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05/12/2008
Transcript of letter sent to HSBC and ellenborough market street cafe.

This has been a very unsatisfactory and disappointing customer experience. What started out as a birthday dinner has unravelled into an unbelievably audacious episode!

22nd October 2008: Dinner for 2 at EMSC. HSBC discount is denied at payment counter.
23rd October 2008:
Call made to HSBC customer service. HSBC contacts EMSC.
24th October 2008:
HSBC arranges for complimentary dinner for 2 at EMSC. Reservation made for 30th November 2008.
29th November 2008:
Attempt to confirm reservation is unsuccessful. Spoke to Edwin of HSBC and Murugan of EMSC.
1st December 2008:
Marianne of HSBC calls. Communicates that no record of conversation in October. This is the last call made. No resolution.

On the 22nd of October, we were at Ellenborough Market Street Café at Swissotel Merchant Court for dinner. At the payment counter, we were told that HSBC’s 15% discount was not applicable. This was news to us, as this discount was posted on the HSBC website. Bewildered, we proceeded to pay with another credit card.

The next day, we checked on this discount and a call to HSBC’s customer service verified its validity. The kind gentleman we spoke to promised to look into the matter. He reverted on 24th October 2008, a day later. The outcome, as was told to us, was that EMSC had made a mistake in failing to offer this discount. We were told that we were given a complimentary dinner for two at EMSC. On hearing this, we proceeded to make a reservation on 30th November 2008 through HSBC. The kind gentleman called back later to confirm our complimentary dinner reservation after checking with the hotel.

On 29th November 2008, we called to confirm our reservation for the following night. To our amazement, we were told that there was no record whatsoever. Perplexed, we spoke to Mr Murugan, the assistant manager at EMSC and Mr Edwin, the assistant manager of the call centre at HSBC. The conversation with Mr Edwin yielded nothing as we were told that there were no records of the October correspondence. Mr Murugan also reverted that EMSC had no record of a reservation either.

As a matter of speaking, Marianne of HSBC called on 1st December 2008. In the single conversation, she repeated the no record found conclusion espoused by Mr Edwin. She did not offer any further resolution. We expressed our displeasure at the whole episode and our call ended with the understanding that this matter would be further looked into. Ever since then, there has been no news from either HSBC or EMSC.

What are our thoughts on this matter? Infuriating! The audacity of this whole episode baffles. How can our correspondence have gone unrecorded? Once our complimentary dinner was confirmed in October, we gave it no more thought. Please remember that this dinner should never have taken place if EMSC had not made the mistake in the first place.

What we have now is both sides claiming a non-event. The nonchalance displayed is preposterous. The job of policing retailers does not lie with the consumer and it is not for the consumer to decide who has erred here. The spoken word is not honoured. How can a disservice occur twice, consecutively? The irresponsibility has caused immense disappointment. The trust, now lost, will be hard to regain.

We are not asking for another complimentary dinner. Is it worth all the bother for the 15% discount? The accountability has been disappointing, given the high standards of service both parties stand by.

A rapid response will be appreciated.

wizzing away on 12:00 PM

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