Need to E-Mail Ho, Who Should I Send This To?

[babywings76]

I don't know if I should e-mail HO and if I do, what department should I send it to. Here's the situation. I have a host, potential recruit, who bought the wrong thing at her friend's show (one of her bookings). She thought she was buying just a 2 cup ERMC, but bought the Measure all Cup instead. After she got her order she realized the mistake and we talked. I told her how the ERMCs come in a set. Since she only wants the 2 cup one, she was disappointed and just wanted to return the Measure all cup and be done w/ it. We processed it within the 30 days and FedEx picked it up.

She said that after a couple weeks, she noticed she still hadn't been credited the return, so she called CS. The girl told her that they do all the credits on Thursdays and to check then. That week it still never showed up. She waited one more week and it finally showed up. But..it wasn't the full amount. It was a $10 item and she only got credited $9.54. So she called and the lady said that there was a restocking fee.

I've never heard of that before. I also thought that she's supposed to get fully refunded plus the tax. Right? She said she wasn't going to worry about it since it's such a small amount, but it just didn't sit well with her. Now she's hesitant to do her forged cutlery exchange. Her santoku knife broke and they gave her a reference number and are going to send her a new one. But because just dealing w/ that refund took so long, she doesn't want to wait forever. She's not trusting that they will actually send her a replacement. She's funny and we talk a lot and I tried to get her to see that that wouldn't happen. They've already approved of it and it's just a matter of her sending it. It does take a while for them to receive it, process it and send out the replacement, but it would get sent. She's just nervous about it.

I just wanted to find out, first off, is there really an issue of a restocking fee? Shouldn't she have been fully refunded? Next, I wanted to let them know that now her faith in the company dwindled. I'm repairing her feelings for PC and she still loves the stuff. She is a potential recruit and I just wish that she didn't have to have this situation happen.

I know it seems silly, but sometimes it's just little things like this that stick with people. It's the principle of it, not the amount.

What do you think?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I have NEVER heard of a re-stocking fee - especially during the first 30 days. THAT is crazy, and it sounds like someone just said the quickest thing to get her off the phone. I would call back and speak to a supervisor, and get that taken care of immediately!

 

[NooraK]

Don't email, CALL! Talk to a supervisor if necessary. That is absolutely not right. I have never, ever heard of a restocking fee, and especially in the first 30 days when the customer has a satisfaction guarantee.

The back of the receipt reads:

If you need to return a product, please contact the Solution Center within 30
days from the ship date of the Show. Upon timely notification and original sales
receipt, we will make prepaid arrangements for the item to be returned for
replacement, refund or exchange.

As an aside, about the timing of the credit: It shouldn't take that long, but the way credit transactions are processed between the merchant (PC), the merchant bank, and the customer's bank, they can take up to 30 days.

 

[pampchefsarah]

I had a show last month in which I ordered the wrong product (transposed digits in the item number). When I called to make the correction, it turned out the correct item was $2+ less than the item ordered. The cs rep made the correction on the credit card for this full amount, and didn't say anything about a restocking fee.

I would play this up with the potential recruit! Tell her she's learning how to deal with these situations, so when she starts her own business, she'll not only know exactly what to do, but she'll be able to emphathize with the customer.

 

[babywings76]

Okay, I just spoke with CS. They found out what happened. It wasn't a restocking fee, (the lady was shocked when she heard that's what my girl was told), what it was was that she was a past host--so she had the past host 10% discount. lol Why I didn't think of that is beyond me!! It's still bizarre that she was told it was a restocking fee. I know that she'll totally understand about the past host discount and it'll be fine. Thanks for encouraging me to call.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I don't think it's a restocking fee at all. She is a past host so she got a 10% discount. $10 - 10% plus your tax = ?

For me it would be $10 - $1 (10%) + $0.70 (7.75% tax) so her refund would have been $9.70.

 

[babywings76]

Yeah, we have a 6% tax. So it was $10- $1 + .54 = $9.54.

 

[babywings76]

Don't email, CALL! Talk to a supervisor if necessary. That is absolutely not right. I have never, ever heard of a restocking fee, and especially in the first 30 days when the customer has a satisfaction guarantee.

The back of the receipt reads:


As an aside, about the timing of the credit: It shouldn't take that long, but the way credit transactions are processed between the merchant (PC), the merchant bank, and the customer's bank, they can take up to 30 days.

It was handled on Feb. 2nd and she received her refund on March 1st. Thanks--now I can explain a little more to her why it took so long.