The GAP, Skip Customer Service

My wife has been a GAP store fan since well before I met her. She introduced me to the brand, and my attachment to it was when my father first went to the USA, he bought me a shirt from there. Having the GAP store in South Africa, has been "cool", albeit I find their price point much higher here, than it is internationally when I buy from their stores. That being said, I was still a loyal customer, with our children now being branded GAP in just about every type of outfit.

The GAP at Cavendish today, changed my view of the brand completely. My wife and kids we there as they had "wondered into some items of clothing". Pure impulse buying as it was not planned, that's the type of customers we are talking here. As they were paying, I noticed on the counter that there was a sign to the effect of if you spend R350, you will get a bottle of Skip Liquid (a washing agent). The cashier had not bothered to make my wife aware of it, and I brought it to their attention and wondered why my wife's purchases for our daughters did not qualify.

The cashier apologised and took a bottle out, to which I asked if it was for every R350 spent, or the first R350 (reading the sign that was not clear). She said it was per customer, and so I told her that if that is the case, we should get two bottles given there were two customers (who had spent he qualifying amount). She chose to argue that we made one payment and it was one customer.

It was like a red rag to a bull for me! I explained to her that we bought items of clothing for two people not one. That in my mind is two customers. The fact that one person is paying for the transaction should not   confuse matters. I even gave her an out and said if my wife and I came in with each child separately and paid for the clothes, I would be entitled to two bottles. She was not getting it, and out of principle now I was not going to let this go. I told her to call her manager and seek advice, as now she was about to upset a customer who had spent over R1,000 over a bottle worth R50 at most.

She called her manager, and while the manager seemed to have reluctant acceptance, I could see that they did not get my issue with the situation. The manager honoured the two bottles, because by then I had threatened to return the goods and they would therefore lose the sale. They were missing how to define their customer and in turn how to treat the customer. What was worse, was I noticed that as we we were arguing, both my daughters were wearing GAP Hoodies, clearly branded. My wife was wearing GAP jeans (a lot more subtle from a branding perspective). What were they thinking, if that is how they treat repeat customers (even as a first time buyer their rationale is not logical)?

It's month end, and the store was empty. Growing up, going to a retailer on the weekend in and around payday was chaos. So footfall for the GAP in my mind needs to be well attended to, to convert to sale. Pricing where the GAP is pricing in South Africa, they need customer service that encourages their niche market to keep coming back. 

Options are plenty with International Retailers coming here, and that type of behaviour only makes one rub their hands with glee as one waits for H&M to arrive. This to add to options like Cotton On, which for me has been the best positioned clothing Retail Brand to have hit the South African consumer, where share of wallet is shrinking for clothing retailers.

A bottle of Skip, and my perception of The GAP brand is changed. I guess if you are not clear about who or what a customer is, you will skip out on customer service. I have learned from the experience, I certainly hope the staff at The Cavendish GAP store have too.