looks totally intentional..

This happened sometime ago but was probably too shocked at that time to bother about posting this. But yes, jaw-dropping kind of shock. I've got a nice little surprise from our very home-grown C&K brand when I bought a bag back some months back. First time buying a bag from there since they are more known for their shoes.

On the ropey strap was a strap pad to make carrying more comfy. Nothing was fishy till one day I noticed that the pad started moving alittle out of place and I gave it a hard push to move it back so that it fits nicely on my shoulder. It was pretty stiff and I gave it a harder push and I was appalled by what I saw.

Masking tape was coiled around the strap which showed the broken rope beneath it. Manufacture error? I don't think they programmed the machine to mask the strap as part of the design lor. And now the pad which I thought was meant to make it more comfy seemed more like was to cover up for the broken strap. What was more incredible was that when I went back to the shop for an exchange for the same bag (coz I really liked the design!!) thinking that ONLY mine was faulty, the salesgirl took the same bag from the display shelf and upon sliding the pad, I saw the familiar masking tape staring at me. She was shocked too and told me that she'll call other branches to check if they have the same bag and to check if they are alright. And yep, they were all faulty.

They offered to allow me to change the bag to another design which I wasn't appreciative of at all since none of the bags really appealed to me. They gave me 2 weeks to do the exchange. Trying to act like a mystery customer audit shopper, I went to almost any CK store I happened to pass by during that 2 weeks to see if they have removed this bag from display. For 2 weeks since my complaint, the bag was still happily on display. I approached a salesgirl and told her that the bag was faulty (I showed her the broken strap) and asked why was it not removed. What if another customer buys it?? She told me in a matter-of-fact manner that they KNEW about it but have not received OFFICIAL instructions to remove it from display. "After 2 weeks???" I asked her. She said, "ya, so we cannot remove. M'am, would you want to choose a replacement bag?"

I was grossly disgusted but just didn't bother anymore to argue with her. Shouldn't store managers be given the empowerment to remove goods which could potentially invite complaints from customers? At least customers like me who already became victims can receive some consolation that they are minimising the damage. The damage wasn't just a broken seam or a stain. It seemed like they had produced 1,000 of these bags, found that the straps were damaged and then mass rectified it by masking taping it and added a pad to cover it up. Cheaters.

I decided to boycott their bags ever since. My first time and last time CK. Thanks for the wonderful experience. Think you've made enough money from the blisters-inducing rock hard shoes you make. A better idea would be stop producing bags and to direct more resources to making your shoes more comfy. Better than selling bad quality shoes AND bags.