When Customer Service goes South

Online shopping is by no means a level playing field. You'd think that the newer online vendors would be savvy about how to handle customer service, but such is not the case.  Some are downright awful, especially in the areas of customer service. so you really have to be careful where you shop online.

I like to experiment and try new vendors, and every now and then this leads to an unhappy customer service experience.

Such was the case when I recently attempted to purchase some replacement china and tableware on the Web. I had made notes about a Website I previously used to purchase tableware, but the site was a little hard to use.  So, I thought I'd try another online vendor.

I tried a vendor who was sending me regular emails - Homeclick.com.  I must have purchased something there before, but I don't remember what it was, or in fact anything about the shopping experience.  But I will not soon forget this recent purchase.

I liked the china, but getting the order sorted out was a nightmare.

The Web transaction was smooth enough, even though I was told to expect my shipment in two packages.  Since most of the shipment was coming in the first package, I chose to pay for "expedited shipping" (via FedEx) for that part of the shipment, running me an extra $12.

The initial confirmation of my purchase was also fine.  But the 2nd email Homeclick sent about what was being shipped showed an incorrect number of items.  They appeared to have left out one of the sets of silverware.

I called customer service, who assured me that nothing was amiss, and that it had simply been back ordered. I requested a refund on that part of the "expedited shipping" and was told I would receive some of the money back.  When I received the first part of my shipment, it made no reference to the correct number of silverware settings, back ordered or not.  It appeared that part of my order had "disappeared" - into the bowels of Homeclick''s order placement system.  By this time, the entire charge had also been made to my credit card.

Irritated, I called HomeClick's customer service department. They seemed to not understand what was going on.  I cancelled the remaining parts of my order, and requested a refund for all items I had not yet received.  The service rep told I would receive a refund for $98. Shortly thereafter, I received an email telling me my refund would be $38.

This went on like this for the next few days.  I would call customer service, they would tell me one thing, then a day or two later, I would get a completely different story via e-mail.  It was bizarre - it was almost as if nobody in customer service was talking to anyone else, and the e-mail department was in its own little world.  I also was wondering if I would ever see my refund - or, in lieu of that, my china and silverware.

The upshot was that I finally received a set of silverware I had asked to be cancelled, and finally did get a credit back to my credit card for two items (totally about $60), but it simply wasn't what I had requested of the customer service department, and I felt misled. But they wore me down through the experience of making multiple calls to customer service, cross-checking their e-mails (which all contradicted each other), and continually checking my credit card's Website to check for a refund.

It could have been worse, I suppose (they could have failed to give me any credit back, or failed to ship the merchandise).  Nevertheless, the whole experience ticked me off.

What went wrong?

I'm guessing that Homeclick's back-office systems are simply not in synch with each other or with their Website transaction processing system. Their customer service process also lacks process (typos in their emails make me think they are hand-written, not automated).

The lesson is, I suppose, to make a note of these lousy customer experiences when you have them, and remember not to order from these sites again.  Also, you can let others know to "buyer beware." You can post opinions about online vendor on many consumer sites, including:

Epinions

RedPearl

Yahoo Shopping

Most require you to have a user ID of some sort.  It's worth a try.  My problem with all this is - it's just more time spent on something that should be very simple. And isn't that why we're online in the first place?

Comments

[Tim]

What a pain...I hate customer service like that. I found it interesting because I just bought replacement china too from a great company called Edish. I'm glad they didn't have these customer service problems. sheesh.

[Linda Davis]

I've used Homeclick before without a hassle. Their prices are generally very good. Customer service and fulfillment
clearly are 2 different areas.

Let's face it. At a store, online or over the phone, good customer service makes
all the difference in the world.