I have two experiences to narrate. 1. I bought an oven from Tata Croma in Anna Nagar(Chennai). They didn’t have the product on hand, so I asked them to deliver it to me after 7pm, on the day that it arrived. The day came and went, but there was no sign of the oven. So I called their number. It was the most the most exasperating experience I’ve ever had. The number didn’t go through, it was engaged all the time.
Finally it did get through, only to tell me that the store is closed. So I went to the store and spoke to the customer service people. They assured me that it will arrive. I couldn’t take possession of the product the next day due to personal reasons, so I was told it will be delivered the day after.
I cancelled all my plans and was sitting at home waiting for the oven. Just to confirm, I called the driver(he’d called me earlier to get my address) and he said that the store had asked him not to deliver the product to my house. This, for a product, for which I had paid the entire amount.
I went back to the store and the customer service people(can you even call them that, with their indifference to a customer’s plight?) and finally, after much screaming and compromising on dignity, they spoke to the driver and asked him to deliver the product.
My question is, how dare they ask the driver not to deliver it to me in the first place? For a product that I paid for on a Sunday, it took more than five days for it to reach me. I am thoroughly disappointed and angry with the way these people have treated me as a customer and I hope I never have to have the displeasure of visiting Croma Anna Nagar, again.
- Because this is the closest Croma to her, my mom bought an AC from the same place. Again, she paid for it on Sunday, and they promised installation on Tuesday. The day came and went, and all calls to the store were in vain. I gave my mom the number for the customer service guy, who never bothered to answer his phone. So much for customer’service’.
After another couple of days, they came home to install the AC and asked for Rs. 800/- as installation charges. They were rude to my mother and refused to help her, even on a humanitarian basis. When my mother refused to pay so much as the installation charge, THEN the customer service guy calls and demands that she pays up.
I am appalled at the way a reputed store like Croma has treated two well meaning customers. Maybe its time for the Head Office to take shell out some money and get their staff to attend training sessions on customer service.
And OH, btw, if a customer is standing near a product, looking around for someone to come and explain it to them, PLEASE tell your staff to not walk away indifferently and also, please ask them to RESPOND when a customer calls them.