Eric wanted to give the Proactiv system of skin creams a try. Well, that shouldn’t be so hard: they’re advertised everywhere and apparently very popular. The flaw was that the package didn’t have his office number on it. UPS didn’t know that they could just send it to the mailroom, and instead they dispatched it back to Proactiv. Now the box is allegedly hanging out somewhere on the company’s loading dock, and they’ve sent collections after Eric to pay for the box of creams that he never received.

All I wanted was a high-quality skin cream. Instead, i got an endless cycle of shrugging and collection calls.

I had my order shipped to work because I always have trouble with UPS at home (I mean, who doesn’t). About 3 weeks later, I called Proactiv because I hadn’t received it. They gave me a tracking number and said that it had shipped on time.

So I called UPS with the tracking number. They sent it back to the shipper because the label didn’t have my room number. Yes, they could have just left it with the mailroom, don’t know why they didn’t. They provide me with confirmation that the package was delivered back to Proactiv (Guthy-Renker).

Next I called Guthy-Renker with this information. After being placed on hold for 20 minutes, I’m told that they will look into it and get back to me.

Fast forward another month. No call from Guthy-Renker yet. I finally decided to call them and ask for an update. Another 20 minutes on hold and another assurance that they’ll look into it later, I’m back at square one.

Fast forward another 3 weeks. I get a collections call from Guthy-Renker. They want their $40 for the shipment that’s sitting in their loading dock. I tried to explain this to them, but they said they have no record of my correspondences with customer service.

Looks like I’ll have to start recording my calls.

Well, only do that if you announce in advance that you’re doing so. Instead of mail order, if you’re interested in using Proactiv, keep an eye out for one of the sleek vending machines now found in airports and shopping centers, as pictured in the photo that goes with this post.

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