New Balance ION ORCHARD

The Launch of New Balance 991 x JJJJound on 17 Feb 2023 New Balance Singapore should have anticipated this launch which attracted lots of crowds, however the way the SG team handled was horrendous. It was not a fair play at all. ION orchard official opened its shutter gates at 6am (on par with the MRT station time accordance to the ION Security team), however people are seen trespassing before 6am and the poor security guards were having hard time dispersing. A unofficial queue was already formed at around 5.40am or even early than that and this was checked by the NB retail team from their store’s CCTV which violates the mall’s SOP. No communications were made between the tenant and the mall management in regards to this launch. This is a very disappointing scene to many. All the true NB lovers and supporters followed strictly to the mall and the security team rules, but yet did not get any, thus it benefits to all the resellers & proxies (most of the pairs are seen resold at carousell& maybe other platforms). A proposal was made on creating a raffle system, however the NB team decided to acknowledge the queue formed which starts at 5.40am (+/-). Dover Street Market Singapore handled well by doing raffle and allowed consumers to only buying its own size with the staff checking it for any foul play, they make sure shoe to be worn on feet and walk out of the store with it and tags were cut off on the spot. Hope that the SG NB team could improvise for their next launch in their brick & mortar stores, it also includes the online launch in preventing bots.

Very bad customer service. My daughter neded to exchange her shoes because the size wasnt right. We bought the shoes in Suntec City and wanted to return in ION the next day. At first the attendant claimed the shoes has been worn (it hasnt been worn outside the store and in our apartment where we found it was too big), then she had to make a few phone calls. After 15 minutes she came out and said we have to return it in Suntec City because it is their policy. If it is policy, then why did it take her 15 minutes before she could tell us? She only wanted to shift the problem to someone else!

Horrible service. The staff in this store look like they don’t want to be there. I agree with what other reviewers said about the staff crowding at the cashier. There were other customers who wanted to try on shoes the same time I did but we all had to try and catch their attention. You guys need to know that we have to try before we buy, if that’s not something you can do, reconsider your career options. My experience with the young Chinese female staff was extremely frustrating. I’m not expecting her to be all smiles, but at least do your job. I felt bad asking her to check her store for my sizes because of how “sian” she looks. She was slow, not attentive and looks like she does not want me to buy anything. I eventually approached a malay guy - Danial for help. He was busy but I waited anyway. Thank you for the service.