Occasionally I like to share my experiences, good and bad, with the retail world regarding customer service and corporate strategies---if this is boring to you, quit reading now, as this is one of those tales: Online, I order a $300 item; It arrives promptly, however I discover it it is used...the packaging seal had been broken and its missing a small item in the inventory of what Im supposed to get. I call the retailer, explain the situation. and say that I want to return the item, and get what I originally ordered--a brand new version of the item. The customer service agent, who was quite personable but bound to their policies, encouraged me to go to the closest store and return the item that way, and then reorder a new one (something he said the store could also help me with). My reply: what I would prefer doing is return this now, and get the new one ordered in one swap---why should I have to waste an hour or more to drive to the store and re-do the transaction? The best he could do is, if I wanted, arrange a return, and when they received the item back from the shipper (5-10 day estimate), re-credit my visa, then I could reorder if I wanted (so a couple of different transactions). Or I could order a new item now and let this return catch up. Now, I get the why of this retailers approach----but Ive also been a customer for going on 30+ years (verifiable) and wasnt the fact that they sent me an obviously USED item their fault to begin with? The retailer, by the way, is not my usual suspects---the Walgets or Tarmarts or the world that you would expect this from. This was REI, a once proud member owned company that seems to be morphing more and more into a run of the mill retailer just like many of the rest of them. At least thats my experience. I think I will return this...and try again, via Amazon, who I HAVE, so far, been having, on balance, pretty good customer care experiences with. Stay tuned for the post script.....
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:35:36 +0000
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