Banning a customer from ordering question.

[funkymonkey66]

Have any of you had to just ban a customer for any reason? If so what was the reason and how did they take it?

[Tess]

I have. A lady placed an online order with me. I thought it was a friend of my dads, so I boxed and shipped it right away. When I went to charge the card after shipping it, I realized there was not a complete credit card number. I called throughout the weekend and got a hold of her husband. He said that she was eagerly awaiting the candles and that he would have her call me back with her CC info. Needless to say I never got paid. She never answered her phone after that, and she finally replied to an email stating that it was my fault for sending it to her without the proper info. She said she had meant to cancel the order that was why she didn't use the entire number :rolleyes2.

Well it was 60 bucks worth of product that I never saw. So back to the point I have locked her account with a notation on my cart as to why. It is the ONLY negative experience I have ever had in 6 years. So I am sure to recognize the name/location if she were to get ballzy enough to re-order.

[funkymonkey66]

Wow Tess that is nuts to give you an excuse like that! You had to be livid! Some people amaze me.

I have banned a few over the years, ranging from fraudulent charge backs,bounced checks etc. Yes, some of these people had the nerve to try to place another order too. They are just not worth the hassle.

Did anyone ever ban someone simply because they were huge PITA and that was the only reason? I am considering it, but I am wondering if that is a valid reason for refusal of service.

[Wildcrafter]

It's your business. You can refuse to serve anyone for any reason. Haven't you seen those signs in stores?

It's not like there's something illegal or immoral about not wanting a certain customer's business for any reason.

And you don't have to lie, make something up or anything. It would be good to come up with a business sounding/looking refusal statement. If/when this person orders, then you can send that statement to them and then block their email and not answer any phone calls by them. They'll go away eventually.

[deb426]

Depending on why she's a PITA, maybe you could just make things difficult for her so that she'll stop ordering. Like if she wants to be catered to with special orders, just say no. Or if she wants to return things all the time, say no. You know what I mean?

[Sara]

I had one I would have like to but never did. She was very frustrating, always wanting to order and pay later. She very much concerned me that she would not pay - not out of malice, but out of being a total ditz. I'd always double-confirm her order, 'cause I never could quite tell if she was "with" me or not when she was ordering. Always bought a lot and was very happy, but... whoa.

[southern.scents]

My fear with banning a customer is what sort of image you are creating for yourself. That customer could be one of the determined type of people and raise heck everywhere she can. What do you do then to secure your reputation? Do you tell everyone why you banned this woman and risk them feeling odd about ordering from you? There are a lot of things you have to consider when it comes to an issue such as this.

[Wildcrafter]

If the woman is going to raise heck, then most people will see that she is a PITA anyways.

And to tell other customers why she was banned would be gossiping and perhaps that would be more of a worry to them than the woman actually being banned since if you talk about one woman, then would you talk about them as well.

People get thrown out of stores all the time. I never worry about the odd one or two customers I needed to ban over the years. I have never once had a drop in business because of that.

These are just my thoughts.

[Donna-Do]

I banned a "customer" and blocked her email just recently. For months she "ordered" like clock work every 2 weeks. I'd go through all the trouble of figuring out her shipping and sending her a money request through PayPal and I'd never hear a word back from her till her next "order" (They were always a little different). lol I emailed her several times to ask if there was some kind of problem but she wouldn't respond to those emails either...

I have no idea how she feels about being banned, since I blocked her email address. lol

[Tess]

I banned a "customer" and blocked her email just recently. For months she "ordered" like clock work every 2 weeks. I'd go through all the trouble of figuring out her shipping and sending her a money request through PayPal and I'd never hear a word back from her till her next "order" (They were always a little different). lol I emailed her several times to ask if there was some kind of problem but she wouldn't respond to those emails either...

I have no idea how she feels about being banned, since I blocked her email address. lol

Hmm that is very strange. Could it be possible that a competitor may just be trying to waste your time?

[Donna-Do]

Hmm that is very strange. Could it be possible that a competitor may just be trying to waste your time?

That never crossed my mind...I just figured she was some kind of version of a shop-aholic. lol

[WillowBoo]

Just remember...you're in business to make money, and there are plenty of people out there who take advantage of everyone and everything they can. Be emphatic at the get go about your policies...particularly about payments. If they want to go elsewhere because they don't want to pay you when YOU want paid, than more than likely, you'll be the one screwed. I find it's individuals with the big bucks that can be the worst.

[hometowncandles]

I have a lady who is a huge PITA. She's super nice and she places a fairly large order every other month or so, but she's one of those people who always wants special favors. Can you make me this, can you find me that, can I get that in a bigger candle, she's never satisfied with what I have.

She's really hard to please too, she doesn't like foody scents at all and only likes a few florals, so that doesn't leave much for her to choose from since approx 80% of my line is food or floral. I mean, I can understand her wanting something new every now and then, but this lady ALWAYS wants something new. I really would like to ignore her, but I just don't have the heart to, like I said she's really nice, just a PITA when it comes to candles.

[funkymonkey66]

Southern.scents that is probably the direction it will go in with this lady and I wouldn’t put it past her. If people knew why I am banning her, it would blow their minds.

It would be totally unethical of me to gossip to other customers what she has done to warrant it, but this woman has it coming so I may not be above it.

Hopefully if she starts any nonsense about me refusing her business- I would hope rational people would know that a business would not refuse service to someone with a darn good reason. But you never know...I may be giving people way too much credit.

[addicted2candles]

What about putting some sort of surcharge for special made candles etc. ? I've seen websites that have products in certain colors/scents and they state if you want them custom made to order then either there will be a standard charge of the price of the item goes up. That way you won't have people asking you for a candle you don't normally make and if you do you'll know the person really wants it and is willing to pay extra.

Sort of like a dress. If you buy one at the store it's a lot cheaper then having someone make a dress just for you.

[Trappeur]

We work hard for putting out an awesome product. I believe we have the right to refuse for certain reasons...For pain in the a....ss customers I would state in an email exactly what the charge would be for making such and such a candle....If they want it, then they are to be charged that amount if that is what they want..no excuses...and shipping without payment even as good a customer as they are sometimes back fires...I think its important as far as back charging goes on credit card to state the hows to fix a problem with a potential order that is not to their liking...so to illeviate the possible back charge...and follow up on a delivery is to me very important. I always call my customer to make sure that they got the order and they liked it....Customer service is a top priority to me....

Tess, that is horrible what happened to you...Surely there must be a way to take care of that problem....Granted, you were the honest person and shipped out that order in good faith and then to have that happen? Well, if there isn't anyway at this stage of the game, then I would treat it as a lesson learned....Never ship without payment up front...And I'm sure we have all been there...I have....Matter of fact I made up a custom order to someone and (to someone who is a regular on the BC board and I've seen her here too, and I HOPE SHE IS READING THIS AS SHE KNOWS WHO SHE IS!!!!)

I did a custom order and even sent extra things free in the box as a special thankyou).....well, thru many many emails this person would not respond and I never got payment! I had trust.....and when I made the order, I did a really nice job in making this custom order really special too...only for it to back fire on me....You would have thought she would have at least thanked me for the order!!!So I finally said it my last email " I hope you enjoy your candles as much I did in making them special for you, and thankyou so much for paying for it....I said it sarcastically, but I meant it.....I was bull sh.....t to say the least as I was having a little hard time financially and I was really looking forward to the $$$ I would have gotten on that order.....But it was my faul....I made the order and shipped without getting payment up front...no one was to blame but me really...so I learned....Now, it may have been with this customer, that when they placed they order they had all good intention of paying and then for some reason or another when it came time, they just didn't have the money to pay for it and she made up some excuse about her credit card....but all she had to to was just call you...but things happen....

I for example placed an order from someone one time and sent a deposit in and the order was made and I ran into that situation myself but I kept in contact with the person and they were just so nice.....and thank god, they were able to sell the things that were made...I just felt horrible you can't believe and embarrassed to say the least....When I sent my depost it actually even never got to the person, lost in the mail....yep, the gods honest truth too and that was a fiasco too - embarrassing to say the least too...I'm a very honest trust worthy person myself and wouldnt ever do to someone intentionally as some people who are out there....And there are people who do things like this without any concious too....unfortunately....

And look at it this way.......all the candle suppliers that we all order from....Do any of these candle suppliers ship out to us on our good faith that we will pay them? Do we all have an open line of credit on good faith? I THINK NOT!!!!! Even as good and loyal as we are to all these candle companies and we spend thousands with special companies that we favor too..... I THINK NOT!!!!!!!!!!!We all order thru the internet and have to enter our credit card on the order and if we don't, then quite simply if we don't, we don't receive our supplies!!!!!!Its as simple as that....no questions asked....business is business...we are in the business to make money...and why should we be any different either?

Trappeur

[Tess]

Yep it really sucks to get taken advantage of. It was a lesson learned. I never ship without payment now. EVER. So sad that one person has to ruin it for every one

Im sorry that happened to you too. Hopefully she'll see this and remember.

[Wildcrafter]

I never ship a thing without calling in the cc first and getting approval on the charge. I have had to call people to get good credit card numbers....I let them know that I will hold the order until I hear from them with good payment. Simple.

Learned this the hard way a long time ago.

[funkymonkey66]

I never ship a thing without calling in the cc first and getting approval on the charge. I have had to call people to get good credit card numbers....I let them know that I will hold the order until I hear from them with good payment. Simple.

Learned this the hard way a long time ago.

Ditto.

[SherriLynn]

I charge a $20 fee for any products that I don't usually carry in stock. That includes, special fragrances, special colors, different types of jars, etc. If someone wants something other than what I usually make, they'll have to pay for it. And you need to order at least 3 of that product in that different color or scent.

Orders are not even poured here, without payment in advance. No deposits, full payment. 100% of the suppliers I use, request payment in advance before processing my order, I do the same thing to my customers. Pay before processing.

As long as you cater to people who want to deviate from the norm,they'll continue to be a PITA.... scentsy, home interior, candlelite, do not CATER to people, you order what they have in their catalogs and that's all folks... no special requests, no nothin.

[cdesousa5]

Hmm that is very strange. Could it be possible that a competitor may just be trying to waste your time?

That was my first thought too.

To address the first problem. First, it was a lesson in NOT shipping without payment. Second, When she finally responded that it was your fault for sending the stuff without payment and she was going to cancel the order. I would have said well then send me back my stuff cause you didn't want it in the first place!

People like that get what they deserve. I would still file a police report in her county to have it on record, and I would email or call and tell her what I was going to do if she doesn't pay in 24 hours for example.

[funkymonkey66]

Update on my end....

The customer I refused service to has emailed me 12 times, some of the emails threatening me (if I don't sell to her she will spread the word and ruin my business) I never responded to any of them because it's nonsense and I thought eventually she will go away. Now this woman is calling my private unlisted HOME phone number. 7 phone calls yesterday in a 3 hour window! How the hell she got a hold of my home # is beyond me. If I had any second thoughts about banning this woman they are gone now! She is not a customer at this point she is some lunatic that is harassing me and it is out of control. Calling my home is crossing the line.

I called the non emergency # for my police dept last night after coming home and listening to my answering machine. I explained the situation to the operator and they offered to send an officer out to file a report but opted not to file just yet. Who has to call the cops on customers, it's ridiculous?!?!?

I am hoping if I just ignore her calls she will not call again but her stalker behavior shows me she is just not going to let it go. I saved all the emails, and the messages just incase. Any thoughts? Block the numbers, change my home phone # or involve the police? All this BS just because I will not sell to her!!! UNREAL the lady needs to leave me alone and move on already! Some people just can't handle rejection.

[doglover]

Sounds like you are dealing with a true psycho! I would go all of the way...maybe even get a restraining order....but definitely file a harassment charge (or whatever you can get.) Lots of horror movies start this way!!!!

[Wildcrafter]

So..........what a freak.

Does she also go into Wally World 80,000 times a day and threaten them too? No way can a person force a business to sell to them. Gees Louise!

[funkymonkey66]

I know! Maybe someone should tell her that because apparently she feels justified in demanding I answer her emails and sell to her or else.... I wish she would just go away! I was not even going to post about the 12 crazy emails because I can just delete them and it's no big deal. BUT to call my home is taking it waaaayyyyy too far.