What to do when you didn't do anything wrong..

[whiffandsniff]

I had a customer today place a HUGE order!! Like a hundred dollar order and when I looked at it carefully there were no prices and the total was only 10 bucks. I emailed her saying that there was a problem with her order and she responds back that I should honor the price!

First off I'm freaked out because my cart obviously had done something to mess up her order but then also by the fact that she wanted all of that for 10 dollars. Then I look at it again and basically when she listed what she wanted she didn't pick the product she wanted the scent in so of course there was no price. So she actually created the problem herself and is trying to blame it on me. I refunded her money and apologized saying that I couldn't give it to her for free especially since it was not my fault.

I give her a 15% off coupon on her order and she says nevermind and that she'll wait until my sale. That's fine but I email her back saying that I feel bad about what happened and i still want her to order so I gave her an early sale with the 30% off code and thought that it would make her happy...

Nope. She emails me back and says that a 50% off coupon would have been better. Am I off my rocker?!

Then I see she goes to a major candle forum and doesn't say my name but basically asks how people feel about it but doesn't give them all the facts and they all agree that I should honor it. I'm blown away!

[Beth-VT]

She's not worth the worry. Sounds like you handled it well and did more than right by her, she wants more, forget about it.

[bugtussle]

First, I would fix the website!!!!! She'll get over it. Carole

[warmvanilla]

well--anyone raised properly would not ask you to honor 100 bucks worth of product for 10 dollars, but i'm sure some merchants would probably do it.

she should have been really happy with the 30 percent off coupon.

if customers are always right (ugh)--and she is asking for 50 percent off...even though it's not fair...could you afford to do that? only if it's bothering you that much.

maybe you could put a disclaimer or a note on your site that all orders will be checked for accuracy or something in the future....and if there's and error a customer will be refunded or billed whatever difference it was.

good luck:sad2:

[graywritingdog]

She's looking to get something for nothing. I would say that 30% was very nice of you. If you feel like you need to explain your self to the board that she vented on I would.

[Luci]

That one is definitely looking for a rip off. An honest person would have been quick to point out that he/she noticed something was wrong. I personally feel that you bent over backwards in trying to please this customer.

[whiffandsniff]

Thanks guys! I've never had a problem before when people order. This is the first time that someone actually went the entire way with their order and then expected to get it for 10 bucks.

I emailed her and said that I couldn't and wouldn't do the 50% off code and explained why and she emailed back saying she'd use the 30% off one tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

I will never ever go on a message board and post with my consumers about a matter. Even if someone goes on the board and posts my business name and says horrible things I think it's more professional of me to just act like I never saw it and move on. I literally have to sit on my hands sometimes.

[Late Night]

If she said she would wait until you had a sale and you offered her the sale price and she refused....then I think you did all you could to fix the situation. I think she is trying to be difficult.

[lindsaycb]

She's more of a hassle that worth the $100 really. Anyone honest would notice that HUGE difference in totals. I mean, getting one or two free things through the checkout line isn't that big...but well over half your cart of free groceries you'd best have a triple coupon day going and half a dozen mail in rebates.

Seriously, its all BS. She's got me steaming. LET ME AT HER.:lipsrseal

[whiffandsniff]

Haha!!

I just wanted to make sure that I handled it the right way. I felt I did.. I just hate it when it turns into a witch hunt and people like to post their side of the story on msg boards that my customers post on and then suddenly the group mentality kicks in and I'm suddenly the bad guy. Especially since like I've stated that I'll never lower myself professionally to stick up for myself in that type of setting. Members of those types of boards like to know that they can speak freely without having e-tailers lurking and reading reviews.

[Di_in_AZ]

You did great, you don't have to defend yourself when you have done right. I believe what comes around goes around, her nasty behavior will bite her in the butt someday. It is annoying but you can sleep well at night knowing you are on the high road.

[Aubs]

I had to look at your website to get what you meant by no product I get it now. Just change the website so the drop down automatically goes to the first item and they can change it to the following items if need be *nod*. As for her...she is being difficult, but as any business grows you'll get the difficult person here and there and it isn't what you say, but how you say it. I worked for a year in a retention center (i convinced people to keep using AND paying for a product they had already tried and for whatever reason did not want to keep using it). Most of my calls started out with someone yelling four letter words at me. To complete any negotiation and win the customer back into using the service the following formula was used:

1. Cushion/comprehension statement, something usually starting with, "I understand you are upset because <regurgitate why they are upset>"

2. Gain trust/friendship "If I went through that/If that happened to me/If I was put in that situation I would be upset too"

3. Take control/action statement "WHAT I AM GOING TO DO FOR YOU IS (whatever you are going to do for them)"

4. Gain commitment/agreement statement (easiest statement to remember) "OK?"

What you do in that little bit of time is you let them know you listened to them rant, you let them know you listened, you gave them empathy, and you took control back in the conversation and by say "This is what I am going to do for you" --you made it seem like you were doing them a favor; that you were going out of your way to help them. By ending with OK, you are given a greater chance of them replying "OK!". It is hard to reply to someone who says OK? without saying OK in return. It can still happen, but if you say OK they will usually go OK back in response.

If they hesitate too long you repeat OK?? But say nothing else. First one to talk in response in a negotiation typically loses.

Sometimes with particularly difficult people you have to just be blunt and say, "I will take part of the blame for the following situation, HOWEVER you are responsible for (whatever they are responsible for)...SO WHAT I AM GOING TO DO FOR YOU IS yada yada yada, OK?"

That would be my future advice for any similar difficult customers in resolving any issue and keeping the sale. An action plan for what you would offer customers in those situations is always good, be it a discount, a free exchange for another similar item, etc.

In my current job we ask three questions at the close of a sale in hopes to get repeat business and resolve any unresolved issues (often times people won't tell you anything is wrong when there is something wrong, because they feel bad, but they won't return again).

Questions we ask:

1. How was our service?

2. Could we have done anything better?

3. (if we could have done something better or they were unsatisfied) What can I do to make it up to you, because we want to make sure you leave here completely satisfied?

*shrug* Just food for thought. On a non business side of thing, I think that lady you dealt with was a moron NO CANDLES FOR HER! (thinks soup nazi, "NO SOUP FOR YOU!")

no worries be happy

[celicagtca]

She seen the error but thought she could get it out of you. You would be surprised how many people out there are big scammers. I know of a lady that purposely goes out of her way to get a "deal" all the time. She will order (2) pizzas with 6 items. When the delivery guy comes to the door, she quickly opens the box and explains that it is the wrong pizza. He waits at the door while she calls the rest., explains she didn't want such and such on the (1) pizza (even though she did order it), they let her keep the (2) free, plus they deliver another (2) and she smirks when all is done and says "BONUS, I have lunch for the rest of the week at work"! She hasn't paid for a video rental in two years. She will check out the New Releases and make sure their all rented, go to the teller and explain she wanted that movie, so they issue her a "rain check". Believe it or not, this is the story of her life and I'm sure there are numerous others doing the same thing. If she wanted your products bad enough, she wouldn't be complaining and requesting a 50% reduction. She would be understanding and except the 10-15% you had originally offered her. Don't try to pacify this woman as I can see, once she receives the product, she will try to find something wrong so you will issue her more free products. Trust Me...I had a retailer try to pull that one me.

[Aubs]

lol that is so funny, but true. Great thing about being in business for yourself and not working for a corporation, you can pick and choose your customers instead of having to appease them when they are wrong

[beesweet]

An honest customer would have took the iniative to tell you about the mistake, would have been thrilled with 15% off, then would have sung your praises to all when you surprised her with 30% off. I had a similar situation, (though not $100 for $10!) and that is exactly how it was handled...with a much larger order in the end! Granted, after giving her the higher discount, the profit was about the same, but I scored points for customer service that are well worth the additional work and felt someone that honest deserved it. In your case, I wouldn't do that.

You're right...not worth it to take it to those boards. I know it's tough, but ignoring it/staying away is for the best. I wouldn't even read the comments and let them get to you.

I would say that an order without products noted isn't a valid order anyhow!

[Janelle]

I totally agree with everyone. you did everything that you should have. I've had situations like this where people think they can get one over on you. I couldn't have done it any better myself. Don't let her bother you, she's sounds like another one of those scammers that try to get free products basically. Over the years, there's been quite a few situations posted on here regarding similar things. Good luck with everything.

[Shisha]

I recently had a problem with my website that I did not know about. An order was placed, and I sent the item. I did not realize that the money was never taken out of the customer's card. A few days later she wrote that she loved the item. She said she still hadn't been charged, was there some mistake?. I thanked her over and over for her honesty, she said "I couldn't sleep at night knowing I had taken something and not paid for it. " Wouldn't the world be a great place if everyone just did the right thing? She made my day (and I fixed the problem!)

Ignore your tacky buyer. Her behavior is sad, and sure to rebound on her some day.

[bwc]

How do these people sleep at night? I would be the customer pointing out the mistake, not asking for 50% off!

You went above and beyond the call of duty on this one and have nothing to apolozie for. Definitely put a disclaimer on your web site about errors not being your fault.

[CSAS]

My first thought to tell the customer is. . .

When you entered in the scents you did not enter in the product, so I am unsure of what you are trying to order.

I went to your site and see that you offer only 1 product, but it's the size of the product that matters (singles, multiples, etc.). So, in turn you are unsure of exactly what she is ordering. How are you possibly expected to fill an order that has not totally been completed through the website.

You catch my drift?

I see that it is her that is trying to pull one over on you. She saw that the cart did not show prices, and that's why she ordered so much. I also see, that your site should not have that as an option. (Not that you wanted it as an option), but I would fix that situation, otherwise, she'll have two friends place an order, and they'll have two friends, and so on and so on.

If it were me, I would have emailed her and asked what it was she was trying to purchase as when she did it, it wasn't completed. I would not have offered her a discount at first, because that right there placed the blame in your corner. As you see, you offered, and she wanted more. She was just looking for a free ride. Anyway, if she would have placed the ordered correctly, it would have probably been for $10.00, anyway. So, save your grace, and walk away.

Also, I didn't know there was such a forum for customers to go and complain about our service or products. Can you share the forum addy?

Thanks

[BLSoaps]

This thread intrigued me, and I thoroughly agree with most of what was said. You went ABOVE and BEYOND with this customer. Honestly, since I knew she was trying to scam stuff out of you, I think you offered more than was necessary.

I took a look at your site, and I can definitely see where the problem is with your shopping cart. I hope you're planning on getting in there to change it soon. Is there any reason you aren't listing your 4 products separately. Even knowing ahead of time how it was set up, it was still a little confusing to me. As a customer who honestly doesn't know any better, I imagine it would be very confusing. I'm not condoning her behavior at all, but you do need to fix these problems with your cart, and I highly recommend you get it done before your sale on the 7th.

Also, just a little bit of advice, from one internet merchant to another. I would never announce ahead of time about having a sale. As a consumer, unless I needed something from you right away, I would purposely wait until the sale to buy anything. While people buying from your sales is good, you don't want to cause them to purposely wait to buy. One, your profits are less simply because of the sale discounts. And Two, they may forget about the sale and never even come back. Just something to think about...

[whiffandsniff]

You are completely right about saying anything about the sale ahead of time. We've been dead since I said anything. DEAD! Everyone is waiting to place their orders.

I am also working on getting my cart fixed so that I don't have this problem again.

[stephnms]

I can't believe the nerve of some people. Grrrrr. You're better off without a customer like that. ((HUGS))

[Michele]

I say fix the problemon your site and move on - there are alot of difficult customers out there but many more pleasant ones!