Uniworth: A worthy brand with worthless customer service

A customer that walks into a store is king. In all probability ‘The Customer King’ needs to be attended to like a real one. This is the golden rule of sales and marketing. Any brand that negates this principle falls on its head sooner or later. Uniworth, a brand that enjoys a legacy of excellence of around 50 years, will crumble down to dust if it kept treating its customers in an extremely unreasonable manner.

It so happened that Mr. Afzaal Haider (CEO Media Professionals) walked into Uniworth Shirt & Tie Shop, Johar Town Lahore. He is one of Uniworth’s loyal and regular customers. He bought a few shirts. Due to the rigorous gym routine, he was not sure if he could use the same 16 ½ collar size, so he decided to buy 2 shirts with 16 inch and 4 with 16 ½ inch collar size.

The next day when he tried the shirt with the 16-inch collar, it was a perfect fit. He decided to replace the 16 ½ sizes with 16. Mr. Afzaal took the shirts back to Uniworth Shirt & Tie Shop. He was told by Mr. Imran Haider, the sales representative, that the shirts will not be replaced. “What then?” Mr. Afzaal asked. “We will alter the shirts according to your size”, the sales representative replied. Mr. Afzaal had no issues whatsoever. It was fine for him if the size could be altered exactly to his requirement.

After a few days, he collected the altered shirts from Uniworth store. When he tried the shirts at home, they were far from fit. Only the sleeves were shortened and the rest of the shirt was exactly as it was before. He went back to the store and complained. The sales staff again assured him that the shirts will be fixed. Next time, it was even worse. The shirts were a complete mess. Mr. Afzaal did not get what he paid for. He asked for a replacement and was denied. Even after talking to Rana Mohsin, the manager of the outlet, the issue could not be resolved.

Uniworth could not compensate a loyal customer nor did it exhibit the common sense to address a straightforward matter. Instead, it said that it was against the company policy to replace a purchased item. It is not a matter of a few shirts, nor is it about a few thousand rupees. It is about trust and relationship. Trust and relationships once broken are never repaired. Uniworth may have saved a few shirts but it certainly has lost a loyal customer.

Customer service standards are very low in Pakistan. The majority of the customers are not aware of their rights. Consumer courts are very rarely moved to any effect. As a result, brands exploit the customers especially when it comes to after-sales services. Uniworth has always been a reputable brand. It needs to revisit its brand ethos, its sales, and after-sales strategy, and above all, it has to realize the value of the customer who after all is King.