Not ALL Customer Service in Korea Sucks
A couple of days ago when I lamented the sorry state of customer service, i chose my words carefully. I said “Customer Service in Korea Sucks” and added parentetically “(for the most part)”. I put that tag on the end because sometimes, very good things happen.
Contast the experience a few days ago with the experience I had last night. In my continuing quest for the bluetooth-enabled Samsung SGH-D500 mobile phone, I decided to make another attempt at dealing with KTF customer service at a DIFFERENT outlet….one street away from the place i visited the other day.
Here is a transcript of the conversation I had with the customer service guy at the smaller outlet last night:
ME: Excuse me. I heard the Samsung SGH-D500 was going to be released through KTF this week. Do you know when it will be released and how much it will cost?
HIM: D-500? The Blue Black?
ME: Yes.
HIM: Ah. They changed the model name from SGH-D500 to SPH-6900 for domestic sales through KTF. It was supposed to be released today. I’m not sure if it was or not. When new products are released they send the to the KTF central warehouse. From there, they are distributed around the country. It always takes two or three days for things to get to Pusan, because they give everything to Seoul first.
ME: Oh.. I see. Do you have any idea how much it will cost?
HIM: Not yet, but I would guess around 600,000 won. Check back in a few days.
ME: Ok.. Thank you.
HIM: Wait! Give me your phone number and I will put a note here on my computer to call you when it comes in so you don’t have to keep checking back.
ME: Great. Thanks. ***-****-****
HIM: (typing on his computer)….Oh… I see your current phone is less than 6 months old. You will have had it for six months on the 28th. We don’t buy back phones that are less than 6 months old. If you wait until the 28th, we can buy your old one back from you, which will knock about 200,000 won off the price of the new model….Then again…if you don’t want to wait, we will see what we can come up with to help you out.
ME: Wow. Thank you very much. Really.
HIM: No no.. The pleasure is all mine. I will call you when it comes in.
ME: Thank you. Bye.
HIM: Thank you for coming in. Bye.
THAT was a perfect commercially-oriented exchange. It took about two minutes total to get in and get out. Slick. Professional.
He didn’t try to avoid men when I went into the store. He didn’t start giggleing and poking his co-workers in the side trying to get someone else to deal with me. He didn’t bat an eyelid when I started speaking in Korea. He was courteous, kind, efficient.
That is how EVERY transaction in this country should go. Unfortunately, it is such a rare occurance that it actually made me happy. It is so rare that i felt it warranted special mention…. Special mention for treating people decently, acting professionally, and doing your job well? That’s pretty sad when you think about it.