Consumer Power

This article was published yesterday in Malay Mail:

Sweater's not such a hot bargain
-by Kalbana Perimbanayagam -

PETER LIAN, from Cheras, is frustrated with PAL’s Boutique in Pandan Indah for not taking responsibility for a defective garment sold.

“My daughter only noticed the hole in the new sweater she bought at the outlet when we got home. When we tried contacting the boutique, we were rudely treated by the assistants,” he says.

LIAN claims he was told that the boutique owner was not there and the promoter could not do anything about it.

He claims that when they tried calling the owner on her cell phone, she had refused to answer.

“This is not the way to do business. As the shop owner, she should be responsible for the defective product, especially when my daughter shops there often and even has a membership card at the boutique,” says LIAN.

LIAN says he only wanted to exchange the sweater for a good one and not a refund.

“The sweater is only RM59.90.

The money or price is not the issue but the business ethics is important,” he says.

LIAN feels the boutique owner could have attended to his complaint and resolve the matter even if she was not there.

• A SPOKESMAN from PAL’s Boutique says: “I was attending a meeting with my partner in Penang and was not able to answer LIAN’s call.” She claims to have informed LIAN when he called the fi rst time that she was in a meeting but LIAN persisted and called her more than 20 times.

The spokesman said the sweater is a low-priced item and she would refund LIAN his money.

“I’m not running away (from my responsibilities) but why can’t he wait for me to get back and look into the matter?” she asks.

She says she will also cancel LIAN’s daughter’s membership at the boutique.

“LIAN can collect his money for the sweater. I don’t need this kind of customers who have no patience and understanding,” she says.

This is what I called the power of consumer. Betapa kurang ajarnye owner butik itu dan perniagaan yang mengamalkan sikap sebegini tiada tempat dalam masyarakat kita. Boikot aje..nampak sangat mereka tak mementingkan kepuasan pelanggan.