My Breakup with Zara

Oh, Zara. It didn't have to be this way.

In Berlin at a conference this past June, the weather suddenly turned from deliciously cool for exploring to languid and hot. My next destination promised more sticky humidity; the comfort quality of the clothes I stuffed into a carry on weren't consistent with hot weather walks. A shopping adventure always feels like fun - and a chance to check out Berlin's "Mitte" shops. I stumbled upon a brand I know and trust. Floaty-light bottle-green pants and a matching top caught my eye when I walked in to the Zara shop near Alexander Platz. They fit beautifully! I could be in and out and make it back to the next conference session in time!

Armed with shopping-justifying self-talk, I bought the matching outfit which I could enhance perfectly with a scarf I'd brought. I wore it to the event scheduled for that night. The compliments (yes, more justification!) I received made me enjoy wearing it even more on the flight to Stuttgart the next afternoon.

By the time I reached Stuttgart, the pants part of the outfit were, in fact, in tatters. It seemed the inside seems had no allowance and they simply fell apart. Gah! I had another few days before I left for London, and I thought that outfit would be great to wash out and wear home to Toronto. Down to the warm clothing choices again. I also understood I'd have work to do to get my money back for the pants.  I had a slim chance of getting a refund on the top that matched. My strategy was to approach requesting the refund without making anyone wrong and to explain it was an outfit without including the top in the request, thinking inviting someone focused on my experience to turn my disappointment around offered the best outcome would offer the best outcome for all involved. My choice of store felt reinforced as there's a Zara store back home in Toronto within walking distance. I knew this because I shop there as often as anywhere else on Bloor Street.

Before heading home, I wrote an email to Zara's customer service department using a link on their website and received no response after a few days. I wasn't able to include pictures of the pants and the original receipt using the form. When I got back to Toronto, I took the receipt, pants and top back to the Zara store on Bloor Street. As a service guru, I know well how a transaction works better with positive and friendly energy from both sides of the service equation. My approach to the counter was friendly and inviting (yes, I do get who the customer is in this story) and I told the salesperson very clearly what had happened. My heart started to sink a little receiving no smile or eye contact from the person who I'd initially assumed was hired and trained to increase Zara's sales. You know, hired for being wired to delight, trained to focus on the customer's experience by being attentive and caring. There was no hesitation on her part after I'd told my story (only five days had passed since the original purchase in Berlin): "Unfortunately, if you bought them in another country we can't do anything for you."   

Unfortunately? For whom? She didn't look like the misfortune of a bad product was any of her or her store's concern. I asked if I could speak to the manager. 15 minutes passed. Guess what? Identical response, including the kick off with "Unfortunately". The manager also told me that they 'had nothing to do with what was sold in other countries, and we wouldn't even exchange it even if we had the same thing stocked here'.  Woah. Going out of one's way to make the customer wrong.  Assume no responsibility. Is this how Zara trains their sales staff? Why on earth would I go back to any of their locations?


 I returned to my house and found an email response from Zara's head office advising me to - you guessed it! - return the pants to a store in Toronto for a refund. I wrote back to them, included the pictures and scan of the receipt and told them I'd been refused any help whatsoever. In fact, my experience was that they couldn't have cared less. Zara's head office asked me for more details and there was a lot of backing-and-forthing. To their credit they offered to pay me the amount for the pants in a bank draft (my experience being paid this way years ago while teaching on-line English was that much of that would be lost in transaction fees, so I asked that they credit the amount to my credit card. They finally said they would do that, and would I email them all the details of my credit card? I asked them to call me, as giving them the card and its related back-of-the-card number and expiry date made little sense. They finally acknowledged they had what they needed to process the refund. It didn't appear on any statements, so I emailed them again and was told 'it was being processed'. Someone from the accounting department wrote me back and asked for information again, leaving me wondering. If I hadn't followed up, would I have ever received the refund? I doubt it. The refund for the pants appeared two months later. I'm stuck with an expensive top I haven't worn since the pants self-destructed. What does Zara have? A refund from their manufacturer, or small loss? What else did they lose?

What I lost: A lovely outfit, at least 6 hours of my time seeking a refund from the store and the head office and the comfort level of feeling welcome when walking into a favourite shop I once frequented and feeling valued as a customer.

What Zara lost: Me. A customer who made a purchase at one of their stores at least four times a year will not return to any of their locations, ever. Not when there's a sale, not for gifts for any of the 20 or so young women in my life. My goodwill. Gone is my perception that their brand would stand by its products and care about their customer. Gone is my trust in the brand - and the trust of others who read this or talk to me about Zara.

Preventable and unnecessary losses. Service transactions are stories. Stories get shared. This story could have been so different. I would have loved to tell the story about Zara creating a raving fan of me! What a missed opportunity to demonstrate at Zara on Bloor Street or their head office to take a potentially negative experience into a stellar one. Turn it around - you know, by putting the customer's experience first and foremost and trying to stand in the customer's shoes. "Gee, how would I feel if I'd bought a two-piece outfit for close to $200 and one of the pieces fell apart in a day? I would want my money back and an acknowledgement of my purchase gone wrong. Then I could buy another outfit - I might even shop at Zara for it - and buy additional items while I'm there."  Take action - offering to 'make it right' for the customer creates more than a satisfied customer - it creates a raving fan. Someone who tells everyone they know how fabulously they were treated and how they can't wait to go back. What an excellent opportunity to leverage a bad situation into increased business. You blew it, Zara - your representatives let me and your brand down.

Zara, I can help our relationship get back on track. Contact me www.farrantservicesolutions.com to find out how to make raving fans.