I don’t usually blog about poor service (not that I’ve never encountered it before, but just not from a high-end label), but the Burberry flagship store at George Street, Sydney really did it for me today.
I had ordered a bag online about a week ago and the service was impeccable, from the phone call I made to enquire about the bag to frequent updates on the status of my order and delivery confirmation. The in-store experience, however, was a different matter altogether and really left much to be desired (maybe I looked too shabby?).
There was a queue outside the store when I got there, so I called the contact number listed on my order to ask if I could possibly skip the queue since I’ve already paid and only had to collect the bag. Unfortunately, I was told I couldn’t, but what really got my goat was the attitude of the staff on the phone, who bordered on being rude when she told me in a very cold and curt manner that I had to wait my turn. Fair enough, I respect company policies, but what I would appreciate is better attitude when being informed.
So I waited and when I stepped into the store, I was puzzled to find myself strangely being ignored by two of the customer service assistants whom I walked past (I swear I don’t look like some crazy lady, you will just have to trust me on this). There I was holding onto a printout of my order and this male staff glanced at me and moved away before I could approach him. The same thing happened when I crossed the path of a female staff even though she was clearly not attending to anyone.
Finally, I approached one of the staff who was standing in a corner and was told that she was busy helping a customer and I would have to speak to someone else (she didn’t offer to find someone else to help me which was what happened when I was just browsing at Prada). By now my patience was running pretty thin and I would have left if it weren’t for the fact that I had been lusting after that bag for a while (yeah I have no principles, at least not when it comes to shopping I guess hoho). For a high-end label, this seemed to be a pretty shabby way of treating their customers. Out of desperation and also because every other person seemed busy, I finally approached the first lady who had ignored me and she had no choice but to attend to me (the look on her face alternated between reluctance and blankness, although to be fair I was probably too pissed at this point to think any positive thoughts). After verifying my order (Note: She couldn’t find my name on the printout and had to ask even though it was… really just right there…), she disappeared without telling me why and then returned a while later with the bag. She also produced a piece of paper without explaining what it was and then asked if I had a pen. I’m not sure if my expectations are unrealistic, but I thought it would be common sense to bring a pen with you if you were expecting the customer to sign something (or is it a Burberry thing? Like maybe their customers have the habit of bringing their own pens because the staff don’t carry any?) I said no, and she disappeared again, returning some time later with a pen. But guess what, her pen had no ink…=.=|||
By now I was thinking of just grabbing the bag and leaving, but unfortunately I still had to sign that mysterious piece of paper. The lady left to look for another pen, and I signed and finally left. The only real service I experienced at Burberry that day was ironically at the exit where the doorman smiled and wished me a nice day. By then I was craving so much for some friendliness that he almost (not quite, but close) made up for the lousy customer service that I had just experienced in-store.
Considering that it’s Burberry and my first Burberry bag, the service was terribly disappointing and underwhelming (and this was the Sydney flagship store). But I guess Burberry doesn’t care, since it will continue to sell anyway despite some of its staff treating customers like people who don’t deserve better. All I know is that this is probably the last time I will shop at Burberry – well, at least not at the Sydney store since it’s probably unfair to dismiss the rest of the hardworking staff (hopefully!) at other Burberry boutiques elsewhere.
Life is sian 