I just had an absolutely horrid experience with this vendor that I feel obligated to share:
7/6 – Saw the thread in the vendor’s section of LHCF notifying members of a voucher sale from the vendor. After checking out their website and the merchandise offered, I decided to place an order for three(3) $10 for $20 coupon vouchers.
7/7 @ 3:36pm – I received an embedded email from the merchant that contained my order details and the actual vouchers. I downloaded the attachments and read the fine print: Vouchers can only be redeemed in person or over the phone; only one voucher can be redeemed per purchase. Although I was shocked at the “in person or over the phone” criterion, I didn’t view it as a deal breaker.
7/20 @ 12:28pm – I called the store to place an order and was told by a young man (he seemed to be either in his late teens or very early twenties) that he could not take any orders, only the owners could do so. All he could do was take my name and number and have one of the owners call me back to place an order. Since I preferred to call back rather than wait for a phone call, I asked when would the owners be available and was told by the young man that they would be arriving in-store between 4pm and 5pm.
7/20 @ 5:41pm – The same young man answered the phone and apologetically informed me that the owners were still not available, but would be in-store by 9pm (which was the store’s closing time). I left my name, number and the purpose of my call, and was assured that one of the owners would get back to me either that evening or over the weekend (this was a Friday).
7/23 @ 12:02pm – Since I hadn’t received a callback, I called the store again and Ricky, one of the owners, answered the phone. I restated my name and the reason for my call and was told that he hadn’t done any of his callbacks (all he said was “my bad” before moving on). Given his nonchalance, I explained how I wanted to redeem all of the vouchers I had purchased with one order so that I could put the entire ordeal to rest. Ricky tried to make me adhere to the stipulations of the vouchers (e.g., can only redeem them one at a time per purchase), but I adamantly insisted that they all be traded in at that time. He finally acquiesced and took my order (I had to spell out the details of my address four times, and he tried to charge me tax during processing. He also seemed a bit put out when I informed him that it would be illegal to collect taxes on an out-of-state order unless he had an actual brick and mortar store in that particular state). At any rate, subsequent to writing up my order and his rough estimation of the shipping charges (since it was $7, I didn’t bother debating the issue), Ricky informed me that the three items I wished to purchase were out of stock and would not be replenished until the following Thursday. However, he assured me that he would put the order through himself before saying, “I will definitely give you a call on Thursday with your shipping information. You will definitely be hearing from ME on Thursday.”
8/3 @ 10:50am – Seeing as I did not hear from Ricky on Thursday as promised, I placed yet another call to the store. This time Nicky, the other owner, answered the phone and stated that since Ricky was not in-store, he would have to call me back. By now, I was tired of the back and forth phone tag, so I asked after the status of my order. I had great difficulty hearing Nicky’s response since she halted our conversation mid-sentence several times to greet customers and discuss their hair appointments. After waiting until a few minutes for her to get it together, I repeated my question regarding the status of my order and was told that Ricky had mentioned some confusion with the numbers on my card to her and stated that he would call me on Thursday. She ended by saying that she would have him call me today when he gets in. When I asked for an approximate timeframe for my callback from Ricky, Nicky cuts in and testily asks, “What would you have me do?” to which I quickly replied, “Either fulfill my purchase order by the end of business today or issue me a full refund for the price of the vouchers.” She sighs and says, “Fine, that is exactly what I will do. Give you a refund. Thank you and have a good day” before abruptly hanging up the phone.
8/3 @ 10:56am – Oh hell no! I hit the redial and reach Nicky again. After her greeting I ask, “Did you just hang up on me? A paying customer? A paying customer that’s trying to patronize a Black business? You didn’t just do that, did you? Nicky stumbles for a moment before saying, “The phone just cut off.” I replied by sarcastically saying, “I'm sure it did. I’m trying to patronize YOUR business and you have the nerve to have an attitude? After numerous calls and umpteen ball drops? You’re kidding me right?” (Admittedly, I was livid and feeling a tad bit funky myself.) Then, Nicky hastily says, “Look, I’m processing your refund right now because this has gone on long enough. First, you went through my son, then my husband.” ***LIGHT BULB MOMENT*** “You were aware of the difficulty I’ve been experiencing with this order and you didn’t step in? Aren’t you one of the owners?” I asked in astonishment. “Yes, I’m one of the owners!” she yelled. “Then, how could you not step in and set things right, especially given the number of times I tried to place this order?” I countered. “Because Ricky was supposed to handle your order.” she stated. I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath and said, “And, of course, you had nothing to do with that, right? Okay, this has to end today. I expect a full refund of the purchase price for these three vouchers to be completed and credited by the end of business today. Do we have an understanding?” Nicky replied with a short “Yeah, whatever” before hanging up the phone.
8/3 @ 11:04am - I receive an email from PayPal informing me that a refund from 3sistersbeautysupply has been issued to my account.
I am so done. From now on, I will no longer remain silent when I receive ghastly service from a merchant after placing an order. For the record, this is not about the money, or I would’ve posted about the ongoing difficulties I’ve experienced with another vendor since 6/14/12 that is more than triple the amount I paid to this vendor. For me, it all centers on the lax business practices and substandard customer service that, for some, appear to be the norm. Well, no more. From this moment forward, I am going to speak and let the chips fall where they may.
7/6 – Saw the thread in the vendor’s section of LHCF notifying members of a voucher sale from the vendor. After checking out their website and the merchandise offered, I decided to place an order for three(3) $10 for $20 coupon vouchers.
7/7 @ 3:36pm – I received an embedded email from the merchant that contained my order details and the actual vouchers. I downloaded the attachments and read the fine print: Vouchers can only be redeemed in person or over the phone; only one voucher can be redeemed per purchase. Although I was shocked at the “in person or over the phone” criterion, I didn’t view it as a deal breaker.
7/20 @ 12:28pm – I called the store to place an order and was told by a young man (he seemed to be either in his late teens or very early twenties) that he could not take any orders, only the owners could do so. All he could do was take my name and number and have one of the owners call me back to place an order. Since I preferred to call back rather than wait for a phone call, I asked when would the owners be available and was told by the young man that they would be arriving in-store between 4pm and 5pm.
7/20 @ 5:41pm – The same young man answered the phone and apologetically informed me that the owners were still not available, but would be in-store by 9pm (which was the store’s closing time). I left my name, number and the purpose of my call, and was assured that one of the owners would get back to me either that evening or over the weekend (this was a Friday).
7/23 @ 12:02pm – Since I hadn’t received a callback, I called the store again and Ricky, one of the owners, answered the phone. I restated my name and the reason for my call and was told that he hadn’t done any of his callbacks (all he said was “my bad” before moving on). Given his nonchalance, I explained how I wanted to redeem all of the vouchers I had purchased with one order so that I could put the entire ordeal to rest. Ricky tried to make me adhere to the stipulations of the vouchers (e.g., can only redeem them one at a time per purchase), but I adamantly insisted that they all be traded in at that time. He finally acquiesced and took my order (I had to spell out the details of my address four times, and he tried to charge me tax during processing. He also seemed a bit put out when I informed him that it would be illegal to collect taxes on an out-of-state order unless he had an actual brick and mortar store in that particular state). At any rate, subsequent to writing up my order and his rough estimation of the shipping charges (since it was $7, I didn’t bother debating the issue), Ricky informed me that the three items I wished to purchase were out of stock and would not be replenished until the following Thursday. However, he assured me that he would put the order through himself before saying, “I will definitely give you a call on Thursday with your shipping information. You will definitely be hearing from ME on Thursday.”
8/3 @ 10:50am – Seeing as I did not hear from Ricky on Thursday as promised, I placed yet another call to the store. This time Nicky, the other owner, answered the phone and stated that since Ricky was not in-store, he would have to call me back. By now, I was tired of the back and forth phone tag, so I asked after the status of my order. I had great difficulty hearing Nicky’s response since she halted our conversation mid-sentence several times to greet customers and discuss their hair appointments. After waiting until a few minutes for her to get it together, I repeated my question regarding the status of my order and was told that Ricky had mentioned some confusion with the numbers on my card to her and stated that he would call me on Thursday. She ended by saying that she would have him call me today when he gets in. When I asked for an approximate timeframe for my callback from Ricky, Nicky cuts in and testily asks, “What would you have me do?” to which I quickly replied, “Either fulfill my purchase order by the end of business today or issue me a full refund for the price of the vouchers.” She sighs and says, “Fine, that is exactly what I will do. Give you a refund. Thank you and have a good day” before abruptly hanging up the phone.
8/3 @ 10:56am – Oh hell no! I hit the redial and reach Nicky again. After her greeting I ask, “Did you just hang up on me? A paying customer? A paying customer that’s trying to patronize a Black business? You didn’t just do that, did you? Nicky stumbles for a moment before saying, “The phone just cut off.” I replied by sarcastically saying, “I'm sure it did. I’m trying to patronize YOUR business and you have the nerve to have an attitude? After numerous calls and umpteen ball drops? You’re kidding me right?” (Admittedly, I was livid and feeling a tad bit funky myself.) Then, Nicky hastily says, “Look, I’m processing your refund right now because this has gone on long enough. First, you went through my son, then my husband.” ***LIGHT BULB MOMENT*** “You were aware of the difficulty I’ve been experiencing with this order and you didn’t step in? Aren’t you one of the owners?” I asked in astonishment. “Yes, I’m one of the owners!” she yelled. “Then, how could you not step in and set things right, especially given the number of times I tried to place this order?” I countered. “Because Ricky was supposed to handle your order.” she stated. I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath and said, “And, of course, you had nothing to do with that, right? Okay, this has to end today. I expect a full refund of the purchase price for these three vouchers to be completed and credited by the end of business today. Do we have an understanding?” Nicky replied with a short “Yeah, whatever” before hanging up the phone.
8/3 @ 11:04am - I receive an email from PayPal informing me that a refund from 3sistersbeautysupply has been issued to my account.
I am so done. From now on, I will no longer remain silent when I receive ghastly service from a merchant after placing an order. For the record, this is not about the money, or I would’ve posted about the ongoing difficulties I’ve experienced with another vendor since 6/14/12 that is more than triple the amount I paid to this vendor. For me, it all centers on the lax business practices and substandard customer service that, for some, appear to be the norm. Well, no more. From this moment forward, I am going to speak and let the chips fall where they may.
