what do you do when...

[lionprincess00]

Mods, help me out on where in the soaping world I put this
What do you do when you make a purchase, and you receive said purchase leaking? Better question, what do you expect a supplier to do to rectify said situation?

Happened to me tonight, second time with same supplier. First time I had pics and they reimbursed me about $1.50 (or slightly less than) for my troubles of a little leaking of a preservative. Now it's a big leak of a fragrance oil. Not sure what a proper response is (or should I say, what I should expect from them in this situation).

Thx for opinions, experiences, and moving to the proper area on the forum!!!

 

[KristaY]

I've had this happen twice. Once was the fault of the packer and one was the fault of the shipping company. One was an 8 oz bottle of FO that shattered in the box so the mail man left the box on my doorstep in one of their large mail carrier cartons. It was dripping with FO and everything in the box was affected. It was a total mess. The second time it looked like the shipping company dropped the box from a 3rd story window. The seams were broken open and one side was completely smashed. In both instances I took several pics of the damage and immediately contacted the company I purchased from. I was immediately shipped replacement items for one and reimbursed the full price from the other. That's excellent customer service and that's what I would expect on your behalf. Good luck getting it corrected. :lolno:

 

[new12soap]

I would contact the supplier, and see how they respond. If they replace it or give you a credit, okay, but either way I think I would consider looking at other suppliers. Most of them pack their stuff pretty darn well. Of course, they can't help what the shipping company does, but they can still take care of the customer and file a claim with the shipper.

 

[boyago]

I had some EOs from ED show up that had leaked. The leak was minor but enough to see it on the packing and of course the smell. Picked up the box on my way out and though the Frankincense/lemon/lavender combo was nice it was way too strong in the car to be pleasant when I got back in the car. I sent them a note saying what happened (with pics) and that I wasn't upset or needing a refund that I just thought they should know in case they wanted to take action on their end. They got back to me pretty quickly, not sure how long but I think it was the same day and if I remember correctly the shot me back a small refund on my card. It was more than I expected them to do and I was happy.

 

[Jstar]

First thing..take pictures...lots of them. {outside as well as inside the main packing box} Then call the company and let them know what you received. They should either issue a refund, or replace what was lost.

Second, if they continuously have issues with leaking packages, find another company. After many customers complain about leaking, its time for the company to rethink their packaging...if they don't then that's not someone I would want to continue to do business with.

When I order, its usually because I need that item fairly quickly, I dont have time to reorder, or wait for replacements 'all the time' {sometimes, but not every order}

I ordered alot of cocoa butter from ED, and when I picked it up from the post office, one package had melted and leaked...lost almost a pound...but the other packages were fine.

I called them up and let them know {after much pic taking} and the lady there offered to resend my entire order not only because what I lost, but because it had melted..I told her no of course, the melting was expected..Im in Tx ~lol~..I just wanted what I had lost..she sent me a new pound, that was sealed.

I was happy with that

 

[Aline]

You should let us know who the supplier is - this is the only way that companies can be held accountable. And no, it's not libel if it's true (and they are not going to sue you!).

 

[lionprincess00]

Looking back, the preservative wasn't pricey really, and I lost a little down the front. It was a partial reimbursement of 1/3 the bottle in the form of a coupon code for future purchases.

Now, I am awaiting a response.

I have pics and didn't open it. It was stinky in my closet lol. I sent pics along with the note on a contact form on their page. They've always responded within 24 hours to any note I've left for any reason.

I just didn't know what to expect with a partial loss of fo. This was a lot worse than the preservative the first time. You know Aline, I would rather not say...but with incrediblely long shipping times (the worst of all suppliers) it's kinda a bummer...not to mention ethics issues I've heard about...I just don't know what to think about them. They're always so friendly and helpful when I have requests and such.

 

[new12soap]

I think I know who you mean. The one time I contacted them with an issue (if it's the same supplier), they issued me a credit on a future order via a coupon code. That's fine, they did something, but it really doesn't do me any good unless I want to continue to spend more money with them. Every other supplier has immediately issued a refund to my credit card or shipped a replacement that same day if there was a problem. I have even had one supplier consistently give me a refund when shipping costs were less than expected. Those are the companies I want to deal with!

I do understand not wanting to trash a company or damage their reputation on a public forum. Wait and see what if anything they do for you.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I don't think it is "trashing" if it is factual and unemotional.

By talking about actual suppliers and their responses, people can then see if they would be better off using another supplier (and which one that is!)

 

[lionprincess00]

It isn't trashing them, but the negative publicity they'd be receiving before announcing their fix, before they had a chance to even respond (I received it after business hrs), would be a little classless from me, I fear. I want to see what happens before I start naming names. And hey, if they fix it right, then the publicity they'd receive would be in praise of them and their customer service let's wait and see, first.

 

[JustBeachy]

Looking back, the preservative wasn't pricey really, and I lost a little down the front. It was a partial reimbursement of 1/3 the bottle in the form of a coupon code for future purchases.

Now, I am awaiting a response.

I have pics and didn't open it. It was stinky in my closet lol. I sent pics along with the note on a contact form on their page. They've always responded within 24 hours to any note I've left for any reason.

I just didn't know what to expect with a partial loss of fo. This was a lot worse than the preservative the first time. You know Aline, I would rather not say...but with incrediblely long shipping times (the worst of all suppliers) it's kinda a bummer...not to mention ethics issues I've heard about...I just don't know what to think about them. They're always so friendly and helpful when I have requests and such.

Well the description of the shipping times and friendly responses makes one company stand out like a lighthouse on a dark night.

It's what led me to ultimately drop them from my vendor list. I had multiple orders show up with damage. A FO that spilled halfway, crushed colorant containers, leaking oils. Instead of sending out replacements their answer was always to give me a 5$ credit, so I could spend more money with them. No thanks.

To the polite responses they give. My last correspondence with them was the epitome of the smile while your picking my pockets. Refused to address the situation, but kept saying it nicely. Just because someone says, "We're so sorry you weren't happy", doesn't make it sincere. Like I used to tell my kids, if you keep doing the same thing over and over, saying sorry each time, really means nothing.

 

[snappyllama]

I'm pretty sure this is the same company...

I had a shipping issue with a bag of citric acid that was shipped shoved up against a mold screw - of course it ripped a hole in that flimsy plastic bag - even my local miscreant stoners at the grocery store wouldn't package like that! They happily gave me a coupon. That's fine... I guess. I didn't care about the $4 - I was annoyed at the mess.

When my flimsy bag of SLSA from them got a tear in it, I didn't bother telling them about it. No $4 coupon is going to take care of that disaster. Egads, that stuff goes EVERYWHERE! I know better to never order anything in a bag from them or anything I want to see in the next two weeks...

 

[lionprincess00]

I haven't heard back yet. Emailed them at 5-6 pm their time yesterday. Now I'm second guessing myself on putting in the correct info. I didn't receive a confirmation email off the site. I went to contact on the site and wrote, attached photos, signed my name etc. Gah. Not a happy camper.

Not happy.
:evil::x

 

[lionprincess00]

I went to send a note from the purchase list page in my account, and remembered I DID write my order number. So I refrained from writing another, just yet.

 

[lionprincess00]

UPDATE.

Wow. So the amount leaked is not a ton, though it ran down the side, caused the label to saturate and fall off, and soaked through one chamber and got 3 other chambers of a cardboard fo separator wet. The fo to replace cost 6.95 for the 2 oz plus 8.50 to ship the one fo back.
A total of 15.45 to replace it (if I buy nothing else to offset the shipping cost).

I received a 5$ store credit.

The response I received sounds very condescending. The way you speak to someone says something. You can't talk to a grown woman as though they were a small child. If a friend does that, you can say "not cool", forgive, and move on. If a husband does that, you can make his life miserable a couple hrs and show him what a child can really do hehe. Then you forgive and move on.

When a company speaks in a strange way that most grown adults do not speak like, and uses phrases that you would use with a child, it raises an eyebrow.

Are they trying to be cute?
Are they rolling their eyes thinking I'm being a whiney child over spilt fo, and the condescending tone was meant to be condescending?
Am I seeing something that isn't there, and I'm reading into it too much?

I've though about it, and I'm not going to blatantly put out the company name. Many yrs ago I sold repurposed items on etsy. I bought things, broke them, made them into something new, and sold them. I said they were "repurposed" so people knew what they were getting. Two women didn't think that was good enough for etsy. I was in the business forum a lot. I signed up on etsy support sites. These two women hacked my account through a support site, cyber stalked me, and bullied me til I said forget it! I quit etsy. The admins said sorry, but can't help you. So I fear something similar in the soaping world one day, when I do decide to sell (if I ever do).

I will edit in a second and post the reply.
I won't post the name, but the lighthouse on a dark night beachy said is an accurate statement.

Response-

Thanks for the email!

Oh No! I'm so sorry that item leaked in transit! How disappointing, for sure! Luckily, it looks like not much was lost. Whew! I'm going to go ahead and issue you a store coupon for your trouble. Just enter coupon code XXXXX at checkout and a discount of $5 will automatically apply.

Let me know if you have any further questions! =)



It isn't as bad as it seemed I suppose, as I felt it was, when I first read it. But it seems like they're talking to a child, in a way. It probably wasn't on purpose. Anyway, that's the fix.

 

[JustBeachy]

Your description of the tone of response is perfect. It's like a response a kindergarten teacher would give to a 5 year old. haha And the fix is silly, doesn't address the problem of continued damaged shipping, just there to get you to use the coupon and spend more. Maybe I've just been lucky lately, but I can't remember a single "shipping damage" item from any other suppliers in forever. I do buy a lot of stuff, EO's, oils etc from a pretty wide assortment of suppliers. Trying to narrow down some main sources. Again, maybe it's just luck, but no other spills or damage.

I quit using them for a few different reasons, but the last response reminded me of a purchase from a dept store a few years back. The first one I bought broke on the second use. I took it back and they gave me a new one. It broke after about 3 uses. I took it back and they offered me another replacement. I told them, I've tried two of them and they both broke. Why on earth would I want another one. Just give me a refund. haha.

 

[shunt2011]

I know which company you are talking about. In my opinion it's just bad customer service to just offer a coupon code. That just means you have to spend more money in order to use it. I've had 2 incidents with the same resolution if that's what you want to call it. There are way too many other companies who have much better CS and I will give them my business.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Agreed - while it might just be the manner of the person responding, good customer services means that you treat the issue as a serious one, so the amount leaking is lucky, but irrelevant.

Was the coupon at least worth the full cost of the item?

 

[lionprincess00]

No. The item was $ 6.95/2 oz bottle. I got a 5$ coupon.
The other time a couple months ago was a 1oz bottle of preservative. It was something like 3.25 and a got around, oh, 1.50$ if I recall, in yet another coupon.

They prorated amount lost to amount reimbursed.

 

[cmzaha]

I received a leaking bottle before Thanksgiving from a small independent supplier. I called her and I knew she was leaving for vacation, but have heard nothing back since. Will be calling today since I lost 2.2 oz from the bottle. I weighted it and sent her the pic of the bottle on the scale. She could easily tare out the bottle weight. This saddens me because she is a supplier I have always had such good service from.