RANT I don't think I was unreasonable

well I just got my first negative in my feedback on etsy. I knew it would happen eventually but still it sucks lol. Luckily my rating is still at 100% because I have over 1500 feedbacks and only this one was negative.

So someone in another country ordered something from my shop. They asked if it was sterling silver, I said yes because it is. the beads are very expensive and I make little off of this item (why I even bother with it I don't know)

After 10 days they emailed me wondering where the item was... why wasn't it there yet. I told them it was on it's way but it takes time to ship overseas. Heck I had one package that took 4 WEEKS to British Columbia lol. not to mention at least two of those days were weekend days. so anyway I assured her it was on it's way.

well I guess she received it and she sent me this FLAMING email about how it was hideous and it was made of plastic blah blah blah. she was flying off the handle.

Now I pride myself on being able to turn a bad situation with a customer around so that everything ends on a happy note. BUT sometimes there will be people who just don't want to be reasonable.

I told them that I was sorry they weren't happy with the item and that I would be happy to refund their money and to return the item to *enter my address here*. She fired back another email ranting about how she wasn't going to send the item back because she didn't want to deal with shipping and she shouldn't have to send it back and pay for an item she doesn't like.

yeah well I may have been born at night but it wasn't last night. I told them that as soon as I receive the bracelet they will receive their refund in full.

Now they put a hold on the funds through paypal. So I escalated it to a claim and gave them all the info I had. Told them I could give them copies of the emails between the customer and I, the link to my store policies where it says that items need to be returned for refund and the receipt for the beads that were used to make the bracelet showing that they are not plastic. I told them that I informed the customer that they would receive a full refund when the item is returned but they are choosing to keep the item

OY VEY. I'm sure I could have handled it better but I am getting the feeling that they are just trying to take advantage of me or pull a fast one and I don't really like that LOL.

I think you handled it just fine, actually. Some people are looking for a break no matter what. Ten to one they've gone into a restaurant and "spiked" their food in order to get the meals for free.

"May I ask why you believe this is made of plastic when I can assure you it's sterling silver?"

LOL well now the kicker is (and I can't help but chuckle to myself) they filed a claim on paypal and put a hold on the funds and said they tried to fix it with me but couldn't lol so I chose the option "I will refund the full amount but the item MUST be returned to me first" LOL so paypal sent an email saying that the item needs to be returned and proof needs to be received by march 10th or no money will be refunded lol

they thought they could just put a hold on it and they would get their money and get to keep the item. well sorry peaches... that's not the case.

I think you responded perfectly!! You're not in the wrong here at all. Why would you give them their money back if they still have the item? It doesn't make sense. Just because they THINK it's plastic? No way. You did the right thing and handled it well.

just sucks that I can't get the negative feedback from etsy removed LOL oh well. Everyone's gotta have a blemish on their record I guess lol

I think you handled it much better than most! Your record is still at 100% and frankly, EVERY STORE has a negative review once in a while. and especially when the negative review is so rare, it's mostly due to bad people more-so than bad products lol

Everyone is a critic these days... There are people out there who can find faults in ANYTHING and choose to focus on them.
and I feel like it is VERY popular on etsy to kind of over-react about things and choose a negative review even if the product was above-average.

For example, I ordered a necklace and one of the charms was loose/kind of faulty. I gave them a neutral review saying that the other charms was pretty, chain/clasp was sturdy but the specific charm was loose and could use improvement. AKA because that ONE CHARM, a small part of the ENTIRE piece,wasn't 100% doesn't make the entire product total crap.

lo and behold, got an email 5 minutes later telling me they were sending me another necklace with a fixed charm.
fixed the review when I received it and voila. problem solved.

Some people rather the "OH MY GOD TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY CHEAP PRODUCT!!" approach. which I think offends the people that MAKE these things more than anything.. and doesn't fix the problem 99% of the time.

yeah definitely.

I'm always willing to bend over backwards to fix anything that may be an issue but when you act like a child throwing a tantrum that just really doesn't make me want to go out of my way to help you LOL

I have never been good with "the customer is always right" crap lol. Dont get me wrong, I totally understand the value of a satisfied customer and will go out of my way to correct an issue....BUT, I noticed when managing and working CS, the loudest obnoxious clients (who were in fact often technically "wrong") seemed to get the most out of it. I could never ever understand why we were rewarding bad behavior like that I wouldnt but my GM would....came back to bite her in the butt a couple times too lol

A bit OT, but I have heard lately that a lot of craft stores etc have plastic beads labeled as glass or silver or what have you. Maybe the customer has come across that and decided that it must be the case with you too? Regardless, she went about it TOTALLY the wrong way and you handled it really the only way you could.

I think the motto should be changed to "Act like the customer is always right to lull them into a less douche-baggery state , then fix the issue yourself or disguise your explanation and the right answer as a compliment"

lol not as easy to remember.. but still..

that lol.

I have saved a few sales that way lol. Someone got an item, wasn't quite what they expected (it happens when you are buying from photos) customer was upset, wanted a refund. After talking them down we got to the root of the issue was usually that one certain aspect of the item was not up to par, offer a simple fix where they can get the item exactly as they wanted it and I get to keep the sale and everyone is happy lol.

But that was not going to be a possibility in this case. there was not going to be any talking her down lol.

There is this little old lady that knits afghans on etsy.
and I saw a negative review like "SHE TOOK FOREVER TO MAKE IT! She sent updates during the process but COME ON!!"

... she is an old woman frikin hand knitting a giant blanket!!! WTF!!

You handled it well. It sucks that there are those out there like that. I had someone like that, which is why I quit selling on Ebay.

:rofl1::rofl1::rofl1: That person has clearly never knit ANYTHING. I have a hoodie I've been working on for a year. I can't imagine how long it would take me to make a blanket.

Don't forget, YOU get to give CUSTOMER feedback!

Either this is an angry person who is never happy about anything, or they are a schemer who was trying to wrangle free stuff out of you. Either way, good riddance to bad rubbish.

And honestly, if ever chance to look through an Etsy seller's feedback and I see a gajillion positive reviews and one or two negative reviews - I assume the above to be true about the reviewers. You can't please everyone.

ETA: I'm astonished at the abuse I can only assume some sellers get there. A couple of times I've ordered some things that there were minor issues with - say, it took longer to ship than expected because of a reasonable explanation, or the seller had used a wrong picture so there was a minor variation in the color or something of what I would be getting. When those sellers messaged or emailed me, I could tell they were just sort of waiting for me to go ballistic, and then were extremely grateful that I didn't. Makes me wonder how some people treat them.

I did leave feedback lol

I was polite.

"I'm very sorry you weren't happy with your product. I assure you it is sterling silver but it's not unreasonable for me to require the item back before refunding your money. Sorry we couldn't come to a mutual agreement"

After this is all over I feel like emailing them just to tell them that it could have been resolved a lot easier and less painfully. I would have been willing to offer to pay for at least part of the shipping cost back to me had you come to me in a respectful and civil manner but because you lashed out in such an accusatory way I felt less inclined to go out of my way to help you.

something like that. I don't know if I will or not lol but I'm tempted. I just want them to know that their little tantrum cost them. lol

You absolutely leave feedback! Not only does it let her know her tantrum cost her (rather than getting her a freebie like I suspect she was looking for), but it can alert other sellers to the fact that she might not be a legit customer.

Put something in there about the absolute fact that the materials were exactly what was in the description and she received the exact item she chose from the photo.