Service excellence - Home Pro don't know what it means

[Morgan33]

I am writing this as an open letter after sending a number of letters to Home Pro HQ and not getting an acknowledgement let alone a satisfactory resolution. The little girl manager that was involved wore a badge stating Service Excellence. I maintain that Home Pro do not even know the meaning of the phrase. They certainy do not employ it!

Mr. R Phanijphand Mr. N Argles
Executive Director
Home Product Centre
96/27 Moo 9 Tambon Bangkhew
Amphoe Muang
Nonthaburi 11000

January 13, 2012

Khun Phanijphand

May I first say how disappointed I am in having to write this letter to you but all attempts to bring this flagrant abuse of retail customer service to your attention to date have failed? If I fail on this occasion I shall write an open letter to you through the press and many expat web sites in Thailand.

I was a good customer in your store frequently buying well in excess of 50,000B a month but the service that I was met with just before Christmas in your Hua Hin store has put an abrupt end to that and I shall be taking my custom elsewhere in future.

I went into your store purchased a shower flex and other small items went back to the condominium complex gave it to the technician and as I watched him remove the plastic packaging and uncoil the flex the retaining nut came straight off the end of the flex. He told me it was faulty and so I took it back to your store later that day to exchange it.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was met with. I spent nearly 15 minutes with your floor staff who passed it back and forth each one examining it in detail and passing comment. None of them had the common sense to exchange the product despite the fact that they could see that it had not been fitted or used and had only been purchased six hours previously.

Eventually I approached a supposed manager who was strutting about feeling most important addressing various staff through a walkie talkie. I asked him to get involved make an executive decision and exchange the faulty goods. Instead of doing that he called another junior manager who yet again examined the defective goods passing comment and then he laughed openly in my face as he addressed by now his many colleagues gathered round me. I was very upset and told him so.

With this he called his security team and three overweight thugs arrived and gathered round me with arms folded in an attempt to intimidate me. It did not work as an ex British policeman being surrounded by this group in the middle of your store did neither you any good. What the many other customers must have thought is beyond belief and all over a faulty shower flex costing 325B.

As I was getting nowhere and it was plainly obvious that your management team of the store no absolutely nothing about the Sale of Goods Act and merchandising I purchased a replacement hose and attempted to take it up with your head office.

I then got some customer service manager request me to send the defective goods back to her for examination giving the usual insincere apologies and excuses on behalf of her retail colleagues.

She stated that it was company policy to unpack and test all products on sale which is obviously incorrect as I have purchased many goods before and this has not been so.

Your management team of that store needs teaching some basic customer skills. I will not use that store again and or any of your other stores across the country and I own 12 condos and two family homes in Thailand.

I have purchased three top of the range LCD televisions from that store in the last 6 months. They must feel very proud of their performance especially as one of the supposed managers that day had a Service Excellence badge on. They have no idea what it means at all.

I should add that as a magazine publisher working in Bangkok I ran Marketing Week in the UK for seven years and was employed as a mystery shopper for many years.

I trust that you will deal with this situation professionally as to date I have not met or had anyone respond to my letters, emails or telephone calls that has the slightest clue of retail marketing.

Yours sincerely


Nick Argles

[dtaai-maai]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, Nick; I don't know you, but reading between the lines, I sense a dose of in-store farang foot-stamping.

I was very upset and told him so.

With this he called his security team and three overweight thugs arrived and gathered round me with arms folded in an attempt to intimidate me. It did not work as an ex British policeman being surrounded by this group in the middle of your store did neither you any good.

While I can identify and sympathise with your plight, you appear to have been here long enough to know you're pissing in the wind.

You are also, of course, quite wrong, as they really DO care...

Business Goal

The Company has the goal to become a leader in retail business in home improvement market for the goods of construction, decoration, and refurbishment of houses and residence places together with the provision of complete services as One Stop Shopping to attain highest customer satisfaction. At present the Company has more than 60,000 items of products. In addition, it has established a Training Center to develop the personnel at all levels so that they will have knowledge and ability to provide good services to customers.

[Takiap]

Welcome to Thailand


I can truly understand your frustration, but at the same time, I must admit I've always found the staff very pleasant, and yes, I have had faulty goods replaced there before. With that said, I don't often use Home Pro these days as I have no need to. Any small accessories, such as that with which you had a problem, I buy from regular Thai outlets.


In my opinion, you can write letters until the cows come home, and you more than like still won't get the sort of response you're after. Will Home Pro's profits suffer as a result? Definitely not, and they know it.

[Morgan33]

You are wrong - there was no foot stamping just frustration on my part that is why I spent another 325B on a replacement hose. As for you reprinting their company statement if you are naive enough to believe it then good luck to you. They are hardly likely to put 'we do not exchange faulty goods' in print are they? If their statement is correct then why did they not just exchange the faulty hose? Surely that would have been a much more sensible course of action. As for you statement regarding the wind - I will get a refund, of that you can be sure, even if I have to take them to court to realise their liabilities. This is also one of many complaints that I have read about Home Pro and their lack of customer service over the last five years whilst resident in Thailand. As a consumer bringing my plight to others attention is one of the only options open to me when a retailer fails to deliver his part of the contract.

[Jim]

I'm sure everyone is thinking what a pavlova (or do I mean palaver?) over 325 baht. As another current thread is saying, take a deep breath, get over it and go and shop somewhere else. Then go for a beer and thank some divine being that you're in Thailand and not freezing your nuts off in a sub-Siberian Blighty.

[dtaai-maai]

You are wrong - there was no foot stamping just frustration on my part that is why I spent another 325B on a replacement hose. As for you reprinting their company statement if you are naive enough to believe it then good luck to you. They are hardly likely to put 'we do not exchange faulty goods' in print are they? If their statement is correct then why did they not just exchange the faulty hose? Surely that would have been a much more sensible course of action. As for you statement regarding the wind - I will get a refund, of that you can be sure, even if I have to take them to court to realise their liabilities. This is also one of many complaints that I have read about Home Pro and their lack of customer service over the last five years whilst resident in Thailand. As a consumer bringing my plight to others attention is one of the only options open to me when a retailer fails to deliver his part of the contract.

You may or may not have missed my indicating that I was kidding, but either way the above post rather confirms my opinion. Good luck with surviving the next five years.

[hhfarang]

Good luck with your letter. I have had around 10 serious problems with HomePro service in my years of living here (none resolved to my satisfaction) and I now refuse to buy anything from them other than the occasional small item that I can't be bothered to go elsewhere for. They don't even know the meaning of the words customer service, and they don't care.

Were I to buy major home appliances or items now, I would go to Boon Tavorn.

[Frank Hovis]

We had a bath delivered from Home Pro and after it arrived we noticed that the surface was slightly scratched, my wife phoned them up and two days later they delivered a new one from Bangkok and took the old one away, they did inspect the old one at our house but I think that was more just the delivery guys interest as they had already taken the new bath off their truck anyway.
No problem and no fuss.

Saying that, I don't much like shopping in Home Pro, or any other large store. I prefer just poking about in smaller shops where you can buy stuff you don't really need but think 'Hey there's one of those, that'll come in handy - and never does'

As I was getting nowhere and it was plainly obvious that your management team of the store no absolutely nothing about the Sale of Goods Act

I understand that Thailand does NOT have a Sale Of Goods Act, but does have a Consumer Protection Act and the new Consumer Case Procedure Act.
In the quote above, 'no' should be 'know' - have you shown us a translation from an original Thai document? You do know all documents submitted to court must be in Thai (or have a verified Thai translation).

Do let us know how things progress.

[Lung Per]

Would be interesting to know if you get satisfaction from your efforts. Please keep us advised.

[advocate]

The OP clearly believes in taking the principled approach, but TIT, and the principled approach will get you nothing but indifference, or worse. He fails to realize that english principles are foreign here and returns or exchanges are not part of the business culture.

To the Thais, once a transaction occurs, that's it, a deal is a deal.

Boon Tavorn is going to give Homepro a serious run for the money and Homepro will lose market share. Boon is far, far larger, better selection, and better prices. Customer service remains to be seen, but if you are building, you owe it to yourself to have a look.

[Dr Mike]

Where is Boon Tavorn

[Frank Hovis]

Going north on Petchkasem it's on your left, before Index on the right, just before Soi 36.

[HAPPYGOLFER]

Nick, I,m impressed, one small man against the system. I hope we can hear more about this case later

[Johnnywastaken]

You are fortunate that the staff even spoke to you or examined the defected product... if that happened in Indonesia....then the staff would have been confused and immediately announce that they had to pray....and would never come back to you...

[centermid7]

Start asking names and writing them down. That usually does the trick. Pull out your phone camera for extra affect and ask to take their picture. If that doesn't do it then with that info in hand ask to speak to someone even higher up. I have found nothing is faster at acheiving results.

It does not matter what the venue is - Home Pro, immigration, etc., it seems to work as long as you don't get loud and have a fake smile on your face.

I know . . seems dumb to have to go to those efforts for 350 Bt.