On Sept 4-5, I placed an order withVirgin Vapor. (Many will be surprised at my neg because they know I was a fan.)
On September 10th, Ireceived this:
I avoid burning bridges or going ballistic. I believe in helping everyone, including vendors, learn. Receiving this was upsetting, but I waited until I regained my composure, in order to be level headed, polite, and understanding in my correspondence.
I believe mistakes happen, but that negatives can be turned into positives, if handled with grace and style and generosity of spirit. It is how you follow up and set about making things right, that turns a mistake into a salvageable experience, and preserves goodwill.
Unfortunately, I feel that very little care, urgency, or follow-up have been forthcoming from Virgin Vapor. Additionally, I feel that liquid packaging violations such as these may also place the vaping community at risk for continuing to effectively procure vape supplies.
I submitted photos to Virgin Vapor.Customer Service responded with a brief apology and commented that they “can usually count on USPS to be more careful with insured packages”. They requested that I proceed with a claim against USPSwhile boss was informed.
I declined to file a claim andexplained my unwillingness, once I donned gloves and began to inspect the sticky, dripping package:
I explained that placing insurance on an improperly packaged shipment does not translate to an assumptionof liability by USPS, who can request to inspect packaging andcontents, and that this package would not pass muster. (In addition, I had ethical concerns, since USPS has clear regulationsfor shipping liquids, and blaming them didn't sit well with me).
I did not write an essay about the work involved in cleaning up/unpacking this mess. A picture is worth 1,000 words. I communicated that I would have to wash everything,that I had started inspecting, and probably wouldn't get it all done at once, but that all labelson my $50+ order were smeared and unreadable. And that it appeared so far that other bottles which were bubble wrapped did not break.
CS said that they would re-send the VG and the hardware item that broke. I received no further communication, no tracking, no offer to regenerate mylabels (though I did ask), or anything else.
A day or 2 later, I realized that I had not even been contacted by the owner of the company, but like to givevendors time, because I know it is busy to run a business. On Sept14th, I wrote her directly, to inquire if she had seen the photos.
I received a brief apology, and “this is the first time we've had any problems with the VG bottles-----wehaven't been bubble wrapping them because they are plastic ----and sofar there have been no issues with them.”
blink
And that she “knew they were sending the VG replacement along with my filling syringe that broke” and mentioned a sample.
My mailbox down at the road was soaked w/sweet sticky VG. I carried a bucket of soapy water down there to clean it out. Then, an additional hour of sink duty in the kitchen,taking each item out of the sticky bag, unwrapping slippery VG-sodden bottles, washing with soap and water. (One bottle slipped out of myhands and broke, so now I am also out some expensive ejuice as well.)
Again, I did not feel I had to write an essay to a custom juice mixer about what cleaning up a mess like this entails.
I am always willing to give people a chance. I decided to wait for my package. I thought they would contact me with follow up anyway, and show some concern.
By September 19th, a full 10 days from my first email, I still had not received anything from them! Nor any kind of follow up at all, not even an email asking me if the package turned out okay or even turned up. (Instead, it is I who am doing all the “follow up.”)
So, I emailed asking for status, since I had no tracking number and could not track it myself. I mentionedI thought they would at least have expedited this?
Response: based on tracking, my package appears never to have “moved.” They are “looking into it.”
I truly can't imagine receiving worse treatment from a vendor, and while I usually reserve any use of hyperbole, it is entirely warranted in this case. Nothing about my experience says “we care about you” or “you matter”. Most vendors would have been falling over themselves 3 times to make this right as a gesture of goodwill.
Virgin Vapor, I did not hear from you what I wanted to hear. That leaking packages simply can't happen, that you are striving to be #1, that you would be re-evaluating your shipping procedures (instead of blaming USPS) because one of your ardent supporters has now become a casualty of these poor shipping practices. Nobody even asked what they could do to keep my goodwill. And finally, it appears, it is not even a priority to see that I even receive a package.
I am left feeling like an afterthoughtwith a credit card.
I certainly heard a mountain of excuses though.
On September 10th, Ireceived this:
I avoid burning bridges or going ballistic. I believe in helping everyone, including vendors, learn. Receiving this was upsetting, but I waited until I regained my composure, in order to be level headed, polite, and understanding in my correspondence.
I believe mistakes happen, but that negatives can be turned into positives, if handled with grace and style and generosity of spirit. It is how you follow up and set about making things right, that turns a mistake into a salvageable experience, and preserves goodwill.
Unfortunately, I feel that very little care, urgency, or follow-up have been forthcoming from Virgin Vapor. Additionally, I feel that liquid packaging violations such as these may also place the vaping community at risk for continuing to effectively procure vape supplies.
I submitted photos to Virgin Vapor.Customer Service responded with a brief apology and commented that they “can usually count on USPS to be more careful with insured packages”. They requested that I proceed with a claim against USPSwhile boss was informed.
I declined to file a claim andexplained my unwillingness, once I donned gloves and began to inspect the sticky, dripping package:
- The envelope is an unpadded light cardboard mailer, specified by USPS for “Documents and Manuscripts”--- flat objects, not liquids or three diimensional objects. The envelope has no padding, air cushion, or bubble wrap.
- The plastic bottle that leaked (VG) was placed, unwrapped, into this unpadded envelope, also with no padding, no bubble wrapping. The flip pouring spout was actually taped over with scotch tape/packing tape!
- There was a hardware item tossed into the package, also unwrapped, which in knocking against heavier objects also broke.
Taped over flip spout. Bottle placed unwrapped into package.
I explained that placing insurance on an improperly packaged shipment does not translate to an assumptionof liability by USPS, who can request to inspect packaging andcontents, and that this package would not pass muster. (In addition, I had ethical concerns, since USPS has clear regulationsfor shipping liquids, and blaming them didn't sit well with me).
I did not write an essay about the work involved in cleaning up/unpacking this mess. A picture is worth 1,000 words. I communicated that I would have to wash everything,that I had started inspecting, and probably wouldn't get it all done at once, but that all labelson my $50+ order were smeared and unreadable. And that it appeared so far that other bottles which were bubble wrapped did not break.
CS said that they would re-send the VG and the hardware item that broke. I received no further communication, no tracking, no offer to regenerate mylabels (though I did ask), or anything else.
A day or 2 later, I realized that I had not even been contacted by the owner of the company, but like to givevendors time, because I know it is busy to run a business. On Sept14th, I wrote her directly, to inquire if she had seen the photos.
I received a brief apology, and “this is the first time we've had any problems with the VG bottles-----wehaven't been bubble wrapping them because they are plastic ----and sofar there have been no issues with them.”
blink And that she “knew they were sending the VG replacement along with my filling syringe that broke” and mentioned a sample.
My mailbox down at the road was soaked w/sweet sticky VG. I carried a bucket of soapy water down there to clean it out. Then, an additional hour of sink duty in the kitchen,taking each item out of the sticky bag, unwrapping slippery VG-sodden bottles, washing with soap and water. (One bottle slipped out of myhands and broke, so now I am also out some expensive ejuice as well.)
Again, I did not feel I had to write an essay to a custom juice mixer about what cleaning up a mess like this entails.
I am always willing to give people a chance. I decided to wait for my package. I thought they would contact me with follow up anyway, and show some concern.
By September 19th, a full 10 days from my first email, I still had not received anything from them! Nor any kind of follow up at all, not even an email asking me if the package turned out okay or even turned up. (Instead, it is I who am doing all the “follow up.”)
So, I emailed asking for status, since I had no tracking number and could not track it myself. I mentionedI thought they would at least have expedited this?
Response: based on tracking, my package appears never to have “moved.” They are “looking into it.”
I truly can't imagine receiving worse treatment from a vendor, and while I usually reserve any use of hyperbole, it is entirely warranted in this case. Nothing about my experience says “we care about you” or “you matter”. Most vendors would have been falling over themselves 3 times to make this right as a gesture of goodwill.
Virgin Vapor, I did not hear from you what I wanted to hear. That leaking packages simply can't happen, that you are striving to be #1, that you would be re-evaluating your shipping procedures (instead of blaming USPS) because one of your ardent supporters has now become a casualty of these poor shipping practices. Nobody even asked what they could do to keep my goodwill. And finally, it appears, it is not even a priority to see that I even receive a package.
I am left feeling like an afterthoughtwith a credit card.
I certainly heard a mountain of excuses though.
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