Yeah.....Home Centre
Posted by Mick, Dubai, UAE on 6 October 2009 at 15:47 UAE time

Yeah, it was Home Centre.....I didnt want to mention the name but after one more week of trying to deal with them, they left me high and dry again after the third promise to come and fix the faulty product that I paid 1,000 bucks for just 4 months ago.
They are absolutely useless and don't care about their customer.
I sat across from a representative in his office at the MoE and he says tonight someone will come and fix your bed and if not tonight then 7pm next Saturday....noone came either time.
Then a couple of months later, I finally got someone to come.....3 hours late because "he was having lunch"....he says he will talk to the management and see if they can replace the footboard that is faulty....a week later.....no word and I can't reach anyone.
Thanks Home Centre.....shining example of unusefulness in retail.
Shame.....you set back customer care by decades. Thanks for nothing.

what customer service??
Posted by Cust Omer on 5 October 2009 at 10:21 UAE time

It does not exist in this part of the world...I had to return a vaccum cleaner some 45 minutes after I bought it from a well known outlet because the hose snapped. When I tried to explain this they simply said that I "broke it".... surely did not have any of this and did not leave the store until I got my full refund.

Buy online!!
Posted by Frank, Dubai, UAE on 4 October 2009 at 08:53 UAE time

Consumer Protection in UAE or Gulf region??? You are joking...there is no such a thing here. I personally buy most of my electronic goods from well known online stores i Europe or US, because in most cases after you receive the goods you have 25 days to decide whether to return the goods for exchange or to get your money credited or fully refunded...after 25 days the standard warranty policy comes to effect...and here I am talking about online purchase...I have purchased online DVD Player, Camera, Camcorder, Notebook and Mobile Phones...and customer service, return policy & consumer protection is superb!!!All those above are non existence in this region.

Don't Get ripped off
Posted by Glen, Dubai, U.A.E. on 3 October 2009 at 09:43 UAE time
My Grandson received a gift of a well known brand play station purchased from a well know Dubai chain of Electronic Goods Retailer. The Playstation malfunctioned and when returned for service it was refused due to the fact that he did not have the invoive. No amount of discussion or persuassion could resolve the matter here in Dubai.

Connor went on holiday to the UK with his parents and they phoned a local retail outlet in the UK, told them of the problem with the unit, immediately they were requested to provide, NO NOT THE INVOICE NUMBER, the serial number. They were asked to hold the line and within less than a minute the voice on the other end was asking for their address details, availability at the address and forewarned to have the defective playstation ready to be exchanged with a new replacement which would be delivered to theit home as they can clearly see on the system that it is a 2009 model.

After a two day wait at 9.00am the the doorbell rang the package with a replacement was delivered, the defective unit handed over and returned with the delivery man. Now that sounds great dosen't it.


The answer is no, the best is yet to come, my grandson opens the package and to his amazement and great joy the Playstaion has been replaced with a brand new upgradeded latest addition model. Just goes to show that the marketer of the brand does not belive in greatness but excellence which this Dubai retailer is unable to deliver.

This is called service, unlike the empty promises made by the Dubai retailer who never fulfils once he has taken your money.

Now even a ten year old will never forget, not to go back to the store where you Do Get ripped off.

Re. Charm
Posted by SR, Dubai on 3 October 2009 at 09:27 UAE time

Dear Charm, we are talking of Consumer Protection here (not Retailer Protection) because in most cases than not it is the consumer who is at the receiving end.
The fact that returning of underwear is not allowed is common knowledge to majority of people. If at all these may be rare cases!
BTW if there is a defect in the good it does not matter whether its seasonal and the retailer is in a position to resell the good! You will have to take a loss, anyway if it is defective do you mean to say that you are going to resell it???
Yes care should be taken to ensure that consumers do not abuse this as attitude of some people in shops and restaurants leaves much to be desired (I have seen myself) because some people feel that they gain power over others just by wearing branded clothing and perfumes!!! Some people are just concerned about their RIGHTS but simply overlooks their OBLIGATIONS to suit their convenience.
NO, I can not agree with you that "standard of service in UAE is excellant", it is not!!!! Not even close to what you get elsewhere!
It is passable at some retailers in major shopping malls, but generally it is not good.

Before Returned Goods
Posted by The Don, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 3 October 2009 at 09:21 UAE time

Before we venture into returning goods to improve customer services, loyalty, and in order to ensure that Dubai remain the shopping capital of the region Dubai needs to address the inflexibility in the economy as far as retail rents which made Dubai the least attractive shopping place in the region, since 5 years a go. How many GCC citizens visits Dubai for shopping today compared to 5 or 10 years ago? Not many

Return and/or exchange of goods
Posted by charm, dubai, uae on 2 October 2009 at 17:06 UAE time

There should be comprehensive guidelines to go with the implementation of this law and not all types of purchases should be covered like inner garments and other delicate stuff. Just imagine if you were the unfortunate one who bought an underwear that has been tried on and returned. The time frame of making the return or exchange is also of utmost importance, that it should not take a long time to do the return since any defect suffered after that might be a case of wear and tear or in some cases, goods are seasonal, hence the retailer will lose the opportunity to resell the goods at the same value. Of course, we are all for protecting the consumers, after all, we are all consumers ourselves, however, the DED should see to it that this law will not be abused by consumers at the expense of retailers. I say this because I work in a retail company and we do frequently experience having customers return items which, obviously, had been used but they still had the gall to say these were not used. Or return items after a month or more (the receipt indicates that exchange is valid within 7 days) or return items without the original receipts. That is after making a scene at the shops and threatening the shops staff. But despite all these, we do make concessions and try to serve the customers well.

I frequently see comments about bad customer service here in the city and in the UAE but not much has been said about rude, arrogant, overbearing and offensive customers/clients treating sales and customer service staff like slaves or like they are not professionals. I've seen elegant and refined looking people in their designer gears act like they're divas and not bat an eyelash to create a scene in the shops and reducing the sales staff into tears. Or in some restaurants, diners will call the attention of the customer service people like they are calling their pets with a flick of their fingers. I guess, if we want to get a good service, we have to be good clients first. In most cases, like attracts like.

Finally, in my opinion, the standard of service here in the UAE is excellent. You just have to know how to get it.

No Change!
Posted by bk on 2 October 2009 at 01:36 UAE time

After taking a taxi home at 2 am from the airport and the driver claiming not to have change for a 100 dirham note I provided him with a lesson in the requirements to driving a taxi. He told me that I had to get exact change...after an economy flight back to Dubai I was not in the best of moods. I woudl usually just say ok and get him change from my home but I preceded to teach him that this was not an option for him and that he needed to be prepared for ppl giving him 100 - 500 dirham notes and that if he found himself running out of change that he needed to remedy that. He told me his boss does not give them enough change at the start of his shift.
So I asked him to stop at a petrol station and made him break his big notes so he was able to provide me change. I strongly believe that taxi drivers and other ppl in the service industry here are 'programmed' by their management and if managment do not say to them that they need to ensure they have change at all timed then they would not see the need to do so. Not always their fault I know but...a shif to improve customer service would be welcomed by me.
BTW - I tipped the poor driver.

hmmmm...
Posted by TJ, Dubai, UAE on 1 October 2009 at 15:24 UAE time

Mick, at the beginning of your story I was starting to assume the store you mentioned wouldn't help you at all...

but then you mentioned that they won't help you because you do not have the invoice...

well, it is perfectly reasonable for a store to require the invoice. I always keep my invoices just in case.

Without a requirement of an invoice, people will try to return products beyond a reasonable time-frame and/or stolen goods.

as for the rest of your post, I agree, that is ludicrous that a taxi driver does not have change, and that a restaurant will charge a higher price for items than the prices on the menus. that is unacceptable and should be reported.

I agree with MICK
Posted by Another dis datisfied customer, Dubai, UAE on 1 October 2009 at 13:59 UAE time

i totally agree with MICK. I faced the same problem. Mick was it homes r us or home centre. I faced a problem with them .

After months of running around i picked up a new bed from a very nice retailer