Exceptionally poor service

I went to this store to purchase a watch for my mother's 60th birthday present. I found one that I loved but there was a mark on the face of the watch. I pointed this out to the assistant who said she couldn't see the mark. I was with my brother who said that he could see a mark on the face of the watch. The lady took it to someone in the back and returned to say that the person in the back was able to see the mark and they could offer me £15 off the price. I declined this saying I'd rather have an unmarked item for a present. I ordered another watch which came a few days later in the time that the shop assistant had specified. On inspecting the item there was a scratch across the face of the watch. I saw it immediately and pointed it out to the shop assistant (the same one I had had the previous day). Again, she stated she could not see a mark and persisted in showing it to two other shop assistants and using a magnifier to inspect the watch. However, all 3 assistants who inspected the item said they couldn't see a scratch on the face which was very frustrating as it was as plain as day to me. Again, on taking the watch to the person in the back, the shop assistant returned saying there was a faint scratch on the face of the watch but that she hadn't been "calling me a liar or anything." I didn't buy the watch or reorder it. Instead I found it on Amazon for £80 cheaper and without having to prove myself to a shop assistant. When your job is to sell jewelry, I feel it should be a necessity to be able to identify flaws in your product and not to spend customer time arguing with them when there is a perfectly obvious defect with an item. The customer service here was terrible! I was made to feel very stupid, like I was making something up for the sake of it. I was made to feel like the store assistants were calling me a liar, not the experience I was expecting when spending almost £200 in their shop! I will be shopping online in future where I don't feel people are telling me I'm in the wrong when there is a blatant defect with their product. My amazon item arrived as fast as the watch that I had ordered from the store but in perfect condition and direct to my house. Having previously purchased two high priced items from this store aside from this item, one of which had to be returned due to a fault which had not been picked up by the shop assistants, I will not be returning.

Rachel Lacombe - 16/02/2013 | report this review