77. Case Review: Hermes Singapore

The following encounter took place at the Liat Tower main store in Singapore. 

The welcome when we entered felt...awkward. The employee standing by the door seemed not at ease to be assigned the role, or maybe she was shy. She greeted a meek "Welcome" and looked away timidly when we greeted her back.

I headed to the counter displaying all the beautiful leather agendas and book covers, and asked a more senior looking lady whether the refill paper was acid-free. She responded with, "Arm...it's this brand of paper....paper something...I don't know leh." The lady stood there in silence while I continued browsing other items, and she did not take the initiative to find out the answer.

Moments later, I asked if she would not mind checking with her colleagues regarding the paper type, and if there were choices of paper grammage. She readily obliged and subsequently, three employees hovered over the same glass display case to engage in a 3-minute discussion/debate while I stood silently further away. One of them finally came back with, "I am sorry, we can only check on Monday." That was it.

Finally, I decided to proceed ahead with the purchase of a note pad. At the cashier, I was handed a cut-out piece of recycled paper (with print-out on the other side), and was asked to write my name and telephone number on it. There was no explanation as to why these details were required during payment, but this step was carried out in an automated manner. For a brief moment, I thought it was so that they could revert to me subsequently on my earlier enquiry, but it was not.

The cashier did not look up from the terminal and there was no smile at all. I wondered if this was her usual demeanour at work...

We left with no farewell extended as everyone seemed engaged or too far away from the door.


  • Minus 1 for lack of warm greeting

  • Minus 3 for poor product knowledge and for not taking initiative to find out more until being prompted

  • Minus 5 for the grouping, inefficiency, unprofessional behaviour and lack of follow-up

  • Minus 2 for the cashier's disengaging behaviour

  • Minus 3 for the disconnect with the brand's sophisticated image (e.g. speech, behaviour, product knowledge, recycled paper at cashier point)

  • Minus 1 for lack of farewell


Net Service Bank: Minus/Withdrawal of 15


Reflective thoughts: Review the above encounter again and strive to achieve a minimum deposit of 5 in the Service Bank. Also, list down three points that may lead to a perceived disconnect with your brand. What can be done to mitigate the negative association?

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