bobhamlin
01-20-2009, 10:54 AM
"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Thus began "The Tale of Two Cities." I earned my first high school "F" with that book, because I had started working and tried to fake my way through class without actually reading one of my English teacher's favorite books (She loved the symbolism and, as I learned, symbolism depends heavily on surrounding context and, if one doesn't read the context, one tends to be "un peu" off-the-wall in one's interpretations.)
I recently had two problems with purchases over the internet. Both companies shipped the wrong product. How they subsequently resolved the problem speaks volumes.
For my project Nomad, I decided to purchase Bestem Deluxe saddlebag liners: They have external pockets. I knew they sold for about $99 on eBay, but I googled the liners and found a set on Bestem for $91. When my liners arrived, they were obviously the "regular" liners, not the "deluxe." I immediately returned to the website and saw that the pictures were deluxe, but the words did not say deluxe, so I copied the screen and included that .jpg when I emailed Bestem customer service, explaining the problem and asking for their next step.
I received a curt reply that I ordered "regular," not deluxe. On return, I succinctly acknowledged that, although the words might not say "deluxe," the two graphics on the page clearly showed the "deluxe" version of the liners. Once again, I attached a screen grab.
A reply from the same person re-asserted that my order was not for the "deluxe" liners. Resisting all urge to go personal with this individual, I made the case that I could not have made a mistake. It was their site, their pictures and the "buy it now" button is how I ordered. I ended my controlled diatribe with the statement that if she felt the urge to reiterate that I ordered "regular," please have a supervisor contact me.
Two days passed without a response and I began steaming. I called customer service and got voice mail -- with what I imagine to be her voice. I left a clipped, professional message that restated the problem and that I did not appreciate being ignored.
Later that day, I received an email from Will, another individual at Bestem. He apologized that the original service person was out sick. He asked for more information, sent me the correct liners and a return sticker for UPS. His action saved a customer and, since I was very prepared to explain my dissatisfaction on the Vulcan boards (I hadn't made that threat yet), he also saved negative feedback.
My other experience took a different turn. On eBay, UnlimitedCellular.com sent me a wrong case for my GPS. In response to my email, Victor sent an RMA #. I returned the case on my dime, then received an email from Victor that a refund would take 7-10 days to process. I had assumed that they would send the correct product, so I emailed for a clarification. Victor sent me the same boilerplate response, obviously not having read my question.
After my second email, he curtly responded that I was getting a refund. I next asked Victor about reimbursing my return postage. I received a response that it was not their "policy" to authorize return postage on certain products. That struck a nerve.
I emailed Victor and basically questioned their policy that because they screwed up, a customer should lose money. "Brian" responded and apologized, but that was, afterall, policy. I made a stronger case to Brian (a lot of edits on my part). In response, Victor sent me an email that asked me to return the wrong case. I responded to Victor that he had already sent me an email acknowledging the return of the wrong case. Victor sent me a boilerplate email saying that a refund would take about 7-10 business days. Since the return postage was only $3, I made a business decision to stop pursuing it with them.
Beware: a 98% rating on eBay means that 2 out of a 100 purchasers had problems. This was the first time I was in the "ticked off" crowd. I am a 2%er! Unlimitedcellular.com doesn't print the policies that mean you will lose money when they screw up. It's really too bad eBay feedback is limited to only 80 characters.
(I had my own business and used to teach customer service, so these responses hit a little close to home.)
I recently had two problems with purchases over the internet. Both companies shipped the wrong product. How they subsequently resolved the problem speaks volumes.
For my project Nomad, I decided to purchase Bestem Deluxe saddlebag liners: They have external pockets. I knew they sold for about $99 on eBay, but I googled the liners and found a set on Bestem for $91. When my liners arrived, they were obviously the "regular" liners, not the "deluxe." I immediately returned to the website and saw that the pictures were deluxe, but the words did not say deluxe, so I copied the screen and included that .jpg when I emailed Bestem customer service, explaining the problem and asking for their next step.
I received a curt reply that I ordered "regular," not deluxe. On return, I succinctly acknowledged that, although the words might not say "deluxe," the two graphics on the page clearly showed the "deluxe" version of the liners. Once again, I attached a screen grab.
A reply from the same person re-asserted that my order was not for the "deluxe" liners. Resisting all urge to go personal with this individual, I made the case that I could not have made a mistake. It was their site, their pictures and the "buy it now" button is how I ordered. I ended my controlled diatribe with the statement that if she felt the urge to reiterate that I ordered "regular," please have a supervisor contact me.
Two days passed without a response and I began steaming. I called customer service and got voice mail -- with what I imagine to be her voice. I left a clipped, professional message that restated the problem and that I did not appreciate being ignored.
Later that day, I received an email from Will, another individual at Bestem. He apologized that the original service person was out sick. He asked for more information, sent me the correct liners and a return sticker for UPS. His action saved a customer and, since I was very prepared to explain my dissatisfaction on the Vulcan boards (I hadn't made that threat yet), he also saved negative feedback.
My other experience took a different turn. On eBay, UnlimitedCellular.com sent me a wrong case for my GPS. In response to my email, Victor sent an RMA #. I returned the case on my dime, then received an email from Victor that a refund would take 7-10 days to process. I had assumed that they would send the correct product, so I emailed for a clarification. Victor sent me the same boilerplate response, obviously not having read my question.
After my second email, he curtly responded that I was getting a refund. I next asked Victor about reimbursing my return postage. I received a response that it was not their "policy" to authorize return postage on certain products. That struck a nerve.
I emailed Victor and basically questioned their policy that because they screwed up, a customer should lose money. "Brian" responded and apologized, but that was, afterall, policy. I made a stronger case to Brian (a lot of edits on my part). In response, Victor sent me an email that asked me to return the wrong case. I responded to Victor that he had already sent me an email acknowledging the return of the wrong case. Victor sent me a boilerplate email saying that a refund would take about 7-10 business days. Since the return postage was only $3, I made a business decision to stop pursuing it with them.
Beware: a 98% rating on eBay means that 2 out of a 100 purchasers had problems. This was the first time I was in the "ticked off" crowd. I am a 2%er! Unlimitedcellular.com doesn't print the policies that mean you will lose money when they screw up. It's really too bad eBay feedback is limited to only 80 characters.
(I had my own business and used to teach customer service, so these responses hit a little close to home.)