Disapointed: Southern Soapers non-bleeding colorant bottles

[candice19]

Candice
Perhaps calling Southern Soapers privately would have been more professional on your part also?

Perhaps. It was also on a Saturday, and your phone hours are 9 am - 6 pm M - F, so I don't think it was unreasonable I emailed you. But at the same time, you could have called me as you have my information on account.


Your complaint here however misrepresents the problem and our communications. The problem you experienced though was two fold : 1. you did not read directions, and 2. you did not ask for help.

I'm pretty sure I checked the website for instructions, and if I did find them I wouldn't have emailed you. But, honestly I really can't remember if I did that. There weren't instruction on the bottle, either.

Candice has called in the past and we immediately reshipped 20 lbs of an order that our crew goofed on. 20 lbs shipped the same day she called. We have also refunded returns from her that we normally never accept returns on. We are not hearing about that today from Candice though.

Oh, I absolutely agree that SS fixed their mistake immediately. I don't deny it. But that wasn't the issue I brought up, was it? Like I've said, I've recommended SS quite often - and even made a thread here about it:

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8859

Yes, this is true.. That is why we shipped the corrected order of 20 lbs of product within 30 mins of her phone call to us. That is why we also refunded a product that she just simply did not *like*, when we do not normally do this. It is also why we issued her a $5 credit even though the colorant fiasco she had was purely operator error.

I agree to this, too. But so did you. Since I was sending back 20 lbs worth of product (what a mess that was, right? lol), you said it would be fine to stick that in the box. When you actually did receive it is when you emphasized how you were doing me a favor since it isn't normally done. But actually, I never did receive a credit on my card, only a store gift certificate - so I'd appreciate it if you could credit my credit card for that amount, thanks.

For future reference though, I found out that with returns for UPS, instead of calling them a million times, you can just mail someone a return label and hand it to any UPS guy.

And really, so what if I brought it to a public forum? I care about my fellow soapers and wanted to warm them of the possibilities and share my experience. They'd help me enormously, so why wouldn't I help them? Even if I asked people here for help - could they really help me with your customer service? Just like if you bought an item in a store that broke and told your friends about it - they can complain all they want but ultimately only the people at the store can help you.

I'm most disappointed to see that you posted correspondence between us. In a way though, I'm really glad you did. It speaks much more clearly of Southern Soapers than I could.

I'll be expecting my refund soon. Thanks.

 

[carebear]

If the OP wanted to put her story out in the public forum, then it's certainly appropriate for Kelly to clarify the missing details - which were absolutely key.

I've only made a few purchases from this supplier, but this thread won't impact my decision about whether or not to shop there again.

If she wanted her communications kept private then she should have left the whole thing so herself.

She didn't come here to vent - look at the topic of this thread: it's a WARNING, not a vent. And it's irresponsible, then, to misrepresent things.

It's a reap what you sow thing.

 

[Artephius]

I thought a while before posting this, because I'm new and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I agree with carebear.

This thread struck a chord with me, because I've worked in retail for some time. Retailers have to have policies regarding product return and use. The truth is, customer service is important, but I know that if the store I work in abandoned the policies we have in place for those types of events, it would significantly impact us. I may not be able to please my customers 100% of the time, but I do the best that I can while still ensuring that the store is able to make enough money to employ me! It's a thinner financial margin than many people suspect (and I work for a major retailer).

Not everyone will be pleased. I've had customers curse/yell/threaten me because I could not return an item they had damaged (for (a real) example, ripped pages out of a book). Thankfully this situation did not get quite that aggressive!

The simple truth of customer service is that no matter how hard you try, you can't make everyone happy with the resources you have available to you. It's on the retailers shoulders to do the best they can, and it's on the customer's shoulders to recognize when they may have made a mistake.

When situations get on the heated side, like after being brought to public attention, I think the tendency is for both parties to react in ways they might not under cooler settings.

It does very well to think about what a situation seems like from both sides of the counter-- and that goes for retailers and customers alike.

 

[Vinca Leaf]

Bahahaaaaa! I absolutely *love* all the editing done on this thread. Seriously? :roll:

Now I *really* have all the info I need. :|

 

[candice19]

This entire thread has become ridiculous. I came here, yes, WARNING other soapers of something that could happen that one would not expect - a cap flying off a bottle. Seeing that some people who posted did not know snipping the bottle top as "common knowledge" goes to show that there are people in the same boat as me.

What drives me nuts is that I had NO INTENTION of badmouthing SS. I wanted keep people updated in regards to the bottle top thing, and to know where else I could shop, end of story. I see nothing that I posted before Kelly posted where I tried to steer people away from SS. Even when she brought up the replacing 20 lbs of stuff, I chose not to give my side of the story of how they couldn't get their act together. I feel I was forced to not keep my mouth shut and defend myself to clarify the situation, but some people misinterpret that as I'm out to point fingers.

It only got "heated" when the owner of the company decided to post emails. Whether or not you want to acknowledge it, that is a truly unprofessional act on all accounts. Where and what exactly did I misrepresent? It's not like I knew the information out before I started and denied it. Anything I've said is what I knew and believed at the time. It's not like I claimed SS had horrible customer service and they never did anything for me. This post was for one isolated incident, but SS decided to put the whole thing out and bring the past out.

I'm not embarrassed or insulted by anyone's feelings/stance on the situation between me and SS, and I'm sure it's not a forum member's (minus Kelly) intention to do so. I've worked in retail as well and know that you simply cannot please anyone - but if they offer to work something out it's something you can consider. And I certainly don't go blabbling their request to every other customer there.

Oh, I see now that Kelly had EDITED OUT and cleaned up all her commons in regards to snipping the cap being "common knowledge" - interesting.

Reap what you sow, reap what you sow.

 

[Tabitha]

I am locking this thread now. When I get home from dinner & a movie I will sort through the posts & remove the info that should not be on a public forum. NEVER post a private email , PM or convo on a public forum. I 'believe' it's against the law. I could be wrong, I am not a lawyer.

I'll be back after while. If another mod pops in before I return, please feel free to do some house cleaning.

Thanks,

 

[Tabitha]

OK, I have read the thread & edited only 3-4 words.

Members at the SMF have a right to ask for public guidance if they are having trouble w/ a product or a supplier. They do need to do so in a way that is not inflammatory.

Suppliers have the right to share their side of the story so long as 'personal' info is not divulged & it is not inflammatory.

When you walk into a B&M shop, you can see if the employees & shop are clean, if they are polite, if the product is fresh & well cared for. You can't see any of those things online. That is why we must share our experiences, both positive & negative.

Please continue to share both positive & negative online experiences re suppliers w/i this forum.