The Bay, Mayfair Mall, Jewellery Department
June, 25, 2013, 5pm
Chapter 7, Service Recovery:
- Service Failure, p.180
- Provide Appropriate communication, p.191
- Supply adequate explanations p.192
Chapter 12, Customers role in service delivery
- Promoting the company, word of mouth p.364
Price of Service: return of jewellery valued at $400
I went to The Bay trying to exchange an anniversary gift. I walked up to the jewellery counter with receipts and the earrings and necklace I was hoping to exchange. I explained my reason for returning to the clerk and everything seemed alright until she looked at my receipts. She abruptly handed the receipts back to me and said “I can’t help you with this, you have the wrong receipt.” My boyfriend and I were confused as we only had the receipts that he was given at the time of purchase. The clerk told us that the receipt we had was the “store receipt” and that since we had bought it at the other Bay store, we would need to go downtown and get the “customer copy.” We asked her politely if she could call the other store or perhaps a manager who could assist us in performing the return here, as it wasn’t our fault we were issued the wrong receipt. She firmly replied “No, I’m sorry I can’t help you.” This was a clear example of a service failure, the event was “poorly executed,” and the employee was “rude and uncaring” (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 180). So that was that, we went all the way downtown to the other Bay to do the exchange. When we got there, we explained our predicament to the new jewellery clerk. She was shocked and informed us that the number needed to complete the return was on the receipt the whole time. She couldn’t believe that the other attendant had sent us all the way downtown, when a simple return was all that was needed. I was surprised and a little bit angry, and I think the clerk sensed that we had been treated poorly. She made up for it by being extra polite and nice, and offering her apologies on behalf of the store. This was where the “service recovery” was initiated (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 181).
My expectations of the return were that it would be a simple and swift transaction, just like any other return I had experienced. I was extremely disappointed that the clerk at The Bay didn’t have the knowledge or the will to help us as customers. My expectations were definitely not met.
My level of satisfaction was a 4, only improved by the nice experience I had with the second clerk. My reaction to the encounter was a bit of anger, frustration, and confusion. I also told some of my friends about the poor service I had received. This is an example of how customers are responsible for promoting (or in this case demoting) the company (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 364) I will most definitely not purchase jewellery at The Bay again (1). To make me satisfied, the first clerk need only have confirmed with a manager/other sales associate that she needed a different receipt to perform the return. This would have been providing appropriate communication (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 191), and could have done much to prevent the negative feelings by giving a more “accurate explanation (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013). It is my guess that she really had no clue if she could use the store copy, simply because she never had before.
Valerie Zeithaml, M. J. (2013). Services Marketing 6tg Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.
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