The Dollhouse

Porcelain Dolls in The Concrete Jungle

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Beauty Cottage of Shame

Hello Dolls,


It's been a while. I've been working like a dog in anticipation for the upcoming holidays. Festive has always been my favorite time of year. Not just because it's my birthday month... and about half my families birthday month, but just because it's filled with spending time with loved ones. Some of whom  we only get to see once a year.


This update is not a pleasant one and as you know I rarely post about crap experiences but this one has to take the cake.


I purchased a pamper package as a birthday gift for my sister through Groupon with a place in Norwood called Beauty Cottage.


Well, I'm not going to waist my breath explaining insanity of my interactions with that place... I'll just load our email correspondence and you can judge for yourself. lol. I can only but laugh about it now.






Good Day,


I had purchased a voucher from groupon for my sisters birthday for the Beauty cottage and after being told that my security code was incorrect and unclear (even after sending through the voucher sent to me by groupon) I finally got an appointment for last Friday at 5. I received a call the following day confirming my booking for Friday the 28th at 5pm. As my sister works till 5:30 on weekdays she had to take half a day to make this appointment. I rushed from a meeting to take her, only to get there and be turned away because her name was not on the schedule. The voucher expires tomorrow and I have been tirelessly trying to contact you but to no avail. I have left messages with the promise that I will get contacted and a new appointment set before the 3rd when the voucher expires. Now I am not sure if the employees of Beauty cottage are under the assumption that we are able to drop everything and just leave work early to make the appointment or if you were going to contact me back before the 3rd at all. But at this point it seems like none of the above is going to happen. I am not impressed with the service at Beauty cottage at all and this is even before being able to judge on the actual skill of the place.


Sad, but if we are going to lose this booking at the fault of Beauty cottage’s negligence then I require a full money back refund.


 


Please contact me at your soonest convenience to discuss how you plan on rectifying this mishap.


 


Kind Regards
Cindy




Good Day Cindy


Please email me the following so I can investigate urgently:


1. Groupon Voucher (clear PDF version)
2. Your sisters name and cell number


Please get this to me as soon as possible but by 4pm today latest so I can assist you promptly before the voucher expiry.


Regards
Aadil Lakhi




Hi Aadil,


 


Please see attached. I have a hard copy so when it’s scanned it’s not very clear.


 


Security code: FC2026C202


Voucher code: 0010170j13


Ref: 65210881


 


Kind Regards
Cindy





Hi Cindy

 

I was deeply upset by your email, as a result I investigated your complaint conclusively, especially since you made some highly prejudicial allegations.

 

What I've found:

  1. We received an email from your sister, Stacey (info@designkraft.co.za) for the first time on 20 August 2015 requesting an appointment for 22 or 23 August.
  2. We replied to her the same day informing her that we were fully booked for Saturday 22 August and closed on Sunday 23 August. We also requested that she resend the voucher as the security code was not clear (same copy you attached in your earlier email).
  3. I received a message from my receptionist Zandile on Thursday 21 August at 10:10 am informing me that you wanted to know what was going on with the voucher. You gave her the voucher security code.
  4. I personally booked your sister's appointment for the day and time requested (Wednesday 26 August at 9:15am). I emailed the booking confirmation to your sister (replied on the same email chain - info@designkraft.co.za) on the same day Thursday 21 August at 2:51pm. NOTE: WE DO NOT CALL TO REMIND CLIENTS ABOUT GROUPON BOOKINGS
  5. Your sister DID NOT PITCH UP for her appointment on Wednesday 26 August at 9:15am. The receptionist tried calling her but there was no reply.
  6. Your sister pitched up on Friday afternoon (28 August) expecting to be seen but there was obviously no booking scheduled for her. In addition, the therapist was busy.
  7. I received your email today, 2 September with your complaints - requesting a refund.
  8. We received no other calls or emails from you or sister, despite your claim that you have made numerous attempts to contact us. If you have proof of this, please forward it to me urgently so I can investigate.
  9. I have attached as well as forwarded you the email chain between your sister, Stacey (info@designkraft.co.za) and us (reception@beautycottage.co.za)  - 20/21 August 2015.

 

Conclusion:

  1. The appointment was booked for your sister as she requested
  2. She did not pitch up for the appointment, hence the voucher was forfeited, as per the terms & conditions of the Groupon voucher

 

If you or your sister had the decency to let us know that you couldn't make the appointment, perhaps we could have accommodated you, instead you have sent me this deeply disturbing email with false claims of NEGLIGENCE, which are insulting and defamatory. I am speechless!

 

 

Please note: I have copied this email to Groupon as well as posted a reply on your Groupon customer review.

 



Kind Regards

 

Aadil Lakhi

Aadil,


First and foremost, your use of the word “prejudicial” is highly inconclusive. I would suggest you revise and rephrase if you are familiar with the term Prejudice, then you should not use it loosely or in the grossly incorrect context.


 


Next, the email conversation between you and my sister, insisting on booking her on a time when she is working, is the reason I contacted you myself in the first place. Your receptionist then confirmed a booking for Friday as I mentioned for the second time in my previous email. I gave her the security code again, over the phone. She contacted me again the following day asking for the security code yet again and I asked her if there was a problem, she said no, we are still confirmed for Friday at 5pm (how else would I know you have 5pm slots?)


 


1.       In both mail trails that you have sent nowhere does my sister request for a booking on the 20th of August. You just sent an email confirming a booking for the 26th, totally disregarding her request for a Saturday or Sunday. This is clearly visible in the mail trail you sent as proof of your interactions.


2.       Noted.


3.       Correct, which means Zandile is the lady I spoke to and the same lady who called me back and confirmed the appointment.


4.       As per the email chain, she had never requested that day. So this information is false. NOTE: I received a call from Zandile. Please check your detailed phone billing for my number on 2 occurrences that week. There in that report you will find the “proof” you require.


5.       She did not agree to that appointment and it had been moved to Friday so why should she have pitched on the Wednesday. Let’s try to remain logical here!


6.       She did not “Pitch” as this was confirmed twice. Please communicate with your receptionist. If need be I can have my company IT department pull my incoming calls from that number as it is a company phone that I am using.


7.       You received an email after numerous unanswered calls, a message on your answering service as well as a message from a lady that answered the phone on the morning of the 1st September who said that nobody at the Beauty cottage was available to take my call. I even stipulated the urgency as the voucher was expiring and I was assured I would be contacted in due time. When this too was not adhered to I drafted my email.


8.       I do not appreciate your insinuation that I am lying in point 8. I have attached screenshots of my call register on Monday and Tuesday. You will notice your number appears 3 times as outgoing calls.


 


Conclusion:


You conclusion is inconclusive and insulting!


 


Your last comment leaves me speechless! Again defamatory? Your incorrect use of the English language is crippling your case. You insinuations and outlandish accusations are totally uncalled for.


As for  your statement that you had copied Groupon in on this repulsive response to a potential customer? You seem to have failed at that task as well, so let me assist you.


I have now copied groupon in.


 


Now I would like to have no further dealings with the beauty cottage, therefore I request a full refund.


I will however be writing a piece on what I expected to be a relaxing and memorable experience in my blog The GGWDollhouse.


I’ll be sure to send you the link.


 


Tip: Customer Service is the driving force of every great business, for the mere fact that you never know who you are serving. Your customer has the power to make you, or break you!


 
Regards
Cindy





Cindy

 

We bend over backwards to assist our clients but everybody expects respect. It is clear you have no idea how to deal with people. Whether you were correct or not, all you had to do was send an email explaining there was a mix up with the booking and we would have assisted you but instead you chose to insult Beauty Cottage in your original email. If you were unhappy with the receptionist you were speaking to, you could have emailed us in a professional manner (see our website contact page for customer service queries). You've gone further in your email today by insulting me personally and threatening Beauty Cottage. You may get your way with other people by intimidating them with insults and threats but I do not respond well to either.

 

I don't have time to waste with your insults so this email explanation will be my final communication with you. The only point of this email is defend our position because we have always responded in a professional manner even in the face of your crass attacks. 

 

 

A. Insulting my choice of words

You seem to think you know everything. My word choice of prejudicial and defamatory is 100% accurate in meaning and context. Perhaps look at your own word choice specifically the insulting use of the word "negligence". We were certainly not negligent in any context. A reasonable person would ask were you/your sister negligent in the following ways?

  1. Sending a voucher which was not legible
  2. By failing to reply to the booking confirmation if it was incorrect

 

B. You want to be logical

Great. Let's be logical. Is it logical to do the following?

  1. Does it make sense for us to book your sister at the time she doesn't want? Why would we book her specifically at 9:15am on Wednesday if she didn't want that time? We had a number of clients who were looking for bookings at that time. Note: Friday afternoon was not available from a long time before you and your sister called/emailed.
  2. Why would the receptionist tell you that your sister was booked for 5pm if the voucher was for a 2 hour treatment and we close at 6pm? Note: Our operating hours are our website and the email communication sent to your sister
  3. You claim the receptionist called you a second time to get the voucher code. Why would she do that when the voucher was verified and redeemed on 21 August, the day your sister came in requesting the appointment for Wednesday 26 August i.e. the day she spoke to you on the phone (I have the Groupon records as proof)
  4. You claim your sister couldn't come during the day because she is working yet she felt the need to come during work hours to query the email reply which requested the voucher to be resent as the code was unclear.

 

 

C. Other inaccuracies

  1. In your email, you claim that I disregarded your sister's request for an appointment on 22 or 23 August. Did you even read the email chain? Read it again and you will see I explained we were fully booked for Saturday 22 August and closed on Sundays (23 August). I never said she requested a booking for 20 August. I said she emailed us on 20 August. This is just one example of you jumping the gun without checking first. But you're very quick to insult.
  2. You claim nobody was available to take your call this week Monday and Tuesday. What time did you call? We open at 9am. Did you perhaps speak to the receptionist who advised you to email your query so I could deal with it? Perhaps you were unable to understand her
  3. You keep claiming you spoke to me but you have never spoken to me. I was not at the Ivy Medical Centre at the time. The receptionist doesn't take down bookings or phone clients to confirm bookings. Anyone calling is requested to email their vouchers and preferred booking date/time to info@beautycottage.co.za

 

If you want a refund, you are barking up the wrong tree as Groupon sold you the voucher and a refund is up to them, but I have conveyed my position that you should not get a refund. This whole incident is firmly in the he-said-she-said territory between you, your sister and the receptionist, but there is enough written proof highlighted in this email to back up my position. Good customer service does not mean bending to the will of silly email bullies. You should also think carefully about using your company email to make private insults and threats. Please read the emails again and ask your sister exactly what happen so you can reflect honestly on your conduct.

 

 

For the record, I did copy my Groupon Partner Manager into my previous email (ever heard of BCC). I also pasted the email reply on your Groupon customer review, so Groupon have it there as well.

Kind Regards


 


Aadil Lakhi












Sad but true, this is the sewerage customer service that is regurgitated to our City of Joy.


Until next time. I wish you all joy, laughter, great massages at places under competent management.


XOXO
Cindy

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