Thursday, December 30, 2010

Customer Service Fun with Helen

I always look forward to post Christmas holiday customer service. People are always SOOOO nice after the holidays.

This week I've been exchanging e-mails with 'Helen' from hell, who wrote on Monday:

I purchase Now and Then Here and There complete collection 650 min. This is what your ad stipulats, however there is only 325 min. on the copy we recieved (3) dvd total, we could've purcased this from AMAZON. WE, my son and I feel we were misled into this purchase, Robert's Anime Corner Store really should no better, you state you don't sell BOOTLEGS but it's allright to mislead your customers, BAIT and SWITCH. We feel let down. Helen M.

WOW. To be sure, the listing on the site was incorrect at 650 minutes, probably because someone here used the template for a 26 episode series rather than a 13 ep series when the new listing was build for ADV's re-release last year. We fixed the listing right away. Sorry Helen, it happens.

So here is Helen, who has never bought from us before, cruising around the net looking at this title and seeing the same old thing from every site. Then she, unfortunately, comes across our site. Not only does she find the item listed cheaper than anywhere else she has previously looked, our version miraculously seems to contain twice the number of episodes ever produced - nevermind the part number and box art is exactly the same as what she saw everywhere else - so she decided to take the plunge and drop her $20 bucks over here at the corner.

The above e-mail is the first of several she sent, each one successively worse in tone and language in response to each explanation and apology I tried to send her. Where she is coming up with that stuff about 'bootlegs' (really?) and 'bait and switch' (not here sweetie) I have no idea. Not once in 7 e-mails does she ask for a refund or a return, or any other resolution, or responds to any remedy I offered to the problem, she just rants on and on about how we supposedly suck.

Yesterday I went ahead and issued her a full refund anyway, since it was clear it was the only way to resolve the issue. But is wasn't. After 3 more really ugly rant e-mails today, we went ahead and flagged her account and banned her from the store. She'll be maybe the 4th person we've ever done that to in 13 years. I archived her e-mails into our 'hall of shame', and I'm sure Amazon, Brand X, or whoever else will be happy to take care of her in the future.

I'm sorry Helen, sorry to see you go so soon. But seriously, happy holidays, and please - seek help.

4 comments:

tenkenX6 said...

Well Robert, I guess you just can't make some people happy, no matter what you do or say. I think she just wanted to use this business transaction with you as an excuse to vent, because her life is horrible, the holidays for her was miserable this year, or whatever. Who knows? However, that doesn't give her the right or make it justified to bring about such hate and anger towards you and your store, especially since you apologized and tried your best to resolve the issue. I die a bit inside when I see people like this, because I just can't see how they can be or act like that.

Robert said...

We get one or two like this every holiday season. It's like clockwork.

tenkenX6 said...

Gotta love it. I know the feeling. Every once in awhile, I have to deal with people like her at work. I thought watching anime was supposed to be fun and not bring upon an angerfest?

Robert said...

The Anime 'business' is somewhat less fun than Anime itself. This has been especially true over the last couple of years. :-)