my rant about certain people who buy orchids

[Ray]

Well Ed. Here's another that I am apparently embroiled in right now:

Some guy placed an order, changed, it, and then submitted it, and attempted to use a discount coupon code that was good for only one day - back in 2011. (To be fair, if you Google "First Rays Coupon Code", many of those sites will give you that.) Apparently he tried to use it and was rejected, as he added a comment that he was on disability with limited income... (Should have been a red flag.) I explained to the gentleman that it was no longer valid, the packed, processed, and shipped the order as placed.

Yesterday evening I received an email telling me the the order "was a disaster", and that he had a valid current coupon code he could email me (there aren't any that apply to him), and that the shipping cost was lower than what he had been charged, even though the automatic reply, which customers get upon order placement - and he attached to the email - shows it to be exactly what he was charged.

Apparently thinking that ploy isn't likely to work, I later received another email claiming the 40L bag of Orchiata bark ordered had a great big slice in it, and at least half the contents was missing, and "I know you'll make this right". (Now you'll excuse me, but if there was that much damage, don't you think that might have been the first response, rather than the coupon code quandary?)

As I am quite certain it was intact when I packed it, I have requested a photo of the damaged box and damaged contents, and a clear statement from him that it was delivered that way, so I can file a claim with FedEx.

We'll see...

 

[gonewild]

Well Ed. Here's another that I am apparently embroiled in right now:

Some guy placed an order, changed, it, and then submitted it, and attempted to use a discount coupon code that was good for only one day - back in 2011. (To be fair, if you Google "First Rays Coupon Code", many of those sites will give you that.) Apparently he tried to use it and was rejected, as he added a comment that he was on disability with limited income... (Should have been a red flag.) I explained to the gentleman that it was no longer valid, the packed, processed, and shipped the order as placed.

Yesterday evening I received an email telling me the the order "was a disaster", and that he had a valid current coupon code he could email me (there aren't any that apply to him), and that the shipping cost was lower than what he had been charged, even though the automatic reply, which customers get upon order placement - and he attached to the email - shows it to be exactly what he was charged.

Apparently thinking that ploy isn't likely to work, I later received another email claiming the 40L bag of Orchiata bark ordered had a great big slice in it, and at least half the contents was missing, and "I know you'll make this right". (Now you'll excuse me, but if there was that much damage, don't you think that might have been the first response, rather than the coupon code quandary?)

As I am quite certain it was intact when I packed it, I have requested a photo of the damaged box and damaged contents, and a clear statement from him that it was delivered that way, so I can file a claim with FedEx.

We'll see...

So you know the customer is a scammer....And when you file a bogus claim with FedEx they will figure you are the same type of scamming customer that you are dealing with..... and we wonder why things cost so much?

Of course Ray I assume you are not actually going to file a claim with FedEx and only using that to shut the jerk up. :wink:

 

[MorandiWine]

Having been in retail my entire life, I have found that for the most part people are genuinely nice and reasonable. However there is that once in a while pain in the a$$ customer that is unrealistic and unreasonable. Some people feel an entitlement because they have a couple dollars in their wallet.

A quick story that you may find funny....
I was helping my friend Dean at the Pacific Orchid Exposition this year. He was selling some awesome Butter Wort carnivorous plants. Its the final hour of the show and this lady comes into the booth. I get this guy feeling that she is going to want to haggle (I hate haggling) and just simply has "I am a pain" all over her face. She picks up a plant and waves it at me "I give you two dollars!" I reply "Really!? It is marked at $8 down from $12, are you serious!?" "Ok I give you six." Dean has been watching and gives the nod of approval, so I accept her offer and finish the sale. She insists on using packaging tape to try and fashion handle on this 2 inch pot. I try and offer assistance but she rejects it and in the process of making her handy handle she drops the plant and spills everything everywhere. She then has the gall to ask for a discount on the plant that she dropped!!! I look at her and give her money back take the plan and a point to outside of the booth and say as nicely as I can "good bye"



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[John M]

Having been in retail my entire life, I have found that for the most part people are genuinely nice and reasonable. However there is that once in a while pain in the a$$ customer that is unrealistic and unreasonable. Some people feel an entitlement because they have a couple dollars in their wallet.

A quick story that you may find funny....
I was helping my friend Dean at the Pacific Orchid Exposition this year. He was selling some awesome Butter Wort carnivorous plants. Its the final hour of the show and this lady comes into the booth. I get this guy feeling that she is going to want to haggle (I hate haggling) and just simply has "I am a pain" all over her face. She picks up a plant and waves it at me "I give you two dollars!" I reply "Really!? It is marked at $8 down from $12, are you serious!?" "Ok I give you six." Dean has been watching and gives the nod of approval, so I accept her offer and finish the sale. She insists on using packaging tape to try and fashion handle on this 2 inch pot. I try and offer assistance but she rejects it and in the process of making her handy handle she drops the plant and spills everything everywhere. She then has the gall to ask for a discount on the plant that she dropped!!! I look at her and give her money back take the plan and a point to outside of the booth and say as nicely as I can "good bye".

Oi!!! I know exactly the type of person you are talking about! Notice I didn't say "customer". To be considered a customer by me (the vendor), implies that the I owe them some extra measure of regard and appreciation, above and beyond basic common courtesy. But, that "extra" has to be earned, which it is, when the person hands over payment and completes the transaction in a satisfactory way. However, that type of person thinks that they are a customer as soon as they approach you and begin nagging for a discount. I do NOT consider someone to be a customer until AFTER they have purchased something and done it in such a way that I actually made at least a small profit...and didn't have to use all my strength and self-control to not blow a gasket while dealing with them! I sometimes offer discounts; but, I never give a discount when someone like THAT asks for one. The moment they ask....is the moment I become determined to NOT give them one. If they keep pestering, the price goes UP each time they nag for a discount. Eventually they agree to pay the original price, or they go away. Either way, I'm happy.

Of course, while we're bitching about people who buy orchids, let's emphasize that most people are great and I enjoy dealing with them. I've met some wonderful new friends who I originally got to know while they were being new customers. They know who they are and they know they are NOT the type of person currently under discussion in this thread.

 

[Ray]

Things Ain't Always as they Appear

Gotta come clean on this one...

Finally got to talk to the guy, and he explained the bag of bark was apparently taped before being shipped, as the box was intact. I know I didn't do that, but I thought I'd check something.

I reassembled the identical order, checked my shipping records, and its weight was several pounds greater than the package I had shipped to him, suggesting to me that the bag apparently got ripped and re-taped at the warehouse, and I just didn't notice it.

I am sending additional material out Monday - an over-estimation based upon the weight difference.

 

[gonewild]

Gotta come clean on this one...

Finally got to talk to the guy, and he explained the bag of bark was apparently taped before being shipped, as the box was intact. I know I didn't do that, but I thought I'd check something.

I reassembled the identical order, checked my shipping records, and its weight was several pounds greater than the package I had shipped to him, suggesting to me that the bag apparently got ripped and re-taped at the warehouse, and I just didn't notice it.

I am sending additional material out Monday - an over-estimation based upon the weight difference.

Damn, so the customer is always right.

 

[mrhappyrotter]

I haven't sold much of anything on Ebay in quite awhile, but as a seller, I can't recall ever having had to deal with a bad customer. Unfortunately, bad customers are a numbers game, if you're selling, particularly with any volume, it's just a matter of time before you'll get one.

I can say that if the proportion of lousy buyers is anywhere near the number of bad or lackluster sellers on Ebay, that alone would turn me off to selling. That's not to rag on Ebay, but my experience as of late is that the ratings simply aren't reliable. It's anecdotal at best, but it seems like the some of the sellers with a really high number of positive responses have proven to be disappointing at best. I don't think that applies to anybody from here that sells on Ebay so I'm not too worried about saying that. It may just be that the volume sellers don't care that their photos show lush green, healthy plants, even if they're shipping out cosmetically damaged and/or distressed plants. And it may just be that high volume sellers wait around a week or two until they have a large batch of plants before they ship, rather than sending out individual orders in a timely fashion.

But as a customer, when I do find a seller that's awesome, I go out of my way to try and make the experience as positive as possible for them. I always hope to be a good and encouraging customer so that it helps balance out against the bad customers that I know are out there. And as a seller, I always try to keep in mind that buyers may be a little over defensive due to some bad purchases.

 

[iwillard]

I think I've had only one issue with an eBay vendor,he really did send out a dead as a doornail plant. I wrote to him ,his response was to give time to grow new roots,this was 2 years ago and that darn plant still hasn't grown a thing from either ends. I simply omitted giving a rating for him and will never deal with again even if he was giving them away.

Ed,I'd love to buy plants from you but by the time I see them up for sale,they are long gone.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Ebay ratings are very misleading. It simply means that the transaction went successfully. How many times have we gotten the wrong plant from an ebay vendor, but the error isn't noticeable until the plant blooms. By then, a year or more may have passed.

 

[l8dbug]

I don't sell anything, but I do customer service for PayPal. I get those type of people calling in all the time to start a claim, or worse people that buy things that don't have money and wants PayPal to pay overdraft fees o_o not fun people to deal with.

 

[Candace]

Working retail in any manner sucks. That one customer out of 100 can ruin your day, your week, your month. I would have to develop a much thicker skin to do it as a business.

 

[limuhead]

Only had one negative experience on Ebay. Had a buyer file a dispute saying that the compot received wasn't the same as the one in the picture, which it was. Got a few whiney emails, refunded the money, told the person to keep it and banned them from bidding on my stuff. Did the same to someone who accused me of somehow jacking up prices because they would bid and get beat in the last minute all the time. For me Ebay works pretty good. People here in Hawaii are spoiled, they won't pay what plants are worth. On Ebay I can get 3 times as much money as what people are willing to pay here.

 

[wonderlen3000]

I think most experience grower knows quality over quantity, when buying plants, online or in person. Only grower new to orchids, complain about size, price, etc etc b/c they don't know/or aware that some orchids are simply much rarer and harder to propagate than others thou commanding higher price. It will be like comparing $10 grocery store Phal against $50 paph seedling or BS cattleya or vanda.

 

[gonewild]

Photograph a fast growing Phrag seedling showing 5 green leaves.

List on Ebay for 7 day auction
Buyer takes 5 days to complete purchase.
Pays on Thursday.
Must wait to ship until Monday.
Monday morning the oldest leaf on the plant has turned yellow and a new leaf has started growing. (16 days passed since photo).
Remove old yellow leaf because it is done.
Plant now has 4 older leaves and one new one, and plant is actually bigger.

Buyer receives plant on Thursday, 19 days after photo was taken.

Buyer complains and says it is not the actual plant shown in photo and wants to get the actual plant he purchased!

Ten emails later the buyer still says the plant was switched.

To avoid negative feedback send a free plant with free shipping.
Cross fingers buyer leaves positive feedback.

This exact scenario happened often.....
and NEVER offer a plant in bloom.

It is so easy for a couple of bad buyers to lie on the internet and destroy a sellers reputation.

 

[couscous74]

Karma's a *****. There, I said it.