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Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance

Originally Posted

So, maybe I am a slacker. I was gonna send my mom flowers on Mother's Day and I had found a beautiful arrangement that was perfect. It was the perfect colors and I was excited about it. It was about $42 and I knew there would be other charges. I even added an option that took it up about another $5. When I started to check out, it jumped up to about $65. I thought, "Damn! Do I really want to spend that much on something that will rot in about a week?" I decided to hold off.

Long story short, I tried again later, decided WTF. 

It was now gonna cost $85. I just couldn't do it. Sorry Mom.

Now, this doesn't mean that I don't think my mom is worth that amount. It just means I don't think dead flowers are worth that much.

 Sometimes it's just Goodbye...

After giving up on that plan, I found a great gift - one I've been halfway keeping an eye on for a while. It was a digital frame that was large (800x600), took all kinds of memory cards and a USB cable and was compatible with most formats including music and movies.

It was a great deal at around one-third of what I'd seen these priced and to top it all off - FREE SHIPPING!  I know, right?  Everybody that knows me, knows these are the magic words. It can seal the deal when I am on the fence. 

So I placed my order.

It was on ebay but it was from Tiger Direct, so I was confident and unconcerned. I had the best of everything. Great price, free shipping and a good product from a "trusted company". 

Because of some unrelated issues I was having with PayPal which prevented me paying immediately, I tried a few times to close the deal unsuccessfully. A couple of days later when I tried again (for about the fifth time), I was surprised to see $8.99 added on for shipping. Now to me, that is a lot even if I weren't promised FREE SHIPPING. But I was. 

So I stopped, yet again, and wrote this email:

I have had some problems with my PayPal and haven't been able to pay as quickly as I normally would. Today when I tried once again my FREE SHIPPING has changed to $8.99!
 
I assure you that FREE SHIPPING was a major factor in this purchase and if it is not an option, I would like to cancel this purchase.
 
Please respond promptly.
 
 
Thank You,

This is the response I get...

Thank you for your time and patience. We are confirming that this order has been cancelled by request. We look forward to serving you again. Thank you..

Way to work to keep your customers, Carl.

I was amazed. I couldn't believe that rather than fix the issue, they would just dismiss me and my order. It might have been a very small insignificant order but I reminded them quickly of the age we live in. My follow-up email went like this...

That is fine, however, I will be spreading the news on my blog, myspace, facebook and any other possible medium that I can find.

The listing that I bid on (now closed, of course), clearly stated Free Shipping!

Had I bid on an item that showed $8.99 s/h (such as the new listing you have for this product) I would not have a problem paying it, but that was not the case.

Thank you for your time.

Amazingly, I received a new response from a different person. (Personally, I hope it is because the first one was fired.)

Dear Valued Customer.

We do apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused you. If the product listing includes free shipping, then rest assured that it is free shipping. We will make the necessary correction regarding this matter. If you have already paid for the product(s) that included free shipping a credit will be issued to your PayPal account. Thank you again for your time and patience.

Interestingly enough, I tried after this to go back and once again pay for the item.  (if you know me, you know how uncommon it is for me to put up with this.) When I tried to pay the last two times (yes, twice), I was unable because the order had been cancelled. How awesome is that?

I have dealt with Mother's Day (albeit belatedly). I have given up on TIGER DIRECT. I did not respond to the last email. I am sorry that I didn't get the photo frame for my mom. She would have loved it. I was even going to load it up with pictures since she recently lost a gazillion when her computer crashed. 

C'est La Vie.

I hope that somewhere, this will be used as a lesson in what not to do in customer service. This was a simple fix. I am a simple guy. I was not being unreasonable (I have been accused). 

Do I think TIGER DIRECT is sweating the loss of a forty dollar sale - No. 

Do I think my blog is gonna make a dent in their sales - No.

What I do think is that I am a technoGeek that prefers to shop online. Once I find a place I like and trust, I will stay with them (unless they give me a reason not to). I will spread the word to all my technoGeek friends. And I know that it is cheaper to keep a customer than to bring in a new one.

Goodbye TIGER DIRECT - Hello NEWEGG.


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