A baffled shopper was left in a lather after she received three bars of soap instead of a new phone worth more than Dh2,600 in a delivery mix-up.
Aisha Deeb ordered a Google Pixel 2XL 128GB phone last Wednesday on Souq.com, the region’s largest online retailer.
She was told she would receive the phone – which cost Dh2,613.45 – the following day, but said the courier did not attempt to deliver it until Sunday.
The Brit was left clean out of luck when the order not only turned up late, but with surprising contents.
She has been told she will get a full refund - as soon as she gives back the bars of soap.
The delivery was left on her doorstep without an attempt being made to obtain a signature for it.
“When I opened it up, it was three bars of soap,” she said.
“I thought if I don’t laugh I am just going to burst into tears. I’ve used Souq for years and never had any issues. Obviously when it rains it pours.”
Ms Deeb said she called to complain and was shown a picture of a form with a signature in her name.
“I told them that wasn’t my signature and I hadn’t even been home, so I don’t know who has signed for it. Someone has obviously just written my name.”
The phone was finally delivered on Monday night by a courier who left the box with her family member, who was not asked to provide identification.
The order was covered with a ‘Fulfilled by Souq’ guarantee, which according to the online retailer’s website ensures a “systematic and rigorous quality control process from pick-up to shipment” providing genuine and high quality products packed in secure packaging.
In addition, “consumers benefit from faster pick-up on returns and enjoy excellent customer service for the orders,” the website said.
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Ms Deeb called Souq to inform the company of the error and was told she would receive a reply within 48 hours.
On Tuesday she received a call from a manager to say that if she gives the three bars of soap back she will be issued with a full refund and she can then reorder the phone.
“At this point, I’m so stressed out by the whole thing that I’m probably just going to leave it for a while,” she said.
“I deliberated over getting it for a few weeks before I even ordered it but decided I deserved a treat. But if I do decide to get a new phone at some point it will definitely not be from Souq.”
Souq.com was founded in 2005 and acquired by Amazon, the US retail giant, in 2017 in a deal reported to be worth $700million.
A spokesman said: "Our customer guarantees provide protection for customers who buy from Souq.com and if a customer received the item, but the item was defective, damaged, or not the item depicted in the seller's description, we will refund."
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
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