posted on September 14, 2001 08:23:09 PM new
Well I will tell you a little about how I conduct business and I would like your imput.
When I get a payment threw billpoint or paypal . I take the letter I get and send it to the shipping department threw an email. I Also carbon copy the payment and add this letter ( at the bottom of this letter) to the top. So my shipping department gets the letter and so does my customer. I do this for a couple of reason, I have found that by emailing the customer back the payment with the letter .This informs them that I have gotten the funds and when to expect the product. Also I have a copy in the shipping department that my staff can work from.
I got an email from a customer asking were his product was .
I looked it up and only a couple of days had pasted . I emailed the customer back . I told him that we had emailed him a letter when he had paid . I said nicely that the letter stated how many days it would take for the product to arrive. I asked him nicely to go back and check the letter. I reminded him that only a couple days had gone by and because of the recent problems , that I would imagine that it might be a little longer. This was the letter I got back tonight from him. I also asked him not to use capitals as he did in the first letter and that I did not like getting yelled at . Also my auctions states I am from canada and the letter does as well...What would you do ??
YOU ARE OBIVIOUSLY FOREIGN!!!!! IN THE USA WE CAN SEND PACKAGES ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD IN LESS THAN A WEEK!!!! AND DON'T TELL AN AMERICAN NOT TO YELL WHEN HE'S BEING #*!@ -ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T WORRY YOU WON'T BE YELLED AT BY ME OR ANY OTHER PERSON I CAN PREVENT FROM DEALING WITH YOUR IGNORANT ASS!!!!!! AND THIS IS NOT SOME WOMEN YOUR DEALING WITH SHITHEAD, SO GET SMART WITH YOUR E-MAILS AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHO KICKS-BUTT, BOB
__The letter I email customers_________________
Hi ebay buyer, thanks for the purchase ..
We ship all products out the next day , unless that falls on a holiday or Saturday or Sunday. Generally product arrives in about 15 business days from our base in Canada. If it does not arrive on the 15th day please contact us. We will send you Canada post shipping manifesto. This is to ease your mind and prove to you we have shipped the product. If you have purchased insurance on top of the shipping price we are able to trace the product on 30th day. If you have chosen not to insure your auction, requesting the shipping manifesto on the 15th day is our proof of shipment. We will not be held responsible for loss of shipment or damage to shipment if insurance is not purchased. Again thanks for your purchase and please feel free to email if you have any questions
WE HAVE AN AUTOMATED TOTALING SYSTEM IF YOUR
AUCTION ENDED TODAY YOU WILL NEED TO CONTACT US TOMORROW
[email protected]
Todd 1-800-713-4442
posted on September 14, 2001 09:00:00 PM new
eastwest,
There is no excuse for the way your bidder responded to you. It was totally uncalled for. Not only would I leave a negative for him, I would forward his e-mail to [email protected] and to his ISP for vulgar communication. Your e-mail was professionaly worded and there is no reason why he should have taken offense to it. Please leave negative feedback to warn other sellers of this poor, rude and inconsiderate bidder.
posted on September 14, 2001 09:00:27 PM new
My first response would be to but this obnoxious bidder on my block list and then ignore.
Apparently this person has anger to express and they've made you the target! Their response of "THIS IS NOT SOME WOMEN YOUR DEALING WITH" is especially unsettling in my opinion.
I have yet to run into this sort of an idiot buyer. But I think I'd have no problem leaving them a neg in the coming weeks and would care less if they gave one in return.
Actually, I think this may be considered some sort of an attack or threat, "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO KICKS-BUTT". Perhaps this sort of comment should be reported to the safeharbor Gods?
If this bidder had comments on his feeback which explained this kind of behavior I would cancel his bids on my auctions and but him on my block list! Displaced anger and threats are something we can all do without!
I do not think it was wrong for you to ask him not to e-mail in caps. This was the first thing I learned before I started using the internet. People should learn to follow the proper ettiquet for all things they do. In e-mails, it is wrong to e-mail in caps. (and from his response, I think this guy knew it!) Of course, it does depend on how you informed him of this. Personally I would have said something like:
You may not be aware, but in e-mail correspondance an e-mail typed in capitol letters is considered to be the equivelent of yelling in spoken words. This can be very offensive, and I would kindly suggest that you consider not typing your e-mails in caps in the future.
Next, I think that if you are running any sort of professional business using a nickname with "kicks-butt" in it is probably not appropriate. This may have been the trigger that sent this bidder over the edge. I would suggest that in the future you do not use anything that could be considered offensive in your e-mails.
Finally, I think your system of sending e-mails and letters to your customers when you receive their payment is wonderful. Especially since you have managed to coordinate it with your own shipping procedure. It doesn't seem like it takes you any extra time, and your bidders are kept informed. I would certainly continue doing this. Hope this helps!
posted on September 14, 2001 09:28:26 PM new
i agree with eveything except the kick butt, it has only become a problem to this particular person...in the over 803 postive ...this is the first time i have ever had someone...take issue with it !!!
Well there was the one person that called my wife and threaded to kill her ...because he had not gotten the product. This was when we had another name , but i only had 10 feedback
posted on September 15, 2001 05:49:55 AM new
I only had one two such jerks and both on venues I no longer trade on--Amazon and Yahoo. Both of these cases got near zero response from the venues themselves--expected from Yahoo, really out of character for Amazon.
posted on September 15, 2001 06:37:29 AM new
I Wonder.....
If Eastwest had replied to his customers request for shipping information with "we shipped your item on XXX and it should arrive by XXX. Please let me know if it doesn't arrive by XXX. Thank you.
.......If Eastwest had answered professionally and simply, would/could the response he got from his/her customer been different??
I Wonder....
If Eastwest had not acted in a defensive way and questioned the customers manners by saying something about typing in capitals, would the customer had been a little more reasonable in his/her response?
Afterall, Eastwest uses capitals in his auction titles, much of his/her descriptions and even in the title of this thread.
I Wonder.....
If Eastwest hadn't used the User Id with the "kick-butts" in it, would the customer look at him/her as a professional businessperson and reacted in a different way?
Certainly the customers response was out of line, but that is when Customer Service and professionalism should take over. Customer Service is easy with customers that don't ask questions or get impatient. It is those customers that are a bit testy that bring out the best or worst in a businessperson.
posted on September 15, 2001 06:40:07 AM new
Eastwest,
I agree the buyer was way out of line and deserves a neg. I have just one comment. Most people do consider typing in all caps as the equivalent of screaming. The last line of your canned response to the buyer is all caps. Since he seems to be a hothead he could have interpreted it as you yelling at him first. You might condider changing that line to normal sentance case. Just a thought.
posted on September 15, 2001 07:06:14 AM new
eastwest
why didn't you just simply answer the question aobut when i will ship...why did you have to tell him to refer to the letter you sent...........this problem was brought on by yourself...in business you know people are stupid and don't always read......customer sevice is the MOST important part of the transaction, you failed in that aspect
posted on September 15, 2001 07:20:00 AM new
Hi eastwest,
Sometimes too much information can be a negative by itself...my answer to this lame-brain would have simply been, "We received your payment on XXXX, your item was mailed on XXXX, please expect delivery in 8 to 15 business days from that date, which is standard delivery time for parcels from Canada to the U.S."
And I would have left it at that, disregarding the CAPS, or whatever else. Every once in awhile you run into a jerk through an eBay transaction -- but after 3 years of being an eBay seller (and after 50 years of being a Canadian), my feeling is that stuff has absolutely nothing to do with me, or the transaction purchase -- so I just ignore it, water off the back so to speak, and respond directly & without elaborating beyond the one issue -- I have learned it simply doesn't help to provide "extra" information, or to even remind people that you already told them about it -- sometimes they missed that, sometimes you end up irritating them, as you sound preachy or something. So I stick to basic facts, and don't get into "it" with them.
As far as negs go, I try to keep that simple, too.
If they don't ultimately pay, they receive a neg from me, every time
Otherwise, if they pay & things were fine, they get a positive.
I don't think I would neg someone for being a jerk, or using foul language, I would simply not leave any feedback whatsoever, unless they decided to neg me, then I guess I would either retaliate in kind, or possibly leave an edited remark to theirs.
posted on September 15, 2001 07:55:06 AM new
". I told him that we had emailed him a letter when he had paid . I said nicely that the letter stated how many days it would take for the product to arrive. I asked him nicely to go back and check the letter. I reminded him that only a couple days had gone by ..."
All of your responses were out of line.
I never assume that my email gets to the buyer, especially if he asks quesitons that indicate it may not have.
He asked a simple question which required only a simple answer, not a snotty, defensive response.
