This is in response to a complaint: Estelle of Glendale, AZ March 16, 2010. First of all, the customer did not even use her real name or location. We have any Estelle's as a customer ever. Secondly, when a consumer files a complaint, as suggested by Consumer Affairs, the customer must be accurate and fair. This customer was not. If you visit our website: buyinflatables.com there are multiple ways to contact us. Live Chat, a Customer Service Link on every page of our website, two Contact Us Links on every page of our website and a Order Status Link on every page of our website along with a customer login on every page of our website. So the customer was dishonest in her claim saying all you can do is chat live with someone.
When you do start a live chat, depending on what operators are on at the time, you have a choice of selecting Product Information or Customer Service. The customer contacted our live chat operator and selected "Product Information" as the reason for the chat. So the call is routed to someone who can answer product specific calls. She asked where her order was at. The person (Donna) who answered the chat works in the warehouse sample room where she can look at different products for features and sizes. When she read the customers inquiry, she told the customer that she did not have access to order details and asked the customer if she checked the status of the order. The customer responded with in all caps: forget the attitude, look it up!
Donna proceeded to advise the customer that there is a link on every page where she can check the order status on her own within 2 clicks of a mouse and locate tracking details etc. And if she needed further assistance, there is a link right on the order status page to our customer service ticket system where someone will assist her within minutes of filling out an inquiry. The customer responded with in all caps: You better find a way to check the order status for me. Donna explained, her computer system did not have a link to the order status and that the customer could have checked it in less time it took for her to type the last sentence. Donna then pushed the link to the order status page to the customer's browser's screen... and said she was doing so for the customers convenience.
The customer replied again in all caps: I don't want to check the order status myself. get off your fat a** and go figure out a way to check it for me, I am the customer you work for me. Donna then told the customer she is going to disconnect the chat because she was being rude and did so. The consumer started multiple chats with her, writing in all caps things like: I will get you fired, why are you too lazy to check my order for me, etc. ranting and raving each time. The chats were disconnected. Each time after the chat, the customer would write arrogant and rude remarks about Donna, a product expert. Keep in mind the customer is on our website on the order status page. All she had to do was enter her order number and her email address and she would have received instant order information, including tracking details.
Now...On every page of our website, there is also a Phone Number that is a toll free number that clearly states "Orders Only" that goes to a Phone Answering Order Taking Service Company. They can only take orders when you dial the number. They don't know anything about the products they are taking orders for other then basic information we have posted on our website. They also do not have access existing customer information or order history. When you call during business hours, you have a choice of selection... Dial 1 to place and order, Dial 2 for customer service. If you dial 2 you are asked to visit our customer service ticket system on our website which is responded to promptly. Dialing 1 will lead you to the phone answering company operator who answers... Thank you for calling BuyInflatables.com. Can I take your order please.
When the customer called the line the first time, she said she wanted to speak to a supervisor. the operator (Dave) asked what is the call regarding, thinking maybe there was a problem with the phone answering service. At that time he stated he will be recording the call. She started ranting and raving how the online chat operator did not want to check her order status. Dave explained to the customer that she was calling and Answering Service and they can only take orders. The customer demanded that Dave now check the order status. Dave said he could not. She demanded to speak to a supervisor. A Supervisor did get on the phone (Anthony) and explained to her that they did not have access to her order information or customer information. He instructed her to visit our website and check the order status by clicking on the link on every page or clicking on the contact us links and send in a request for assistance. She yelled: Don't tell me what to do you a**hole and hung up.
She called the order line again and again got Dave. When Dave answered, she said, oh know not this a**hole again. Dave responded, I'm sorry I have to terminate the call. She did this 3-4 times, calling a toll free phone line. The last time she called she got Anthony, and he told her if she continues to call the toll free line being rude and without placing an order, the cost of the call will be reversed to her phone bill. That stopped the calls.
When I read the transcripts, I looked up the order by the customers name and saw the package was shipped out the business day prior. I emailed the customer to advise of the order status and I too explained that over the course of 75 minutes that she spent badgering our staff and phone answering service she could have checked her order 100 times. She replied with a not so nice reply and I won't even say the horrible things she said. Her behavior was uncalled for. If she had a problem with checking her order status, contact us. We have a customer service ticket system that is responded within 24 hours... and usually within 10 minutes during the day. There was no need for the threats, name calling and cursing.
After reading her email, I decided it would be in our best interest to cancel the order and refund the troubled customer in full for the $62 order. She claimed in her complaint it was $75? The item she bought was $59.95 with free shipping and $2. insurance and Handling. That comes out to $62. Where did $75 come from? That came from my email asking why did she waste 75 minutes when she could have checked her order status. In canceling the order, we contacted the shipping carrier and had the package re-routed back to us. Refunded the customer and blocked the customer from our website. She emailed me and cursed with every bad word you could think of and said she will retaliate because she wanted the item. If she wanted the item and was concerned so much about it... why not type in the 10 digit order order and your email address and get a instant answer with tracking details in less time than it took to start a chat? Why spend so much time fighting with our staff and people who don't even work for us?
In closing, when you read complaints, especially where the consumer paints themselves with a perfect brush and the merchant is this terrible company who says bad things offers no customer service but they got refunded, I think most times, its a customer is offended that their order was canceled and they were refunded. If we were so bad, we would not have refunded the money but we did without her asking for it. So she got mad. For a $10 profit, it's not worth dealing with consumers like that. If she caused that much grief just because she refused to check her own order status... I could only imagine what would have happened if the item was defective or there was a problem. Better off to cut our loss.
One last thing to think about. For a businessman to reach into his pocket and pull out money and give it back to a customer, that customer had to be nothing more then a troubled consumer. There is a term, the customer is always right. I don't think it is right for a customer to be abusive, rude and arrogant without reason. So it was my decision to refund her and decide to never allow her to buy from our website again. Its not worth the $10. Thank you for allowing me to reply to the frivolous complaint.
