I usually don't allow explicit language on this blog, but after my dealings with a particular eBay retailer I had a few four-letter words to use myself.
Dave and Adam's Card World is a bulk distributor of collectibles, such as Magic cards or baseball cards. When doing an eBay search for Pirates the CSG, I came across a case of unopened boosters from them for 16 dollars: too cheap to pass up. So I bit, and hit the buy-it-now option. When I got my invoice, it was for over 30 bucks. What!? So I was informed that shipping to Alaska required a surcharge, since they ship via UPS. Ok, that seemed a bit steep, but I paid the extra 15 bucks without complaining.
Here's where I made my mistake: I didn't check my address. When I was emailed an order confirmation, I realized the address was my old one (two years old, in fact).
So acting quickly, I got the phone number for their customer service. I made sure it was their advertised business hours before calling. It rang and.... Nothing happened. Twice in a row. So I left a message explaining my problem. I included my order number, and the address I needed it changed to before they shipped it.
This was fairly early in the morning Alaska time, so it was around noon EST. A few hours passed, and I received no callback (I had left my number too) and no emails on the subject. That evening, I received a shipping notification. They had shipped it without changing the address.
Irritated, I waited for the three days it took UPS to deliver their two-day mail up here, and then seeing marked delivered I got pretty irked. So I emailed them, demanding a refund. This time I got a response. It said they would send me a replacement to the correct address, which temporarily appeased me, until I got my shipping notification...
They had used priority mail this time... To ship it to the wrong address again. See picture above.
So yes, it WAS my fault for not double checking my shipping address. But, what is the point of a customer service number if you don't answer your phones or check the messages? How else can a customer fix a minor mistake? It really was minor, and could have easily been fixed had they not been so fething stupid.
So... Lesson learned. This will be my first time using the negative feedback feature, and in this case it is well-deserved. Be wary of Dave and Adams Card World.
Rule 21: Never trust a business with two or more guys first names in the company name. Single names "Ed's Auto Shop" are okay, along with full names "Cheaty McFaker's Magical Emporium", and last name collections "Law Offices of Murdock and Nelson".
ReplyDeleteHowever, "Bill, Jim, and Eddy's Bait Shop"? They're probably either swindlers, hacks, or terrorists.