Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Some Not So Fabulous Customer Service From A Polish Etailer...

Before I begin, I just want to say that I'm not one to complain. I hardly ever complain about services received because I've worked in the customer service industry, and I know what it's like to be on the other side. I work for a company, where we provide services for large retailers and the whole aspect of my job is to get it done right and to provide good customer service. I normally wouldn't go out and rant about a company, but I had an experience with a nail polish etailer and I'm pretty disappointed in regards to how impossible it was to get in touch with them.

I do A LOT of online shopping, especially for nail polish. On Sunday 11/27 I placed an order for some NFU Oh polishes through Fabuloustreet.com. I had ordered from them in the past without any issues. I ordered two polishes, for a total of $25.o0. I chose to check out with Paypal, and upon check out I made the mistake of choosing the incorrect shipping. The website states that for orders $25.00+ you receive free shipping, but the website automatically defaults to USPS Express shipping. I missed this and submitted my payment through Paypal. When I got the receipt from Paypal stating that I had been charged $56.60 I called Fabuloustreet right away.

I left a very detailed message on Sunday night 11/27 (of course, I know they were closed) but I was hoping to reach someone before the package was processed. I emailed as well.

I called three times on Monday 11/28, each time it automatically went to voicemail. I left another detailed message. I sent another email. No response.

I called four times on Tuesday 11/29, left another message and tried to reach out to them through Twitter! No response, no matter how much I practically stalked them, even though they posted on Twitter later that day.

On Wednesday 11/30, I called again, and of course my outcome was the same. I left another message and sent another email.  No response.

Each email was sent through their "contact us" link on the website itself. I decided to fill out the information differently, instead of using my personal email address with the information on my order form, I used my blog email address and left off my last name. Within two hours I received a reply. (I also received my package earlier that afternoon)

Here is what I received on Wednesday:

From: FabulouStreet.com <sales@FabulouStreet.com>
To: 'Katherine' <HaulOfFameNail@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 6:26 PM
Subject: RE: Message from FabulouStreet.com

Hello Katherine

How are you doing?

Regarding your order, we have got your message after the package was sent
out.

Our office was closed from 11/23/11 until 11/27/11. The packaging
department processed your order on 11/28/11 but we were not aware of your
message until after package was shipped. We have tried to go to USPS to
retrieve the package back but with no success.

The Shopping cart should have 3 options for you. First class / priority /
express mail.

We are very sorry, but the package was processed until express mail by
following the order instruction.

Best Regards,
Jeff
www.FabulouStreet.com
email: sales@fabuloustreet.com


I was so upset, that I let it go. After a few days and talking to a few different people, I got the courage to write them back. I was charged $31.60 for the shipping (the box was labeled 1lb). I checked the USPS website, and the express shipping for a package of this weight is only $18.40 at the post office. I also highly doubt they went to the post office to try and retrieve my package, they couldn't even bother to call or email me back to begin with.

My response:

From: Katherine  <hauloffamenail@yahoo.com>
To: "sales@FabulouStreet.com" <sales@FabulouStreet.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2011 10:28 AM
Subject: Re: RE: Message from FabulouStreet.com

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for getting back to me. While I understand choosing the wrong shipping option was entirely my own fault, I find it hard to believe that nobody received my messages. The package was clearly dated by the PO that it was picked up 11/29 at 3pm. By noon (est) on 11/29 I had left three messages, two emails and even tried to reach someone through Twitter.


I never heard back from them. I understand that I never changed the shipping option, that's my own fault, but I know I can't be the only one who has made this error, since it automatically chooses the Express shipping. I feel this is an extra way to make a few bucks on those who aren't paying attention.
If they had called me and let me know they couldn't undo the mistake, I would have added more polish to my order, this way I wasn't paying $31.60 in shipping for only $25.00 worth of goods. Even if they charged me only the $18.40 in shipping I would have appreciated it. I ship polishes all the time, and I know 2 polishes are NOT 1lb. I was an existing customer, and this was not my first order. On top of it, the website states that my order was processed on 11/29 (not 11/28 like the email suggests) and by that time they had 2 full business days to listen to my messages or read my emails.

No matter how much I love my NFU Oh polishes, I don't think I will be ordering from them again any time soon. I understand it was my mistake, but I also feel like their customer service department is either shady, or lacking adequate staff. If I took 3 business days to write my customer back at work, I would be fired without question.

Has anyone else ever made this mistake, or not been able to get in touch with them? What does everyone think, am I wrong for feeling that they intentionally didn't get back to me? Even if you think I am a complete idiot, I'm hoping this post will save someone $31.60 in the future.

On a positive note, ImageBeauty left out one of my polishes during a recent order. I received my package on Saturday, emailed them that same day and got a response on SATURDAY!!! They apologized and credited my credit card for the missing polish right away. Now, that's customer service!

Account info from Fabuloustreet.com showing the process date:

 


Status History & Comments

DateOrder StatusComments

11/27/2011Processing
11/27/2011Processing

Transaction ID: 58T55062D1841D
Payment Type: PayPal Express Checkout (instant)
Timestamp: 2011-11-28T04:07:51Z
Payment Status: Completed
Amount: 56.60 USD
11/29/2011DispatchedThank you very much for your order.


Your order has been dispatched to USPS.com




7 comments:

  1. Well, I won't be ordering from them again, that's for sure! What a lousy way to treat a customer.

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  2. I'm sorry that this had to happen to you! I would be pretty upset too when this would happen to me. If I would contact them and they reply to me and tell me I can't get my money back, I would still be upset, but at least I know they have a good customer service.

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  3. I've never had anything but excellent service from them. But then, I've never had to correct a mistake I made either. Sorry this happened to you. Maybe they'll use this as an opportunity to learn how they might do things differently. Too bad they don't let you "cancel" an order... :(

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  4. That doesn't sound good at all! Sorry this happened to you :/

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  5. Uck, thats awful! Thank you so much for posting this though.
    A few months ago I ordered an aqua base and the silver holographic NFU but when it arrived, it seemed to be one of those dud bottles. The formula was terrible and lumpy and its barely holo. I emailed them and they got back to me within a fw days apologizing and they said if I sent it back, they'd get me a new bottle. So I dunno what to think about their customer service. Maybe they're just understaffed. =/

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  6. Thank you for everyone for your input. I didn't want to make this a sob story, but I appreciate everyone's comments as they make me feel better about it. xoxo

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  7. thanks for posting this. I wish more people would as it might help make their customer service better. Can't you open a dispute with Paypal? you should be able to. I understand the frustration completely. By you posting this it also helps us remember to double check our orders before we click submit. *hug*

    ReplyDelete