Some good news out of Toys ‘R’ Us: after a seeming fit of disorganization, randomly canceled orders, and no information getting out to customers, we’re getting reports that maybe–just maybe–things are getting straightened out over at Big Giraffe. [More]
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Diesel Website Wants Color Scan Of Your Credit Card Via Email
By 9.21.10
I know credit card fraud is rampant, but I’m not sure sending full scans of your card through email is the proper way to fix things. [More]
This Dunkin' Donuts Employee Doesn't Run On Anything
By 9.14.10
I guess it’s not appropriate to force Dunkin’ Donuts employees to drink the coffee they sell, but they should at least show up to work with their short term memory intact. [More]
Hungry McDonald's Customer Throws Mop Water At Cashiers
By 1.6.10
A bucket of dirty mop water is nobody’s friend, which is exactly why you shouldn’t leave it out where customers can reach it. Because eventually someone will get angry over an order and feel a need to throw something, and oh look, mop water. [More]
Home Depot Drives Away Another Customer Forever
By 10.21.09
Two months ago, Mike and his wife decided to re-do their floors. They’re expecting a child in November, so they made sure that they ordered the materials in plenty of time to get everything taken care of before the end of August. Mike even scheduled time off work and had family members come in from out of town to help out.
Urban Expressions Craft Store Calls Customer A Whore
By 7.17.09
The only thing crazier than people involved with wedding planning are people in the scrapbooking supply industry, it seems. Weddingbee reports that an online craft supply store called Urban Expressions (not to be confused with the handbag company) completely lost it when an angry customer wrote in asking why they had neither shipped the item she’d bought nor specified otherwise as promised. Their response makes us understand why they chose the name “Urban Expressions” for their store.
Dell Breaks Customer's New Laptop Remotely, Won't Send Him Replacement
By 4.20.09
Anthony has been a long-time Dell customer and has shared his positive experiences with friends and family, but that’s come to an end thanks to Dell’s abysmal customer service. It’s been one month since he first received his new Studio 15 Laptop, which worked correctly for 4 days. Since then, he’s been on the phone with Dell for a total of 14 hours, he’s watched a Dell CSR remotely break his laptop by interrupting the BIOS flash, he’s been locked out of the data on his hard drive, and there’s still no replacement laptop on the way to him. When he copied us on this email, he added, “All I wanted was the computer that I paid for long ago.”
Dell Charges Customer $300 More Than He Authorized
By 4.3.09
Matt is having some trouble getting Dell to sort out its billing mistake with his new TV purchase. It’s an interesting story because for the most part, Dell employees or outsourced CSRs are trying to be helpful to Matt, but nothing has actually been accomplished yet over email, chat, or the telephone. Matt wants his $300 back, and Dell wants Matt to just return the TV set if he won’t pay the non-discounted price. We think he may have a case here for disputing the overcharged amount.
FTD Never Mentioned That They Failed To Deliver The Flowers You Ordered In December
By 3.15.09
Ryan sent his father flowers last December through FTD.com but they never arrived. Ryan apparently forgot to give his father’s apartment number to FTD, and when UPS tried calling FTD for delivery instructions, rather than ask Ryan to clarify the address, FTD instead told UPS to chuck the flowers. None of this was apparently worth mentioning to Ryan, who just recently learned that his gift was never delivered.
Is Tentacle Grape Soda Real? Because Their Shipment Dates Aren't
By 3.13.09
Really, grape soda with a tentacle hentai theme (don’t Google it if you’re not sure what we’re talking about, especially if you’re at work) just makes sense. Sex-starved tentacled monsters getting it on with anime vixens just cries out to be packaged as a grape drink and sold. But one reader, Lincoln, says he bought his own 6-pack of the drink back at the start of the year and has yet to see it.
DSW's Dirty Trick Backfires; Now Customer Has Free Shoes
By 2.11.09
DSW is playing dirty with Brook, who tried to legitimately order two pairs of shoes on January 30th. Due to an error on DSW’s side, the order was never fulfilled. He called and resolved the problem and they re-processed the order, but a few days later DSW decided to send the order a second time, and this time they jacked up the price by $20. They won’t let him cancel the order and say they’ll only refund the smaller of the two amounts if he returns it. Surprise, DSW! According to the FTC, you just sent Brook some free shoes.
Staples: "It Would Be A Disaster To Compensate Customers Based On The Amount Of Problems We Cause"
By 2.8.09
Staples took over a month to deliver an order for business cards that they promised to fill in under seven days. The office megastore somehow misplaced reader Brett’s payment confirmation and never sent his order along to their supplier. When Brett asked Staples to fix their mistake and deliver the cards, he was told to pay for a second order and trust that Staples would eventually issue a refund. When he explained that he deserved compensation, not another charge, a manager told him “it would be a disaster to compensate customers based on the amount of problems we cause.”
Office Depot Comes Through With Stellar Customer Service, But Then Doesn't Deliver On Promise
By 2.5.09
Jake couldn’t place an order for an Xbox 360 deal on Black Friday—yes, we’re talking about a failed transaction from two and half months ago—but he got surprisingly helpful customer service from Office Depot. Margaret at the Office of the Chairman even gave him her personal number and promised him a raincheck of sorts in the form of a gift card for a future purchase. Her offer sounded almost too good to be true, and maybe it was, because as of February he still hasn’t seen a gift card. And Margaret won’t return his voicemail messages, not even to say the deal is off. Update: Office Depot saw this post, and they contacted Jake.
Why Can't You Understand That Hobbytron Does Not Want To Talk To You?
By 1.17.09
Hector ordered one product from Hobbytron and received something else. He tried to contact them to arrange a return, but every avenue they offered didn’t work, or funneled him to an alternative method. He finally recieved an RMA from them, but no instructions or description of what happens next. Hobbytron is really busy right now, Hector! They don’t need your guff!
Store Orders A Different Dress Because The One You Want "Won't Work For Someone Your Size"
By 9.26.08
Reader Brad says his friend was “shafted” by a bridal store in St. Louis, so she wrote to the local paper about her issue. The paper wrote up her story and is now asking readers to offer their opinion on the issue. Brad’s friend, Tia, went to a bridal store to buy a gown for her sister’s wedding. She was instructed by the bride to get a dress that was shiny and either black or red. Tia found a gown she liked and ordered it. When she got the gown, she looked at the tag and noticed that it wasn’t by the designer that she thought she’d chosen. When she asked the store what was up with the dress, they told her that the store ordered another dress because they thought the one she’d chosen wouldn’t “work for somebody of her size.” This, of course, made Tia cry.
Help! David's Bridal Will Not Cancel My Order!
By 9.22.08
Reader Emily doesn’t want the dress she was pressured into getting at David’s Bridal, but when she tried to cancel the order, they won’t let her. It’s only been 72 hours and she hasn’t received the dress yet, but all David’s Bridal will give her is an in-store exchange.
Throwing $4 Drinks At Unfriendly Starbucks Managers Is Not Misdemeanor Harassment
By 5.31.08
A Portland jury recently found Latasha Curry not guilty of misdemeanor harassment for throwing a $4 venti iced mocha at a Starbucks manager who accused her of running a free drink scam. Curry was initially offered a free drink after she complained that her iced tea was too bitter. When she tried to redeem her freebie two days later, store manager Ryan Smith decided that Curry looked suspiciously like a woman who redeemed a free drink from a different store 11 months earlier. Smith accused Curry of running some elaborate drink scam, prompting Curry to serve Smith a free venti shower.
Apple Reprocesses Photo Orders So They Can Arrive Before Mother's Day
By 5.11.08
Dan writes, “Apple saved Mother’s Day!”
My daughter and I ordered a book as a Mother’s Day gift, and I was disappointed to learn it would ship late and miss the big day. I had waited until the last day of the promotion (April 30th at about 9:00 PM EST), so I didn’t want to complain. Then this landed in my inbox.
