Gasp “apology” slammed as insincere and opportunistic

Melbourne retailer Gasp has seemingly apologised for the way a customer was treated by one of its store representatives, but the sincerity of the move has been called into question after the company also revealed the initial controversy helped sales by 50%.

Brand expert and Brandology founder Michel Hogan says the move is “cynicism at its worst”.

“Clearly, the only reason to do this is to get some publicity. They know it’s going to get traction in the media, and they’ll get some publicity around the time they’re trying to bolster sales.”

Gasp operations manager Matt Chidgey appeared on Today Tonight yesterday, apologising to customer Keara O’Neil after she received an email from the company defending the rude behaviour of one of its staff.

“Keara, I would just like to say I’m sorry,” he said. “We would also like to offer Keara and her friends who came into the store that day to come into our stores and pick a new outfit and Gasp will match the value of that outfit and give it to the Make a Wish Foundation for Christmas.”

But the sincerity of the apology has been questioned. After the original story broke, Gasp was adamant that its staff had performed the right way and that it would not apologise – it even referred to the particular staff member as a “retail superstar”.

O’Neil has also said she is not prepared to accept the apology, considering the company has just opened a new store.

“Does it have something to do with their Chapel Street store closing and their current 90% off sale? Probably,” she said.

In a statement, Gasp also said that it didn’t apologise straight away because that would appear “insincere”. Since then, it said Gasp has used the time to implement a “radical culture change” throughout the business.

It said the particular staff member involved has been suspended for two months, but in the same press release also took the brazen step of saying sales are up an average of 12-15% compared  to last year.

The release also pointed out the company has just opened a new store and that its performance “is as per our expectation”.

“We’ve seen many prominent Australian labels throw in the towel in recent months, in what has been described as some of the worst retailing conditions on record. Despite this we have and continue to open more and more new stores.”

However, Hogan says the incident will do significant damage for the company’s brand.

“It’s so obvious, and clumsy, and they should really fire their PR company. It’s such a stupid move,” she says.

“I understand why they’ve done what they’ve done here, but that’s not to say it’s necessarily going to be good for them.”

Hogan says while customers who would have already shopped with Gasp aren’t going to be deterred, the move will nevertheless lower the company’s standing in the eyes of the public.

“If you’re the type of consumer who shops at Gasp, you probably don’t care about what’s going on. But it’s still a bad move.”

“Most people think this is a sham. If they had done it the next day, no problem. But three months down the line? It’s so obvious and clumsy.”