Dear Christine, I was recently asked by someone to buy a cellphone with a radio.
I was surprised that in order to listen to the radio when I am travelling I would have to buy a set of headphones.
That should never be. Headphones should have been in the box when I bought the phone.
When will business-owners be brought before the law courts for removing these things from the buyer’s box?
Recently, too, I bought a radio and after six weeks it stopped playing. I took it back. The radio refused to play when it was plugged in but worked with batteries.
I was told if that had happened in four weeks I would have got it replaced, but I can go and see if I can get a technician to repair it.
I am fed up with this high-class robbery that poor people in this country have to face daily.
– Mash vs Ca
Dear Mash vs Ca,
You have raised a number of issues which need to be addressed.
First, the missing headphones. Ordinarily, these do come as part of the package when you buy a new cellphone.
Clearly, you did not check to ensure you had all the accessories in the box that is usually clearly marked on the leaflet that comes with each of these devices.
Be that as it may, you never said whether you returned to the store. Assuming that you didn’t, then you cannot accuse the store-owner of cheating you.
On the second matter, it seems they were telling you that the warranty on your radio was for only four weeks, which is strange.
A service contract on a new radio is usually for at least a year.
Anyway, those who dealt with you should have shown you where it states your warranty was for only a month. If they had done this you would be less likely to feel as though you were cheated. This is a case of poor customer service.
Your assertion that business-owners sometimes short-change their customers is a widely held view which, in some cases, may be true, given the number of incidents people report.
However, those business people who do this would have to be short-sighted, as they lose customers’ patronage and run the risk of being talked about in negative terms.
In business, especially the competitive retail sector, having a good reputation is vital to one’s growth and survival. Those business people who short-change their customers usually don’t survive long.
– Christine
