Pacific Place Store: Chanel and Louis Vuitton Customer Service Report

This report provides a comparative analysis of customer service practices at Louis Vuitton and Chanel stores in Pacific Place, Hong Kong. The study examines staff behavior, communication skills, store environment, and overall customer experience. The report details the findings from store visits, including observations on staff professionalism, product knowledge, return policies, and the use of technology. It also evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each brand's customer service, providing specific recommendations for improvements, such as enhancing phone communication, extending return policies, implementing website chatbots, and improving social media presence. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and suggestions for enhancing customer satisfaction and brand loyalty for both luxury retailers.

Running Head: Customer Relationship management
Customer relationship management
Chanel and Louis Vuitton

Customer relationship management 1
Executive Summary
Customer service is a crucial aspect for the success of any brand. This includes both pre sales
service as well as post sale service. As a part of understanding customer service we visited Louis
Vuitton and Chanel store located in Pacific Place, Hong Kong. We effectively noticed the staff
behavior, communication skills and attitudes and paid attention to small details like the
cleanliness of the store, number of billing counters, seating arrangements etc. We even probed
the staff and tried to gather more information about the customer service standards of the brand.
The report below summarizes our experience of the same and throws light upon the current
customer service standard of both the brands. Based on our analysis, we have provided a few
recommendation that the brands can work upon for enhanced customer service.

Customer relationship management 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Description of the shop....................................................................................................................1
Summary of experience...................................................................................................................1
Louis Vuitton...............................................................................................................................1
Chanel..........................................................................................................................................1
Customer Service Practices.............................................................................................................1
Louis Vuitton...............................................................................................................................1
Chanel..........................................................................................................................................1
Communication abilities..................................................................................................................1
Louis Vuitton...............................................................................................................................1
Chanel..........................................................................................................................................1
Recommended improvements.........................................................................................................1
Louis Vuitton...............................................................................................................................1
Chanel..........................................................................................................................................1
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................1

Customer relationship management 3
Description of the shop
The shops we visited were “Louis Vuitton, Pacific Place” and “Chanel, Pacific place”.
Summary of experience
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton is a leading lifestyle products brand specializing in bags, shoes and travel
accessories. The brand came into existence in 1854 and since then has been a leading lifestyle
brand (Tak, 2015). It has over 460 stores in 50 countries across the globe (Berg, 2014). We
visited the Pacific place in Hong Kong store in evening at 5:30pm. The store was easy to locate
as their address mentioned on Google was clear. The store was quite crowded but still the sales
team was able to understand that we are potential customers and greeted us with a smile. They
were all wearing black or grey color suits and looked professional (Dahlberg, 2016). Before
visiting the shop, we can telephoned them but it went unanswered. We specifically asked for
bags and shoes and the sales person assigned to us showed a great variety of them. We asked
them to show us eye wear sunglasses but they did not have them in store and apologized for the
same. They did not offer delivery of the products and told us that we can exchange them for full
refund within 14 days or we can exchange the product for store credit within 1 month (Liu,
2014).
The store was elitist, sophisticated and classy. It had a very positive vibe. Most of the customers
looked rich and belonged to upper middle class of the society (Solomon, 2014). We asked them
if someone from the headquarters visits this store and they mentioned that they send a daily
report to the headquarters about their sales and in store items. And once a quarter someone visits
from the headquarters to take a look at the store ongoing. As a company policy LV sends
mystery shoppers to gain an idea about customer service. They did not offer any student
discount. Although they answered all our questions properly, they seemed to get impatient after
30 minutes. This could be because the store was getting more crowded.

Customer relationship management 4
Chanel
Chanel is a French brand that has positioned itself as a luxurious lifestyle brand targeting the
upper middle class of the society (Kottemann, 2016). The brand specializes in haute culture and
read to wear clothes and caters mainly to women with an elegant taste (Sugimoto, 2017). We
visited this store at 7pm in the evening. It was easy to locate once we entered pacific place. The
sales staff was wearing uniforms and appeared extremely professional and well dressed. The
store was clean and the lighting was sufficient. The number of sales person were also adequate.
Their target market were mostly women from the upper strata of the society. They showed us a
sundry variety of bags and shoes and told us that they can be returned within 90 days of
purchase. However, the perfumes cannot be returned if they have been bought from the store. If
they were bought online, they can be returned within 14 days subject to the condition of the item
upon return. The sales lady was very friendly and offered us beverages. Their service was
slightly slow as there are only two billing counters. The billing team did not offer any student
discounts. When we asked them if anyone from the head office visits the outlet, they simply
refused to answer this question. But they were polite and apologetic. They took our email IDs
and promised to keep us up to date with the latest discounts and offers via mail.
Corporate culture and Customer Service Practices
Louis Vuitton
1. The staff was alert and polite. They were very friendly and answered all our questions
properly.
2. They did not try to over sell any of their products.
3. They had a return and exchange policy of 30 days for store credit and 14 days for full
refund
4. No chat bots on their website
5. No social media presence exclusively for a country. They do not have a Facebook page
for Hong Kong customers. They are very active on Instagram and have posted over 2.2k
images yet.
6. They did not answer their telephone. Store seemed a bit understaffed.

Customer relationship management 5
7. They have four mobile applications – LV NYC VVV, Louis Vuitton Pass, Louis Vuitton
City guide and 100 legendary trunks
8. The head office takes keen interest and daily report are sent to them for performance
analysis.
9. There is no place to sit for people who accompany the shoppers.
10. Feedback was taken from us upon shopping. They have a register maintained for
compliments and criticisms.
11. Cleaning person is always working even when customers are around. This can be
disturbing for customers.
12. Four billing counters are there which makes the billing process speedy.
Chanel
1. The staff was very friendly. They offered us beverages and even when we did not buy
anything, they thanked us for visiting
2. They have a return and exchange policy of 90 days on all products except perfumes and
fragrances
3. Adequately staffed store
4. They had one person dedicated to answering telephone calls
5. No Chatbots on their website.
6. Social media presence is general and not exclusively for any country. The Chanel Hong
Kong page has just 1.1k followers.
7. Email IDs were taken so they could keep in touch with us via email and send us relevant
information on discounts and offers.
8. They have sufficient seating arrangement for customers.
9. Billing process is lengthy as there are only 2 counters.
10. Men who visited the store were also given the option of simple buying cash cards and gift
cards which are easy to redeem.
11. The store manager had ensure the store was very clean.

Customer relationship management 6
Communication abilities
Louis Vuitton
Telephone
They did not answer their phone when we called. The store is understaffed and hence the phone
often goes unanswered.
Website
Their website provides a detail of their products. Customers can make their account and see their
purchase history upon login. There are no chat bots as customer service representatives online.
Social Media
Social media is increasingly becoming the most efficient tool to communicate with brands as
they reply almost immediately to safeguard their brand value (Armstrong, 2015). However they
have a general Louis Vuitton handle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Face to face
The staff is polite, friendly and helpful. They speak in English and are trained in local language.
They are patient and deal with customers with utmost care. LV often sends mystery shoppers that
makes the staff cautious and they are always on their toes.
Chanel
Telephone
They have one person dedicated to answering only phones. The telephone representative is
friendly, polite and patient. She is extremely soft spoken and thanks the customers for calling
before keeping the phone.

Customer relationship management 7
Website
Their websites do not have any Chatbots for customer service. They have the option of sending
an Email to which they reply within a 7 working days. For a customer, this can be a very long
waiting time. The website otherwise is very clear and crisp and provides significant details about
all their products.
Social Media
Unfortunately they are no very active on social media which is the most efficient tool to reach
out to target customers (Agnihotri, 2016). They have over 19 million followers on Instagram but
have posted on over 800 pictures. Their Facebook page for Hong Kong has just 1.1k followers
while their twitter has over 13.4 million followers. Unlike other brands they rarely reply to
customer tweets (Twitter, 2017).
Face to face
The staff is very friendly. They are all well behaved and soft spoken people. Even upon not
buying they thank people for visiting. They are discreet about sharing excessive information
about the company. They took our email IDs and offered to send us discount vouchers. They
even offered us beverages and comfortable seating.
Recommended improvements
Louis Vuitton
1. Hire a dedicated person to answer phone calls: LV store seemed largely understaffed.
Telephonic communication with clients is the first direct one to one communication and
the brand must ensure that they work upon improving this form of communication
(Timm, 2013). One person should be hired who dedicatedly answers phone queries and
resolves them efficiently.
2. Extend exchange policy: Their products can only be returned for full refund within 14
days of purchase which is a small amount of time for customer. More often LV products
are bought to gift friends and family members. And it would be difficult for them to file
return within 14 days. LV also specializes in bags and shoes. A customer might start

Customer relationship management 8
using the bag after 14 days and find it faulty. In such cases, it is wiser for the brand to
extend the period for return and exchange.
3. Website Chatbots. Website Chatbots are a latest technology and most leading brands are
using them in order to ensure high levels of customer service (Setia, 2013). Website
Chatbots provide customers with an option to get help online upon visiting the website.
The representative on the other hand is well versed with the company policies. This leads
to quick resolution of queries and is extremely crucial especially in the fast paced world
that we live in.
4. Seating arrangements could be improved: Louis Vuitton has positioned itself as an
expensive luxury lifestyle store. Therefore it is imperative that the services provided at
the store live up to the positioning by the global brand. Providing seating arrangements to
customers is a small yet important step at ensuring efficient customer service.
Chanel
1. Website Chatbots: Website Chatbots are a leading technology used by firms across the
globe in order to improve upon their customer service (Kane, 2016). They provide a
platform to resolve queries and address grievances of customers when they visit the
website (Verhagen, 2014). It is a speedy and convenient process and enables customers to
get their problems resolved in a single click. This therefore further improves upon
customer service provided by the brand.
At present, customers have an option of sending an email to the brand’s customer service
team and they get back to the customer within 7 working days. This is often a long period
of wait for customers specifically those who need to impulse buy. They can lose out on a
large market share by not catering to such customers.
2. Social media marketing: Social media is the leading form of marketing in the current
globalized times that we live in. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Whatsapp is
being used by various leading firms to market their products and enhance customer
communication (Tuten, 2014). Chanel is not too active on either of the platforms and can
hence lose out on a lot of brand image and value. Their direct competitors can increase
and enhance reach to consumers by addressing them on social media.
Chanel has just 800 posts on their Instagram page which is truly inefficient to

Customer relationship management 9
communicate with their almost 25 million followers. Chanel uses twitter as a platform to
spread awareness about the brand but hardly retweets or replies to customers.
3. Loyalty cards: Chanel is an expensive brand and hence the customer loyalty is much
lower. Most people shop from the brand for a onetime special occasion purchase. Chanel
can start loyalty cards where members can earn points every time they shop from the
brand and can redeem them upon their future purchases. This would increase brand
loyalty and encourage customers to shop more often (Donnelly, 2015).
Conclusion
Louis Vuitton and Chanel both are significant and leading brands in the industry of lifestyle
goods. The brands have clearly worked hard upon their customer service and customer retention.
Customer relationship management and efficient customer service is an important criteria
leading to customer loyalty and customer satisfaction (Jahanshani, 2014). Many firms invest
largely upon their customer service attributes. Both the brands lived up to our expectations on
most criteria however a few changes could be made to improvise upon their customer service.
Both the brands could work upon their social media marketing skills to reach out to a larger
customer base. LV could improvise its telephonic service while Chanel could pay more attention
to creating loyalty cards for more frequent purchases. Both the brands must start website
Chatbots for quicker resolution of customer queries and immediate addressing of their grievances
if any.

Customer relationship management 10
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