Disappointing Mixed Messages

I have been waiting for a dress and a purse that I ordered March 13. Yep, ten days before Kalamazoo. A very long time ago.

The purse went on back order immediately and its delivery date has been pushed back twice. The dress arrived but didn't fit, so I filled out the exchange form and sent it back. Weeks went by and finally on April 10 I received word that they'd received my returned dress and that a replacement would be shipped ASAP.

I waited and I waited. And then I waited some more.

Finally, 18 days after being told that my exchange would be shipped, I called customer service and asked where my dress was.

"We don't do exchanges," I was told. "Only refunds."

I pulled up the email I'd received and read it to him, then asked why, if they didn't do exchanges, they'd allowed me to do so AND put it in writing that they would do an exchange and ship it to me ASAP.

The rep couldn't answer my question and kept insisting that they did not do exchanges while I kept pointing out to him that I had been told that they did, had written proof, and that I had been waiting 18 days for my dress.

Tired of arguing, I finally asked if I had received a refund for the dress I had returned. I had. I then cut my losses and canceled the order for the purse that has been on back order since March 13. I'd been waiting nearly 50 days; I'd find a purse elsewhere.

Probably a good thing I did. After I finished our conversation, I went to the business's Facebook page and then their web site. 

Both sites said that the store was closing. No wonder they were not doing exchanges. No wonder my purse was on back order. And why did the rep not tell me that? Why did they email me and say my exchange would be shipped ASAP?

I've bought a lot of clothes and purses from Back in the Saddle over the past fifteen years or so. I've recommended their clothes and other things to horsey friends. I've always had good service and good quality products from them.

Sadly, though, my last order with them was a frustrating one and I have neither item that I ordered. Plus, now I need to find a new purse. Maybe a dress, too. 

Anyone have any suggestions for a good western wear store?

In Which Lynn Goes on a Rant

Second Post of the Day

Seriously, Amazon?

This weekend I received my third EMPTY package from Amazon.  It was a large envelope that was supposed to hold the strawberry mold I'd ordered to make Elsie Mae's Christmas ornament.

Didn't someone along the shipping process realize that this (and the other) envelopes were empty?  

The package for the strawberry mold had never even been sealed shut.

When I contacted customer support, I was asked if:

1) I was SURE the package was empty and to please check inside it again,  

2) Sent a picture of the empty (and very flat) package lying on my porch as proof that, yes indeedy, Amazon had delivered it to me,

3) Told not to worry, that it might arrive tomorrow (even though Amazon had already labeled it as delivered), and

4) Told that they couldn't do anything about a replacement or refund until 4:00 PM Hawaii time the next day. I could start the process then but not before.

It takes a lot to rile me, but that #4 was the kicker. That, and the fact that I'd already had two other empty packages in just a matter of weeks.

Boy howdy, I waited until 4:01 PM Hawaii time the next day, contacted Customer Service, and got my refund. I screen shot the confirmation about it and you can bet I am watching to be sure that that refund is actually given. (I never did get one for the first empty package. For the second one, a replacement item did finally arrive after almost three weeks.)

But wait! There's more!

I just got another order from Amazon that was a problem - some shampoo and conditioner. I flipped them over to check the expiration dates, and guess what...

Yep. You guessed. Both were expired. 

That may not be a problem like it could in food, but I was still hot enough after the third empty package that I again contacted Customer Service and asked for a replacement. I was told that I could keep the expired merchandise and that a replacement was coming. That replacement is supposed to be delivered today. I'm watching for it AND watching my account to make sure I am not being charged for the replacement.

This does not portend well for the holiday season. This year I am going to carefully track everything because after this experience, I am expecting that there will be problems again.

Heads up to ya'll - watch your Amazon deliveries. And I hope you have better luck than I am having.

Customer Service & Shipping Woes

I love Breyer. I love their products, their events, their clubs... just about everything. But I don't care for their customer service. Why? Because never, ever have I received a return phone call or email. EVER. 

Until yesterday.

A week ago I had called to ask about two missing items from my BreyerFest purchases. When I checked online, my account details had listed everything as fulfilled, complete with tracking numbers. Knowing Breyer was in the middle of a mammoth job of shipping things, I waited a few days for a return call, hoping that in the meantime my missing items would show up.

Crickets. 

And no new boxes.

Three days later, with the order's status still showing as fulfilled, I emailed Breyer, explaining the problem, and including the order number and what I had not gotten.

More crickets. And still no boxes.

I waited four more days, growing more and more frustrated, especially as I saw posts on social media where people reported that they'd called Breyer, spoken to someone, and gotten results. That bothered me. Why did I never get return calls or emails? 

Wondering if the problem might be on my end, I went back to Breyer's web site and checked their contact info, then compared it to my phone log and sent emails. Everything was correct - the problem was not me.

Finally, I decided to call Breyer again and, as in the past, got the answering machine. I explained the situation, although this time I added that I had already phoned and emailed them with no response, and asked if someone would please get back to me. For whatever reason, that did the trick and I got a call from Breyer's Customer Service an hour later.

She apologized for the delay and checked my order. I was told that it was on the way and given a tracking number. I hung up happy to have finally gotten through to Breyer's Customer Service and to know that my tee and Stablemates were on the way.

Until I clicked on that tracking number and got this message.

As I looked at it trying to figure out what was wrong, I suddenly realized that she had given me the same tracking number as the one on the original box, not a new one. Now what should I do?

I tried again, hand typing the number into the search box instead of clicking on Breyer's link.

This time I got some better information. As I compared the two messages, I also noticed that the first box came UPS, while this shipment (with that identical tracking number) is coming USPS.

Call me confused about that for sure, but at least I know that my missing merchandise is on its way . And, at last I can say that, for the first time ever, I got through to Breyer's Customer Service.

That's a win on both fronts!