Oh how excited I was when you finally came to our shores! How I smiled like a fool when I walked into your Sandton City flagship store and stood dead still for a moment taking in the merchandise that stretched as far as my eyes could see, as a sea of well-dressed hipsters with your trademark navy shopping bags dangling from their Caribbean tanned arms walked past me making their exit.
Oh how delighted I was to find a beautiful pair of tan leather flats with all the elements I'd been looking for to complete my summer holiday wardrobe. How I couldn't resist grabbing a pair of bright pink flip flops for my newborn niece when they beckoned me from your kidswear section. Handing over my hard earned cash was a small price to pay for a retail therapy victory.
Oh how distraught I was when my brand new shoes broke, the delicate 'in-between-my-toes' leather strap snapping away from the sole as I strolled along the promenade with my puppy en route to the beach. How I searched and searched for the receipt with no success. I'd never planned to return the shoes. I'd bought quality. I'd paid top dollar.
Oh how saddened I was by the outcome of my trip to Zara to exchange the faulty footwear. How frustrated I got when the manager told me that the R499.00 shoes had gone on sale for R199.00 but were now sold out. How speechless I was when I was told that I could only replace my purchase with something in-store to the value of R199.00.
Oh how hopeful I was when I was told that if I could produce a bank statement proving the purchase amount I could get something for the full purchase price. How confused I became when they asked if I had bought more one item. "No, I bought something else, too" I responded. "Well then a bank statement won't suffice," she said, "we can only accept it as proof of purchase if the amount reflected is the exact amount of the pair of shoes that broke."
Oh how exhausted I was when I gave in, tired of fighting an no-win situation. How I hunted the shop floor for a R199.00 'something' to replace my faulty footwear. How shocked I was when found a pair of R299.00 shoes on sale (marked down from R399.00) that I wanted as 'the exchange' and was told that I would need to pay in R100.00 to complete the transaction.
Oh Zara! How angry it made me to have had to pay YOU for YOUR faulty merchandise. How ridiculous it is that your 'policy' resulted in me spending R599.00 on a R299.00 pair of shoes.
Oh Zara! You need to take a cue from Forever New. A couple of hours before you butchered the Consumer Protection Act, Forever New (Rosebank) had exchanged a skirt that I got for Christmas without a receipt. How? Well, the sales consultant simply asked me where it was bought and when (I phoned the gift giver and answered "Sandton, end of November-ish"), she did a quick check on the system and Voila! I left Forever New with a brand new skirt without having to spend a cent.
Oh Zara! It's a pity you sell such pretty things. How sad it is that your customer service isn't quite so pretty.
Sincerely,
One Unhappy Customer
Comments
My daughter was given a lovely Zara dress for Christmas by an aunt who was visiting from the US. The dress is one size too small, it has the swing tag with the bar code etc but without the receipt it is useless. No receipt - no exchange for a larger size. That's it. No more Zara shopping in my home - it's the best form of protest as the store manager really couldn't be asked to make any compromise on this rather dissatisfactory policy.