I am writing in to relate to you the single most horrible retail experience I have ever had in my entire life. It is a great pity that it had to happen to me here in Singapore, the one place where "good service" is promoted and has come to be expected.

I was in Jurong Point Shopping Centre one Saturday evening (16th Feb 2008 to be exact) when I came across Frederick Casey Momo on the third level of the mall. Never having stepped into the shop before, I decided to walk in and take a look at what was available. To my delight, I discovered many cute products, and was also very happy with the sales assistant (Pierre) who was carefully explaining to me what the different products were, as well as their special features. After having a look around the shop, I decided to purchase a black polo t-shirt with a cute cat motif at the collar. Pierre informed me that he did not have my size available in the store at the moment, and told me that he would have to order it from the warehouse. I was happy to pay for my purchase (S$49) and wait for the shirt to be delivered in about 4 days time because all this while, Pierre was being very nice, courteous and polite. Pierre then called the warehouse to let them know that a delivery for the shirt had to be made because I had already bought it. Once that was done, I left the shop.

As I was not free to collect the shirt on 20th Feb, I went back to the shop on 23rd Feb, which was exactly one week from the date that I made my purchase. To my disappointment, Pierre could not find the shirt that I had ordered, even though there were other items delivered to the store that week. He called the warehouse, only to discover that my shirt had been delivered to another outlet at United Square. Although I was quite angry at that point, I did not kick up a big fuss because I understand that people make mistakes sometimes, and that they deserve a second chance. I then asked Pierre when I can expect to pick up my purchase, and he then called the warehouse and asked when the earliest delivery could be made. He then told me that the deliveryman would make a delivery on the following Monday (25th Feb), and that I could collect it in the evening. Once the arrangements were made, I then left the shop empty handed, a second time.

Any normal customer at that point in time would have kicked up some sort of a fuss, to make his/her unhappiness known. This is only normal and to be expected of a paying customer. I however, did not, even though I think Pierre could tell from my face that I was already unhappy. But guess what? This is not the end of my horrible experience with Frederick Casey Momo.

For a third time, I went back to the Jurong Point outlet on 29th Feb, as I was working during the week, and did not have the time to go on the 25th. To my UTTER DISSAPPOINTMENT, I was again told by Pierre that my shirt was NOT DELIVERED AGAIN! The reason was that the warehouse was closed on Monday, and no one was available to make the delivery. To me, that was not a valid reason, because I had given sufficient time for my purchase to be delivered. Bear in mind, that this was literally 2 WEEKS from the date that I first made my purchase! Is this a reasonable time to keep a paying customer waiting for a product to be delivered? In the 2 weeks that I waited, no effort was made by the staff to confirm if my shirt had been delivered. Each time, Pierre would only discover that my shirt was not yet delivered when I stepped into the shop!

I felt that this was a ridiculous thing to have happen to me twice, and so I demanded that Pierre call up the warehouse to find out what was happening. To my utter chagrin, the deliveryman on the other line had the GALL to ask Pierre to ask if I wanted a refund! That suggestion is not for him to make, nor is it appropriate for him to be denying all responsibility in this instance of a terrible lapse in customer service! For your information, the deliveryman's name is Joe.

Even after Pierre spent at least 10 minutes on the phone with Joe trying to make him deliver the shirt to me that very evening, Joe just did not budge, and flat out refused to, saying that his schedule was packed. At that point, I was so angry that I demanded to speak to him to make my stand clear. Once on the phone with him, Joe started to give me excuses about how he did not know that he had to make a delivery, and the person who took the order from Pierre did not communicate the delivery date properly to him. All in all, Joe was trying to absolve all blame and responsibility, and was basically telling me to take it or leave it. I was so furious at that point in time, that I felt it was a futile attempt to try to speak to someone at his level, with absolutely no idea what customer service was, and who was not in a position to make any decisions. I then demanded to speak to his manager, to try to make sense of why something like this would happen a second time. There are no words to describe how horrified I felt at that point, when Joe told me that there was no manager in charge of the Singapore operations. How could this be possible? That there was no manager in charge of the staff working at Jurong Point, United Square or even the warehouse?! Joe then told me that the person who took the delivery order was in fact the "person-in-charge". How can something like this happen if she is indeed the "person-in-charge"? I thought to myself that the Singapore branch would most certainly go straight to hell if someone like that was indeed in charge.

In order to make my point known, that this is most certainly not the way to run a retail outlet, nor is it the correct way to treat a paying customer, I demanded that Joe deliver my shirt to my office before noon the next day. I did not need the shirt urgently, but I felt that this was a lesson that the company had to learn. Joe refused, saying that his schedule did not permit, etc, but I insisted, and made sure that everyone else in the shop and around me heard my insistence loud and clear. Do bear in mind that I was already fuming mad at this time. Even though I badly wanted to complain to someone, and let the right people know what is happening, I did not have an outlet and my grievances were not addressed properly and in the correct manner. I very much wanted to, and still do, take this story to the press and make a big deal out of my experience with the company.

The next day, Joe appeared at my office at 11.20am, with the said shirt in hand. After taking delivery of the shirt, I thought that this would be the end of my ordeal. However, it was not to be, and this is also the very reason why I am writing in to complain. Upon reaching home that very evening, I opened the packaging and tried on the shirt. To my horror, there was a HUGE gaping hole at the bottom left seam of the shirt. It seemed like someone had cut a label out from the shirt, and left a hole there on purpose. The hole is big enough to fit 2 fingers through. I could not believe what was happening to me! Was my shirt purposely sabotaged because of my actions? Was someone really petty enough to do something like this? I could not find a reasonable explanation for all this, and I really feel that strong decisive action must be taken to correct such occurrences.

If indeed the distributor in Singapore had committed such offences towards a paying customer, then I think that the parent company should reconsider its choice of distributors. If something like this can happen to me, it can happen to other customers as well. Think about the kind of damage this is doing to the company's reputation and goodwill, which in usual cases takes years and years to develop and cultivate. An incident like this can bring the company's reputation crashing down, because all it takes is for one irate customer to spread the word to his friends, family, relatives, associates, colleagues, etc. etc., and the list goes on. If such occurrences happen more than once, very soon, the company will simply cease to exist. Not only will it have a negative impact on the stores in Singapore, but also in the world. It is really too simple for me to blog about this, or send this email off to the papers, and have someone carry the story in the media.

I am sick and tired of having to deal with the people handling the Singapore operations because it seems to me that they have no idea what they are supposed to be doing, or how they are supposed to do things. A simple thing like delivering a t-shirt was delayed for 2 weeks! How can I expect anything more from the company now? Even though Pierre has told me that he would do a refund for me, I have second thoughts about ever stepping foot into the shop ever again. He may be able to refund me the money I paid for the shirt, but can he compensate me for the anger, frustration and unhappiness that this incident has caused me? Can he compensate me for my time, effort and traveling expenses to and from my office to Jurong Point? To me, it seems futile to bring the shirt back to Jurong Point and ask for a refund, because this would take up more of my time, of which so much has already been wasted on going to and from the shop.

I hope that my experience with Frederick Casey Momo in Singapore will bring to light the utterly disgusting state of customer service and operations efficiency in the Singapore operations, and that this will also warn other customers against dealing with your company. Today, and for the rest of my life, I will not see Frederick Casey Momo in a good light, and I will make sure that everyone I know comes to know about my experiences. I am not threatening the company - simply, I am helping to make sure that no one goes through the same experiences I have had with the company so far. To help my cause, I have also sent a copy of this email to the media, and will be happy and willing to relate my story to the media if need be.

I hope that I have made a difference, no matter how small it may be.

Regards,
Sharon Loh