You Call That Customer Service?

I'm a planner. I start things way ahead of time if for no other reason than to spread out the money flow for different celebrations. For instance, I have already purchased a number of items for my daughter's 3rd birthday, which is in December. I know, it's a disease, but I haven't found a cure for it yet.

In keeping with the symptoms of my illness, I recently ordered some party supplies from Birthday Express. They also operate as Celebrate Express, Party Express, etc. The supplies I ordered were very basic, for the most part - plates, cups, spoons, napkins, etc. I received my order in a timely fashion; however, I opened up the box to find that instead of lime green spoons I had received lime green forks. No big deal - that's why I start early, so mix-ups like these don't become party spoilers.

The first thing I did was check to be sure the mistake had not been mine. I'm pretty meticulous when placing an order, but it wouldn't have been a complete surprise to find I had clicked the wrong item while distracted by my angel's unceasing questions. Fortunately, I found that this mistake wasn't mine, so I picked up the phone and dialed the 800# listed on my packing invoice. I reached the customer service department where I provided my order number, explained the problem - I ordered spoons and received forks, and asked that they send the proper item. I falsely assumed that this would be a simple matter of having them correct their error.

The young lady who answered the phone didn't seem to speak English as her first language. I could understand her, but she didn't seem to grasp that I ordered spoons and received forks. When I had explained that part of the issue 3 times and I thought maybe she was clear on the matter, she asked to place me on hold. I was curious about the necessity of this (the spoons/forks were the same price - $3.79, which would seem to make the rectification of the matter simple), but I patiently waited while she put me on hold.

She came back on the phone and explained that I would have to place a second order - they would waive the shipping charge - and I would need to return the forks. I explained that I had already paid for the spoons, so I thought they should be able to just do an exchange and send me the correct item since the fault for the mix-up was theirs.

Now, I won't go into all the hairy details of this ordeal. Let it suffice to say that I spent nearly 30 minutes on the phone with this young lady. She placed me on hold 7 or 8 times during the conversation. In the middle of all this I had to re-explain that I had ordered spoons and received forks. At one point, when I insisted that it was ridiculous to expect me to place another order and have my credit card charged twice because they made a mistake, she recommended that she refund my money and I could purchase the items from a local store. She couldn't seem to understand that if that was an option, I never would have paid to have the items shipped in the first place. I would have driven to the store and bought them.

I asked very courteously to speak to someone who might be a little more knowledgeable about their procedures because she seemed to be placing me on hold very frequently. She was not inspiring me with a great deal of confidence in her ability to handle the issue. In the end, she gave me the bum's rush, said she would send out the spoons and I didn't have to return the forks.

Now, I understand that different businesses have different practices and procedures, but in my world (when I worked) you were to attempt to provide a modicum of customer appreciation, especially when the issue being addressed was not the fault of the consumer. This young lady would put me on hold, leave me there for 2 minutes, come back on the line, and repeat the same information she had quoted before putting me on hold.

I can tell you this: I won't be shopping at Celebrate Express, Birthday Express, etc. again. I would recommend that if you value your sanity, you might want to consider another party supplier, as well. I could have ordered most of my items from a number of different online vendors, several of which I have been happy with in the past. I was lured to Birthday Express by one item that no one else seemed to have in stock. I will not make that mistake next time!

So, to all you businesses out there who are possibly reading this and care about customer loyalty, please don't give your customers a hard time when trying to correct a mistake that amounts to $3.79 (retail) that wasn't the customer's fault. It will lose you a customer and gain you some bad press.

UPDATE: I received a very nice phone call from someone in management at Celebrate Express this evening (a mere 2 hours after posting my original message). He apologized for my inconvenience stating that the representative I spoke with was in her first day on the call floor. We had a nice conversation, at the end of which, he offered to refund half of my purchase price for my order. I graciously accepted his offer and stated that I hoped my comments would improve their customer service and make the experience more pleasant for future customers. If that happens, my little inconvenience will be more than worth it.