Retailers and their customer service - good and bad.

[Shucks]

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ABOUT THIS THREAD:

This thread should be for retail experiences that are extraordinary, both positive and negative, as well as quality discussions concerning customer service.

Please refrain from posting generic / ordinary experiences as those will quickly fill up the thread with rather useless info.


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so, have you ever been in a situation like this when the retailer refuses all responsibility for helping you with an in your opinion faulty product, and your local craftsman can't solve the problem?

background on this is that after less than six months and only very light useage (maybe 20 days total), the zipper on a pair of rick sneaks jams COMPLETELY and I have to use force to get them off my foot. after examining them more closely, I see that the fabric of the zipper has been stretching/tearing over time as the zipper was badly placed when the shoe was produced, and finally it broke completely because the zipper teeth did not align.

in my opinion, a production issue and shoes should not break in this way after such a short time - even considering it is rick and the "fucked-up" aesthetic philosophy. suddenly now I can't use them at all....

so, when I contact doshaburi in barcelona to ask how they can help me, i get a very short reply saying basically "NO, it's been almost six months and you have used them. i can't help you."

"well YES, but STILL it is not acceptable", is my position on this. i only used these shoes a few times.

no matter who is 'right' in a case like this, this type of stone-walling and inflexible approach to customer service from a retailer really pisses me off...

in fact, my communication with them is really unlike anything I've experienced from a retailer before - the word 'rude' springs to mind... for instance, i've been told by them "but may be you are not child..." and "how can I explain... just think in general as an adult."

they aren't even prepared to ask their supplier if there is anything that can be done. not even ASK....

[AKA*NYC]

i totally understand your frustration but i don't think it's fair to expect any other response from a retailer given how much time has elapsed. imagine if you sold an item as new in the classifieds and six months later the buyer wrote to complain about a defect.

[Faust]

Why not contact RO?

I don't see the point of this thread. Everyone has a problem with someone, and I see this quickly deteriorating into a shit slinging fest.

The story always has two sides. Accidents happen. Quality control is not foolproof. For every negative experience there are probably numerous positive ones. Unless it's a systematic failure (and in RO dunks case, seems like it is), we will know the problem anyway. There is no point for this thread.

[Lo-ki]

DIY on your Dick pull to get them back up and running:
http://stylezeitgeist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13704.
It works on Carols should work on your dicks..............

[Shucks]

Why not contact RO?

I don't see the point of this thread. Everyone has a problem with someone, and I see this quickly deteriorating into a shit slinging fest.

The story always has two sides. Accidents happen. Quality control is not foolproof. For every negative experience there are probably numerous positive ones. Unless it's a systematic failure (and in RO dunks case, seems like it is), we will know the problem anyway. There is no point for this thread.

i dunno - i kinda feel that as a retailer, if you don't at least show ANY sign of being open to exploring solutions, then you shouldn't be in high-end retail.

and i'd certainly like to know about people's experiences in this area - it will help me make my own choices as to where to spend my money. this IS the shopping section, no?

and of course there are two sides, as i think everyone on this site is aware - it's just that here the only side the retailer bothers to consider is their own. they couldn't even muster up the energy to ASK their supplier if there was anything that could be done.

as my local and wise cobbler said: making mistakes is fine, it's how you CORRECT them that shows your character.

feel free to remove the thread if it deteriorates, but it seems a bit premature to do that already.

and yes, contacting RO is the next step. however, i am actually the customer of the SHOP, not of their suppliers - it is the SHOP's responsibility to deal with unhappy customers. the shop then of course should sort their resulting grievance with their supplier, but that is actually not really my problem. i have not entered into any type of agreement with the supplier, they have.


aka - there is no absolute here - if the problem is something unrelated to normal wear and tear, and not visible to the eye from the beginning - then it would be wrong of me to summarily dismiss the problem without exploring what i could do to find a solution.


ps. lo-ki - thanks, but it's not the zipper 'pulls'/'carriage' that are the problem - it's the zipper fabric/teeth...

[BSR]

I don't see the point of this thread. Everyone has a problem with someone, and I see this quickly deteriorating into a shit slinging fest.

i see your point, but it's a fact that there are incompetent retailers, who behave exactly like shucks says, and towards most of their clientele (and not only for one or two unlucky individuals). on the other side, there are very competent retailers, who both know their product and are happy to provide a true service. But for many reasons it might not be very easy to turn this section of SZ into a 'tripadvisor' feedback platform indeed...

[Faust]

In a way it would be good, but here is the problem: most often people will tend to speak up when they are dissatisfied - psychological fact. This skews the balance. Most of the positive feedback is solicited. When you are satisfied, you are happy to be satisfied.

Also, shit happens, people have vendettas, they take things out of proportion. How many times have we seen, "OMG, sharpservice did not to reply to my email within half an hour, the sky is falling!!!"

I feel like these things are self-corrective through word of mouth, even though this way the correction will take longer. I am not trying to shut Shucks up. But to open a new, "shitlist" thread with a vitriolic essay seems a bit excessive.

[Shucks]

yeah i agree i might have been a bit too harsh - but if you'd seen the email replies i kept getting, you might have felt the same way. anyway, i've toned down the title of this thread and hope maybe some people could share experiences both exceptionally good and exceptionally bad...

[Haven]

A friend of mine has a retail shop in Stockholm. They stock Rick Owens and I was told by her that RO doesn't accept any complaints at all. A few seasons ago, there was a problem with RO wedges, the heel came off on over a third of her stock and she tried to have TO take them back but they refused. According to Swedish law, retailers must accept complaints caused by errors in manufacturing for two years so she had to refund the customers anyway.

However, I think as a retailer, you should always try your very best to ensure your client is happy with every transaction. It's a service branch and in this case expensive merchandise. The least you should expect is a professional and correct treatment.

There's no success in having a one time customer. To have returning customers is crucial to almost every business and the only way to get that is by treating your customers fair.

[Shucks]

i can't help but compare this totally shitty experience from doshaburi, with the EXCELLENT customer service i used to get from lucy at oki-ni (now at ln-cc, i think??), those times i encountered issues with rick footwear bought from them.

there will always be customers with both needs and problems and how you deal with these needs and problems is indeed a key to customer loyalty...

ps. haven - if you are talking about jus, i've only had good experiences with their service. whenever their online store goes live, you can be sure i will buy more often from them.

[Haven]

Shucks. Yes it's JUS. Ulrika has gathered some great staff! I'm not sure when they're going to launch the online shop actually, been close for quite some time now.

[BBSLM]

i can't help but compare this totally shitty experience from doshaburi, with the EXCELLENT customer service i used to get from lucy at oki-ni (now at ln-cc, i think??), those times i encountered issues with rick footwear bought from them..

I second great service from Lucy at LN-CC.

[the breaks]

at some point i think you have to be reasonable and accept that the seller is no longer responsible for wear and tear, normal or not

6 months is, in my opinion, way past that point

[Shucks]

at some point i think you have to be reasonable and accept that the seller is no longer responsible for wear and tear, normal or not

6 months is, in my opinion, way past that point

i had used them (lightly) total of approx. 20 days and in any case, the way they responded was definitely not customer-oriented.

it's sad that the small stores that really could gain business by excelling in customer service, seem to be much worse at it than the bigger retailers. i will never buy from doshaburi again...

[Oasis]

6 months is the life expectancy of a $1000 pair of sneakers? I'd like to think it's a little longer than that.