The "BlowMeAndKissMyAss" 2005 Award goes to

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheRockDoc
  • Start date Start date
ah- so APL sent them a link to this thread.

man, they really should be paying you.

and carvin, you really should be paying apl.

H2H
 
Hey apl, true? Did you send a link to carvin?
 
Well mgood, strictly from a business perspective, and coming from a third party that has had no personal experience with either Carvin or the rockdoc guy here is my take: The messup was on your end, and it is way cheaper to pay $20 and have a happy customer (lesson learned on your end about paying better attention to quoting shipping) than to have a person out there telling his own personal experience about getting bad customer service from carvin to everyone he meets.

From your companies perspective, customer service should be a higher priority than your own personal pet peeve about being "bullied" by an unhappy customer on the phone. Anytime you can diffuse a situation and have a happy customer, at relatively little expense, you should do it. Lesson learned and move on. The alternative is this, and no company benefits from public arguments with their customers about customer service.
 
I found out a LONG time ago, you NEVER win a pissing contest with a customer, no matter who you think has the moral high ground.
 
Foot in Mouth

Ah Mike I think there is room for the other foot. Just keep trying to justify your actions.
 
Someone sent a link to someone else who forwarded it to me.

He said he was quoted a certain price in an email.
I asked him to forward the email to me, give me time to talk to everyone involved, and let me find out what the deal is.
Before that could happen, he's back on the phone and I get thown into an arguement I was trying to prevent. No amount of yelling or threats would get me to budge at that point.
I'm not sure how that makes me a jerk, but ok.

The shipping and the arguement over the shipping cost is irrelevant at this point anyway. He wants it shipped with insurance and we do not offer insurance. He's going to have it picked up. So we are not charging shipping.

Mike
Carvin Customer Service
 
amra said:
Well mgood, strictly from a business perspective, and coming from a third party that has had no personal experience with either Carvin or the rockdoc guy here is my take: The messup was on your end, and it is way cheaper to pay $20 and have a happy customer (lesson learned on your end about paying better attention to quoting shipping) than to have a person out there telling his own personal experience about getting bad customer service from carvin to everyone he meets.

From your companies perspective, customer service should be a higher priority than your own personal pet peeve about being "bullied" by an unhappy customer on the phone. Anytime you can diffuse a situation and have a happy customer, at relatively little expense, you should do it. Lesson learned and move on. The alternative is this, and no company benefits from public arguments with their customers about customer service.
So you're saying that whoever yells the loudest should get the best deal? That may actually make good business sense, but it offends me personally.
I was in the process of getting this worked out. A process where I probably would have agreed to the $19.99.
 
That $20 is going to cost the company thousands in lost sales. Looks like Carvin lost this pissing contest. But that's OK. You got the last word in, right?
 
mgood said:
So you're saying that whoever yells the loudest should get the best deal? That may actually make good business sense, but it offends me personally.
I was in the process of getting this worked out. A process where I probably would have agreed to the $19.99.


No, I am just saying the customer is always right. That is Customer Service 101. Not fair, or right, just basic customer service. Just some free, friendly advice. By the time it comes to this, in public, where everyone can see it, I would be saying "What can I do to make this right for you?"
 
amra said:
No, I am just saying the customer is always right. That is Customer Service 101. Not fair, or right, just basic customer service.

I have never been always right in any role I've played in life. Have you?
 
TheRockDoc said:
Remember, the guy told me it was cheaper for them to replace an expensive guitar than to insure it on shipping for over $100

I don't care about Carvin at all.

However, that comment makes sense to me. Shipping companies don't like to lose money on insurance.
 
Reports of good or bad customer service from random people on the internet should be taken with big grains of salt. None of us knows what happened, really.
 
Chill, dudes...

Whoa...

Usually a fight involves two people, not one. I expect there is another side to the story and hate to see an outfit - particularly an American manufacturing company making guitars on our soil - get shafted in the courts of public opinion over a $20 goof. Sounds to me like somebody on both sides of the dispute needs to chill a bit. It's hard enough for us to find good stuff made here, and to make a living doing anything here - with out us fighting between ourselves about it. This could be about $20, or it could be about making something work, or it could be about a need to push somebody else's buttons. No matter what it is, we don't really have to jump on the pile.
 
Mike of Carvin Customer Service -

The point you are missing, and that the original service tech missed, is that you could have bought a bucketful of goodwill and beneficial reputation for your company for the measly price of $20.

You should be able to hear past a customer's anger - after all, your job *is* customer service. You obviously have some discretion in matters such as this shipping cost issue, and you chose not to use it.

Now look where it's gotten you. Your company is being badmouthed on a fairly popular message board, frequented by a lot of people that may have, at one time, considered dealing with Carvin but will not longer do so.

You've cost Carvin some money.

I would never suggest that you cater to every unreasonable demand from a customer, but this one did not fall into that category.

You either need to improve your communication ability with your customers, or find another position before you cost Carvin any more customers, and money.
 
Zaphod B said:
Mike of Carvin Customer Service -

The point you are missing, and that the original service tech missed, is that you could have bought a bucketful of goodwill and beneficial reputation for your company for the measly price of $20.

Carvin was doomed the second that RockDoc walked in the door and they didn't do whatever it was they expected him to do.

TheRockDoc said:
So I get to the Carvin store in LA after an EXCRUCIATING dealing with the airlines. I walk into the store, and the guy is like- oh- not buying anything...humph whooo harumph... pouts his way to the phone, and calls the factory to talk to the tech I spoke with.
 
Doomed? I disagree.. If I may, a little roleplaying.

Dear unhappy customer,

This thread was brought to my attention, and I am saddened to see that this has escalated as it has.

As you know, there was a mis-communication with our tech, and you were misquoted the shipping charges. We were in the process of reviewing this matter at the time that your second phone call came, and got out of hand.

We would like you to know that we value every customer of Carvin, and while we do not ship product insured, we understand the value of that to you.

The approximate shipping by UPS would be about $40.00, plus the insurance premium, if you would contact us, we would like to offer you the $40.00 in shipping, and you can pay the differance for the insurance.

We apologise for the mis-communication, and hope that in the future we can have the opprotunity to prove to you just how good we can be at what we do.

sincerely,


If I read that, I would have bought my next thing from Carvin no problem, all for a mere 40 buck outlay on thier part.

I see it time and time again, Customer service is almost dead, and one day we'll look back and wonder where it went.
 
Mindcore said:
Doomed? I disagree.. If I may, a little roleplaying.

Dear unhappy customer,

This thread was brought to my attention, and I am saddened to see that this has escalated as it has.

As you know, there was a mis-communication with our tech, and you were misquoted the shipping charges. We were in the process of reviewing this matter at the time that your second phone call came, and got out of hand.

We would like you to know that we value every customer of Carvin, and while we do not ship product insured, we understand the value of that to you.

The approximate shipping by UPS would be about $40.00, plus the insurance premium, if you would contact us, we would like to offer you the $40.00 in shipping, and you can pay the differance for the insurance.

We apologise for the mis-communication, and hope that in the future we can have the opprotunity to prove to you just how good we can be at what we do.

sincerely,


If I read that, I would have bought my next thing from Carvin no problem, all for a mere 40 buck outlay on thier part.

I see it time and time again, Customer service is almost dead, and one day we'll look back and wonder where it went.
You sir are right on the money. On average, I buy one to two high dollar guitars per year as do many others that frequent these boards. And if I see a company rep stumble in and torpedo his company with a bad attitude, I'll spend that two + grand anywhere but there.
 
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