This is a re-review mainly on service quality! My opinions on the store itself remain unchanged but my opinion on the staff has radically shifted.
Let me explain:
I needed to return an item I had recently (i.e. an hour before) bought because it was totally the wrong size. Simple enough you say, well well well, I have just spent the past 58 minutes of my life trying to accomplish this modest feat. (Yes I timed it!) Staff member after staff member that I asked directed me to another part of the store where another member of staff directed me to another part.
This is how it went:
-Walked into the store and stood at what I assumed was the info counter (it is right at the entrance to the store and is a large desk/cashier area with information and tips cards on it) and tried to get the attention of the lady seated there. After 5 minutes and various "Bitte's" and "Entschuldigung's" she finally bothered to turn around and address me. I explained what I wanted and she stuck a finger out and said "Kunderbüro!" and turned back to what she was doing.
-So I decided to look on the floor map to see where the customer service desk was. It directed me to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor there was no obvious customer service desk so I made a lazy circuit of the floor looking for someone to help. There were very few employees and those that there were, were sitting behind desks dealing with other customers. Having made a complete circuit of the floor I spotted an employee coming up the stairs. I waited for her to get close and asked her where I could return my item. She looked at me and pointed to the back and said "at the end on the left." So I proceeded to the back and left and found....nothing but furniture. Ok I must have misunderstood so I went and waited at one of the manned desks for someone else to ask. After a couple of amusing minutes watching the employee enter numbers into a calculator he looked up and I enquired where I could return my item. He pointed in the opposite direction and told me there are two doors at the far end, its the right one. Ok that sounds more like it! Well I found the doors and the left one had on it "Tax Free" and "Please close the door." Always one for adventure I knocked and opened it up only to find the back office of Leiner with about 20 people furiously tapping away on computers. Seeing as I have found where the employees seem all to be I asked the nearest lady where I could return my item. She looked at me as if I was an absolute idiot and then directed me to the baby section on the 4th floor.
-The 4th floor did indeed have a baby section with one employee chatting away to a customer who was obviously her friend. They were chatting about the holidays they planned to take in the summer. Nice! I waited (a bit) patiently but she never acknowledged my existence or even looked my way. Luckily (hahaha) another employee walked passed and I made my enquiry with her. She looked bemused and pointed toward the back of the store and said to try there. (See where this is going?) Well there was no customer service desk there either and by this time I was getting a little ticked off. I stormed to another occupied desk where the saleslady was talking to another couple and demanded that she help me! I was a bit rude, I must admit, but I was nearly at the stage of just leaving the item in the lift and walking away. (For the amount of money I was looking to recuperate this began to feel like the most sensible option.) She took one look at the sales slip and directed me to the ground floor again...
-I stormed down to the ground floor and grabbed the first person I saw and demanded help! "No problem at all was her response, please come this way." She led me to a tiny desk around the back of a pillar and asked me whether I wanted to exchange the item or if I wanted the money back. I said I wanted the money back (I really didn't want to give them any of my money, would rather spend it elsewhere) and then she said that sorry because I had paid by card the only thing she could do was give me a voucher for the amount I had spent and couldn't refund my money. I didn't have any more energy to be upset so admitting defeat I accepted the voucher and finally made my way, with a weary groan, outside thinking all the time thank goodness I don't have a gun!
Hopefully this is the last time I ever have to go into Leiner again!
So with that in mind, if there is anyone who wants a Leiner voucher worth 24.90€ please contact me! read more
