HandsNPaws.com AKA Sophistication Alley Ltd Unbelievably ignorant game playing customer service professional? Mind Blowing emails! Internet

Complaint against: Hands and Paws @ www.handsandpaws.com

I placed an order in the middle of December 2006. I did not receive the order until mid March 2007. 4 months later. The package arrived marked up, the packing slip and plastic cover was torn and I could not read the return address. Since the merchandise was so late, my puppy grew and the items were useless. I emailed the customer service center and requested their "RMA" as directed to return the package. I also complained about the fact that it was extremely late and I did not think it was fair that I could not get my money back. ......which was not satisfactory as it was not my fault that the items needed to be returned in the first place. I requested that they pay for shipping. We wrote 3 emails back and forth to each other,

1. Being the complaint, the fact that the merchandise was so late. (they responded with their policies and the fact that they must adhere to them.)
2. Questioning their policy when it was their mistake. Why should I pay shipping? (they responded by offering me coupon for the exchanged merchandise and a waiver of a return processing fee and instructed me to get online and pick out something else)
3. I agreed to their offer and gave them the exchange information and request for the return instructions, ie/ ADDRESS for return.

I waited for a reply to my last email and did not receive one. I thought maybe they were mailing me an address/shipping label so I waited for that to arrive. After a month of not hearing from them, I sent them the attached emails. Their response is UNBELIEVBLE. All I kept asking for was a return address. Each responded email does not contain that information. They refuse to give it to me and instead they insulted and antagonized me. Where has customer service gone today? Finally, after I realized that I was allowing them to sucker me into their game playing, I told them to please just let me have the return address so we can both get on with our lives and their response was to REFUSE to except my return now........BASICALLY BECAUSE I DIDN'T SAY PLEASE.....I have NEVER had such ignorant dealings with a business like this before!! This person is sadly in need of customer service POLICY and should not work in any field that requires thought. I refuse to get stuck with this merchandise and should not have to. They claim that I took too long to send it to them yet they took even LONGER to send it to me in the first place!!!! DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF TIME!!! The fact that any human being has this type of mentality really unnerves me.

THE FOLLOWING ARE COPIES OF THE MIND BLOWING EMAILS,
(I wish I had the ones from March but I didn't keep them. These are enough to PROVE my complaint.)
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I wrote:
I wrote you over month ago about the order I received a year late. We exchanged emails to determine the best method of exchange. I wanted to return two items, being that the order was so delayed I felt it was not fair that I could not get my money back. You responded with an apology and a promise to not charge me shipping fees. I gave you the exchanges in my last email and asked how to complete the return as it requires your permission, special instructions for how to ship without charge. As I said, I heard nothing back from you. I am not pleased with the way you have conducted business. The purchase was late, literally ordered last year and my email not answered. This is not professionalism. I will expect to hear from you promptly.
Christina
Order 2006-12-18906
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Hands and Paws writes:
I'm not sure I understand your email. It doesn't seem to make sense. Your order number shows that you ordered December. It's only April. How did you receive it a year late??? That just doesn't compute right. So, can you just ask what it is you want to ask pertaining to that order. Also, if you have some pertinent email that you are referring to, perhaps you can forward that. We would be happy to take a look at it, but we don't otherwise know what you're talking about. We have thousands and thousands of customers and don't recall each order specifically. Thanks
Ok..this is what I can find on your order. Looks like you requested an RMA and we provided you an accommodation that waived all restocking fees IF the item was provided unused. We never waived your shipping charges and there's no way for you to return it without paying the shipping. That was March 16, 2007. Prior to this when you asked about a return label, we did respond by saying that we would waive your restocking fee. And we sent you the instructions to make the return that don't include any return label for you. In other words, the question was asked and answered. We clearly indicate that you have to pay the return shipping. Have no clue where you're coming up with a "promise" that you not pay the shipping! We certainly can't negotiate such deals with the post office on your behalf or set you up with your own shipping account. If you want to make a return, as with any other store, you have to pay the ship the item back to the store.
We also accommodated you by offering you a discount coupon so you can save on a future purchase or your exchange order in an amount that would exceed shipping, but that all presumes you return the item and it also has nothing to do with return labels. You're not entitled to want the store and then not even return the item. You still have to make the return and pay for shipping as indicated in the policy, as we told you specifically and as does everyone else. You were offered a fee waiver and that should be sufficient in addition to a store coupon.
The information we sent you included very specific and detailed instructions for the return of this item including the time limit for the return which is reiterated in our online policy. As with all returns, you must pay for the cost of shipping. That's in the return policy and in the RMA information we sent you. Of course, nothing prevented you from making an inquiry at that point if there was anything you didn't understand. I'm not sure why you're writing this email two months later or what about the return policy you don't understand now. Once we sent that information to you, the ball was in your court to return the item and you do have a set period to return it. Nothing waived that time for you to make the return. If you did in fact return the item, please let us know the proof of delivery for that return because it doesn't look like it every turned up. If you have not returned the item, you are now outside the return policy and we will have to reconsider the matter.
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I wrote:
As I already explained, I believe in my very first email, the shipping label on the box sent is not legible nor is my complete address. The UPC code which I attempted to use to retrieve your address from by UPS
is the only thing on the box which is legible.... The packing receipt does not have any such address on it either. May I remind you that I also requested your RMA in the specified time allowed.
A RETURN LABEL has a shipping address on it, used to RETURN the merchandise, some are prepaid, some are not ..........a simple email with your address would have sufficed however, NOTHING you have sent me had that ADDRESS on it. I did not know that the post office knew your address by heart and all I had to do was go there and say, "Hey get this to them!!"........without an ADDRESS on it.
If you want to treat someone ignorantly, I suggest that you know your facts so that you are sure YOUR are not behaving as such first.
I have been waiting for that ADDRESS. If you do not want to pay shipping charges, FINE, my mistake, I thought that was what the woman described to me in our many email transactions........the last of which, sent by me, requested the return ADDRESS and was never replied to. If your playing ball, that my dear would suggest that the BALL has been in your court......... and you dropped it.
I want to get rid of this unusable order as it is a useless box left on my side table....Of which I have had to look at daily.......If I told you from the very beginning that I have no return address, HOW can I send this stuff back? Do you suggest that I attempt to stick it into my computer? You have a lot of nerve sending me such a nasty letter. Under these circumstances, I have been EXTREMELY PATIENT. The fact that the order was late and my last email, 2 months ago (as YOU said) was never responded to, AGAIN, My order was LATE....placed in December 2006 and not received until the end of March 2007.......which by the way, in case you don't understand time, that is a year difference. 2008 also means another year has passed, 2009 another, 2010 another and so on. Now, even if we took the years out of this equation, it took 4 months for me to receive the merchandise....I do a lot of mail order and can tell you that is not an acceptable amount of time for any company to complete an order. I also have my own business, and I can tell you that I would NEVER treat my customers the way you have nor would I have them wait for a shipment or a requested RETURN ADDRESS, without any type of notification as you have. If my customers need to make a return, I would definitely make sure they have the RETURN ADDRESS and I would APOLOGISE for the inconvenience of making them wait and wait and wait.
Once I finally receive this highly confidential, secretive address, I will send this merchandise back, unused (as it was way too small for my puppy who grew 20lbs in the 4 months I waited for the order) and I will specify my exchanges within that package.....I never received any "promised" coupon but you may apply whatever discount you are referring to at that time.
CHRISTINA
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HANDS AND PAWS REPLIES:
Sigh. You are really missing the point. Several.
1. Have no clue about UPC codes and the like that you mention. Has nothing to do with any return. Our return address was in the March 16 email along with the rest of the return information.
2. Noone is disputing when you made the request for an RMA. But you do have to return the item within a certain time period when you are issued on. Again, that's in the RMA instructions (and the return policy online).
3. We do not what a return label is. It also has nothing to do with anything. Read your emails.
I really can't make out the rest of your email. It's just not clear. Again, you dropped the ball when you were emailed the return information. If you couldn't make out the address clearly written in that email, well, maybe a new pair of glasses or simply a reply would do. Not sure why you're writing two months later...unless of course, you just realized that you dropped the ball and now want to make up some cover story.
Again, you're past due on this return. It was due 10 days from the date of the email we sent you March 16. Suggest you check your email. When you calm down, you can request a make-up courtesy coupon we sometimes offer customers who are outside the return policy. But we're certainly not going to respond to a rant.
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I wrote:
STILL no return address.......are you kidding me? I'm not going to allow your insults to effect me as it is quite clear what the problem is..............I understand that you have many customers and even employees who didn't attend Harvard, but I assure you, your not dealing with one of those people. Let me spell out the situation very clearly for you. As I am sure you realize that you are dealing with many orders and emails and I am dealing with only my own.

December 2006..........Ordered merchandise
March 2007................Received Merchandise
March 2007................Complained about late order requested RMA and return address/or label.
To Date................ Continued to send and receive emails with a customer service representative, mine being the last not replied to (maybe it was you as their is something very similar between the both of you)
April 2007.................received no word from company

Now I promise you that I have NOT ever received a return address. IN FACT YOU STILL HAVE NOT SENT ONE!!! You are the one missing the same important point over and over again...no return address. No, glasses are not necessary as your shipping label and even the plastic were torn during shipping, making it unreadable (sorry... big words.....making it unable to be read)....that was also in one of my many emails and why I needed and asked for a return address........I attempted to locate your company's address via the barcode with UPS.....an attempt to get rid of the box............THEN I thought MAYBE, since you never gave me the return address, maybe you were sending me a shipping label....It is now clear that you weren't and as you say, do not use them.......So why is it so hard to write your address down in an email??? Since MARCH I have been trying to get rid of this box and have waited for a return label or address in ANY form to send it back......... Anyone would realize that a customer would not keep emailing and requesting a return address if she received one already.

In this country there are places where you can go to complain about a company's business transactions. There are quite a few in fact. With these last few emails, it would be clear to anyone who reads them, why I am upset and that you still refuse to issue me the information needed to make the return...your address.....that action (or lack thereof) is PROOF,......testimony to what I have been dealing with over and over again...... With as many message boards and other Internet sites, it really does not pay to be rude, antagonize and for you, simply put, play with a customer. I have a computer available to me all day long and have no problem submitting anything to anyone about this.
As much as I believe you are enjoying this game of who's to blame, I really don't wish to play. I am telling you that I do not have and never received a return address..... period. Anyone with half a brain would realize a box can not be returned without it.
I suggest that you simply send me the return address. I will include the exchange order in the box, and then you send the order back to me within a reasonable amount of time. Very simple, logical, solution. In this manner, you can get on with your life and I mine........Christina L. Nelson
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HANDS AND PAWS REPLIES:
No. You can no longer return this out of date return. No matter how many times you ask. Since you do not want and did not request the alternate gift coupon/goodiebasket, we can no longer help you. We asked you to check your email..we have on file with the return info AND the address, dated March 16, but you have declined to do so. And you waited months to even inquire as to that information. Since we cannot help you and you do not want the accommodation we offered, we have to bid you goodbye.
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Is that mind blowing or what??????







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See what's free at AOL.com.

Christina
Ocala, Florida
U.S.A.