Yesterday, I purchased two bottles of women's perfume (Calvin Klein's Contradiction and Davidoff's Cool Water) from Eternia, the 'upscale' department store that is part of Premson's Breach Candy, Mumbai.
I was looking forward to using Contradiction again as I have been using it for several years but it has been out of stock in most South Mumbai shops for a few months now. I thought that finding it at Eternia was a stroke of good luck! How wrong I was!
This morning, I unwrapped the package (it was perfectly wrapped with the plastic covering as well as the usual packaging) and sprayed some onto my pulse points on my inner wrists and below my ears. I was SHOCKED to realise that the fragrance was totally FOUL and that I was reeking of not just fake perfume but downright AWFUL fake perfume! The perfume when sprayed, bubbled like soda instead of the usual smooth application. When I opened the Cool Waters (this was not wrapped in plastic, which I hadn't noticed when I picked it up yesterday), it too was definitely fake.
I made time from work to go back to the store to tell them their supplier was giving them duplicates. I hoped they'd have some originals that they'd give me in exchange. But I was HORRIFIED to see that the store seemed blase and complacent about my complaint! They acted like I was imagining the foul fragrance. They insisted that the bottles were original (I'm sure the BOTTLES were, but they must have been used ones that were refilled). They even asked me to go back home and bring back any empty bottles of Contradiction that I may have so they could compare and ascertain for themselves. When I insisted that I have been using this perfume for years and know EXACTLY how it smells, the man at the cash counter of the perfume section asked his assistant to take me to the chief cashier for a refund. This chief cashier heard the story, acted like I was some sort of cheat and counted out the money and threw it on the counter in front of me, all the while muttering that the perfume was not fake. I told him that I'm passionate about fragrances and that it wasn't just about MY money but the fact that they were cheating customers by selling fake icky perfumes to unsuspecting buyers. He shrugged and said, "You're wrong! This is Contradiction, we've sold thousands of bottles of it! "
I shudder to think what people are thinking of perfume makers when they use the non-originals and someone tells them they stink or their clothes get stained. Or worse.
I wish someone would take action against such department stores. They may be small, but think of what happens to your brand value when they stock duplicates?
Anyone at Calvin Klein listening? They had all the other big brands as well... Hugo Boss, Clinique, Estee lauder, and hundreds of others!
Also, is there anything I can do? The man at the cash counter had also shaken his head about giving me a receipt when I made the initial purchase. Is that linked to this scam they're perpetrating? I'm still so pissed off that one of my fave perfumes was treated thus.
If anyone has any suggestions, pls write to me at [email protected]
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