It takes a lot to really tick me off, especially in business. But if there's one attitude I cannot stand and will not tolerate it's a Business Owner who actively seeks to take advantage of me. Enter Southern Belle Boutique on Etsy.
 |
| "where style is everything" but business ethics & customer service are non-existent evidently... |
I'd been admiring her monogrammed items and thought I'd buy one of her pieces first before making a larger order for goody bag items for a Girls Beach Trip in August. I've always had great success & found the cutest items on Etsy! And I love supporting small businesses, especially those owned by other women.
I ordered a monogrammed water bottle, chose my pattern, frame color, design, etc. and even viewed a proof. Sadly what came in the mail was a water bottle in the wrong color and a crooked design. So disappointing, especially after approving a proof, but mistakes happen right? So, in an effort to allow the store owner Rocksann Page to correct the order, I left some honest, kind feedback on her site.
Rocksann quickly messaged me, begging me to remove my feedback because, according to her, my one negative feedback would destroy her business. As you can imagine, I felt horrible!! Even though my business & legal instincts kicked into overdrive, I chose to follow my emotions and remove my comment in good faith, but before Rocksann agreed to fix my order or refund my money. Shame on me, I knew better....
Not only will I not be receiving a refund for the screwed up order I received, Southern Belle Boutique is refusing to send the correct order that I've already paid for, mind you. Oh and to further rub my nose in the fact that I'm clearly a sucker, her last correspondence was littered with smiley face emoticons while telling me essentially that hell will freeze over before I receive a refund. I'm always intrigued by people who behave this way, as if having a smile on your face while telling me to kick rocks is somehow more polite? #SideEye
I'm frankly stunned over Rocksann's response to fixing a simple error. At a time when consumer confidence has hit record lows and retail, disposable income spending has plummeted, her business practices are not only ethically wrong but staggeringly stupid.
I may not ever receive my money back or the correct item I paid for, but I will do my best to warn anyone within earshot not to do business with this unethical, disingenuous "belle." Caveat Emptor indeed.
27 comments:
Gee whiz... thanks for warning us! What a shame.
Posting this everywhere so others know! Thanks Ally for the awareness! I hate bad business!! How dare she act in such a manner!!
Sounds like a terrible way to run a business. Thanks for the heads up. Sorry you had to experience this.
The nerve of some people... I had a (not really similar) situation on Amazon where a buyer wanted to return a textbook. I never received the return, but she filed an Amazon claim so I issued the refund because it was only $22 (about the same as the water bottle) and some things in life aren't worth being petty over. Too bad this Etsy seller didn't realize that, considering she's trying to run a business.
Sorry about the long story. But too bad also that Etsy is kind of useless over things like this. Maybe this seller will realize how wrong she is sooner or later. Thanks for giving the warning, at any rate!
It's such a shame that people act this way. My husband sells a product he makes on ebay and just out of good faith and good business if someone has a problem or even if they break the product when they first install it on their car, he replaces it. It doesn't happen a lot but you will get much more repeat business if you have great customer service. Word of mouth is everything.
I hate situations like this. I had a similar situation with Thatcher's newborn hat that I paid $50 for. It was entirely too small and he was not a big baby. I emailed the woman to say "just FYI, your standard size doesn't fit an average baby" and she was SO rude, didn't offer any compensation or refund, nothing. I often think about opening my own paper business and let me tell you - the customer is ALWAYS right. It's not worth fighting if someone is unhappy.
so sorry to hear this, ally. =/ i've only had successful experiences on etsy, too, so it's scary + sad to think that there are sellers like this on there.
I am so shocked when I hear of sellers like this. Customer service is key for a successful business!
As an Etsy seller myself, I would make 100% that I righted the wrong to create a happy buyer. I would have also included an extra freebie or two w/ the replacement item to make sure you were happy as a clam!
Can you report this to Etsy and have them intervene? You deserve your money back.
how awful! so sorry this happened to you!
Wow! Good for you for posting about this. I will steer clear of Southern Belle. She is no Belle at all if that's how she chose to react. :(
Ally, I just tweeted this. I"m so sorry. That is terrible. And what an unusual way to spell a name. Rocksann. Hmmm.
I'm so sorry this happened to you! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Oh, man. I hate that happened. I hope you get your money back and/or your order corrected. Might I suggest The Palm Gifts for your future needs? Rebecca and Dave are so awesome. I use them for everything, and they are a home-based business right down the street from me. I love their products and their customer service. www.thepalmgifts.com
Wow! I can't believe this and I have retweeted about this as well! She's got a website, and is also on facebook and pinterest.
Does she know you are spreading the word? That is the kind of person that gives everyone else who tries to sell on Etsy a bad name.
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear of your terrible experience. I am amazed at how some people act. Being a seller myself... I work overtime to make sure all of my customers are more than happy. If I had negative feedback I would do whatever it took to make the situation right! Hope you will at least get a refund!
Can you put the negative review back up?
This makes me so angry! I hate how customer service has gotten to be practically non-existent, and for her to have the nerve to ask you to remove your bad review and then not fix the situation is ridiculous. Good for you for spreading the word! Definitely won't be using that shop.
oh gees thanks for the warning! sorry you had to go through all of that with her but hopefully someone will set her straight and teach her what great customer service is
I hope you send her a link to this post! Definitely wont be visiting her site.
I hate this happened to you. I can't beleive she was so rude. I hope you put the negative comment back.
ugh, how terrible! I hope you put your negative comment back up!
Something similar has happened to me and that just burns me up for you! I don't believe in karma, but she will find herself in an unfortunate situation at some point, and at that point, you can look at her with pity and say, "bless your heart." ;o)
What a big ol' rotten piece of #fail cake from this owner. It's such a shame when people find a need to get over on others instead of trying to make things right. You can certainly bet I'll be passing along this info to all of my friends and family as well—I plan to post this on my Facebook page too—so none of the people within my reach will miss the message.
I certainly hope Rocksann's poorly conceived way of handling her "business" will be worth the loss of more than a few customers in the future.
wow. I can't believe this happened. There has to be a way for you to re-submit the feedback on her site!
I hate hearing stories like this, especially when it happens to someone like you! It's appalling how many people go into business without a lick of ethics or common courtesy. You know if this happened to her, she'd be all over the owner. Unbelievable!
Are you sure you can't dispute with your credit card company. Or even email CS on etsy to ask if you can add feedback and copy them your correspondence with the seller?
Post a Comment