Caveat Emptor

On the flip side, your customer service can make ya or break ya.

Last week I decided that I really really badly need to replace the digital camera I've been using. It's probably 10 years old and I'm just not satisfied with the pictures it's taking. Buster and I discussed it and figured we could afford to spend a few bucks on shiny new digital point-and-shoot. So I logged into our very useful account on consumerreports.org and did my homework. I decided that I would really like a Sony Cyber-shot DSC W300 (Consumer Reports rated the W200 but it's been discontinued in favor of the W300). The Consumer Reports page has a button that takes you to Yahoo! Shopper to search for the best deal. And thus began the saga that left me fuming mad and without a shiny new camera.

The best price was from a place called WildDigital (no link, this is buyer beware, not an ad!). I looked over their site and figured they were probably legit. I've had many good experiences supporting mom&pop Internet operations, though I usually use a mediator like eBay or Amazon. I wasn't particularly worried that I'd never heard of them, and they take American Express -- amex has fantastic fraud protection and dispute handling, not to mention stellar customer service.

I placed my order and got my automatic confirmation email last Wednesday. On Thursday morning I received an email from Orders@wilddigital.com telling me that they'd like to confirm my billing address and to please call their 800 number and connect to a given extension. They hadn't shipped my camera yet. That was a stinker but it's in the name of security. I can jump through their hoop and wait an extra day for my camera. No biggie.

I called the 800 number right away in hopes that maybe my camera would ship that day... meepmeep meep. Why is an 800 number busy?? I tried 3 or 4 times over the next couple hours with the same result. There must be something wrong with their phones, I figured. So I gave up on the phone and tried replying to orders@wilddigital.com. It bounced. That's silly but not unheard of. I poked around their site and found support@wilddigital.com, guaranteed to respond in one business day. Ok, that sounds good. I emailed them with my order number and asked them if there was another way to confirm my order because it seems there's something wrong with their phones. In the mean time I continued trying the 800 number and I even tried the direct dial sales number listed on their site. meep meep meep.

Friday: No response to the email and no change in the phones. They were testing my patience. Friday afternoon the phone finally rang through! Only to provide a recording saying they closed at 2pm on Fridays. The email from Orders said they closed at 5pm on Fridays. Clearly they're having some trouble getting their act together!

Monday: By Monday afternoon there was still no response to the email and the phones were still meep meep meep-ing. My patience was all worn out. I'm the customer here and I want some service, darn it! I sent a second email to support asking them to please cancel my order as I was unhappy with the customer service. I also sent a query to amex asking them if they could block any charges WildDigital might try to make to my card.

7:30 Monday evening I'm wandering around Bed Bath & Beyond, stinky and hungry having just come from spin class but determined to purchase a new bathroom scale (fill you in on that later). My cell phone rang with a very strange caller ID: 1 800 000 0005. When I answered, there was no one on the other end. After several "hello?"s with no response I hung up. Half a second later it rang again, same caller ID. I'm terribly busy trying to choose a fru fru body fat % measuring bathroom scale, here, I don't need no stinkin' telemarketers! talk-end. Third time. Heck with it...

truncated, paraphrased conversation follows:

me: pause hello?

WildDigital sales dude with a definite grump on: I'm from Wild Digital. Why did you hang up on me?

me: uh, because you have funky caller ID and I couldn't hear anything.

sales dork: I'm calling about your order.

me (nice tone, buddy, gonna make lots of sales talking to people like that): Yeah, I wanted to cancel that order.

sales dweeb: Did you already buy another camera?

me (what business is it of yours?): I'd rather not discuss that.

sales dipstick: Well, I was gonna upgrade you to free 3-day shipping. Now you wanna cancel?

me (3-day shipping, woohoo, overnight and an apology might have gotten me but your tone and 3-day? not a prayer!): I've been trying to call you for 3 business days.

sales nimrod: Our phones were out today.

me (ok, be calm, talk nice, explain the problem): I couldn't get through on Thursday or Friday either. I even tried emailing your support alias and I didn't get a response.

sales dip-twinkle: Sales doesn't see that email.

me (The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Why am I not surprised?): I'd just like to have the order canceled, please.

sales dillweed: I was going to throw in free 3-day shipping. Have you bought the camera yet?

me: I've already asked my credit card to deny your charge. I'd like to cancel the order.

sales dip-twit: fine, whatever. *click*

I bit my tongue to avoid saying nasty R-rated things to the empty phone while standing in front of the fru fru bathroom scale display at Bed Bath & Beyond.

When I got home there was a very polite form letter from Orders@wilddigital.com confirming my cancellation. Heh! At least their automated stuff is polite!

Customer service is a big big deal! I can't figure out how that poor sales dim-bulb makes a living talking like that to customers. Did they not know their phones were busted for three full business days? Wasn't there anyone bothering to monitor email to support? How hard is it to be polite to a customer on the phone for a few minutes? Poor. Really poor.

I'll get my shiny new camera, but not from them!