except you may not..because its not the same people anymore...

you ok ???

touche..

This redefines the statement as a guideline for normal order processing time..not a guarantee for all orders..

I revoke my previous posts..

um... lemme try my interpretation..

you promised my order would be shipped in 48 hours, and it hasnt been, I am owed a refund..

..and it doesn't seem unreasonable to get a discount, partial refund, or free shipping on her order... right?

The only part I disagree with is her approach.

A. You get flies with honey

B. If you own a company you can bite off your nose to spite your face

C. I personally take shit from my customers without retribution because I like taking their money as well.

Compensation for screwing up an order is not appropriate? Boy do I have a warped view of customer service and good business practice..

Was an $11 item worth the negative publicity? I sure hope not.

Anyways, I'm forwarding this around to my coworkers who I know will find it outrageous enough to pass on as well.

Hope that's what the owner was going for.

The owner, Justin, responded to another blog owner and wrote foul language telling them he doesn't care that everyone thinks his customer service is bad. The language in that email was much much worse.

This guy has some serious anger management problems. And he has kids, that's the scary part.

i think there's a lot of over-zealous disemvowelling here.

seems like if you talk about the consumer in any way other than sympathy you are slapped with a "blaming the consumer" tag.

just because people are saying that her email was tacky does not mean they condone the company's response, or that they think she deserved verbal abuse. jumping to the gun much?

(and not all comments were constructive or useful suggestions to how the consumer should solve the problem, but only the posts that cast a critical light on the consumer were disemvowelled)

Only an e-douchebag would call someone that and have an e-business. It's not like there's a B&M to go protest at...

Seriously, commenters? You "blame-the-victim" types are REALLY starting to stretch. Could you just admit, maybe even once, that it's not okay for a business to call a paying customer a whore, ever? Would it hurt that bad??

@acquisitionimperium: When you have a moment, please have a look at the Consumerist Commenters' Code here: [consumerist.com] especially the section on disemvowelment. It will enlighten you.

Or he was "disemvowelled", meaning his post was deemed inappropriate by the Powers That Be. A decoder ring would be handy though :-)

Not everyone in business SHOULD BE.

The business owner is lucky I don't live in their neighborhood. I would personally pay them a visit over that, and her "attitude" wouldn't BEGIN to equate to mine in person.

Don't mess with people paying you money and then expect not to hear it. Loud. Duh.

@HRGirl:

from [www.weddingbeepro.com]

"The address of this online merchant is identical to a home-based business named Spring Lake Bridal ([www.springlakebridal.com]).

Urban Expressions, 616 540-7949,

630 East Savidge Street, Spring Lake, MI 49456 US

[www.google.com] "

If they are indeed owned by different people, think one of them would be terribly upset at the other for dragging her business into this?

Funny too that every single word on that Web site begins in caps--a dead giveaway that it's the same writer.

Anyone catch this lovely comment in the FAQ section of Urban Expressions?

Keep your prince of nigeria scams to yourself, In Fact Email Me & I'll Tell You Where You Can Put Them. : )

Newbie alert!

So much easier to act with class in the first place!

That said, the response was inappropriate, but given that the owner didn't speak to her on the phone, to whoever was reading this message, it came totally from left field.

If she had simply asked for a shipping date and informed that she had tried to call several times, the outcome would have probably been totally different.

Everyone rants about the decline of customer service, but our expectations have also changed. Waiting a week for an item to ship would not have been a big deal 20 years ago...but we're really into "instant" now and a week has become "forever."

A little patience can go a long way, on both sides.

One blurb on this site that caught my eye was:
"Most Personal, Honest & Friendly Service In the Industry."

Well, the insults were certainly personal, so I'll give them that one. Honest and friendly, however.... ...not so much?

People who deal with customers need lessons in emotional control, composure when responding, and not taking customer complaints personally. If they wanted to cancel the order in response, they could simply have said, "We're sorry that you're dissatisfied with your order and feel that you may find a more gratifying customer experience through another vendor." Anything beyond that is simply emotional indulgence by people who are too immature to keep their emotion's under control.

Also, it IS okay to ask for compensation if you have had to wait for a ridiculously long time. In fact most consumer friendly establishments won't even make you ask if they are smart enough to acknowledge their short-coming - Starbucks often gives the customer a free drink if they have make people wait while in the process of to brewing fresh coffee.

Sidebar: I don't know how this lady even found this website, since the first Google hit is THIS story. It takes some digging to get to the non-fashion "Urban Expressions"; and I have to tell you I wasn't impressed. I question the judgement of anyone that would buy online from these people.

What? Where are the rest of the letters in the words you tried to spell? It's never a good idea to make up your own acronyms (See LDTD). Since I don't own a decoder watch I can't actually comment on the content of your post. You may be a simpleton or the greatest genius that ever lived, only time will tell.

I remember being told once that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and I responded, "But you catch the most with blood."

...I was pretty peeved at the time.

This is horrible! It doesn't matter what the letter says from a customer, you dont use language like that! Geez... Its called customer service. I will definitely never use Urban Expressions for crafts EVER!!! Bunch of rude whores, I tell ya!

@kbk1:
Mmmmmm cnts

some people should not be allowed on the internet and people like the OP are them... I'd be interested in seeing the entire thread between the site and the OP. I can tell by the big deal she is making about nothing that she is a complainer. Don't come to my site or I'll tell you the same thing. I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone... I think they did the right thing giving her money back and telling her what she can do with it.

Rl 1 f wrtng cmplnt lttrs- dn't snd lk n nttld cnt ∓ dmnd 'cmpnstn' wth xcssv xclmtn pnts nlss y wnt 'fck y, btch!' rspns. ftr ll, CSRs r nly hmn.

Um, you do realize that 'urban' is frequently used as code in racist rants don't you? And that people of all races and population densities can be pretty much just as vulgar?

And if that was the first contact the customer had with the store asking about the late package I'd have to say it was pretty rude. I would still have been respectful in my response, but I wouldn't have sent a thank you note with the package.

@Jeremy Pinson: Well, the "whore way" usually means payment upfront and no kissing on the mouth, but that works too.

f y lk nt ths t's n-prsn "cmpny" s th dd dcdd tht h ddn't nd hr s cstmr.

'd hv cncld hr rdr s wll, thgh mr tctflly. Th cstmr s NT lwys rght. (n fct, t's tht vry ntn whch hs ld t th vrdvlpd sns f nttlmnt mst mrcns sm t cltvt.)

Mr r lss wht sh sd. Myb sh's cmpnstn whr.

@DoubleEcho:

Funny You Mention No Capitalization. On The Home Page As Well As the FAQ, Every Word Is Capitalized. LoL!!

@kaceetheconsumer: Isn't this one of those websites where anyone can join and sell their crafts or goods? Like Etsy? If so, one bad seller may be giving hundreds of sellers a bad name.

It appears to be a web presence for a home-based business, like those MLM businesses that sell candles or baskets or kitchen implements through home shows. A lot of these home-based businesses encourage or allow their "associates" to have an online web presence to sell their wares.

My guess is that "Urban Expressions" doesn't even control its own inventory. They take orders, transmit them to the supplier and everything is drop shipped from the main warehouse. I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that the CSR who replied to the complaining customer was the "owner" of the business.

If you click on any product in the store, then click on the link for "feedback", it shows a feedback score of 22. TWENTY-TWO SALES, folks. Twenty-one of these sales were unrated. The only person to give a rating gave a negative rating, and that was in March of this year.

This is not a big company, it's a home-based business run by someone with a foul mouth.

If there are new owners who wish to reverse the bad press, they should quickly post on their main page that it is under new ownership and make a gesture such as fulfilling the OP's order at no cost to indicate that they aren't the ones who caused the problem.

And let's just say it's true...I actually had a look at their knitting stuff and selling light-up needles and offcuts of yarn is pretty poor selection for myself and fellow knitters anyway.

And besides that, Typing Every Word On Their Front Page With A Capital Is Really Dumb And Annoying and enough to avoid them anyway unless they otherwise had stellar service, selection, and/or prices.

@Quake 'n' Shake: Seriously. Can't we get both sides of the story for once?

@Quake 'n' Shake: I was going to ask the same thing. Perhaps she forgot her name, but remembered her profession?

@Saboth: Just curious, but why buy a video card at Dell and not at somehwere like Newegg?

@kaceetheconsumer: You want to punish the people who bought this company who had nothing to do with this situation at all?

@crunchberries: @windycity: I disagree. Im only going on what the OP wrote but for your interpretation to be correct it should be worded "ALL (not most) items will be shipped within 48 hours unless otherwise specified"

Actually, given that she made the point of talking about selling the company, I'm torn between (A) just not believing it, and (B) thinking that the owner was generally pissed about the buyout amount, and is thus trying to sabotage the new owners. Most likely successfully.

But its the kind of bullshit posturing that customers have gotten used to. They dial the intensity right to 11 immediately, then wonder why they don't get what they want.

Of course, it doesn't look like any approach would have worked with this online store.

@Etoiles: Actually, if you read the explination, it wont cost him anything. He sold the business and it is now being run under a new name.

This is why he was able to just bash people.

Is she a whore? Has anyone answered that?

@H3ion: Yikes! He created major bad PR and then sold the business? I feel bad for the new owner.

She ordered an urban expression, she got an urban expression.

I so agree with your second part. Good service is realizing you're representing your whole business, whether you're the individual who made the mistake or not. Unless you can produce the person who did make the error, you take the complaint, because you're not there to be your wonderful self, you're there to represent the company. Most frustrated people are pretty easy to mollify. Unfortunately, volume requirements for interaction with customers can mean that employees take a hit for being actually good with customers rather than assembly-lining 'em.

And hit up the link. It has more details, and the response from the owner as well. The comment was definitely from the owner.

[...]have a nice day, and have fun being an E-warrior hiding in the depths of the anonymus internet blogs that no one reads

Too bad that the e-warrior just got featured on The Consumerist.

Too bad again, that the owner sold the business. I want him to start another business, just so I could boycott it.

@CreativeLinks:

Same here.

I would like to see all of the email exchanges as well as the telephone call transcripts.

Not blaming the OP, but usually there is a ramping up of hostilities rather than going from 0-100 in 1 second.

@savdavid: That would then make you the customer and her the retailer.

Maybe they are just trying to play the part.

I worked retail for many years and I find that some people you can't deal with as a vendor and yes I have yelled back at people. Sometimes you get what you deserve. Even if you are right and the company is wrong there is always respect esp if you want things to get done.

@Applekid: I think if the owner should have gone with the 'more urbaner', whure (Who-ur). Actually this is the first time I've spelled that out. Think Frank from it's always sunny in philadelphia.

"Who here slept with my whure wife? DID YOU SLEEP WITH MY WHURE WIFE?"

@Rectilinear Propagation: I like how they capitalize 'Wise' in 'OtherWise'. Pro.

They're hoping people feel sorry for the "new owner" and buy something from them.

@CreativeLinks: I'm with you; the response seems like it was written by someone who was trying to get fired. Or maybe their system got hacked into by a teenager.

Also, EVERYONE in a service industry or service position should be aware that sometimes you are going to be on the receiving end of someone venting. (And often the largest part of customer service is letting someone vent their whole story before you solve the problem ... people just don't feel better until they feel heard.) If you can't cope with that, you need to find a job where you don't interact with people.

@Stephen Schenck:
@Aladdyn:
I think what you two have both missed is this: "most items will be shipped within 48 hours unless otherwise specified - you guys did not specify otherwise". Note where she states "you guys did not specify otherwise". She was aware that all orders do not ship out within 48 hours and those that don't require notification to the buyer - she was given no such notification and therefore had every right to expect her order to ship within the 48 hours.

@HiPwr: xactly. those needlework bitches can be snarly when you interupt their hoops and loops. this prissy wants some cash? wat see xpect, an appology from the president of the united states???

There's an update at the Weddingbee link. Supposedly the owner sold the company last week? I find it hard to believe that anyone who writes "anonymus" had 1.7 million dollars worth of inventory. C'mon troops, lets put our detective hats on! Is there any way to substantiate this (ridiculous) claim? If it is true then Captain McExpressions is kind of a d-bag, setting the new owner up for failure.

Two comments to the owner.
1 - Learn to spell anonymous
2 - Do a Google search for Urban Expressions Craft and you will see now that the Consumerist post is the first search result. So much for no one reading about it.

I suspect this is some kind of craft lingo that people outside of that community cannot understand.

At that point, it had been a week, and the item hadn't shipped, and she hadn't received notification. I'd be a bit perturbed myself. I just ordered a video card from Dell 10 days ago with 4 days shipping. The item has been in "processing" for 10 days, and the delivery date is July 28. Why 20 days? It doesn't say backordered. They have it listed under "being built". They don't build the video cards, they simply sell them. I emailed and got a canned response back that explained nothing.
So I know how the OP feels. Service in this country is going DOWNHILL, and that is a shame because that is our main industry.

I found this too utterly hilarious to care that the customer got abused.

And if you look at the story on the WeddingBee site, they got a response from the company and were called an "e-warrior" by the owner.

This won't be popular, but I agree. She basically was told, "No soup for you!" in a different way.

All Sales Are Final Unless OtherWise Specified.

I mean there's "stitch n' bitch," then there's this.
LOL

Whats the big deal? I think it is a bit funny.

I don't have a point really. Just surprised when I read it and wanted to share.

Unless a company drops the ball and forgets to deliver a kidney, don'r DEMAND compensation. Be polite, then get mean. Thats the whore way.

Seriously. Thanks to blogs like weddingbee, as well as offbeat bride, the knot (ugh), and countless other big blogs and communities, a single glowing review or total dismissal can either generate a lot of business for a company, or cost a lot of business for a company. I've been out saying nice things about our jeweler, photographer, and florist every chance I get, but the caterers who were nasty, or the hairdressers who couldn't be bothered to reply civilly to an e-mail? Forget 'em.

This business didn't just cost themselves that woman's order; this story will now hit pretty much every wedding and craft blog / group out there in the next week, and they'll have cost themselves plenty of other DIY-er orders, too. Well done.

I agree that asking for compensation for the delay on a $16 dollar order was over the top.

Still, you should never ask for compensation. You're much more likely to receive compensation is you take a professional tone and explain your problem.

http://www.weddingbeepro.com/2009/07/16/craziest-vendor-response-ever/

@punkrawka: I agree 100% with what stephen wrote. I dont see where he blames the consumer for getting abused.

Second, found this gem in the FAQ:

Can I Pay Via Money Order.
We Accept ONLY U.S. POSTAL SERVICE MONEY ORDERS. Keep your prince of nigeria scams to yourself, In Fact Email Me & I'll Tell You Where You Can Put Them. : )

I mean there's "stitch n' bitch," then there's this.

I don't know...this doesn't seem quite real to me. Are you sure it is legit?

Her email doesn't seem to warrent such a shocking response. What "attitude" was she displaying exactly?

Methinks there might be more to this story.

This highlights a common issue with online vendors. The most efficient have a great communication policy, so they keep the customer informed of when the item is likely to ship, when it has shipped, and when it should arrive.

They make it easy to find out what's going on.

It's frustrating when they don't tell you what's going on and there's no easy way to find out. I can understand this particular customer's frustration.

Given the tone of the response, it's pretty clear that this company doesn't really care about keeping their customers informed, or this hostile/insane staff member would have had a nice, easy form e-mail to send back with the information the customer wanted and a kind apology for the delay.

But, yeah, I do hope that Princess Leela is right and that someone is no longer working in shipping/receiving at Urban Expressions.

I think the only thing that the OP should of changed would be to change the word "compensation" to "free shipping" or something.

How unprofessional! Did you see that spelling and grammar in the comment? No capitalization AT ALL, no apostrophe used ("hows that for compensation") and very poor sentence structure; Cleary a F-.

Oh, and calling a customer a whore doesn't help your grade either.