“Typical Mercedes or Land Rover showroom attitude…”: CEO says sorry after WeWork Gurgaon backlash

WeWork’s co-working space in Gurgaon came under fire after Alok Jain, founder of WeekendInvesting and an IIT alumnus, criticized the company’s sales approach. Jain shared his dissatisfaction on the social networking platform X, accusing the WeWork sales representative of adopting a high-handed attitude during an office application at the Golf Course Road facility.

In his post, Jain described the experience as unnecessarily intrusive, citing excessive questions about his current office location, workforce size and decision-making authority. “The sales guy was like the typical Mercedes or Land Rover showroom attitude… Hazaar questions to judge you,” Jain wrote. “I don’t know what happens to brands…as soon as they grow, customer courtesy becomes meaningless to them!!”

The post quickly gained traction, racking up more than 90,000 views and sparking a wave of comments, with many users sharing similar experiences. One commenter said: “Sales processes have checklists, but tone and approach matter. Some salespeople are not trained to handle larger accounts.” Another echoed Jain’s frustrations, saying, “His salespeople have become too arrogant in recent years.”

Karan Virwani, CEO of WeWork India, responded with a public apology, acknowledging that the experience was not up to the company’s standards. “Dear Alok, I sincerely apologize for the experience you had with our customer service team,” Virwani wrote. “While our questions are intended to better understand your needs, the way in which they were conveyed was not acceptable. We are implementing immediate changes to ensure that such cases do not happen again.” He invited Jain for a one-on-one talk to address the issues and improve services.

Despite the apology, the incident sparked wider discussions about customer service at established brands. Many users have noticed a perceived decrease in courtesy as brands grow, turning what should have been a simple search into a frustrating ordeal.