Published in The Sunday Times, Business & Money on 14th May 2017
Our Gold Medallist this week is David Clulow Opticians, recommended by Claudia Fabian from west London, who wrote to Money to tell us how thrilled she was by the chain’s excellent response after it lost two pairs of her sunglasses.
She said: “My story is about a triumph of great customer service at a time of crisis. It is relatively easy to be customer-focused when things go well, but what happens when a business is faced with a problem caused by their own representative?
I left two pairs of sunglasses in its branch in Selfridges, on Oxford Street in London. Both frames, one from Dior and the other one from Loewe, were purchased on a shopping trip abroad to Madrid, not at David Clulow. The optician agreed to put the recommended prescription lenses in my chosen frames. A few days’ later, however, I received a call, followed by an email, saying that both pairs had been lost in transit to their lab. I wasn’t happy but what impressed me was the attitude, the swiftness of response and a workable solution that was offered by the branch manager. She explained what had happened, apologised, and asked me to choose two alternative pairs, from their vast selection of designer eyewear, at roughly the same price that I had paid for the two I had bought. Of course, at no expense to me. She communicated clearly and offered a solution. No fuss was made when I didn’t like any styles from their Dior collection. Instead, I was encouraged to settle for any brand that took my fancy.
I selected pearl-encrusted frames from Chanel. Seeing my choice, the manager offered another beautiful frame from Chanel. We made a choice within minutes. No fuss, no drama. Each cost about £285.
Kudos to David Clulow for turning the bad situation into an opportunity to impress a customer. The assistant manager, Deepthi Pallapothu, created a great outcome out of a situation that was beyond her control.
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