You have my loyalty, Toys “R” Us

Not Zara though. I decided to become Toys “R” Us loyal customer after a pleasant encounter with its customer service staff recently. All my future Christmas shopping (gifts for my nieces, cousins & future children) will be with Toys “R” Us. You may ask why I made such a brash decision. Well, simply because the customer service staff gave me 1st class treatment when I dropped by Toys “R” Us in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur to exchange a Christmas gift I bought earlier. The Christmas gift was a Junior Pictionary for my niece but her mum (my sis had bought her one. (Nowadays, kids have everything). As I explained to the customer service staff that I bought the gift wrongly, she simply refunded me 100% on the spot (by filling up and signing a simple form). No questions asked. I was speechless because I didn’t expect her not to question (or interrogate*) me. Truly, she exceeded my expectations. Being so used to Malaysia’s 3rd class customer service, I went there with the hope of at least exchanging it for another item. A full refund was beyond my expectations (Sorry MAS for quoting your tagline).

Zara has trendy clothes. Spanish-inspired design as they say. As my friend casually commented, Zara is so metrosexual. During the recent Christmas shopping, I bought shirts from Zara for the 1st time. (Oh dear! Am I turning into a sensual guy living in a metropolitan city?!). I splurged approximately RM500 on 3 shirts. Does that make me a loyal customer? Clearly the answer is no because it was my one and only purchase. Zara will never be able to convert me into a loyal customer because it doesn’t put the customer’s convenience first as compared to Toys “R” Us. Sale or not sale, Toys “R” Us allows full refund or exchange. In contrast, Zara displays prominent signs during the sale season that reads ‘No refund & No exchange during SALE period’. Is Zara implicitly saying that customers who pay less for a shirt will not enjoy the same privileges as a full price paying customer? I will not vow to buy all my shirts from Zara but I will vow to buy all the toys from Toys "R" Us.

Keep up the good job.

Yours faithfully,
Alan

* Note : I was ‘interrogated’ by the customer service staff at Giant Supermarket, 1Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya when I wanted to exchange a bottle of spoilt olives. After much debate and prolonged form filling, I got a new bottle of olives. I walked off feeling emotional exhausted. That is a classic 3rd class customer service. Go and experience it yourself!