Read ten narratives and answer questions.
Narrative One: American Eagle
I was online shopping and decided to purchase a dress for $40 from American Eagle. I waited 5 days for the dress to ship to me. A few days after receiving the dress, I was shopping online yet again and noticed the same dress for sale for only $15. I asked myself, why did I have to pay so much? (II.C.1) I decided to call customer service and ask if they could adjust the price for me. I get on the phone and start talking to a young woman who listens to my story, only to interrupt me (I.C) and say “order number please”. I gave her my order number and she said that the time limit to make price adjustments was 14 days, and my order had been placed 16 days ago. I asked to speak to her manager. I was then placed on hold for several minutes (I.C), when a man answered and said that unfortunately the policy is in place for a reason. I said to him that I spend hundreds of dollars at American Eagle and he said “I really appreciate that but there’s nothing I can do”. I got very mad (2.A) and told him that I was a loyal customer and he should honor that. He still said no. I hung up feeling completely unimportant and let down (2.B).
Narrative Two: CVS
I purchased a bottle of tylenol from CVS a few weeks back, only to discover that the bottle had been opened (I.A) and had a dose of medicine missing. I didn’t want to keep them because the bottle may have been tampered with some other way so I decided to bring the bottle back. I told the cashier the situation and she asked me if I had my receipt. I told her no, I hadn’t kept the receipt because I hadn’t had any intention of returning the bottle. And so she told me that she could not return an opened bottle of medicine unless I had a receipt. So, for no fault of my own, I was stuck with a tampered with bottle of tylenol that may or may not be safe to use. I was so frustrated (2.A.) I left the bottle at the store and told them I was going to Walgreens (3A).
Narrative Three: Burger King
I am not a frequent consumer of fast food. However, when I do eat it, it's mostly when I am on a road trip with my family and we can't find anything else to eat at night time other than the 24hr burger kings on the highway. Determined to get a fish fillet and fries, we parked at a Burger King on a highway in state of Alabama. Upon starting to order, the cashier was extremely rude and hard to understand because of her southern accent. We completed our orders with a ridiculously long waiting time of 15 minutes. However, upon sitting down at one of the tables I found out that the fries were cold and the sandwich was not how I wanted it to be (I.B) (I ordered a sandwich with tomato and lettuce but there were no tomato or lettuce). Frustrated I went up to the cashier and asked her to remake my sandwich and fries but she refused to help me out and went back in the kitchen to call someone else to help me. I was so angry at the fact that she completely ignored me (I.C), but then the other attendant showed up after a wait of 5 minutes. I explained the situation and so she was nice enough to say sorry about messing up my order. I had to wait another 10 minutes to get my order (I.B), while receiving everything, I purposely said to the nicer lady, "I appreciate you being nice because some people just don't know how to do their job right". The rude lady heard what I said and got angry but I didn't care and went out before she got a chance to say something.
Narrative Four: Sephora
My friend once bought a face primer from Sephora. It was advertised to help control oily skin after wearing make up for too long. The first time she used it, the results weren’t satisfying. She then used it another time and the results were the same (I.A), so she decided to return it. They have a policy for returning products (I.A.1) if the customers are not satisfied with them. However, they told her that the type of product she used was not able to be returned. She felt frustrated (II.A) that the policy didn’t apply to her product. She made up her mind to not buy anything from there again and go to a different cosmetics retailer (III.A).
Narrative Five: Apple
I recently visited apple store. I had an issue with my phone battery. I went to apple store and got an appointment at the genius bar to check up on my phone. The specialist ran a diagnostic test, the result showed that my phone battery was unhealthy and needed to be replaced. However, there was a no battery available at that time (I.A.2). They asked me to come again later. I came later and they had to do the diagnostic test again. The test showed the battery to be healthy and functional. I was annoyed (II. A) by what he told me. I told him that there is something wrong with the battery because I can easily notice that. The specialist said the problem might be from the software, not the hardware. I was angry (II.A) and walked from the store and I decided to buy a new phone
Narrative Six: Samsung
I have recently faced an unsatisfactory experience with Samsung. It didn’t match the details shared before shipment (I.B.1). There is a small crack on the back of the phone. As a leading brand my expectations were high from the product and services where the company assured the damages and the warranties about the product on and after delivery. Reliability on the source is higher than the value of the product but the company didn’t meet the expectations as compared to other company. Before order placement of the product salesperson showed a good communication which convinced me to buy the product. He provided answer to my queries only to get commission from adding me as a customer. Later when I called the salesperson again, he replied me that it should be the problem of delivery (I.B.1), which drives me mad (II.A). The price paid for the product is the value paid in shape of monetary as well as in shape of emotions attached with it. Other products could have provided the same features but the user and product provider have a strong bond when they use a product. They are emotionally attached and a loyalty develops. The experience has hurt my emotions attached to this company. They have not only lost a customer (III.A) but have gained negative marketing. After this dissatisfactory experience I have lost trust not only on the product of my choice but on its online services.
Narrative Seven: Coach
I have faced dissatisfactory experience from a renowned company, Coach. I bought the wrist watch from the authorized company store with high expectations of quality and originality. I thought the customer values are followed by the brand. The sale person was in fact a nice person and provided valuable services about explaining the product summary. He explained each term for my satisfaction. He didn’t only work for the commission but provided me each and every detail in my best interest. The dissatisfaction was actually due to the embarrassing situation (II.C.) I faced due to the brand quality. The watch always suddenly stopped working (I.A.1.). Once when I was in an exam, it suddenly stopped running, which distracts me and affects my score. The company is ready to pay for damages and provide a new product after I contacted them later. But I have lost trust (II.A.) after the experience.
Narrative Eight: Toyota
One year ago, I went to Toyota dealership to purchase a used car. Before I went to the showroom, I checked the online status of availability of a car that I was extremely interested in. The information showed me that car was in stock, and then I called the Toyota dealership, in order to confirm that car still be available. The salesperson told me that car was in stock and tried to get me to come to the showroom to visit it as soon as possible. Naturally, I went to the showroom a day after I called, however, the salesperson insisted that another customer paid $1000 deposit a few days ago for the car that I wanted. They said I had to pay an addition $500 (I.B) if I still want to buy that car. I felt annoyed and deceived (II.B.) by the salesperson because he never told me that car was booked by others, so I just left the showroom, even though they had recommended similar cars to me. After a few days, I got a called from Toyota dealership to remind me that car had restock due to the order cancellation. And I refused without hesitation to come to their showroom again (III.A). This dissatisfactory shopping experience makes me feel completely disappointed with Toyota.
Narrative Nine: Céline
Céline is a high end fashion brand that serves as one of the top luxury products famous for their, shoes, clothes, sunglasses, cosmetics, and handbags. I recently went to Saks Fifth Avenue located at the Prudential Center at Copley. I had purchased Céline Nano mini handbag six months ago at their branch in Saudi Arabia. I have found that the Nano mini handbag is by far my favorite product from Céline, that I often wear it quite a lot. Two months ago I discovered that the back side of my handbag had this blue-ish stain on it. I didn’t think of it much, and thought I could just wipe it off. I couldn’t take it off no matter how much pressure or wipes I used. Finally, I decided to take it to a branch here in Boston.
I knew that they had a section of their products at Saks Fifth Avenue, so I went last Saturday. I took my bag and the authenticity card that came with each of their products. I met one of the sales clerk of Céline at the store, I told her that I had this stain and I wanted it removed, she asked to see the handbag, I complied. She checked the number of the bag located on the card. I waited while she checked, patiently. I asked her, “How long will it take to have my bag cleaned?” she looked up annoyed, and said, “Since you purchased the bag from the Middle East, It’s take a while to show which store! (I.C)” I looked at her with confusion, “If you had asked me where I purchased it, I would have gladly told you. I do not like your tone Miss, I suggest you change it!” I was getting very angry at this point, how she dare raise her voice at me. The clerk asked me again with I’m sorry look, “I’m very sorry, where you purchased the bag in the Middle East? I smirked and said, “Saudi Arabia”. She looked surprised, then and had the fakest smile, “I apologize Miss, the handbag can only be sent to France, and will take a while.” I felt disappointed (II.B) that I couldn’t get it done right away. The sales clerk acted as nothing had transpired between us and kept offering me the new collections, and that I would get a discount. I stormed out and decided not to shop (III.A) there again.
Narrative Ten: Turkish Airlines
During the winter break, I purchased a round trip ticket to Istanbul. I thought that I was all set to fly out, until I had an emergency, and that my trip to Turkey would be canceled. I had six days left to my flight, I figured I had plenty of time to cancel and get my refund for the flight. I called Turkish airlines customer service. I also decided to check my bank account from my mobile. As I was looking for the amount I purchased it for, I saw that they had took out double the amount! I purchased the flight for $2225, instead they had charged me for $5000! I was baffled (II.C.1) at what I saw on my bank statement. The customer service on the phone was a man, he asked how he could assist me. After I gave him the general information, he said that my flight was all set, I told him I wanted to cancel and that they had overcharged me. The man told me, “It’s not possible to overcharge you, you payed the exact amount of price for this ticket.” I was getting very angry, I yelled at him, “I told you, your website said $2225 for the ticket I purchased, instead you already charged my double the amount!” I told him that I’m looking at my bank statement and told him that Turkish Airlines had with drew $5000 from my account. He said he would look at it and call me back. It took 3 hours to call me back, I was angry (II.A)! He told me they had made a mistake and that they would refund me immediately and without any charges for my cancellation. Although, I received my funds back, I still felt that I had gone thru this grueling process for the company’s mistake.
CODE SHEET
Factors of dissatisfaction
Poor product quality
Low quality material
Limited availability
Bad customer service
Inconsistent information
Unwilling to accommodate
Rudeness
Emotion
Angry
Unvalued
Embarrased
Confused
Outcome
Not continuing business
Telling others
Returning product
