Friday, December 5, 2008

I shouldn't blog when I'm irritated

But really, I can't help it. The Etsy forums are a joke. All people seem to do is bitch and whine and moan. "oh etsy isn't promoting, oh people aren't buying from me, oh the resellers are back..." Good lord, worry about YOUR shop and less about others. Maybe I'm too laid back, but I don't give a flying freak if something in another shop is mislabeled. I worry about what *I* am selling. If Etsy pisses you off, why the hell are you still selling on it? Hmmm?

The second issue on my plate of irritability is another seller. I will not name names or call out. But I have to get it off my chest. As most of you that read this blog are also sellers on Etsy and other places, answer a question for me. What is the most important aspect of your business? For us, it's our customers. We wouldn't have a business if it weren't for the customers. And our products.

We strive to do two things with our business...1) make the best possible products we can and 2) make sure our customer is happy with not only our product, but our service. Really, you could have the best, my amazing item in the world, but if your customer service sucks, I will never come back. That is kind of what I ran into with another seller.

She made an announcement in chat that her products were buy one get one free. She sells something that I've wanted for a while, so I jumped at the opportunity. My first red flag was her unhelpfulness when I was making the purchase and choosing colors. I was blown off. I should have canceled then. But, I gave the benefit of the doubt and finished the sale. A few days later, I checked out her shop again, looking for her shipping policies. I wondered when my items would ship and how they would be mailed. Her policy section was blank, so I sent her a convo. She never answered. Long story short, myself and Amy saw her about on Etsy in the chat, etc, in those few days...but no answer to my convo. FINALLY I got an answer from her yesterday saying my purchase would ship Monday, but if that wasn't ok, she'd refund my money. I politely asked her to cancel the sale an issue a refund.

Thus begins the BS. Excuses, whining, etc etc. An HOUR later, she finally agreed to cancel the sale and refund me (though I haven't seen the refund and the sale still hasn't been canceled). Seriously, the items weren't made nor shipped...she wasn't losing out on anything. But not only was her originial customer service below par (far far below) her whining and complaining has made her a person I will NEVER shop from again. She's lost my respect AND a customer.

I am just flabbergasted. Seriously. If it were me on the other end of the situation, I would have refunded it ASAP. Heck, I would have answered the convo as soon as I saw it and the situation wouldn't have come to a head.

Am I out of line being so peeved about that? Maybe I need to relax, I don't know. I just can't imagine treating one of my customers in such a manner.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is why I'm so leery about buying online. I've only done so TWICE and both times not only did I NOT get my item, but the seller CLAIMED I DIDN'T PAY THEM (I sent them registered money orders).

While there are so many things online (particularly Etsy) that I'd like to buy, I just don't, unless it's a large, reputable company.

Unknown said...

Yikes! Heathen, that sounds like a terrible buying experience. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

Blogging when you're angry is perfectly okay. :P

KrisMrsBBradley said...

Thankfully, I've had nothing but good experiences on Etsy.

Sounds like this person needs to get their head out of their butt. I don't blame you at all for canceling. If she didn't want you to cancel, she should have been more polite, apologized, and maybe offered you an extra freebie or a discount.

I wouldn't go to a "real" store where the help or owner was rude, so why would I deal with it online?

Oh, and I wanted to say thanks! You made my holiday shopping for my sister so easy! She told me she wanted bath stuff, so I knew just where to go for that!

Anonymous said...

I know this is the WRONG reaction, but I so want to know who you are talking about! sigh...terrible, isn't it? but I do agree - customer service is very important. I always check a seller's feedback before buying.

tanya said...

What a horrible experience, but I'm with Leah - I kinda want to know who this person is so I can avoid them.

I always check the feedback of a seller before I buy and pay attention to the feedback of their buyers. You really have to treat your customers right or else they won't come back and you won't get recommended.

I agree about the complaining.