Customer Service/Quality Control issues post here.

[mariabdc]

Downright exhausting is a perfect definition...

Jackie and I have been emailing each other for a month and i am getting tired of it, but i can be very determined when i think i am right... The email wasnt unfriendly, but the tone was wrong and made me feel bad. I wonder whether the tone could be due to hormonal influence related to the pregnancy...

I wont get into details here since this is really petty, but it's about a small refund. I'd rather fight for that money to treat myself to a pedicure or a facial than give it away to a company. Several friends have confessed to not requesting their shipping refunds to avoid this struggle, so i am even more determined to set things right.

 

[lovebags2]

Downright exhausting is a perfect definition...

Jackie and I have been emailing each other for a month and i am getting tired of it, but i can be very determined when i think i am right... The email wasnt unfriendly, but the tone was wrong and made me feel bad. I wonder whether the tone could be due to hormonal influence related to the pregnancy...

I wont get into details here since this is really petty, but it's about a small refund. I'd rather fight for that money to treat myself to a pedicure or a facial than give it away to a company.

Thanks for the update. Yes you don't have to go into details. I get the general idea and thats enough for me. I understand exactly what you mean about the tone and hope you receive the refund for the principle. Yesterday my issue was over just 45 (pedicure/manicure) but it had nothing to do with the money. It was what was considered right and fair to me and I think you're the same.

As for pregnancy - from my own experience I found the same underlying attitude to be present way before!

 

[mariabdc]

I can certainly live without these 45 USD, but i worked to earn them and am entitled to enjoy them. It's a matter of principle. Many lovely (blander?) tPfers are giving away their shipping refunds to avoid hassles and that isnt right.

PS No offence meant to anyone!

 

[lionlaw]

I wish I could say that I didn't understand this situation at all, but I've been right there too, LL. I felt aggravated, but ended up swallowing it and not posting. I was struck especially by the last sentence. Last week I counted up how much money I've given away in BEC bags that came with flaws or not created correctly. I've given away nearly 5 figures in bags that weren't right and that I got tired of struggling to get taken care of. If I'd spent the same amount on a birkin, I'd still have it, no question.

All of this makes me so weary. Weary is the antithesis of luxury for me.

I am so sorry to read this. It makes me sick to think how much I have spent on a brand that now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I just totalled up how much I have spent on bags directly from BE since 3-16-09 (from the records kept on BE online).

I spent over $13,000 with them from 3/09 to the present. They didn't even blink about losing me as a customer.

 

[mariabdc]

^They are mad... You'd better invest your hard-earned money in companies with a better CS that make you feel good about your purchases!

 

[Jenny1963]

I am so sorry to read this. It makes me sick to think how much I have spent on a brand that now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I just totalled up how much I have spent on bags directly from BE since 3-16-09 (from the records kept on BE online).

I spent over $13,000 with them from 3/09 to the present. They didn't even blink about losing me as a customer.

It's shocking, and, honestly, pretty stupid. To nickel and dime you, lionlaw, and not worry about losing one of their best customers...
Don't they need the business????

 

[finzup]

LL I hope you can still enjoy your bags (with the exception of the one with the incorrect lining). I agree they are fools to lose you as a customer --esp on a bag that (compared to the exotics) is not even that expensive for them to fix.

 

[Ms.Lizardo]

" My take on all this is that I did not order from the factory directly. Regardless of where they are, BE in my opinion should have taken responsibility for this."


Your first sentenance sums it up perfectly......In a millon years have you ever heard of a company that you bought from directly passing you off like this?

I have never heard of this not from Ignes, Hayden-Harnett, Botkier, Rebecca Minkoff.....heck I have never heard this response from ANY other company that I have ever dealt with.

I'm very sorry this had to happen to you, and anyone else who is getting the run-around. I mean everyone should be treated fairly, but consideribg the amount of money you have spent....well it's just plain shocking!

Well, they obviously don't value me as customer. Which is fine with me. I am done with them. The response to my email this morning basically telling them I will no longer be a customer since it took over a week for them to get back to me and the response did not address my questions and asked me to lie on customs is as follows:

I’m really sorry to hear that. By way of response:

On timing:

We contacted you initially to inform you that our atelier had a national holiday until Thursday, so we didn’t have any way of contacting them. I believe that X kept in touch with you every day to inform you that we were still waiting for them to get back to us with answers, which they did as soon as they got back on Friday.


Today is Saturday and X doesn’t work on Saturdays, but she made an exception as she knew that you were waiting.


On customs:

As for lying on a customs form. Duty is payable on bags sold, so this is not a lie. It is just the information that you are not selling the bag to our atelier and therefore it has no commercial value in this sense.

------

My take on all this is that I did not order from the factory directly. Regardless of where they are, BE in my opinion should have taken responsibility for this. The fact that the factory was closed doesn't matter. The bag was purchased from BE not the factory.

As to the customs forms, unless it is a gift, everything (at least in the US) has a value. Even if I dont sell an item, I have to list its true value. I can't insure a bag if the customs is not listed for that amount.

I have my receipt from UPS. I paid $25.30 to get the bag out of customs. To expect me to undervalue it so they dont have to pay after making me pay it in the first instance is ludicrous.

In my opinion, this CS is just awful.

At the end of the day, I have no clue what they were offering (repair or replacement- no clue?), they did not address my questions on return shipping customs, how the repair/replacement, whatever, would work, etc., and responsibility was totally shifted away from the company I purchased the bag from.

I have not replied to the company's email (above) and will not. I am done with them. If a mistake is made in a BEC bag, take warning of what happened to me because this treatment is not acceptable imo.

 

[susa]

I am so sorry to read this. It makes me sick to think how much I have spent on a brand that now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I just totalled up how much I have spent on bags directly from BE since 3-16-09 (from the records kept on BE online).

I spent over $13,000 with them from 3/09 to the present. They didn't even blink about losing me as a customer.

this is so unbelievable, that they do not care for you as a customer, it seems so crazy and not businesslike

 

[RaeBelle]

I am so sorry to read this. It makes me sick to think how much I have spent on a brand that now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I just totalled up how much I have spent on bags directly from BE since 3-16-09 (from the records kept on BE online).

I spent over $13,000 with them from 3/09 to the present. They didn't even blink about losing me as a customer.

I completely understand what you mean about it making you sick. I left another brand and simply cannot stand their bags any longer. I sold them all and I've never looked back. I'm sad to hear that they did not resolve the lining issue in a way that actually worked for you. I'll miss seeing your all your beautiful new bags.

 

[VanBod1525]

Whoah! That's a lot of cash to drop on goods that didn't meet specifications.

I wish I could say that I didn't understand this situation at all, but I've been right there too, LL. I felt aggravated, but ended up swallowing it and not posting. I was struck especially by the last sentence. Last week I counted up how much money I've given away in BEC bags that came with flaws or not created correctly. I've given away nearly 5 figures in bags that weren't right and that I got tired of struggling to get taken care of. If I'd spent the same amount on a birkin, I'd still have it, no question.

All of this makes me so weary. Weary is the antithesis of luxury for me.

 

[VanBod1525]

I can certainly live without these 45 USD, but i worked to earn them and am entitled to enjoy them. It's a matter of principle. Many lovely (blander?) tPfers are giving away their shipping refunds to avoid hassles and that isnt right.

PS No offence meant to anyone!

Maria, you are totally in the right to keep persevering with this. The BE website states that postage is standardised but that, because the AP is such a small item, the excess postage will be refunded.

Don't put something in writing if you are not prepared to honour it. Hang in there!

 

[K.Z.]

Wow...this debacle goes beyond infuriating to the realm of the depressing...

There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said already, and I agree with it ALL.

When I buy a bag, I do so under the impression that I'm buying much more than the chunk of leather, lining and HW that shape it. Sure, I'm buying the looks and feel of it, but I also buy the name--one I choose based on a connection I feel with that designer, a feeling that we have something in common, that we have an appreciation for similar things, that we know each other even though we haven't met. It's a relationship. That's what it is. And based on what I've read here, BE has engaged in what I would describe as abusive relationships with some of you, and that's just unacceptable to me--depressing and unacceptable.

LL: I agree with finzup that you could and probably should file a chargeback with your cc. Just because you can afford a loss doesn't mean you should incur it.

maria: I'm sorry to hear about your struggle to get YOUR money back. Do not give up, my friend. Whether it's $5 or $45, it's your money.

LB2: Let's hope that what you get in the mail is what you ordered, or I've no doubt that sh#t will hit the fan--not that it hasn't hit it yet, but it will do so at an accelerated speed...
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f79/gtkz/Smileys/****fan.gif

 

[lovebags2]

Wow...this debacle goes beyond infuriating to the realm of the depressing...

There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said already, and I agree with it ALL.

When I buy a bag, I do so under the impression that I'm buying much more than the chunk of leather, lining and HW that shape it. Sure, I'm buying the looks and feel of it, but I also buy the name--one I choose based on a connection I feel with that designer, a feeling that we have something in common, that we have an appreciation for similar things, that we know each other even though we haven't met. It's a relationship. That's what it is. And based on what I've read here, BE has engaged in what I would describe as abusive relationships with some of you, and that's just unacceptable to me--depressing and unacceptable.

LL: I agree with finzup that you could and probably should file a chargeback with your cc. Just because you can afford a loss doesn't mean you should incur it.

maria: I'm sorry to hear about your struggle to get YOUR money back. Do not give up, my friend. Whether it's $5 or $45, it's your money.

LB2: Let's hope that what you get in the mail is what you ordered, or I've no doubt that sh#t will hit the fan--not that it hasn't hit it yet, but it will do so at an accelerated speed...
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f79/gtkz/Smileys/****fan.gif

I"m laughing SO hard right now at you're funny icons. I"m glad that I can still laugh over all of this because yesterday I wanted to cry when I read that email asking for more money and then when I hear stories like Lionlaws and everyone else for that matter.

Thanks for the comic relief today. Accelerated speed - that's a good one! Am I really that bad? LOL
But I"m glad that LL shared her experience because it's helped me and I hope others. Normally I would've probably just allowed the BEC website to process my order and then hope for the best. Not this time. Now I took matters into my own hands and emailed Rose with all my details so they further have another check and balance for their records. And then for good luck I cc'd Jackie too. I don't think theres anymore I can do to be certain this bag comes as ordered! In that sense this thread has been very helpful to me and might very well prevent future error for everyone. Thank you LL for sharing. I"m just sorry you had to be the one to go thru all this.

I can get all riled up for not just me but for my PF friends and I suppose I let that effect my reactions a little too so that I"m like Maria in that sense fighting on behalf of not only herself but all the ladies that just allowed BE to get away with it. Does that make sense?

My son is home today with us with a bad cold. So I"m on the PF too much this afternoon. LOL

btw - I totally agree with everything you just said!

 

[VanBod1525]

Karmen - your emoticons are just hilarious!