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Nottawayfer

By Nottawayfer,
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Nottawayfer Newbie

Nottawayfer

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Posted

Here's a dialogue I had with an online customer service representative for some towels I bought from overstock.com. Cotton is one of the items suggested for the 2nd anniversary. I was excited to find these towels. These towels which were compared to Pottery Barn.

Has anybody else had this problem?

Welcome to Overstock.com's Customer Service Live Chat! You will be joined with a chat representative momentarily.

Welcome to Overstock.com Customer Service, you are now chatting with Tiffany.

Tiffany: Thank you for visiting Overstock.com. How may I help you today?

you: I bought some towels 2 months ago. They are shredding now. What can I do?

Tiffany: I'm sorry to hear that the towels you purchased are shredding now.

Tiffany: However, I will be glad to check that information for you.

Tiffany: To help you better, may I please have the order/invoice number?

you: Can I find that information online?

you: It is order #27206444

Tiffany: Thank you for the order number.

Tiffany: For security purposes, may I ask you to verify the name and billing address on your account?

you: [Name and address given]

Tiffany: Thank you for your details.

Tiffany: Let me confirm, are you referring to the 'La Grande Egyptian Cotton 800-gram Towels (Set-of-6)', am I correct?

you: correct.

Tiffany: Thank you for confirming the product.

Tiffany: After reviewing your account information, I see that you have placed this order on 03-12-2006.

Tiffany: I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

Tiffany: I am sorry to let you know that it is beyond the time frame to accept return.

Tiffany: Let me explain our return policy to you.

you: Do you think it is right to sell something that deteriorates in 2 moths?

you: These towels were compared to Pottery Barn towels.

you: I would expect the quality to last longer.

Tiffany: I absolutely understand how you are feeling right now and to be honest, I would have felt the same.

Tiffany: I truly understand your concern. Let me assure you this kind of inconvenience is very unusual or rare.

you: I bought these as part of my husband's 2nd anniversary present. It's kind of a bummer that they are not what was expected.

you: I looked hard for something cotton and was thrilled to find these.

you: and now it's a HUGE disappointment.

you: Could you at least exchange them?

you: for a different kind you have online?

Tiffany: I understand your concern.

Tiffany: You can return most items sold by Overstock.com within 20 days from the ship date. We must receive your item back within 30 days from the original ship date.

you: But there's no consideration for something that is less quality?

Tiffany: I really apologize for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard.

you: The towels are thick, but if they are shredding on the sides, it makes them an inferior product. I see they are still being sold.

Tiffany: However, the best I can do is I'll be glad to give you a $5 coupon to your account.

you: No thank you. I will not buy from overstock.com if that's all they are willing do to.

Tiffany: You can use this coupon as a discount on your next purchase.

you: They should take these towels off their product list.

Tiffany: I really apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

you: Apologies won't get me to buy from you again.

you: I would think they would want to keep a customer.

you: $5 coupons are a joke. Don't you agree?

Tiffany: I understand your concern.

you: If I had known these towels were going to shred in 2 months, I wouldn't have paid $5 for them.

Tiffany: Since this a beyond the time frame we are unable to accept return for this item.

you: I would get better customer service at Walmart or Target.

you: Inferior product should be a reason to extend the return policy

Tiffany: The best I can do is give you a $5 coupon along with a free shipping for your next order.

you: Do you agree that this represents an inferior product?

Tiffany: I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.

you: If it had been 5 years, I could see shredding. But not after 2 months.

Tiffany: Such an incident is an isolated one and is quite rare.

Tiffany: I really do understand your concern.

you: Then you should be able to compensate me better.

Tiffany: Please accept our sincere apologizes in this regard.

Tiffany: The maximum I can do is give you a $5 coupon to your account along with the Free shipping for your next order.

you: This really sucks.

you: You keep saying the same thing over and over.

you: It sounds like a script.

you: Overstock.com will NEVER get my business again.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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GarthP2000 Newbie

GarthP2000

Posted
Posted

Sounds to me like its Tiffany is a computer response application programmed to respond the way 'she' did. Yet Another Cost Cutting Yet Crappy measure being taken more and more by companies in leiu os personal customer service.

Sick the BBB on them indeed.

<_<

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moony3424 Newbie

moony3424

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Actually, it is a real person that is typing the responses and not a computer generated program. I happen to know this because one of my daughters works in customer service for Overstock.com. She started out with the live on-line service chat and was promoted to the phone lines.

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wwjesuslaughat Newbie

wwjesuslaughat

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Posted

The manager thing, more than likely any "manager" goes home at 5 o'clock sharp and wouldn't be caught dead working a weekend. What they usually have is an "escalation" department that handles the big complaints. My boyfriend works in the escalation department of a call center. He is very good at what he does, but he is limited as to what options he has available to him.

Used to be you could speak to the manager or get hold of someone in charge. Many times these days the customer service is hundreds or thousands of miles away from the people in charge of the products. You really have to have a lot of time and patience to get in there and make much difference.

I'd probably chalk it up to experience and "you get what you pay for."

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coupcake Newbie

coupcake

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Posted (edited)

I had a problem with an online puchase at Orbitz site and I could not resolve it with them. I had good results going to the Attorney Generals office for my state. They have a department specifically for online transactions. You can file your complaint right online also. I spoke with 3 people at Orbitz with no good response. After I sent them a copy of the report to the Attorney Generals Office I recieved a refund AND a coupon within a week. Hope this helps.

Coup

The other alternative is contact the manufacturer.

Edited by coupcake
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  • 3 weeks later...
Nottawayfer Newbie

Nottawayfer

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I got my money back. I'm glad I did. I just wished they could have handled it at the customer service level. I guess the moral of the story is to go futher than the first level.

Anyway, I'm not buying from these guys anymore. Their return policy is 20 days from the date it shipped. That is not feasible IMHO if you are dealing with mail order items.

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