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As some of you know, I make and sell (among other things) chainmail jewelry. There is one company that I get almost all of my rings and other chainmailing supplies from. I love their products. The quality is great, the price is good, and they have a very large selection to choose from. But their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I've been ordering from them for about 2 years. I usually place 3-4 orders a year and I have had questions or issues on half of those orders, and every response I have gotten from this particular customer service rep has left me feeling like they don't give a flying &^%$ about their customers.
The first time I contacted them was regarding a kit I wanted to order. The kit was supposed to include 8 different colored rings, but I saw that one of the colors was out of stock when it was ordered separately and I wanted to know if it was still available in the kit, or if a different color would be sent. I also asked in the same email if my and my husband's accounts could be combined, since he had ordered from them a few times (and you get points for every order you place that go toward discounts.) The response I got was from a woman named "B" and was extremely short and abrupt. It basically said, "The kits are pre-made and cannot be changed. If a color is out of stock, one of the other colors will be substituted." She did not fully answer my first question -- whether the color I asked about was actually available in the kits, and what color would be substituted if it wasn't -- and she completely ignored my question about combining my and my husband's accounts.
The second time I contacted them was because I had ordered some stainless steel rings and they were literally black. I thought maybe they had sent me the wrong item because they didn't look like stainless at all. I asked if it was possible that they sent me the wrong item and if I could send them a picture to verify what I had actually gotten. The response, again from B: "Stainless can vary in color. I'm not sure why yours happens to be so dark. Washing them in warm soapy water may lighten them a little."
The third time I contacted them was because I thought I was missing an item in an order. I emailed them stating which item was not in my order and asking what could be done. The first response I got back was again from B, in which she asked me a bunch of questions such as, "What condition is the box in? Has it been damaged in any way? Did you check under the bottom flaps of the box? Is the item you are missing actually listed on your invoice? Did you double-check your order to make sure you didn't miss it somewhere?" At the end she said, "If you have further questions, email us again." There was no offer of any kind of credit/re-shipment/other solution and no apology. As it turns out, the item WAS stuffed under one of the flaps in the bottom of the box, so I emailed B back and let her know that. Interestingly enough, I got another email a little while later from a different customer service rep who had apparently gotten my first email but not yet been informed that the issue was resolved. She asked some of the same questions (the ones about the box being damaged and if the item was stuffed under the bottom flap, but NOT the ones about whether the item was on the invoice or if I had double-checked my order) PLUS she apologized for the inconvenience and asked me what I would prefer in the event I couldn't find the item and to please let her know how I wanted them to proceed.
About 2 weeks ago, I placed my most recent order from them. It shipped and I was following the UPS tracking on it, since I kind of need it by this weekend if at all possible (I'm vending at a big show this weekend and could really use the supplies by then.) Last Thursday night, I got an automated email from UPS that there was an exception on my order's tracking number. I checked the tracking and it says, "Number of pieces does not match invoice or waybill." This didn't sound good, so I immediately emailed the shippers to ask if they knew what the exception meant. It was fairly late Thursday evening so I didn't expect a response that night. I got one fairly early Friday morning, again from B, saying "I'm on it. Trying to contact the correct person at UPS." At about 3:30pm Friday afternoon, I still had not heard anything and sent another email, politely asking if there was any updates to be had before the weekend.
It's now almost noon on Monday and I still have not heard anything back. The tracking info on UPS's website has not changed. I am PISSED OFF. Even if there isn't any news, they should friggin' let me know that so I know they're at least working on it.
I need to note that in all of my emails that I send, I am very polite and professional. I start the email with some kind of salutation and end it with a proper closing. I identify myself, my order number, and my question or concern. I say please, thank you for your time, and am overall very cordial. I have never gotten belligerent or demanding. Every response I have gotten from B has no greeting, no proper closing, no apology if there is a problem or delay, and no form of "Thank you for your order/business." Her emails are always very abrupt, short, and, IMO, rude. Maybe my standards are a little high, because I used to work in a company that took customer service very seriously. Frankly, if this woman was a CSR at my old company, she wouldn't last a week.
I know what you're all thinking. Report her! Right? Not so easy, I think. See, this company is very small. I think there's around 15 or less employees. B is the customer service manager and the owner's wife. I have a feeling that, even if I could get in touch with the owner himself, telling him that his wife is rude and unprofessional isn't going to get me very far.
I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. I love this company's products, I just hate hate hate dealing with B. I do not want to be a sucky customer and I don't think what I'm asking for is all that much. All I want (for the immediate future) is a friggin' update on my order, and, in general, to be spoken to professionally and like I'm a valued customer and not some pain in the ass.
The first time I contacted them was regarding a kit I wanted to order. The kit was supposed to include 8 different colored rings, but I saw that one of the colors was out of stock when it was ordered separately and I wanted to know if it was still available in the kit, or if a different color would be sent. I also asked in the same email if my and my husband's accounts could be combined, since he had ordered from them a few times (and you get points for every order you place that go toward discounts.) The response I got was from a woman named "B" and was extremely short and abrupt. It basically said, "The kits are pre-made and cannot be changed. If a color is out of stock, one of the other colors will be substituted." She did not fully answer my first question -- whether the color I asked about was actually available in the kits, and what color would be substituted if it wasn't -- and she completely ignored my question about combining my and my husband's accounts.
The second time I contacted them was because I had ordered some stainless steel rings and they were literally black. I thought maybe they had sent me the wrong item because they didn't look like stainless at all. I asked if it was possible that they sent me the wrong item and if I could send them a picture to verify what I had actually gotten. The response, again from B: "Stainless can vary in color. I'm not sure why yours happens to be so dark. Washing them in warm soapy water may lighten them a little."
The third time I contacted them was because I thought I was missing an item in an order. I emailed them stating which item was not in my order and asking what could be done. The first response I got back was again from B, in which she asked me a bunch of questions such as, "What condition is the box in? Has it been damaged in any way? Did you check under the bottom flaps of the box? Is the item you are missing actually listed on your invoice? Did you double-check your order to make sure you didn't miss it somewhere?" At the end she said, "If you have further questions, email us again." There was no offer of any kind of credit/re-shipment/other solution and no apology. As it turns out, the item WAS stuffed under one of the flaps in the bottom of the box, so I emailed B back and let her know that. Interestingly enough, I got another email a little while later from a different customer service rep who had apparently gotten my first email but not yet been informed that the issue was resolved. She asked some of the same questions (the ones about the box being damaged and if the item was stuffed under the bottom flap, but NOT the ones about whether the item was on the invoice or if I had double-checked my order) PLUS she apologized for the inconvenience and asked me what I would prefer in the event I couldn't find the item and to please let her know how I wanted them to proceed.
About 2 weeks ago, I placed my most recent order from them. It shipped and I was following the UPS tracking on it, since I kind of need it by this weekend if at all possible (I'm vending at a big show this weekend and could really use the supplies by then.) Last Thursday night, I got an automated email from UPS that there was an exception on my order's tracking number. I checked the tracking and it says, "Number of pieces does not match invoice or waybill." This didn't sound good, so I immediately emailed the shippers to ask if they knew what the exception meant. It was fairly late Thursday evening so I didn't expect a response that night. I got one fairly early Friday morning, again from B, saying "I'm on it. Trying to contact the correct person at UPS." At about 3:30pm Friday afternoon, I still had not heard anything and sent another email, politely asking if there was any updates to be had before the weekend.
It's now almost noon on Monday and I still have not heard anything back. The tracking info on UPS's website has not changed. I am PISSED OFF. Even if there isn't any news, they should friggin' let me know that so I know they're at least working on it.
I need to note that in all of my emails that I send, I am very polite and professional. I start the email with some kind of salutation and end it with a proper closing. I identify myself, my order number, and my question or concern. I say please, thank you for your time, and am overall very cordial. I have never gotten belligerent or demanding. Every response I have gotten from B has no greeting, no proper closing, no apology if there is a problem or delay, and no form of "Thank you for your order/business." Her emails are always very abrupt, short, and, IMO, rude. Maybe my standards are a little high, because I used to work in a company that took customer service very seriously. Frankly, if this woman was a CSR at my old company, she wouldn't last a week.
I know what you're all thinking. Report her! Right? Not so easy, I think. See, this company is very small. I think there's around 15 or less employees. B is the customer service manager and the owner's wife. I have a feeling that, even if I could get in touch with the owner himself, telling him that his wife is rude and unprofessional isn't going to get me very far.
I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. I love this company's products, I just hate hate hate dealing with B. I do not want to be a sucky customer and I don't think what I'm asking for is all that much. All I want (for the immediate future) is a friggin' update on my order, and, in general, to be spoken to professionally and like I'm a valued customer and not some pain in the ass.
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