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I have been very surprised to see all the comments/complaints about BB in this forum, particularly about the coupon code policy. It also seemed like people may not have given direct feedback but would be angry and just shop elsewhere. Taking your money elsewhere is effective, IMO, only if the place you are taking your business away from knows why; otherwise they are in the dark about what they could improve. I realized I would be quite upset if I were offered a few bucks off my next order if I had a leak or damage in shipping, so I decided to write to Anne-Marie directly to give feedback about problems that have been encountered, things I think they could improve, and to let her know that her business may be more affected than she realizes.
I thought I would share the response I got from the Customer Service Manager. I wrote her back to say I was not certain communication was always clear because people had seemed certain that they were offered a coupon for damage and not a replacement. It is possible that individual representatives are offering coupons when they should be offering replacements, so if your experience is not what is outlined, I would encourage you to respond to this woman and let her know. If I were a business owner, I would want to know what was going on down the line but I would not always be in the know without direct feedback. So here you are:
_____________________________________________________________
Hi Amy,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a letter to Anne-Marie. It means a lot to her and she has already sent a handwritten card which you should be getting soon. As the Customer Service Manager, I wanted to also address your concerns as well. It really was awesome that you took the time to write. Like you’ve said, most people will just complain on a forum or just not shop with us.
As for the specific complaints, it is true that our processing time tends towards the 48 to 72 hour mark. Many people who live east of the Mississippi face a long transit time too. This makes the total order time to the East Coast seem like forever. We have hired more people and look to hire yet even more so hopefully that time will shorten as a result.
As for how we handle damages, leaks and missing packages – what you have heard is categorically untrue. We do offer the option to either replace the item or credit but if our customers have an important event where they need the items, we will expedite the replacements when we can (if the flashpoint allows for expedited shipping). We look to keep our costs down and so will ship ground for replacements whenever possible, but we have and will ship overnight if our customer needs that to happen. We never deny anyone a replacement. If you hear of people that are concerned about how we handle a damage or a missing item, please encourage them to call us at 1.877.627.7883. We will do what we can to make it right.
Here’s what I think most are talking about when they say they are receiving credit and not a refund – returns. Our current policy is to give store credit only for returns. To be frank, I don’t agree with that and it sounds like our customers don’t either. I like Amazon’s policy of a refund directly back to the card for all allowable returns. I am talking now with upper management to see if we can’t make that happen. These kind of guidelines can be slow to change but I’m up for the challenge!
I hope this helps explain a little bit. Please do contact me if you have any other questions or concerns J
Tina
I thought I would share the response I got from the Customer Service Manager. I wrote her back to say I was not certain communication was always clear because people had seemed certain that they were offered a coupon for damage and not a replacement. It is possible that individual representatives are offering coupons when they should be offering replacements, so if your experience is not what is outlined, I would encourage you to respond to this woman and let her know. If I were a business owner, I would want to know what was going on down the line but I would not always be in the know without direct feedback. So here you are:
_____________________________________________________________
Hi Amy,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a letter to Anne-Marie. It means a lot to her and she has already sent a handwritten card which you should be getting soon. As the Customer Service Manager, I wanted to also address your concerns as well. It really was awesome that you took the time to write. Like you’ve said, most people will just complain on a forum or just not shop with us.
As for the specific complaints, it is true that our processing time tends towards the 48 to 72 hour mark. Many people who live east of the Mississippi face a long transit time too. This makes the total order time to the East Coast seem like forever. We have hired more people and look to hire yet even more so hopefully that time will shorten as a result.
As for how we handle damages, leaks and missing packages – what you have heard is categorically untrue. We do offer the option to either replace the item or credit but if our customers have an important event where they need the items, we will expedite the replacements when we can (if the flashpoint allows for expedited shipping). We look to keep our costs down and so will ship ground for replacements whenever possible, but we have and will ship overnight if our customer needs that to happen. We never deny anyone a replacement. If you hear of people that are concerned about how we handle a damage or a missing item, please encourage them to call us at 1.877.627.7883. We will do what we can to make it right.
Here’s what I think most are talking about when they say they are receiving credit and not a refund – returns. Our current policy is to give store credit only for returns. To be frank, I don’t agree with that and it sounds like our customers don’t either. I like Amazon’s policy of a refund directly back to the card for all allowable returns. I am talking now with upper management to see if we can’t make that happen. These kind of guidelines can be slow to change but I’m up for the challenge!
I hope this helps explain a little bit. Please do contact me if you have any other questions or concerns J
Tina
