watch out for hatsupply.com

[Joel Tunnah]

Since the items on their website are incorrectly described, I returned an incorrect item to this store two months ago, and they still haven't credited my card yet. The woman on the phone said they "haven't gotten to it yet", and then she hung up on me. I was not rude, and I think I've been VERY patient with them.

Sadly, this is how some people think they should run a business.

Joel

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Joel -- thanks for the tip, I have not done business with them and won't in the future.

karol

 

[Dixon Cannon]

While we're on the subject....

I had, by this time, planned to have my new George Harrison 'Crossroads' jacket to wear while it's cool outside. I ordered it in October from the firm below.

www.beatlesuits.com

After sending exact suit coat measurements done the week prior, I was promised to receive my coat within three days. I waited a week, but after no coat arrival, I went on a planned trip to Seattle without my coat.

Upon return from Seattle, my coat had arrived, but it had been shipped eight days after I was told it would be shipped. So, I had no chance of receiving it before my trip to Seattle. It also arrived (You guessed it!)....too small!

Without any apology or acknowledgment of the shipping discrepancy, Mr. Beatlesuit advised me to just ship it back (at my expense, of course!) and he would send me out another one. (Apparently sending one and resending one until finally one would miraculously match my measurements!)

Needless to say I just cancelled the order and then was advised in an email from Mr. Beatlesuit - that he "didn't like my tone!" and thus didn't feel compelled to satisfy my needs as a customer. In all his years in business, he'd never had anyone question the "quality" of his products!

Quality!???....Products?.... I questioned his misinformation about shipping times and his inability to size a coat properly; something he was completely unable to acknowledge.

What the heck is with business people today that customer satisfaction is such a difficult thing to fathom?

Thanks for letting me vent. I don't imagine too many of us here are buying Beatle coats these days - but if you are..... be advised of this joker.

-dixon cannon

 

[Mike in Seattle]

After 30 days with no credit, call your credit card company and dispute the charge. They'll immediately credit you for the purchase plus any interest you've been charged, and ding the seller's account. THAT usually gets their attention and speeds up their "getting to it" process. Enough dings and the credit card companies will stop allowing them to process sales using credit card.

And just a personal aside...when I see a business using a dot com address (like beatlesuits.com) and their contact email is joeblow@comcast.com or similar (in other words, not using their own domain for email accounts) I really have to wonder about the...I don't know...dedication or business saavy of the business owner.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Duane referred me to hatsupply.com for ribbon several months ago. Rude is an understatement for the woman that I spoke with. In just a few moments, I knew, it was not a place I would do business with.

 

[Fletch]

Folks, we're up against the indomitable, independent spirit of the Great American Small Entrepeneur here. I've faced the same phenomenon in the retail music and instrument business.

If all goes well, you'll get a level of quality and service from him that rivals the best in the world. But if you and he don't quite hit it off for some reason...well, basically, you're hosed.

 

[John in Covina]

Since the items on their website are incorrectly described, I returned an incorrect item to this store two months ago, and they still haven't credited my card yet. The woman on the phone said they "haven't gotten to it yet", and then she hung up on me. I was not rude, and I think I've been VERY patient with them. Sadly, this is how some people think they should run a business. Joel

***********
Did you send it insured and return receipt? When dealing with a business it is always good to have proof of delivery. If they signed for it then you have proof it was returned. UPS or Fedex have tracking available which can be used as proof of delivery. If you have proof of delivery, write to them with copies of all the receipts and send it to the President of the company, they hate this stuff and will usually chew out the people resposible for aggravating the customers enough to bother them. Even if you don't have proof of delivery write a letter to said president of the company with an outline and explanation of what is going on and how you were treated. That usually but not always helps.

Sincerely,

 

[thefedorastore]

Referrals

I guess I better stop referring her, that's awful. I just sent her a link to this thread showing her what some of my friends and customers have said.

 

[Fletch]

If you have proof of delivery, write to them with copies of all the receipts and send it to the President of the company, they hate this stuff and will usually chew out the people resposible for aggravating the customers enough to bother them.

Where are these mythical companies these days, John, that are big enough to have presidents but small enough to have them give a wet flap about an individual customer? There's not a lot of market share any longer between a soulless corporate juggernaut and a harried one-person operation.

 

[John in Covina]

Where are these mythical companies these days, John, that are big enough to have presidents but small enough to have them give a wet flap about an individual customer? There's not a lot of market share any longer between a soulless corporate juggernaut and a harried one-person operation.

*******************
Every company I have ever worked for has a President and some have CEO's. And all of them got pissed when they got a letter from an angry customer that was treated poorly. They exist. Every company needs reminders of the fact that customers keep them in business. Rarely is such a letter a waste of time, especially if you copy the department heads, sales, marketing, finance. If it s a small company then they need to realize how little stand between them and no business.

Mistakes happen, and problems occur a letter gives them a cnhance to correct what went wrong.

If such a letter came to Egge (where I am now) there would be a lot of people that would go thru what was up and corrections would be made, same at GMB, NuGeon, ITM, Vera, KIP, Beck, FW Mays. Not all companies are big monliths and not all companies are fly by night operations. Usually it comes down to dealing with an overtaxed individual that is without patience, struggeling in a piss poor position. Such a letter may help them remember what's important and their boss too.

Have a little faith, or the world will suck too much to live in.

 

[thefedorastore]

So, I received an email this morning from Hat Supply. A very nice email. After my discussion with her, I will certainly continue to do business with her when I need something she has. They have always been good to me. She told me that in 18 years of doing business, she has had two dissatisfied customers. Sorry one of them had to be from here. I will continue to refer people to her. As far as rude, that seems really out of character for her, but you know.. maybe she just had a bad day? I am sure it has happened to all of us. I have customers that get rude before they even decided to spend $40. When that happens, I ask them to shop somewhere else. However, maybe they're just having a bad day too. What I have learned here right now, is that when someone is rude with me, I think I will ask them if they are having a bad day. It might even create some friendships.

 

[Fletch]

John and tfs: wise words. Anyone can b!+¢# and rant, especially if we weren't there.

I went to Sandra's site and was pleased with the wide offerings of ribbons and bands, so maybe I will place an order after all...

 

[moustache]

Ahhh retail.

Having been on the front lines of the retail game for 25 years now(and almost 20 at this job)i deal with the public daily.So many personalities and "bad days" abound.One just needs to adjust a wee bit and take that into consideration.I have those bad days as well but certainly try to keep that behind me when dealing with customers.Nothing worse than sending 300 people a day away unhappy due to my bad day.

So i understand where both sides are coming from.

John's recommendation regarding a well placed letter is dead on.If one is slighted,this can solve the situation.We had a customer do such a thing when an employee was rude.The situation was solved because of the letter.
So it can heal things.

Emails are a great way to keep track of such things.The proof that one is rude can be saved on hard drive
Just send those to the company head and that can solve things as well.

Just my thoughts on this.Hope all gets resolved.

JD in Vancouver,Wa

 

[Joel Tunnah]

I'm glad you got a nice email Duane, and that you feel comfortable with her level of service. I however don't think hanging up on somebody is good business, or even good manners. Neither is waiting this long to refund somebody, after she agreed to do so.

And I think you know from your own dealings with me that I am not rude.

Joel

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Valid points

moustache, I was in retail for close to 2 decades as well. From a managers view there is an old saying that has and always will be true. The CUSTOMER is always right. Even when facts may be against the customer, he is still always right. Any retailer that can not grasp this theory, will only be a retailer for a short time. A one time buyer is not what it is about, repeat business is the ticket. There are many things that I despise about Walmart, but they understand customer appreciation. Case in point, they set return standards in the retail industry that changed the rules for all of us. Door greeters are another. The door greeter program does what? 1st it is a welcome, a smiling face from the moment one enters the store, 2nd it is the last impression a shopper has upon leaving the store. Typically the greeter is an elderly man or lady, just like grandma or grandpa. Gee do we see a pattern here? Contrived it may be, but it works. Walmart understands customer relations and are the largest retailer in the world.

 

[Zemke Fan]

This medium can empower customers...

How else can those of us who have less than satisfactory transactions get some measure of recourse. Yes, a personal letter to the President/CEO is an absolutely dead-on strategy. But, no more than 2-3 people may ever know such a letter exists. By carefully documenting and accurately/calmly describing the situation in PUBLIC places like this, hopefully we can regain some measure of satisfaction in the marketplace.

Yes, people have bad days. Also (and I know this from the personal experience of owning a software company for 10 years), small companies can sometimes get TOTALLY overwhelmed. Patience by both parties in a commercial transaction is the best approach.

But, bottom-line? Two months for a refund stinks.

 

[Panamabob]

It goes both ways. I had a member here request refund by check. He also requested his Credit Card company to refund. Long story short, we got our hat money back, but had to pay the CHARGEBACK and Bank fees.

 

[Babydoll]

I find this thread fascinating.

I actually work for one of the Very Large companies that has been mentioned in this thread. I'm a corporate trainer for them. I teach customer service classes. One of the biggest things that I teach is that every customer should leave satisfied and willing to return. If we're not doing everything we can to ensure that, we're likely to lose a customer. And when they go.... they'll tell everyone they know about their bad experience. (Think about it.... how often do you tell about a bad thing happening to you versus a good thing?) For any retailer, bad word-of-mouth advertising can be detrimental not only to current business, but future business as well.

As for phone etiquette.... inexcuseable. Never hang up on a customer - even if you're having a bad day (which should never be an excuse, really). That only cemented the poor service, and will never be forgotten!

The comment about the president not knowing/caring.... I think you'd be surprised. I know our president/CEO. He's really nice. And he's completely committed to his employees (who are his internal customers) as well as all of our external customers. If his customers are happy, he's happy. You can rest assured that if he were to hear good or bad feedback regarding any employee, something would be said or done about it. For positive feedback, he'd give recognition. For negative.... well, that's where I come in.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Of course it does...

It goes both ways. I had a member here request refund by check. He also requested his Credit Card company to refund. Long story short, we got our hat money back, but had to pay the CHARGEBACK and Bank fees.

But, I wager that absorbing these costs KEPT this person as a customer and it's likely (isn't it?) that he will be a long-time, repeat customer?

I could tell you TEN different stories about clothing that I have purchased from Nordstrom over the years that for one reason or another disappointed me. All of the items in question were cheerfully accepted for exchange/refund regardless of age and condition. (I don't abuse this kind of customer service/return policy, but I certainly insist on getting what I pay for, and if I'm not happy I let them know it.) The lesson: Nordstrom has my unwaivering loyalty. Other than occasional forays on eBay, I shop no where else but Nordstrom and their outlet, Nordstrom Rack. -- ZF

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Babydoll you are spot on

I managed for a large retailer that understood these values for decades. On the back of every name badge was S M C Smile, Make eye contact, Continually greet every customer. Customer service was paramount, we used hidden shoppers to evaluate our company and took customer complaints very seriously. The company was family run and very successfully, most would recognize the name. Then retirement turned the reins of power over to an outsider. An individual that did not understand customer service and the company folded within 6 years. I moved on, used my knowledge to liquidate companies that also did not understand customer service and its importance. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of dealing with Art, knows how a customer should be treated.