Degani Cafe Not Honouring Free Coffee from Loyalty Card

Llove86 on 06/04/2015 - 16:45
Last edited 07/08/2015 - 17:18 by 1 other user

To keep the issue to the point

Went to Degani cafe and had loyalty card for free coffee as I drink coffee pretty much everyday sometimes twice a day . Went to the cafe to claim my Free coffee which I had earned due to buying coffee to get the card stamped, however was advised that by the rude staff: That I should claim the free coffee from the store I got the loyalty card not their store, giving the reason that they don't earn money when someone claims free coffee as they are just a franchise I mean there are around 30 Degani stores throughout Melbourne and I just get a coffee from whichever Is close to when I feel the need for one and I don't understand whats the point of this are the franchise supposed to follow directions or current promotions as they fall under the same umbrella?

He further advised that they wont be honoring the loyalty cards anymore for free coffee . But the loyalty card states claim your free coffee from any Degani store

Just wanted to know your thoughts on this , is it even legal to refuse someone to claim the free coffee when it is advertised on the loyalty card it self that we can claim is at any Degani store and I have been falsely led to believe that If I spend money in their cafe I would be rewarded ? Isn`t that false advertising and a scam as they are forcing people to buy at their stores 9 coffee and then not honoring the promotion?

I have already drafted am email which I will send to the Head office tomorrow , Can I take it up to ACCC for false advertising ?

*Mod: Updated title to reflect issue.**

Food & Grocery

Related Stores

Degani
Degani

Comments

    • djmatt24 on 06/04/2015 - 17:36
      +6

      This is a really unhelpful comment. It doesn't matter if its a coffee or a car, the discussion is on fair business practice, which he has every right to ask on forums such as these. The OP doesn't deserve your ridicule in response, and in return it makes you seem quite surly.

    • northerly on 06/04/2015 - 18:59

      sounds like you need a cup of coffee.

  • love86 on 06/04/2015 - 17:10
    +4

    Yes I know its just a coffee, however the point I'm trying to make is that I as a customer I have paid for 9 coffee's throughout the week to claim that free coffee , its not like I`m going to the store is giving me free coffee everyday . If everyone thinks like its just a coffee and just let it go then we as customers are being duped into this loyalty card scam cause we are the ones spending money and then when the time comes for the store to do their part they decline

    • loulou1 on 06/04/2015 - 17:16
      +2

      Totally agree. It costs them only a very small amount to make a coffee too. When i was a barista (albeit 15 years ago) it cost us 17c per coffee including all staff wages etc. the mark up on coffee is huge.
      Don't know about going to ACCC but contact head office, they will want to know about it. It was. Big deal if head office hot involved back in my barista days.

  • djmatt24 on 06/04/2015 - 17:38
    +4

    I'd be interested to know if that store was offering loyalty cards for themselves.
    You're right, if the card explicitly says ANY store, then they are obliged to accept it. Very poor form from this store and someone from HQ should be made aware so they can tell the owner/manager the rules of being part of the brand.

  • Peace Maker on 06/04/2015 - 19:33

    I'm on your side OP, but SCAM in bold letters followed by '!' doesn't lend yourself to being an objective commentator in this matter.

    • love86 on 06/04/2015 - 19:50

      Changed it

      • Peace Maker on 06/04/2015 - 20:31

        At least you have a sense of humour :)

  • djones145 on 06/04/2015 - 20:36
    +1

    If it says any store, send a message to the head office, and they should sort it out

  • love86 on 06/04/2015 - 20:36

    Yes doing that tomorrow

  • Tal_Shiar on 07/04/2015 - 03:58
    +2

    bad service doesn't equate to a scam

  • r2160 on 07/04/2015 - 07:53

    It isnt about the coffee, its about the principle.
    An advertised product or service is an advertised product or service.
    It is about the ethical conduct of the business.
    Report it.

  • Metamorphosis12 on 07/04/2015 - 08:26

    I agree with OP. They should honor it, I would also be coming to head office. The same thing happened with me and Muffin break. I can go to any store and redeem my free coffee when I'm due for one. But there is this one particular store that never let's me redeem it

  • momov3 on 07/04/2015 - 12:24

    You'd best be giving your patronage to wonderful places like Gloria Jeans and Muffin Break and Donut King etc…they honor the freebies at any branch.

  • WT on 07/04/2015 - 12:51

    The franchise has no real internal way to rebate the franchisee, its an internal logistics problem on their part

    • mskeggs on 07/04/2015 - 15:59
      +1

      Sure, but the chances of this mattering are very low. If all the stores give out the cards, and all redeem them, then of average the stores will redeem as many as they should.
      Or at least I can't think of a reason why some stores would be disproportionately redeeming cards.

      In any case, I agree with to he principle here, but probably not yelling scam and jumping to the ACCC in the first instance. They or Fair Trading is almost certainly going to suggest you sort it out with the company (in this case head office) first.

  • spersephone on 07/04/2015 - 16:09

    I would say it's that one store being rude and disrespectful to their customers. If the card clearly states that any store can redeem it, they should do so. If you've sent a polite letter to Head Office, you will probably get a courteous reply back and be told that they have discussed this with the store in question. Hopefully you will also be offered a freebie coffee card or something to redeem to make up for it.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/04/2015 - 17:54

    Bunch of bikies based in Port Melbourne, just sayin'

    They should honor it as it says "ANY" store, not "participating" stores or something like that.

  • AssociatedDeganiaustralia @ Degani on 07/08/2015 - 15:46
    +2

    Hi there,
    I am the marketing manager for Degani Australia. I would love to discuss your above feedback further, can you please email me directly at [email protected]. Thanks.

    • love86 on 09/08/2015 - 09:29

      Hi
      We had spoken to someone from your head-office on 08 April 2015 in regards to the issue and asked to be provided with a complaints number or to be transferred to someone we can speak with , however the girl advised us that she is the Office manager and everything has to go though her first and then only she would forward the complaint and for that we had to write her an email with the issue. We then send an email on the same date to the email address provided by her but till date have not received any reply from her or Degani.

      We , our friends and family now enjoy our coffee & Excellent customer service at Gloria Jean`s

      I have forwarded you the email

      Thanks

      • tonyjzx on 10/08/2015 - 01:42
        +2

        gloria jeans

        lol

        it boggles my mind that a store can wreck a company's reputation for the few cents it costs to make a coffee

        unbelieveable

  • love86 on 16/08/2015 - 21:46

    Received reply from Degani

    "Firstly apologies for the delay in getting back to you, I wanted to make sure I had spoken to the owner of Degani Fairfield as well as our Senior Management team first.

    At Degani we want our service to be the very best. We take customer feedback very seriously and work with our teams to provide the highest level of customer service to all guests, every time, everywhere, every shift. After a thorough internal investigation, we can confidently say that Degani Fairfield is honouring the Degani loyalty system correctly.

    We would like to thank you for taking the time to get in touch with us by offering you a coffee & cake voucher to be redeemed within Degani Fairfield. At your earliest convenience, would you be able to provide me with your best postal address?

    If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.

    Thanks and enjoy your weekend"

    • MynyMouqe on 28/08/2015 - 07:08
      +3

      Lol, what a load of crap reply… pretty much saying that they don't believe you and that they are honouring the cards properly.

      These sort of old school "customer service" replies and shitty service experiences from people like the office manager you dealt with just show how a lot of business don't get it these days; you can build a relationship with a customer over time, but it only takes one shitty bit of service to kill the relationship.

      The correct way to reply would have been along the lines of "we're really sorry about this, we've looked into it, fixed it, and it won't happen again - we'd really love to have you back as a customer", rather than saying what they have, which boils down to "phoned the owner, he denied it (because that would be a breach of his franchise agreement so of course he would), he's still paying his franchise fees so we don't really care, so please go away".

  • love86 on 28/08/2015 - 19:32

    This is exactly what we thought as well , below is the email we replied to her

    " Hi Clementine

    Thank you for getting back to us and getting an investigation done with regards to our recent experience,however we would like some clarifications and would appreciate if you could answer the below:

    1: You advised that “After a thorough internal investigation, we can confidently say that Degani Fairfield is honoring the Degani loyalty system correctly “does that mean you are saying that this situation that we experienced never happened? Or are you implying that moving forward Degani Fairfield will be honoring the loyalty card schemes which have been stamped from other Degani outlets which they questioned in the first place?

    2: Did you speak with the barista and the girl on the till who advised us that Degani doesn’t need us as customer`s?

    3: What about us calling Degani and being told that we have to send an email and never getting a reply back?

    We don`t wish to accept your gratitude offer for the free coffee after being disrespected and made to feel embarrassed , but since you have made a sincere effort to resolve this issue and are so confident about DEGANI FAIRFILED doing everything right we will give Degani another opportunity and see how we get treated.

    If we have an issue we will call you straight away from the store itself so you can be the judge yourself.

    Thanks"

  • love86 on 28/08/2015 - 19:36

    … and this is what she replied ,

    Hi ,

    We are certainly not saying your experience never happened, and, as we were not there, are simply unable to comment further on the specifics of what happened. We can confidentally say that the business owner has taken every initiative to ensure the service you noted does not happen again.

    We are pleased that you are open to coming back and allowing us to showcase our brand.

    Thanks again for providing us with feedback of your experience. "

    NEVER GOING DEGANI`S AGAIN

    • robbyjones on 28/08/2015 - 19:59

      What am I not getting here? It seems like a reasonable response to me.

      • tonyjzx on 31/08/2015 - 13:41

        basically they are not commenting about the actual incident but they are saying the proprieter has been spoken to

        its not an ideal response but what do you expect a franchise company like that to say or do

        it doesnt inspire me with confidence but if they lose a few potential customers off here, so what?

  • KaTst3R on 30/08/2015 - 19:33

    I say fark Degani….

    • Scorpiogirl on 01/09/2015 - 04:32

      I second that. Hate liars. It's a loyalty card for a reason- hello? So be loyal Degani and keep your end of the deal. Plenty of other coffee places. Bye Degani!

  • DarkOz on 31/08/2015 - 06:43

    …

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