Cotton on disgusting behavior

Good day

I visited the Cotton On (Mall of the North store) this morning and experienced the worst customer service.

I initially approached the store to process a refund or gift card for shoes that were purchased on the 2nd of June 2019. Unfortunately the barcode on the slip was torn and i was advised (very rudely) by Eunice that without a barcode a gift card/refund could not be issued and i had to choose something from the store. Please see attached picture of slip

I was unable to find anything suitable at the store and decided to call customer services as i could see that Eunice was unwilling to assist further. I spoke to a very helpful lady by the name of Leticia who advised that if i presented the following reference number , a refund could be processed. Reference number: ********** . Leticia advised that it was quite simple and she didnt understand why the store would refuse to issue a gift card/refund.

I then headed back to the store and presented the reference number only to be faced with complete disrespect by the ladies behind the counter. They stated, (very rudely and arrogantly) that the manager was not present and they had no cash available to refund or issue a gift card. They told me - "You must wait". It was apparent that Eunice was visibly upset that i contacted customer services regarding this matter.

I then asked them to please take down the reference number and call head office to speed up the process as i had a meeting to attend and could not wait for the manager to come into the store. At the time the manger was not present in the store. Please also note that at this point no apology was made, no kindness shown. I was faced with rude, arrogant behavior once again.

Ntswaki very rudely placed her hand up to my face, making no eye contact and asked me to "wait". All this was done while she chatted in Spedi to her collegue (Eunice).

It was concluded AGAIN that no refund/gift card could be issued without the manager present. At this point they also refused/made no attempt to call head office to get the authorization or verify the reference number

Both ladies behind the counter mockingly laughed loudly while i decided that i was going to call customer services myself to sort the matter out once again. (Im sure that if you look at the camera footage you will see the footsge of them laughing out aloud)

They constantly chattered Spedi and laughed at me while i made the call. The language was used to mock/imitate the manner in which i spoke. (Teach staff at the store never to use their language as a secret tool to insult customers)

I then asked Ntswaki for her name. She rudely continued to chat to her colleague in Spedi. I then asked for the second time and she ignored me. I asked a third, fourth and fifth time and she eventually smirked, smacked her lips together and responded with "Whats YOUR name?!?!"

This was unbelievably shocking and i politely responded with my name in the hope that she would respond with her name in return. Instead she laughed to my face. I then asked once more "what is your name?".... she laughed again and still did not respond. I the proceeded to ask Eunice what her colleagues name was and she too ignored me. I was then forced to take a picture of her to ID her as Eunice also refused to give me her name.

When i eventually got through to customer services, Eunice wrote Ntswakis name behind the tillslip that i presented. I then lodged a formal complaint with a very helpful manager by the name of Jameel. He reassured me every step of the way.

(Please note the Eunice wrote Nstwakis name down AFTER she realised the seriousness of the matter. She could have politely given me Ntswakis name when i asked the first time)

During the fonecall with Jameel, Ntswaki recorded me claiming quite loudly that i took a picture of her without authorization. Please note that a picture was taken because it was the ONLY way to ID her as she refused to give me her name after asking several times.

At this point i decided to stop communicating with her as she was displaying embarrassing behaviour and customers were stopping and staring at us.

This behavior is apalling. Is this the calibre of the people that Cotton on employs? Expensive, good quality clothing and poor customer service? I get treated with more respect in a PEP store! The women that serve customers in cheaper stores are better equipped to handle matters like the above.

During this difficult time at the store , i remained somewhat calm.... while Ntswaki danced and sang along to the music in the store, all this done while still recording me. Is this how staff are trained to handle irate customers? This is a disservice done to customer that visits the store on a monthly basis !!!!!

She served a young african couple with one hand on the till and the other with the cellphone still recording me... where is the respect in that ? Fortunately she served them with a smile on her face Why wasnt i served with a smile? Why was i faced with such arrogance and zero compassion? Was i not African or Spedi enough?

Ive been to several Cotton stores and the service had always been nothing short of amazing. What has changed?

Please not that the refund was eventually processed without Karabo (store manger) present. This goes back to the initial query. Eunice and Ntswaki insisted that he had to be present? But it was eventually issued without him ? Did the rules change somewhere along the way ?

Please feel free to have a look at the store cameras to verify the above incident as i have nothing to hide.

As i walked away... i still held my head up high and decided to be the better human being by thanking Eunice. She responded with a half hearted apology. To hell with that half hearted forced apology as i was already 15 minutes late for my meeting.

I would like to logde a FORMAL complaint against Eunice and Ntswaki for their appalling, disrespectful behavior

Please provide feedback on the above complaint

Regards F Sheik **********