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Thaabiet D

1 reviews | Active since Jul 2015

05 Apr 2019, 12:02

DESPICABLE BEHAVIOUR FROM FOSCHINI CALL CENTRE

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REVIEW IS BEING COMPLETED A DAY AFTER THE EVENT. THE REVIEW WAS STARTED DIRECTLY FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT BUT ONLY COMPLETED TODAY.

I am writing this review on my wife's behalf as she is too distraught at this moment to do so herself. A few minutes ago she received a call from a call centre agent identifying himself only as "Leroy". Call reference ********** 5.

I stood by watching my wife grow more and more agitated after repeatedly telling this agent that she would be making an EFT payment after the call. This carried on for a while and 3 calls later I eventually took the phone from her after she placed the call on loud speaker, allowing me to hear how she was being addressed. I am DISGUSTED at the way she was being spoken to! Regardless of the status of an account, Foschini and its representatives have absolutely NO right to treat any customer in such an undignified manner! He basically ignored her repeated assurances of payment, telling her that she "needs to be open and honest" with him and barking questions like "do you have money?", followed by "are you saying you have money?". WHO THE HELL GIVES THIS EMPLOYEE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK TO CUSTOMERS THIS WAY?! FOSCHINI? IS THIS HOW YOUR STAFF ARE BEING TRAINED TO SPEAK TO CLIENTS?! My wife continued to tell him that she would be making an EFT payment after the call but he then continued to press for the location of the store she would be paying at and the exact time she would be visiting the store for to make payment!

I then took the phone from her to find out why such a simple interaction was turning into an outright harassment. He was so arrogant that I completely lost my cool but instead of apologizing, he continued on. I could literally "hear" the smirk on his face. I asked for his full name which he would not divulge, saying it was "irrelevant". When asked to be transferred to his manager/team leader, he immediately declined without hesitation, claiming she was unavailable. There was NO PAUSE in his answer, leading me to believe that he did not want me to speak to his superior. When asked for the manager's name so that we lay a formal complaint, he simply responded with "Monique". He refused to divulge her last name or any other contact information, again claiming irrelevance. Why the evasiveness?? Why try to prevent a customer from lodging a complaint?? Why deny a customer the right to speak to a superior??

We have made payment as promised but we will entertain no further communication from Foschini without a formal apology or proof of correction action taken against this employee. I am also a client of the Foschini Group myself and after this encounter with "Leroy", I will no longer support this company in any way, shape or form.

I appeal to Foschini management to please address this concern with urgency. This is unacceptable! Please note that a generic response, as seen from other similar posts by concerned customers on this site is not appropriate. I would like a formal apology from this "Leroy" character.

0
Replies (2)
Foschini
Foschini's reply10 Apr 2019, 08:40
Official
 
Good Day
 
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We try our best to offer all customers great customer service and are disappointed that you had this experience. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We will send your comments to the Area Manager and they will contact you directly. 
 
Your patience and understanding is appreciated.
 
TFG

Best regards,

TD
Thaabiet D's update17 Apr 2019, 11:15
Reviewer Update
I just received a call back from Chad, the floor coordinator of the Foschini Group, 2 weeks after posting the complaint. The complaint had landed on his desk at 20:00 last night, according to the caller. At the outset of the call, the caller specifically identified 2 (two) issues highlighted in the complaint, steering the conversation in a specific direction. The result of the call was that Leroy, the agent implicated in the complaint, had followed due process and was just performing the job he had been trained to do. The only issue with the complaint was the 3rd phone call placed, which Chad felt should not have happened. According to Foschini, the agent's call was according to protocol, his telephone manner was acceptable and there was no issue with his evasiveness, refusal to transfer the call to a manager, refusal to provide contact details for a manager, and most frustratingly of all - the sheer number of times he asked the same question only to get the same response. As the National Training Manager of a household SA brand, not only do I find this response to be insufficient but also inappropriate. When a customer is unhappy about something, especially when they have a legitimate complaint, it is probably best to steer away from technicalities, semantics and anything that can be interpreted as excuses - which is really what I took away from this call. I also raised the agent's inappropriate responses like "that's irrelevant" etc. It doesn't take a trained professional to know that such a response, for example, is probably NOT something you should say to an already irate customer. It also doesn't take a trained professional to realize that after the same question repeatedly, that the answer likely to remain unchanged. The call ended with Chad and I agreeing to disagree. As a result of the way this complaint was handled, I have just closed my long standing account with Foschini Group which I have had since I first started working 15 years ago, possibly longer. I have asked to be removed from any and all communication or future offers from the group and my family and I will no longer support this company. I will share this experience socially and with work colleagues as well. This is a topic I am very passionate about. In closing, here are a few tips I hope the Foschini Group implement in their training and with future irate customers: 1. If you are working in Customer Service, SERVE the customer. Don't offend them. 2. If you receive a complaint from a customer, LISTEN, ACCEPT responsibility, APOLOGIZE for the complaint and ASSURE the customer that it will not happen again. If you find yourself agreeing to disagree, you've *****ed up. 3. If you are a manager receiving a complaint from a customer, refer to point 2 above. Pull up your pride and focus on the solution to the problem, not semantics. You are not an attorney or a policeman analyzing the statement of a suspect. You are trying to resolve assure the customer that their complaint has been heard, is being addressed and will be resolved. Your main objective is to limit brand damage and ensure continuity of the relationship with the customer, not to be the cause of termination. Thanks HelloPeter for this platform and thanks Leroy & Chad from Foschini for preventing me, my family, friends and colleagues from any further dealings with your company. Case closed.