was in Canada on holiday. I think we can agree that travelling is where one is especially sensitive to good or bad service.

Here's his story.

Name : Sebastian L
Date & Time : June 2008
Place/Website address : Lodgia Vancouver, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Person Serving Me : Mr. Eoin Bettencourt.
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : see below.
Any Other Relevant Information : Rented Service Apartment for 2 weeks together with my wife & daughter(the 11-mth old!).
My Experience : The online booking for Lodgia Vancouver was done in a flash! All rates/amenities were clearly indicated. No hidden costs. Having taken an 18-hour flight from Singapore to Vancouver (via Seoul), we took a 20 minutes cab ride to downtown Vancouver and were warmly received by Eoin. The first thing we need is comfy accommodation and all I can say is we all felt it was just like home. A baby cot and a very well stocked kitchenette, broadband-ready PC + laser printer, it's all there. Eoin even took time and showed us around. He also went to great lengths explaining to us the various kitchen appliances available... a welcome move since things are a little different over here! Even the bookmarks on the PC were clearly indicated with all the information required that typical tourists may seek. I must say it's a near-perfect stay throughout and the only complaints were the rainy spells.

Overall Rating : 4 1/2 Bouquets!

Editor's note - A wonderful story about business owners who know the raison d'etre for their business. In this case, serviced apartments are places where weary travelers might consider booking for a long term stay. They might however, be new to town and every little bit to make the guest feel welcome helps. The reason this place deserves 4.5 Bouquets is simply because unlike 5-star hotels, serviced apartments do not charge a premium for stays and many times, that translates to a drop in service. I know where I'll stay if I ever go to Vancouver.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Good Experience with Switcheasy.com

I received another email from GZ, with another good experience story, this time, from an online source, Switcheasy.com.

Name : GZ
Date & Time : Feb 2009.
Place/Website address : SwitchEasy.com
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Ipod Touch case replacement
My Experience : I bought the Rebel Touch case in one of the Apple Shop after reading reviews at ilounge.com, what I did not expect was that the casings were still suffering from the tightness of the sleep/wake button as it was months ago. I could only attribute it to the fact that I have gotten the old stock as it was missing some stickers the newer stocks had.

I tried to do some adjustments to the casing and it wouldn't work. Thinking that I might have just wasted $50 on a non workable casing, I immediately emailed Switch Easy about it. I got a prompt reply the next day, at which Zoltan send a PDF document of adjusting the casing, which is to no avail as the sleep/wake button is still too tight. After this, Zoltan said he would sent a replacement casing, even though I couldn't provide him with the receipt (Lost it) and I do not need to send my current one back for a 1 to 1 exchange.

The packaged arrived about 1 and half weeks later through USPS First Class Mail, and indeed I had gotten the older stocks as the one in the packaged came with the "3.5mm Adaptor included" sticker and some minor changes to the packaging. It was breeze after that and I managed to get the sleep/wake button to work after changing the casing.

It was a pleasant experience with SwitchEasy as they are helpful with my problems and reply was prompt. Not to mention that they have one of the nicest designs casings for the Ipod Touch.

Overall Rating : 4 1/2 Bouquets

Editor's note - It's good to see that even online stores take an interest in providing their customers with a good experience, going as far as to provide no questions asked exchange. A few brick and mortar stores I know can take lessons from some of these online stores.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Another Good Experience from John 3:16

I received another story about John 3:16 and am pleased to share it here.

Name : GZ (user chose to use only initials)
Date & Time : Sometime in March 2008
Place/Website address : John 3:16 at Funan The IT Mall, Level 5
Person Serving Me : Sam
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Digital Camera.
My Experience : Sometime in March 2008, my old Nikon Digital Camera broke down after years of usage. It was a critical moment for me at that time as I needed the camera for various projects in my school.

I did a search online and decided on purchasing Canon Ixus 860IS, which is generally well received and recommended by lot of people. However, prices at that time were still high, and being the student I was, I had to source for the lowest or most bang-for-buck prices. Which brings me to Funan The IT Mall.

I spent about a day walking through the whole mall looking at various shops and asking for quotations. Most shops were not bothered with a student like me, seeing how I was dressed (shorts & shirt) and gave me the pricing without even looking at me. I was about to give up when I saw a promotion for the camera in Level 4. It was about S$50+ cheaper than other shops, which to me is a bargain as every penny saved is good. However, after I said I would consider about the pricing as I did not bring enough cash on that day, the person serving me turn sour and said the promotion would end today in a very unhappy tone, and then proceed to mumble about "no money don't come here la" (Editor's note - I've not had that said in my face but I certainly have had attitudes change when I said I'd come back the next day). Needless to say, I didn't even think of buying from the store.

I was about the give up when I managed to find John 3:16, which I have heard of but not sure where it was located. I went into the shop, which was packed with customers. I waited for a bit as I could see that all of the shop attendants are very busy. Sam, who happened to see me standing around, calls out to me with the cheerful smile and said to give him a moment when I said I would like to buy a digital camera. After he served the customer, he return to me and asked about my needs. After describing him my various needs for the camera and asking him about Ixus 860IS, he immediately launch into a big smile and commented that he's currently using the camera and it's definitely the best compact camera with good functions I can get now. He reached to the back and took the camera down the shelf, and proceed to let me try the camera, urging to give it a go and have fun with it while I decide. While I was taking a few shots, he return occasionally to me and explain to me some of the functions the camera can do. All these without a feeling of being forced to buy the camera.

After I told him I would get it tomorrow as I was short on cash, he actually said "No problem bro, I will be waiting" while still having that same smile on his face. At that time I have already decided to buy from them, even though its a little more expensive than the one on promotion. Comparing the 2 shops, I feel welcome in John 3:16 than that other shop. It's the service that counts, and I have no problems parting with my money at John 3:16 even though it's a little more expensive.

Thereafter, I went back to the shop a few times to get more items, and each time I was served with a smile on the face. Needless to say, John 3:16 earned more than just a customer like me as I brought my friends to buy camera/equipment from them after the incident.

They may not be the cheapest in terms of pricing, but in service, it's top notch.

Overall Rating : 5 Bouquets

Editor's note - Once again, Sam from John 3:16 has come through with great service and shown that a willing smile and patience wins the day for the shop.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

Good Experience at The Curve Mall, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Name : NJS (user chose to use only initials)
Date & Time : 15/02/2009, Between 7.30pm - 8pm
Place/Website address : The Curve Shopping Mall, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Person Serving Me : Duty Concierge & 2 Duty Security Personnel
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : N/A
My Experience :
Just had both a bad experience AND a good experience in my outing several hours ago. First the bad.. My car battery went dead at the shopping mall, just when we were ready to head home. Tired, sleepy, and baby being a bit cranky since it was getting late, it was the worst possible timing for something like this to happen, since I was hardly in the right frame of mind or had any patience left in me to deal with it. Thankfully I was able to maintain my calm, and sent my family back first.

Now the good. I dropped by the concierge and asked for assistance. what I got was a friendly acknowledgement, followed by a quick phone call to their security dept. All this in a manner of minutes, and with the lady at the concierge giving me almost text book phrases to manage the customer's expectations, "I can't promise you, but we'll try our best". In quality and in customer service, the gravest error you can make is to over promise and under deliver. The lady had been briefed / trained well. I provided them with the location of my car along with the car number and went back down to my car.

In a matter of minutes, a security personnel was there by my side assisting me. They went through the trouble of getting their own car, and another security guard went off to source for a jumper cable (which I stupidly do not have). All in all, in under 15minutes they had my car started and I was on way home.

What I wish to highlight here is that service sometimes does not mean just pure well manners or etiquette, but well thought out processes, well prepared and well trained staff. The team went about helping me like clockwork. Very impressive indeed.

Overall Rating : 3 Bouquets.

Editor's note - Another good experience that shows if one wants to, one can deliver good customer service. I believe they were not given incentives to perform what was essentially their duty, which is to provide service to customers. This good experience went through right from customer service officer to the security personnel. I too am impressed!

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.

A Good Experience with John 3:16

Name : Jeremy Lau
Date & Time : 13/02/2009
Place/Website address : John 3:16 at Funan The IT Mall, Level 5.
Person Serving Me : Sam
What Did I Intend to Buy/What I Bought : Nikon D90 Digital SLR camera
My Experience : Thought I'd share with everyone what a wonderful experience I had with John 3:16

On 13th February 2009, I accompanied my friend to John 3:16 located at Funan center, 5th floor to get his first DSLR, a Nikon D90. The owner of the shop , Sam, was very nice and warm. Despite being busy with 2 other customers, he attended to us as soon as we entered the shop. Seeing that my friend is a newbie to the DSLR, he opened the box, and allowed him to play with all the fuctions for as long as we want and even went into detail in telling him all the functions of the camera. This is in stark contrast to a few other shops, who gave us a rather awful reply when we tried to ask them for a quotation of the D90 over the phone.

In addition, he also took abit of time to chat with each of his customers, giving a little personal touch when it comes to customer service.

I would like commend Sam, for his really wonderful service and a great shopping experience in his shop.

Overall Rating : 4 Bouquets. They did more than what most camera shops would have done. My friend bought the camera from them(John 3:16) as a result.

Editor's note - As an amateur photography enthusiast, I have had first hand experience with John 3:16 and I fully agree with Jeremy's report. I have walked into the shop not intending to buy anything, yet I was never once made to feel like as if I was not welcome. I was ALWAYS welcome there and more often than not, I end up buying something from them simply because the service was that good. Sam does not try to sell you the most expensive thing. He takes the time to find out what your needs are and recommends you something that he feels will suit you in the long run.

Got a customer service experience to share? Email me to get your story published! Do remember to read the submission guidelines and how we rate establishments before submitting.