First bad shopping experience at John Little during Great Singapore Sale

Great Singapore Sale started just a few days ago on 29 May 2009, and this morning was the first time I went shopping, to make use of promotions triggered by Great Singapore Sale.

Since Jurong Point Shopping Center is so near to my house, it made sense to me to walk to Jurong Point Shopping Center and shopped there. As expected, the GSS logo (Great Singapore Sale) was everywhere. Some shops are giving out direct discounts on purchases. Some shops are offering buy 1 get 1 free kind of promotions. No matter what kind of methods they use, Great Singapore Sale is a great opportunity to shop.

My mother and I went into John Little departmental store. As it was weekday morning, all the shops were not crowded. We could take our time to browse and shop. We wanted to buy a few bras and undergarments, so we headed to the section.

The sales assistant was rather nice. I expected them to be nice, since they earned commissions from our purchase. She was rather attentive to my mother, who had problem finding the right size. The items were using the “buy 3 get 1 free” promotion method. Converted to percentage, the discount was equivalent to 25% discount. Not too bad, since the brand we wanted hardly offer any discount.

A few years ago, the sales assistant would bring the items to the cashier. She would tell the cashier that it was a “buy 3 get 1 free”, so that the cashier would not charge us for the 4th item. That was a reasonable approach.

Now the standard deteriorated. The sales assistant held on the free items for us. We could only claim the free items after making payment at the cashier. That meant we have to make extra trip back to the section to hunt for the sales assistant, the one and only who served us in the first place.

I was not very happy about it. Why should John Little practice such a stupid policy, and make things difficult for the customer? Even the Immigration Authority of Singapore finds ways to cut down on waiting time, and uses automated counters, so that regular travelers can cut down on waiting time to clear customs. If civil service can cultivate a good customer service mindset, why should John Little do worse than them?

Great Singapore Sale is the time to enjoy and experience Singapore as a shopping paradise. It is not the time to experience bad management style.

We located the nearest cashier counter. Nobody was at the counter. There was no “not available” sign put up anyway. No indication that the counter was closed, since the cash register was ready for use.

We waited, hoping that some other employees would come forward to service us. Nobody came. Nobody even took a second look at us. There were so many employees with nothing much to do, except waiting for the customers to visit their section. That was very bad service. A departmental store did not make money when the customer browsed the items. A departmental store made money only when customers paid.

I would assume that all the cashier counters would have cashiers waiting eagerly to greet the shoppers. Since it is Great Singapore Sale, a busy time for retail chains, it is not time to close any cashier counter.

So, we had to look for another cashier counter, which was right at the other corner. We were the second customer in the queue. The lady in front of us were paying for her purchases. She wanted to use two vouchers to pay, but the cashier told her cannot. She was frustrated, and ashed “why cannot?” The cashier said “because the system not allow”.

That was very stupid. There is no notice that only one voucher is allowed to use at any transaction. The cashier, being inexperienced, asked her to hold on, and he looked for more experienced cashier to help him.

Well, both of them managed to resolve the matter. The customer obviously did not look happy, and there was a long queue behind us.

It was our turn. We needed to pay more than a hundred dollars for our items. Since the cashier counter had posted a notice that “earn linkpoints”, we handed over the card to earn linkpoints. Linkpoints is a reward points to reward shoppers. It is one of the largest in Singapore, since all union members and community centers members are automatically eligible to earn linkpoints. Many Singaporeans sign up to earn linkpoints rewards too.

Then we got to know that we had to pay in cash to earn the linkpoints. The value of the linkpoints earn is hardly more than a dollar in cash value. And the nearest ATM is on the next level, at the other corner of the Jurong Point Shopping Center. If I had known earlier all the hassles I would face, I would never enter John Little departmental store.

Too bad I did not know, and since we had taken the time to select and try the items, I decided to hunt for the ATM machine for cash withdrawal. After paying for the items, we still had to go back to hunt for the sales assistant to serve us earlier.

I felt that the management of John Little was very stupid. How many people in Singapore carried more than a hundred dollars cash in their wallet? Why should they penalize people who wanted to earn linkpoints?

I had never recommend John Little, since there was never any excellent customer service provided. After this, I would never speak of John Little in good lights. John Little departmental store has nothing unique or special house brand. The price is not lower than market, and definitely not the lowest you can find in Singapore.

It was so unfortunate that the my first shopping experience during Great Singapore Sales turned out to be so rotten I did not expect to be treated like a queen when I do my shopping during Great Singapore Sale. I expect to find the items I want, have a quick checkout, and continue my shopping elsewhere. After all, it’s Great Singapore Sale. Who wants to get stuck in the checkout counter for hours? And worse, who wants to leave the items at the cashier counter, hunts for the ATM machine to withdraw cash, returns to the cashier and pays for the items?

There are so many shops for people to earn linkpoints, and only John Little Department Store makes shoppers pay in cash in order to earn linkpoints, that is so stupid. Why make it so difficult for people to earn linkpoints?

Since the management of John Little is making shopping difficult for shoppers, I hope they will wake up in time to learn that “customer is always right”, and makes shopping as hassle free for shoppers as possible. If not, I hope John Little disappears from the retail industry.

Singapore is a shopping paradise, and only those retail chains capable of providing good service have the right to thrive. I hope a better retail chain can take over the retail space after the demise of John Little. I prefer a much better shopping experience, especially during Great Singapore Sale.

So folks, how is the shopping experience during Great Singapore Sale? I hope you have much better shopping experience during Great Singapore Sale than me. I would never recommend John Little to anyone.