i encountered the following incident while i was shopping at a furniture shop at Funan Mall recently. i wanted to buy a desk but was aware that i might need to change my item after ordering, so i called days in advance to ask about their exchange policy. their staff told me that i would be welcomed to make an exchange any time as long as i have not received the goods. so i ordered the item on a saturday night and specifically requested it to be delivered after 6pm the next tuesday. they promised me that delivery would be made between 6pm to 8pm. after placing my order, i realised that the item was not appropriate and that i needed an exchange. however, since i had an extremely crazy schedule for the two days, i could only call for exchange on tuesday itself. i planned to do so before 5.30pm, which, based on what their staff have told me earlier, was completely okay. to my shock, i found that their delivery man around one WHOLE hour earlier, without any notice to me AT ALL. nobody should have been at home at that time, but by some bad coincidence, my mum happened to be around, and since she was unaware of the situation, she accepted the goods when they told her that it has been ordered and paid for. i only learnt about the early delivery after the men had left, at around 5.20pm. when i called for an explanation, they simply told me that the men could come "earlier or later" as and when they please and that the arranged time was only a guideline. i asked them what is the point of promising me a time if you cannot honour your promise. i told them that this completely disrupted my plans for an exchange and they curtly told me that i should have informed them 10-12 hours beforehand. i explained that this was NOT what their staff had told me when i called to ask earlier, and to my utter horror, they just said that their staff could not provide complete information since "most people don't change their minds so quickly" and that it was MY fault for misunderstanding them. this sounds totally absurd and foolish to me, cos it is almost like saying that we should just leave Sars patients to die since most people do not have Sars. they insisted that "most customers know" that exchanges should be made much earlier and stubbornly refused to listen to my explanation that different companies have different policies, which was why i took the trouble to CALL and ASK specifically, only to be misled by their ignorant staff. the customer service manager, mr dextor, was rude, arrogant, unhelpful and was completely unwilling to listen to what i had to say. he seemed bent on butting in what i am talking and insisting that it was MY fault for not having known how they operate inside. i wonder how i would have known what they did in their company if they themselves did not know and could not provide me with full and accurate information. he rudely snapped that "nothing could be done since delivery has been made".
but i thought maybe i was too angry to think clearly and see the whole picture. can you guys give me some ideas on what you think?
Partly your fault. Change 30 mins before delivery is ridiculous from a business point of view. Stocks and delivery needs to be prepared, unless until teleportation technology comes up.
Wrong of them to deliver earlier than request, especially if it is stated clearly in the invoice.
When things are done (i.e. delievered), then it depends on the manager to decide if it is worth the trouble for customer service. What you request may cause quite a bit of trouble to them especially if it is a big item. Transportation, manual labour and warehousing are significant cost. At the end of the day, it is about them willing to take this lost or take the lost in customer service reputation. Of course, it depends on how they put things across as well.
Next time view the item personally first before ordering & stick to it. Don't trust the delivery time, stay at home & wait. If u are unable to do so, tell call them to deliver another day. Then u won't encounter this problem.
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