Thursday, June 26, 2014

Rough Road To A Happy Ending

Good customer service is one of life's little joys. Bad customer service can truly ruin a day or week or longer. This is a tale of the difference customer service can make.

Several weeks ago I was watching a hockey game on TV and Sebastian was lying next to me on the sofa. I was rubbing his ears and I noticed that his collar looked worn. He likes to roll in the dirt and his collar showed it.
I had my Kindle handy and pulled up my favorite store for everything, Amazon. When I looked at dog collars, one of the first to pop up was a Boston Bruins collar. It seemed appropriate at the time and I scrolled thru the various selections. One of the offerings was a collar, leash and ID tag set. The price was right and so I ordered it. The seller was not Amazon but one of their third party sellers, Yogis Pet Store.

My first clue that something was wrong was when the email from the seller said I could expect the set in a month. I should have cancelled the purchase then and there, but my team had won the hockey game and I was in a good mood.
It didn't take a month to get worse. About ten days after I placed the order, an envelope arrived in the mail. When I opened it I found the Bruins collar, no leash, no tag, no explanation. I immediately emailed the seller and was told they would check into it. Three days later I emailed them again was told they were checking with the warehouse. They stalled me this way for another week.

I finally asked for the  customer service person and asked when I would be getting the leash and tag. She told me that they didn't have the leash and tag. She said they copied the description on Amazon from another source and they couldn't get the leash or tag. I responded that I had ordered the set and if I couldn't get it, I wanted a refund. That's when the customer service person told me that I was aggravating her. That's when I lost it and told her what I thought of her company.

Fortunately Amazon was keeping copies of all these emails back and forth and helped me get my refund. No Bruins collar for Sebastian.

After a while I cooled down but Sebastian still needed a collar. Syd and Mac both needed new collars, too, so I started looking again.

Today our three new collars arrived. I ordered them last Saturday and have received two very nice emails from the seller. The collars are lovely.  Sebastian found us on the Fourth of July, so I chose a patriotic one for him.
I couldn't believe how happy he was when I showed it to him. He sniffed and licked it and when we put it on him, he bounced around the room.
Mac is very hard on her collars. She's on her third and you can see the stitching is torn and the thing is coming apart.
Mac loves treats and steals them whenever possible, so I bought her one with lots of bones on it.
She wasn't too sure about it at first but I'm sure she'll soon adjust to it. It's wider then her puppy collars.
I considered one with crabs on it for Sydney because she's often crabby, but instead I went with pretty stars. Maybe she'll become less crabby. She's out playing today so she'll get hers this evening when she comes inside.
The three collars came from an Etsy shop called DogCollarsEtc and they were wrapped in tissue and tied with a satin ribbon.
The service has been wonderful and I am pleased with my purchase. It's exactly what I ordered.

10 comments:

SissySees said...

Sis is HARD on collars too. Lupine has a lifetime guarantee, but Sis has just oozed her oils and hair into it, and it's not "ruined"... just not pretty. I can't decide what to do. Of course, Gg's cat collar (like Mac, she prefers a narrow - VERY NARROW - collar) is only the second of her adult life and it looks brand-new.

I think I'll try your new source... or at least go look.

My Dog Sam - Ruptured Disk said...

Very stylish - you have good fashion sense. We like Amazon :-)

Ruby said...

Ooooooo, purty!!! Can you talk to Ma abouts gettin' ME a new collar??! I've had the same collars FOREVERS, and thinks I need a fancy schmancy new one! I'm gonna check these guys out, since Ma isn't gettin off her arse!!
Kisses,
Ruby ♥

booahboo said...

The difference between good and bad customer service... we all know whats gonna happen to companies who have bad customer service. Its a one off buy and never again.
The new collars are very pretty!! Sebastian does look very pleased.

Molly the Airedale said...

We love your new collars, guys! They're just beautiful ☺

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Amazing how GOOD service makes you happy. Glad you COULD get a refund. They reckon that bad service loses about 26 potential customers. Maybe by posting their name, it'll be more.

XXXOOO Bella Roxy & Dui

Oh, the pups look stylish.

Matilda the Boxer said...

I'm glad you found a GOOD place to get collars. Momma says she spends waaaaaay too much time and money on Etsy, but I'm sure I'll get her to go look at collars there before long. Heh heh heh.

rottrover said...

I'm going over to check out that shop. I'm with you on customer service.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the compliments! I too hate customer service and I try my best to make my customers happy.I'm glad you and your pups liked the collars. I have a lot more fabrics that aren't listed on my site, so if you are looking for something specific just let me know and I'll do what I can to find it.
Thanks Again!,
Elizabeth Mishler
DogCollarsEtc

Lapdog Creations said...

Geesh.... we'll all stay away from that aggravating seller on Amazon, that's for sure! What a twit!
Too bad for no Bruins collar (although, FYI, their Pro Shop sells some really nice doggy stuff - you can find a link from the Bruins website), but those ones you did get are stunning! There's truly something to be said about etsy and small businesses!