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Bad Service At The Montblanc Boutique.


Black Spot

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So after spending the morning at a construction site, I headed in to town to bring my Montblanc in for repair, The nib needs adjusting.
I walk in and can see that Saturday was not the best day to come in because there were two other people there ahead of me.

I sit down on a stool and decided to wait the store is nice to be in.
The staff took to giving me rather suspicious glances as they served the other people.
The one gentleman was a well dressed and some one they knew who spent several thousand.

I did not pay attention to the other couple in the store, but after they left the staff continued to ignore me, they put away the pen's, clean up, and busy themselves in every way except to acknowledge me.

Now I was getting annoyed and decided to sit there till closing time if that is what it took.

Eventually they called a Cuban lady down whose language skills were moderate and fountain pen knowledge basic to see what I wanted.

total waiting time over half a hour.

The other customers had been offered water or espresso but I was not.
I thought fine, I showed them my Etwie of pens and went through the two I thought needed servicing.
At first she could not see what was wrong with them, so I explained it to her.
She says that it is no problem. I am very happy to hear that, At that moment her rather aloof college jumps in and informs me that no the Montblanc-No.32 is to old to be serviced, well they could but it would start at 400 it's really not worth it he says. The other pen he gives a quick look and walks off.

She is uncertain what to do and goes to speak to him then tells me that the nib can be adjusted, he chimes in that it will cost 74.

"Really ?" I say annoyed at this point "74 huh. yes fix it that is why I am here."

She fills out all the paper work again minus the -No.32 and says that It will be done in two weeks.

I take my little slip and go, the other thing I noticed was that the sales people had rushed to get the door for the other customers but not me.

I am actually a humble person and feel a bit embarrassed when people jump around me getting doors and the like, But in this case It was the conspicuous absence of that and the air of condensation I was treated with that bothered me all the way home.

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What a terrible experience that must have been for you. It really is remarkable that we continue to find so many examples of prejudice (and condescension) in today's world.

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I apologise on their behalf.

 

As an idiot who opens doors for random people and doesn't really mind when other people lack common courtesy (hey, not everyone has manners!), I can't say that I can completely sympathize with you, but... Holy Mother of all that is good, that was just complete and utter (self-censoring here, but it's a long string of curses; I [double censor] hate prejudice).

 

I mean, FFS (please allow me that much), Montblanc is an "elite brand", yes, but that ought to make them feel more responsible towards their customers, not treat them like (sorry, I very rarely curse, even less frequently online, but holy EFF I'm tempted to risk forum rules).

 

Look. Dude, look. You're human, Humble as you may be, you have a right to speak to them, sternly but not heatedly, telling them off for their disrespect. That's all it is: disrespect. I can understand if they were extremely busy and had little enough time for anyone, but what they did just then? Yeah, that was A5-grade troll dung. I can't EFFING bear to see people treated like (bleep) that way.

 

... I'm going to stop typing now since I'm getting irate and can barely sanitize my own typing. I hope no one thinks of this as overreacting; perhaps this is just my social experience or lack thereof showing. Oh, and my own prejudices, of course.

 

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

"The price of an object should not only be what you had to pay for it, but also what you've had to sacrifice in order to obtain it." - <i>The Wisdom of The Internet</i><p class='bbc_center'><center><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/jr4g43.jpg"/></center>

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I am always shocked at the horrible salespeople high-end brands employ. You would think that, humanity aside, the salesperson would know that they should treat every customer like a King or Queen if for no other reason than it takes a few minutes and will lead to a huge commission. People are idiots.

Edited by TLMG

Montblanc Pen PolishFountain Pen Flush

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I am sorry that you have had a poor experience at the boutique. Please post your complaint to the Montblanc Facebook page. They are pretty good at responding to questions and complaint. I have always been treated very very well at my boutique, usually when I am wearing cut off jeans and a tshirt. There is no excuse for their behaviour.

" Gladly would he learn and gladly teach" G. Chaucer

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That's a terrible story! FWIW, I'd dress up (suit/tie/shirt/etc.), and go back to the same boutique to see how you're treated. If it's any differently from the last time, I'd call the manager and tell her/him your story and ask them this question:

"If you were me and you just experienced two entirely different levels of service, what would you do right now?"

 

If they backpedal and offer some half-hearted excuse for their staffs' behavior, tell them that you've already shared your experience with foremost group of global MB afficionados...and your next step is to identify the boutique (so we can avoid it), as well as escalate it to MB HQ to see what their response is.

 

FWIW, they were right about the 32 being an old pen and I'm a little surprised that they accepted it for servicing. That doesn't excuse their behaviour though...

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About ten months ago I was in O'Hare in Chicago. Having some time to kill I stopped by the Montblanc store, which had no customers present. I was dressed in a pair of jeans and a sport shirt and carrying my shoulder bag. You would have thought I was some tramp the way the two sales persons looked at me. I was browsing by looking into the locked lexan cases, however one clerk stood very close to me the entire time never once asking if I was interested in looking at something. About 15 minutes later I decided to leave without any words being said. Strange experience indeed. I thought to myself if these people think they are as high classed as the pens they sell, they are reinforcing the old saying that just because one may be standing in a garage, it doesn't make you a car.

"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" Patrick Henry

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I fear they did not except the 32 for servicing, I had several pens with me, they accepted my generations.

yes I agree that as a "elite brand" that ought to make them feel more responsible towards their customers.

I don't think I need to be treated like a King or Queen ( especially around 1789 to 1799) just be polite as you would to any other person.

I am not going to name the Boutique yet I would like to see what Montblanc has to say on the matter first. Also every employee they have reflects on the brand no matter where they are.

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I am so very sorry to hear about this. I totally know how it feels because since I moved to Dubai they have two flagship stores (owned by different companies). In one, for no reason whatsoever I am always welcomed and treated like royalty; in the other, my experience isn't much different from the one described above.

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That's a terrible story! FWIW, I'd dress up (suit/tie/shirt/etc.), and go back to the same boutique to see how you're treated. If it's any differently from the last time, I'd call the manager and tell her/him your story and ask them this question:

"If you were me and you just experienced two entirely different levels of service, what would you do right now?"

 

If they backpedal and offer some half-hearted excuse for their staffs' behavior, tell them that you've already shared your experience with foremost group of global MB afficionados...and your next step is to identify the boutique (so we can avoid it), as well as escalate it to MB HQ to see what their response is.

 

FWIW, they were right about the 32 being an old pen and I'm a little surprised that they accepted it for servicing. That doesn't excuse their behaviour though...

Megadittos on this.

 

And on reporting to Facebook.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Megadittos on this.

 

And on reporting to Facebook.

 

Not me! I'd dress up in my best pig farmer's overalls, redolent of pig manure, and load up my etui with a particularly coveted MB pen or three. Then I'd stride PROUDLY into the most posh MB boutique and happily be ignored for a while, putting greasy hand prints on the glass cases and getting glared at by the snooty staff. Then I'd collar the nearest and most persnickety of the bunch (anyone whose nose was positively twitching at this point or even behind a cologne-drizzled linen hanky) and ask to see one of the items in the case. Anything with four digits in the price. I'd hold it up, look at it and ask if they didn't have any choicer stock and pull out my money clip with a huge wad of cash (you can fake this with a lot of newspaper carefully cut, and flanked with 100 buck bills. Looks impressive. Chicks dig it.) Then I'd sniff and say that Dubai or Singapore had better stock last time I was there and walk out.

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Why would you not get up and approach them after the other shopper left? You must have looked very strange simply sitting there when the staff were available.

My Collection: Montblanc Writers Edition: Hemingway, Christie, Wilde, Voltaire, Dumas, Dostoevsky, Poe, Proust, Schiller, Dickens, Fitzgerald (set), Verne, Kafka, Cervantes, Woolf, Faulkner, Shaw, Mann, Twain, Collodi, Swift, Balzac, Defoe, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Saint-Exupery, Homer & Kipling. Montblanc Einstein (3,000) FP. Montblanc Heritage 1912 Resin FP. Montblanc Starwalker Resin: FP/BP/MP. Montblanc Traveller FP.

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Not me! I'd dress up in my best pig farmer's overalls, redolent of pig manure, and load up my etui with a particularly coveted MB pen or three. Then I'd stride PROUDLY into the most posh MB boutique and happily be ignored for a while, putting greasy hand prints on the glass cases and getting glared at by the snooty staff. Then I'd collar the nearest and most persnickety of the bunch (anyone whose nose was positively twitching at this point or even behind a cologne-drizzled linen hanky) and ask to see one of the items in the case. Anything with four digits in the price. I'd hold it up, look at it and ask if they didn't have any choicer stock and pull out my money clip with a huge wad of cash (you can fake this with a lot of newspaper carefully cut, and flanked with 100 buck bills. Looks impressive. Chicks dig it.) Then I'd sniff and say that Dubai or Singapore had better stock last time I was there and walk out.

Very badly needed a laugh, got one out of this. Danke schön :))

"The price of an object should not only be what you had to pay for it, but also what you've had to sacrifice in order to obtain it." - <i>The Wisdom of The Internet</i><p class='bbc_center'><center><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/jr4g43.jpg"/></center>

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Fascinatin'.......

 

Fred

...Keep Buying Defense Bonds and Stamps and

Heroes like Buzz Wagner Will Keep 'em Flying

 

 

Edited by Freddy
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Ive witnessed a boutique turning away a pair of guys dressed up as hip hop stars and acting like a hiphop stars.

 

its the attitude that gets the attention and the respect. not the way you wear

 

but this boutique sounds shady and ill trained.

'The Yo-Yo maneuver is very difficult to explain. It was first perfected by the well-known Chinese fighter pilot Yo-Yo Noritake. He also found it difficult to explain, being quite devoid of English.

So we left it at that. He showed us the maneuver after a sort. B*****d stole my kill.'

-Squadron Leader K. G. Holland, RAF. WWII China.

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Why would you not get up and approach them after the other shopper left? You must have looked very strange simply sitting there when the staff were available.

Why should he have to approach the staff? This is a Luxury brand and the associates should approach the customers. The other customers were offered beverages and the op was not. This story kinda reminds me of pretty woman.

WTB Sheaffer Balance oversized with a flex nib, semi flex, broad, or medium in carmine red or grey striated.

 

Wtb Sheaffer Pfm in black or blue with a medium or broad nib.

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