Opinion or advice - please...

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

Early hours of 14 December my Mom and I were still in the office packing the last of the parcels to go out before the move. Once we were done, I checked the emails (around 3am) and noticed that an order had come in and the EFT notification indicated that the order was paid for, etc.

 

As we were still "awake", I printed out the order and we pulled the stock. This was a "favour" to the buyer as the next stipulated shipping date was a whole week later and seeing it was so close to Christmas and the items could possibly have been a gift, I packed the order that morning and dispatched it later the same day.

 

The post office slip shows that the parcel weighed 565g - the largest parcel of the batch as all the other items were either single facetted gemstones or jewellery items (parcels under 100g). I recall this buyer's parcel well as the items did not fit into our standard sized envelope and I could not even include a gift due to the envelope being so "full".

 

We closed for the holidays and the move on 19 December, yet I still checked emails up until my pc was packed away for the move. The buyer sent me an email simply stating: "What happen to the rest of my order."

 

I replied to her asking for her to elaborate and she replied stating that only specific items were in the parcel and the envelope was not tampered with. I noted oddly enough though that the only items "received" were all the cheap and light items - all the more pricey items had "vanished".

 

I forwarded the email to a BoB staff member asking for advice (still no reply) and notified the buyer that our offices were in fact closed and that I'd handle her enquiry early in January when we reopened and when BoB was available.

 

That fell on deaf ears as a few days later I receive 4 neutral ratings and 16 negative ratings from the buyer stating that I have not sent her items and that I am ignoring her emails.

 

I managed to contact BoB today and was politely informed that I am in the wrong and that the ratings are there to stay!

 

How on earth can I be wrong if firstly I sent her entire order before the stipulated date, and that I did reply to her emails? To date the buyer has not communicated with me again on the issue even though I had to remind her again that our offices were closed and that the matter was being attended to!

 

I find this to be extremely unfair, and for BoB to take her side on the matter is just a slap in the face!

 

My proof that all the items were sent to the buyer are:

1) my stock levels balance

2) the post office slip shows the parcel with her tracking number being sent on said date with weight of 565g

3) my carbon copy of the invoice showing the items marked off as they were packaged (buyer received original invoice).

 

Now what is your opinion on the matter? Must I now just "accept" the negative ratings and "live with it" (as advised by BoB staff)!?

[Vinyl Lady Decals 11]

Hi Cali

 

Send scanned copies of your paperwork to BoB with another appeal, don't leave it there.

Also send the attachments of all the emails between yourself and the buyer.

Preferably speak to Solanche or Candice.

[Not1CentMore 10]

IMHO, LYIN'S, tigers and bears.

 

I would hope that Admin or Cuan or... can 'take a second look' at this. Both are jewels (or, should it be 'diamonds in the rough' :blink1: when it comes to righting wrongs).

 

If it were me, I would pull AN EXACT piece of the less expensive 'stuff' and put in on a scale and snap a picture showing items and weight and send it to BoB, as well as a copy of ALL correspondence and inquire 'how come it is' that only the expensive pieces 'went a-missing' and the 'cheaper' items arrived when they were all in the same parcel.

 

(another) IMO....this is just W-R-O-N-G!

Ruthie

Edited January 9, 2012 by Not1CentMore

[voldermort 11]

You said you received 16 negatives and 4 neutrals.....was that the entire order, 20 items? In other words has she rated you for what she said she received? Or has she only rated you negative/neutral for what she says is missing?

Also for this very same reason, each and every item I post, I send the tracking number through BoB. I do not send direct emails to sellers at all as they could very well turn around and say they received no emails at all.

I would also suggest sending items insured (not sure if you do) that way you have valid proof of postage as the receipt will show buyers name & address + value of items posted.

I would not be at all happy with these ratings and I would suggest phoning BoB and explaining your situation once again.

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

Parcel was for 31 items - according to her email, only 13 items received (for which she rated 4 neutral and did not do the other ratings). Buyer is implying that a total of 18 items were not received (including the heaviest items which made up the bulk of the 565g).

 

For the record, I only ever correspond with the buyer via the BoB system so that I've always got the proof that I've sent the parcel, etc. I state the date dispatched, method of dispatch and approximate duration for delivery, tracking number, etc.

 

It is difficult for me to send the proof to BoB right at this moment as Telkom has decided it to be great fun to muck me around with the installation of our landline - supposed to have been installed by end December, but when I did the follow-up enquiry, someone had "forgotten" to process the request so I had to start from scratch again - possible installation "somewhere towards the end of January"!!!!

 

I'm going through stacks of R's on hubby's 3G thingy so can only log on periodically. Also chewing through airtime on my cellphone thanks once again to no landline. And to put the cherry on top - my "all-in-one" fax printer has been broken during the move and we are only going through to George on Saturday 14 January for business and other purchases. (oh the joys of being in the middle of the Karoo)

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

PS. On a similar note - I've received yet another neutral rating! This time (again) from a buyer enquiring as to when their parcel will be dispatched.

 

For several reasons, I advertised / gave notice for over six weeks leading up to December (and subsequently another 3 weeks since the holidays started) in all my listings (under shipping) that our offices are closed from 20 December to 10 January both dates inclusive, yet the buyers' are still complaining about non-delivery.

 

Uhm... hello??? Catch a wake up and READ! The only way I could make the HOLIDAY CLOSURE message any more clear is to phone the buyer and scream it to them! Grrrr.....

[MiemsJewels 12]

What a bad start for 2012 Calli. Wish you the best for the rest of 2012!

[BeadsandBaubles 10]

@ Cali

My sympathies - rooting for you - know what you are going through, so hang in there and soon things will be plain sailing once more.

 

Murphys Law - no matter how well you organize a move, everything will still go wrong - it's an undeniable truth.

 

Good luck on sorting out your customer.

 

Blessings

Sandy

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

Input from BoB on these matters would be sincerely appreciated!

 

With all the hard work and dedication I've given, to see the negative and neutral ratings every day makes me feel quite sick to the stomach! It's like a fresh kick in the teeth every time I log on!

[lilythepink 11]

Cali - again I advise some deep, deep breaths and put a glass of wine in your hand and sit in front of the fan (or, preferably, an air-conditioner as I see Oudtshoorn is very, very hot!)

 

The negatives can be sorted out even if it takes time - just alert the BoB staff that you are lodging an appeal and ask them to give you time to sort things out with proof from your side.

 

And many blessings for the new year which lies ahead!

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

@ Lily - thanks! We have definitely been "melting" on this side and apparently Wednesday is 'only' going to reach about 38 degrees! Sjoe!

 

We have 2 high power fans on full blast in the lounge / office zone along with 2 ceiling fans, but are seriously considering having airconditioners installed before February comes around which is apparently "the worst heat possible"!

 

Re the ratings - just waiting ever so patiently for Telkom to jump on the bandwagon and get their act in gear! Can't do much without a landline nowdays it seems - spending an average of R120 per DAY on this 3G thingy and I'm barely online! For the Telkom transfer / change over, I followed all their instructions to the letter, and I'm still high and dry (excuse the pun!).

 

Anyway, the cats have settled in unbelievably well and even Phoebe (the hooligan) now lazes around the garden and comes in when it's simply too hot out there. KitKat has discovered that it helps to lay in front of the fan - she just squeezes her eyes closed and lets the breeze blow through her long coat.

 

The evenings are stunning here - nice and cool... but as soon as the sun starts appearing on the horizon in the mornings, we just close everything up and watch movies until late afternoon before "working"... hubby is thoroughly enjoying his "early retirement"! LOL

[Not1CentMore 10]

Cali...

 

Wish you could send some of the heat this way. Although this winter has been rather mild; no snow and temps dipping into the low 20's for only 5 or 6 days (so far and 'fingers crossed'), it is still, as they say here: "Colder than day old penguin poop".

 

Thankfully, my soon-to-be daughter-in-law bought me a couple of those fleece, one-piece. jumpsuit-type 'thingies' (room enough for two) with long sleeves, hoodie, booties, zip up front and 'trap-door' backside. That and the fireplace.... 'toasty'!

 

I am sooooo ready for warm weather!

 

And, I am so ready for someone to design these 'get-ups' in light-weight summer material, short sleeves / sleeveless, 'boy boxer' legs... (sigh) I may never wear 'real' clothes again.

 

Ruthie

[lilythepink 11]

Cali, I think it takes at least a year to acclimatize when one moves away from the coast and I think you should be rushing out to buy the air-cons a.s.a.p. MrA and I are happy to hear that your cats have settled down so quickly.

 

Temperature in good ol' G'town was 38 deg today! I am off to soak the garden as all the plants look as though they are dehydrated and even the lawn which was beautifully green yesterday is now decidedly brown! I do not look forward to our February heat ...

[TS Ron 10]

@ Lily - thanks! We have definitely been "melting" on this side and apparently Wednesday is 'only' going to reach about 38 degrees! Sjoe!

 

We have 2 high power fans on full blast in the lounge / office zone along with 2 ceiling fans, but are seriously considering having airconditioners installed before February comes around which is apparently "the worst heat possible"!

 

Re the ratings - just waiting ever so patiently for Telkom to jump on the bandwagon and get their act in gear! Can't do much without a landline nowdays it seems - spending an average of R120 per DAY on this 3G thingy and I'm barely online! For the Telkom transfer / change over, I followed all their instructions to the letter, and I'm still high and dry (excuse the pun!).

 

Anyway, the cats have settled in unbelievably well and even Phoebe (the hooligan) now lazes around the garden and comes in when it's simply too hot out there. KitKat has discovered that it helps to lay in front of the fan - she just squeezes her eyes closed and lets the breeze blow through her long coat.

 

The evenings are stunning here - nice and cool... but as soon as the sun starts appearing on the horizon in the mornings, we just close everything up and watch movies until late afternoon before "working"... hubby is thoroughly enjoying his "early retirement"! LOL

 

Seems if live is good in the Karoo. It is muggy as hell down here of course the schools have gone back now before that you could not get to the beach unless you went to Maitlands it is dangerous to swim there of course. I am so envious of you being in the Karoo although it is dry heat which is more bearable.

[Mustlovebooks 10]

Hi Cali, do you have an update about this issue? I think it's terribly unfair.

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

Still nothing to report - BoB's stance on the matter thus far is that I'm guilty as hell so the last I heard was that I have to "live" with the bad ratings.

 

Ultimately my 15000+ postive ratings mean squat - I've basically been accused of not sending all the items even though I have the proof that I did! I am now hoping that my listed terms and conditions regarding insured postage will be enough to get the ratings removed, but I'm not holding much water with that one either.

 

What is rather frustrating on top of it all is that BoB has opted to stay quiet on this matter on the forum even though I've practically been begging for their input.

 

Oh well... so much for being a top seller - it means nothing at the end of the day! (what I mean is that buyers' see the multitude of poor ratings and don't make any purchases which in turn means less income for BoB anyway! So much for keeping a clean reputation!)

[MiemsJewels 12]

Why don't you send an e-mail to Cuan calli. I am sure he will be more than willing to help you resolve this matter.

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

Okay... I phoned BoB again and spoke to the staff member handling the enquiry. From his side, the ratings must stay because he agrees with the buyer that it is my fault that the items were not received despite our terms and conditions statement regarding insured parcels.

 

As I refuse to accept this outcome, I contacted the offices again and chatted to Solanche as per recommendations below... she listened to my side of things and will apparently be looking into the matter further and will consult Cuan for further advice.

 

Ultimately I am very unhappy for a number of reasons, but even more so based on the fact that over the past 5/6 years of being on BoB, I've had one negative rating, and now am being forced to "accept" sixteen negative ratings for doing exactly what was expected of me in extra fast time (sending all the items within hours of the order being received at 1am on 14 Dec)!

 

I'll reluctantly accept neutral ratings for the items that were stolen (even though it is clearly still not my fault), but the buyer made the decision on which shipping method to choose - not me! I think that I am being more than fair by having my reputation tarnished for the buyers' choice!

[MiemsJewels 12]

Another suggestion Cali. Why don't you replace the "stolen" items. It's a lot of money, but I am sure it's worth your good ratings!

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

Not a bad idea, but the buyer is adamant that "no matter what the ratings will stay because of the level of service received"! In the buyers' opinion, I am a bad seller because I didn't reply to her emails (our offices were closed and she was notified of this a week after we closed), and that as per her, I deliberately left the items out of the parcel! It is individuals such as these that can never be satisfied no matter what you do!

[MiemsJewels 12]

Contact him/her again, and give him your nicest nice!

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

I phoned the buyer and got an attitude from hell in return. I offered a full refund to which she replied that she doesn't want the items and she doesn't want my money! The ratings must stay because that is what I deserve!

 

Got a reply back from BoB who said that nothing further can be done! Major disappointment!

[TS Ron 10]

Do not waste any more of your time on something negative . Focus on a positive point. You know that you had tried your utmost best to accom the buyer.

Edited January 13, 2012 by TS Ron

[kyle2 10]

In my opinion, this buyer is dishonest and has probably made a false declaration about the missing items.

The belligerence shown by her indicates that she has lost nothing and therefore does not need to comply with any offer of compensation by you. I would just block the buyer and carry on with life.

Karma is quite ruthless, she will have a serious debt to sort out in this life or the next.

Smile, you did your best, thats all you could have done.:smile:

[brad112 10]

If nothing changes I would rate them negatively as well, as you have gone out of your way to assist them. The ratings is based on the whole buying/selling experience it is only fair to rate the buyer negatively from your side so as to warn future sellers to be careful.