Toy Store Shuns Child Customer


A three-year-old boy who called a toy shop's customer service helpline to complain about a broken toy was shocked when the customer service representative hung up on him.
Jasper Duckett of Gloucester, was unhappy that the water pistol he had bought with his pocket money was faulty.
The three-year-old purchased the toy for £3.99 in May, only to discover that water leaked through a hole in the casing. Like any dissatisfied customer, he decided to call the company to request a replacement.
After calling the Gloucester branch of Smyths Toy Superstores to personally complain about his faulty toy, he was left shocked after being abruptly cut off by the customer service representative. 
His father said: “Jasper wasn't happy to find out that he'd spent his hard-earned pocket money on a broken toy. He asked me if he could call the store himself to complain and ask for a replacement. I was a little surprised when he asked, but he's always been very chatty and confident so I let him speak for himself.”
“He was very polite on the phone and I thought that the call handler would have asked to speak to Mum or Dad before hanging up on Jasper. I think it's something we can all relate to when it comes to being on the receiving end of bad customer service.”
His father Robert Nicholl filmed the entire incident and later posted a video on Smyths Toy Superstores' Facebook page to make them aware of the poor customer service.
Smyths Toy Superstores eventually replied to Robert's Facebook post, apologising for the call handler's actions. The post said: “Oh dear, sorry about that! They may have thought it was a prank call, but if you pop into store in person they'll be happy to help.”
Mr Nicholl said: “I was surprised at their response because essentially, all of Smyths Toy Superstores customers are children. Their staff speak to children all day in the store, so why wouldn't they speak to a child over the phone?”

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