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Kuwait Shopping

Good customer care

Around a week ago the local blog His & Hers posted about a price discrepancy they spotted at River Island and they were very upset because they felt cheated. River Island responded to their post by inviting them over for a meeting so they could explain to them why things are priced the way they are. They didn’t have to do this but they took the extra effort to make things right. You can check that post [Here]

Yesterday on the Dubai Eye radio station during the show Techno Tuesday (Listen here 2nd file starting at 3:30) they brought up the issue I am having with Benihana and one of the hosts mentioned Aramex as a company that handles criticism really well which I have to say is absolutely true. Those of you who have been reading my blog know how much and how often I’ve criticized Aramex in the past and it never got personal. I’ve actually been with them for over 10 years now and I was one of their first 200 customers and they’ve always taken criticism from me and their customers and used it to try and improve their service. Not once did I receive a warning from them or have a package of mine “accidentally” get sent to China. In fact they even wanted me to post asking my readers what issues they also had with them, which I ended up doing.

Now that’s good customer care.

36 replies on “Good customer care”

These are what you call mature brands. They classify all negative feedback as ‘Constructive Criticism’ and view it as an opportunity to improve their services, products and environment.

In your case my friend, you are a victim of a very huge and misplaced EGO!

Man, you are pushing so hard on Benihana 🙂

a couple of days ago someone from pizza hut emailed me asking me for my contact number and i ended up by calling him i have thought that they are going to “Sue” me but seems like they wanted to thank me for my positive and negative posts

and yes, that’s what i call “CUSTOMER CARE”

Nice! But shouldn’t the dude have some white cloth tied to his head just like the pan-slapping chef in the commercial? 😀

hi Mark, I’m a big fan of your blog. initially i first saw this post on His/hers q8, and i believe it does show an example of great customer service. The hike in price is noticeable, but to me it means i can stay on trend, which keeps me shopping at river.

And about the Benihana issue, i do agree that it was idiotic to put fire on the flame and could have went with two options, either disregard negative posts which many companies tend to do, or address it like River and Aramex. As a customer i find that educating me actually drove me closer and made me feel more valued, and respected. so cheers to River.

good luck with your case 🙂

LOL!!!It’s between 2 and 5, won’t say which though. My Dad was one of the first to get an Aramex box. Every time (which is every time I order something online, switching to DHL) I call they’re surprised as hell when I give them the mailbox number and always ask for me to repeat it lol.

What River Island & Aramex do is called ‘professionalism’. To Benihana, it’s never too late to withdraw & apologize. By doing this, they save some face. Don’t they know that Kuwait bloggers help bring business to restaurants & cafes through reviews, wether good or bad. Anyone for Wasabi/Maki?
Good luck Mark

I check your blog daily, and I do read your reviews and I do find them very useful but I don’t ever recall avoiding anything or hating anything because of them! Yes I remember you had many negative comments about Aramex but I don’t feel they have changed my perception about them. I also read your first review about Benihana and in fact I felt tempted to visit them after reading it. We are not alike and what you say is your opinion and if you say something is really good or really bad I sometimes get tempted to see what you mean and of course I don’t always agree with your opinion.

So, when I read your Benihana review I was indeed planning on visiting them and every time I pass by them I point out at their shop and talk to my friends about visiting them sometimes… however after their lawsuit, now I point at them and tell my friends how nasty they are and how i’d never step a foot into their place unless they publish an official apology not only to you but every one blogging or commenting on blogs. Their move was so insulting and I would never visit a place that treat its customers that way… heck i wouldn’t go there even if they invite me, they are not good with their guests.

I had 3GS but was looking to buy iPhone 4 from apple store in uk. I have shop & ship account with them which I opened a week ago after reading on a blog, but after going through all the comments I am changing mind and rather buy it here. I felt like 35$ wasted for opening shop & ship. Will try there service may be with some cheaper item and see if I can trust them,

It seems Benihana has been planning this for a while. Just checked the newest issue of Bazaar and they have a two page spread in their ,with the staff from Bazaar giving them a good long review. Not sure whether they were invited by Benihana or if the staff was acting on their own.

Thought you might want to check that out.

I have yet to read a “bad” review in Bazaar. That magazine’s reviews are always glowing – and coincidentally, in the same issue where the restaurant (or its parent) has a huge ad.

Coincidence? I think not.

I agree about Aramex, and trust me no matter how many times we move to those new and uprising shipping companies like U Shop We Ship or DHL Easyshop I find myself going back to Aramex even with all their faults I find their service to be quite friendly and where do you find a place with a Regional Manager seeking to make everything right with you, especially using Twitter or their Email.

I saw the post on His & Hers & I had the same thing at The White Company. I bought a bath matt out of sale, a month later they had a sale on so i went in to see if i could get another one for less & it was 10kd more!! I asked the shop manager & he said that I had bought it during a “secret sale” and not to tell everyone?!?!
I also got a coffee table at The One, it was marked as 150kd, then it suddenly went up to 300kd, there was no way I was paying that so I left it, sure enough, within a few weeks there was a 50% sale & it was back at 150kd!!!

Hi Mark. Here’s something useful for brands to learn from when it comes to Social Media and lawsuits https://ht.ly/3YJSO Benihana Kuwait missed this one…was too busy asking “btw are you lebanese” and filling up court papers….monkeys.

Hi Mark,

I was in the studio at the time as well (I’m @TDAllonsy) . I had a particularly unpleasant experience with Aramex which I documented on my blog: https://tdallonsy.posterous.com/oi-aramex – they didn’t sue me. Instead they called me up and heard me out about what went wrong and how they could improve. THAT’S customer service!

I hope BenihanaKuwait will stop the childish behaviour and begin to attempt to clean up their reputation. It’s not looking very pleasant or appealing at the moment.

Best of Luck
Regards,
~Anastasia

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