Be a conscious Consumer

With the retail boom that is happening in India, consumers have a lot of choices. While that is true, customer service and after-sales support still fall short of western standards. A few precautions can help stretch your rupee a little further and can save you from a lot of harassment. The first and foremost is to PRESERVE THE BILL. While this takes a little effort, this can come really handy as my recent experience proved. I had purchased a Levi’s Jeans about three months back from the store in Vastrapur, Ahmedabad. I had been using it fairly regularly and few weeks back noticed some stitches giving away. I was not sure if I can get it repaired but I had the bill and I gave it a try. I took the pair to the store and they accepted the item for repair. Since I did not get a call within a week as promised, I gave them a visit yesterday. The store manager did some checking and few phone calls and at the end of about 15 minutes, asked me for the bill. After a few more minutes of conversation, he allowed me to take any replacement with the similar price, which I did with pleasure!

A friend of mine had purchased a BOSE IPOD Docking station from the USA and in less than a year, the system croaked. He took it to the BOSE showroom in C.G. road but without the bill, which he has lost, they won’t repair. The system is still lying with them and my friend has tried even the US store for a duplicate bill but in vain. One easy mechanism that I follow is to designate a folder or a drawer only for bills and I throw all bills inside. I look at the bills only when I need to take something for service/repair or if I am leaving the place and hence need to sort and store the important ones. One more mechanism that works well is to scan a bill and keep a e-copy. This also takes care of fading of the bills.

The next important thing is to TRY. We often feel it is a small thing or it is kind of embarrassing to take back something to the store. The important thing here is that the product did not perform as per your expectation or specifications. If someone has to be embarrassed, it has to be the manufacturer or reseller. Of course, if we have mishandled something, it is not their fault and we should not try to take advantage of their customer service policy. While in the USA, I have seen people using something for 2-3 months and then returning back to Walmart or Sears on the pretext of ‘did not like it’. This has led to severe erosion of trust on Asian customers. This kind of behavior is definitely wrong. However, if the item has malfunctioned or does not work as per specifications, one must try for a repair or exchange at the store. Now-a-days, customer service and reputation are much more important to a company than the loss associated with replacing one defective article. There is too much competition, there are too many malls vying for a share of your wallet. So, be aware and be a happier consumer!