Disappointing Experience with Tom Ford Store (Trueworths) at Gateway

I am extremely disappointed with my recent experience at the Tom Ford store ***ned by Trueworths) at Gateway Theatre of Shopping. I purchased Tom Ford’s Ébène Fumé from their so-called "Private Collection," expecting superior quality and longevity based on the sales pitch I received. I was assured by the salesperson that this fragrance would last throughout the day, making it a premium purchase.

However, after using both the 10ml and 50ml bottles, I quickly realized this was not the case. The fragrance does not even last four hours—an unacceptable performance for a product valued at over R5000. I returned the product on 14 March 2025, hoping for a resolution, and was informed it would be sent to the head office for retesting.

After weeks of waiting, I finally received feedback from Riccoin, who relayed that head office declined any action because they found "no manufacturing fault." Interestingly, I never even asked for a refund—my issue was with the quality of the fragrance, which falls far short of expectations.

To make matters worse, I was now told that fragrance longevity is “subjective” depending on the individual—something conveniently never mentioned during the sale. As someone who works in an air-conditioned office, sweat and external conditions are not factors that should significantly impact performance. Adding insult to injury, their response today included a suggestion that I buy more products to improve the longevity, such as their "al****** body spray" or even applying Vaseline to help the fragrance last longer.

Not only have I not received my retested fragrance back, but I am also being persuaded to spend more money on additional products while my concerns remain unaddressed. This is unacceptable customer service, and I refuse to let Trueworths ignore this matter.

I expect a proper resolution—whether that means exchanging the product for one that performs as promised or an acknowledgment that their sales tactics were misleading. I urge Trueworths to take customer concerns seriously rather than dismiss them with generic excuses.

If this is how they treat high-value customers, I will ensure others are warned before making the same mistake.