This isn't just about Parked and the problems with that customer, which have been resolved. This isn't a hate on Parked thread. I don't think he did his best with dealing with that particular issue, but, for every irate thread with people screaming from the rooftops about how wronged they were, there are a hundred silent and happy customers that received exactly what they want out of the transaction.
There's a new mentality taking over with many of the new adopters to the boards, and it's really taking a bite out of every supplier working their tails off to make everyone happy, not just Dietsmokes. People want their product yesterday. They want freebies. They want someone to hold their hand. They want to make friends with the owners. They want someone to correct mistakes that were made on the buyer's end on Paypal.
People don't understand that these suppliers are damned either way. They either hang out on this board or mind their emails and answer everyone's questions, regardless of their importance, OR they stay busy packing orders. They can't do both.
You can't have it both ways, and people need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and be patient.
Well, I disagree with most of your post. Although my first job isn't selling, I also DO sell on Amazon and sell.com. And, with my real job getting busy, I hve less time to fill all my amazon and sell.com orders. (Also, dammit-- my new e-cig research and reading takes a big chuck o' time, too!).
But, still one either has to stop selling or find the time to contact customers when they write or have an issue. The sale doesn't end when the seller sends out the merchandise-- it ends when the buyer receives it and is satisfied. IMHO, if the seller doesn't have this attitude, he or she ought to be doing something else.
When I sell things, it's inevitable that about 3-5% are dissatisfied for whatever reason. Maybe the item arrived damaged. When I ship overseas, tracking isn't so good and if the item is stuck in customs, I have to "hold their hand and make friends with the customer!" If, I made a mistake on an order, I need to take care of it correctly. And, if I promised I'd send them something extra because we developed some kind of good rapport before he or she made the transaction, that "something extra" is no longer a "freebie"-- it's part of our agreed-upon deal. Sometimes, caught up in a warm fuzzy moment, the seller will say, "Oh, I'll send you this, too-- on me. .. you'll like it!" yet forgets to put it in. No matter it's a "freebee and it wasn't in the customer's shopping cart prior to paying. That was an oral contract and should be honored!
Well, again, that's just my opinion, obviously. I don't think people want their items "yesterday". What they want is a conscientious seller and shipping confirmation with a delivery confirmation number when possible-- especially when we're buying items that aren't readily available in more well-known larger stores. If they ordered expedited shipping, they might want to be assured that it was sent out and will be delivered when it's supposed to be delivered. It's all hit or miss when you don't know the seller and there isn't a rating system in place as there is on Amazon, eBay or sell.com, etc. , so we come on here to find out what we can and hopefully see the truth. If we see sarcasm from the seller, I can tell you that looks horrible. Did you ever see comments from sellers in response to poor feedback where the seller finds every possible reason to absolve themselves of any responsibility on eBay or other sites? I have, and it looks bad. I would much rather see, "Oh, I'm so sorry. It won't happen again."
(I used to very very occasionally get bad feedback saying my items smelled like smoke! Can you imagine that? LOL)
My point is that, yes, times have changed, but people still want and deserve good customer service. Especially in a poor economy. And, even with big demand and low supply. Sure, if dietsmokes was the ONLY place available I could gt what I wanted, I may still order from him, but I would order from somewhere else first if I had any choice at all. I'd even pay a little more if the customer service was better. That's how you retain customers or get repeat customers or get new and word-of-mouth customers.
