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I ordered 2 stamps from a company. The stamps were on sale for 25% off. Today I received one stamps set in the mail. There was a note with a frownie face. One stamp set is not available until Jan. 7, 2011, refund given.
So a set that was listed on their website as available, is now not available. To get that set I am now going to have to pay full price for the set and additional shipping. What great customer service.
I have sent an email to the company requesting that they send me the set at 25% off and free shipping. It irks me that instead of calling me or emailing me to find out how I wanted this issue resolved, they resolve it in their favor (they no longer have to honor the sale price).
Have you had this happen to you? What did you do about it.?
I haven't had this happen to me. But I would check their web site very carefully for any explanations as to how they handle "out of stock" items, "backordered" items etc. It may state that this is the company policy on how to handle these situations.
Without anything spelled out on their web site I would do exactly what you did by requesting they honor the sale price and give you free shipping. I assume you ordered what you did to reach a minimum sales amount to qualify for free shipping?
You might want to mention that you have posted this "problem" out here on SCS any many, MANY potential customers will be watching to see how they handle this!
This is what their website states about back orders:
When will my backorder arrive?
Backordered items are those which our suppliers are unable to predict when they will have more in stock, but as soon as they do, we will be able to ship the item to you.
So they do backorders. I guess they just didn't want to honor the sale price. They are a SCS member company so I am trying to give them a little bit of time to honorably resolve this issue.
A Member Company? Wow. I wouldn't expect one of them to duck out of a sale price like that. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding. Or a new person hired for the holidays who "thought" they were doing the right thing. I agree you should give them time; member company or not to respond to your email and resolve the situation to your satisfaction.
Good Luck!
Many times (especially during this time of year), the big sales are for things that are in stock only and would not apply to backorders . Sometimes during the sale stores run out of inventory before they have the opportunity to update their website.
While I'm not sure any company would honor such a discount for out of stock items, they should at least offer a free shipping coupon to you.
I had something similar happen to me during the recent shop hop sale. While my order of six sets plus ribbon was accepted, the order arrived with a note saying one set was unavailable. I do not remember seeing any statement on the company's website that accepted orders during the sale would not be fulfilled. My accepted order was large enough to receive free shipping; however, when the company marked off the stamp set from my accepted order, I was charged $10.27 for shipping and handling for my order that arrived in a $4.00 priority mail envelope. I am extremely disappointed in how my order was handled from a company that has previously had great customer service. I contacted customer service last week and am waiting for a response.
In my opinion they should have shipped it to you free (at the sale price) when it's available as obviously their computer inventory system isn't accurate--a good on line store wouldn't sell items/inventory that weren't available.
I know sometimes that if a store has both a retail location and on line store that the counts can be off BUT for the stores I deal with in that situation they will send me the product when it becomes available---unless they know they aren't due to receive more stock in which case they just refund my money.
In my opinion they should have shipped it to you free (at the sale price) when it's available as obviously their computer inventory system isn't accurate--a good on line store wouldn't sell items/inventory that weren't available.
These are my thoughts exactly! I would expect to receive the set at the discounted rate shipped to me free of charge, since it should have been included in my original order and the "glitch" was their problem, not yours.
i don't think it is all that unusual to be honest. sales prices are nearly always limited to stock on hand. in addition i would imagine they had a HUGE number of orders to do if it was a member company and they were having a sale. it was probably just a quick and easy way to do it. but when i had my store i automatically refunded whatever i was out of stock on. i did not do that initially but it became way too costly for me to keep paying the shipping myself.
as for shipping i think the one who intially had free shipping until they were out of something should have still gotten free shipping AND i have a pet peeve about paying huge shipping costs and then getting something in a flat rate box i know only costs $5 something to send! as for inventory my auto inventory always got out of whack when i had a big sale for some reason. it was SO frustrating!
I find it quite annoying that the sale can go through checkout and completion when an item is not available. The company is remiss is having outdated software. They should have notified you immediately as to what happened, because you may have chosen to cancel the entire order. I would not shop from this company. Do you mind if we PM you to find out who it is?
I find it quite annoying that the sale can go through checkout and completion when an item is not available. The company is remiss is having outdated software. They should have notified you immediately as to what happened, because you may have chosen to cancel the entire order. I would not shop from this company. Do you mind if we PM you to find out who it is?
Since I have heard their answer, I'll tell you who it is FLOURISHES.
They said I would have to order the item when it becomes available at full price. They said they would give me free shipping. Big of them. Of course since their system already sold me an item they really did not have, how can I know if an item is ever really in stock? I am just going to stick to companies I have had reliable service experiences.
I had something similar happen to me during the recent shop hop sale. While my order of six sets plus ribbon was accepted, the order arrived with a note saying one set was unavailable. I do not remember seeing any statement on the company's website that accepted orders during the sale would not be fulfilled. My accepted order was large enough to receive free shipping; however, when the company marked off the stamp set from my accepted order, I was charged $10.27 for shipping and handling for my order that arrived in a $4.00 priority mail envelope. I am extremely disappointed in how my order was handled from a company that has previously had great customer service. I contacted customer service last week and am waiting for a response.
I would have been extremely unhappy with the company in your situation (more than the OP). I would have expected an email on the situation before they shipped the item/charged my card asking if I still want the order because this is no longer free shipping.
Similar situation has happened to me before and I always get an email from the store asking how I would like to proceed (these are not stamping companies but most, if not all, independent stores).
Hi all! I just wanted to try to respond to some of the issues aired here. I just talked with the owner and this sale was an end of year inventory sale - what was in stock was available for purchase. Because of the sheer number of orders, it was truly first come first serve. The website automatically updates stock -- but because the orders were coming so fast and furiously - the web site did have some lag time in updating stock. Rest assured, Flourishes would never purposely duck out of a sale - they are not a bait and switch company. I was told that because of the sheer volume - it would have been impossible to hold orders until stock comes in this Friday (January 7th). So, refunds were given.
If you did place an order and feel you didn't, for some reason, get the free shipping you were entitled to, please PM me with your order number and I can have someone at home base check into it and either give you a store credit or find a way to refund you. There are some items (paper namely, clear boxes) that do not qualify for free shipping -- even if you spend more than $75. So, that might be the reason.
Hi all! I just wanted to try to respond to some of the issues aired here. I just talked with the owner and this sale was an end of year inventory sale - what was in stock was available for purchase. Because of the sheer number of orders, it was truly first come first serve. The website automatically updates stock -- but because the orders were coming so fast and furiously - the web site did have some lag time in updating stock. Rest assured, Flourishes would never purposely duck out of a sale - they are not a bait and switch company. I was told that because of the sheer volume - it would have been impossible to hold orders until stock comes in this Friday (January 7th). So, refunds were given.
If you did place an order and feel you didn't, for some reason, get the free shipping you were entitled to, please PM me with your order number and I can have someone at home base check into it and either give you a store credit or find a way to refund you. There are some items (paper namely, clear boxes) that do not qualify for free shipping -- even if you spend more than $75. So, that might be the reason.
While I understand the sale was for stock on hand, I have to agree with the OP that the way the situation was handled was disappointing. I have had similar things happen to me. Being as I live in Alaska, my online shopping dollars are carefully watched. To place an order, and not be contacted when ANY part of the order is unavailible is unacceptable IMO. To me that shows a disrespect of the customer. I'm sorry but, even an email would have been preferable to me than getting a short order with a note with a frownie face. The frownie face note is actually what would cause my temper to flare. But that is just me.
While I understand the sale was for stock on hand, I have to agree with the OP that the way the situation was handled was disappointing. I have had similar things happen to me. Being as I live in Alaska, my online shopping dollars are carefully watched. To place an order, and not be contacted when ANY part of the order is unavailible is unacceptable IMO. To me that shows a disrespect of the customer. I'm sorry but, even an email would have been preferable to me than getting a short order with a note with a frownie face. The frownie face note is actually what would cause my temper to flare. But that is just me.
That's too bad you feel that way because I can honestly say that there was no malice intended. The owners opted to write hand-written notes and issue refunds so merchandise could be quickly shipped.I understand it's sad when you can't get your entire order but I know Flourishes being a relatively small company can't honor 25% off outside of the sale. That's a pretty big discount for a small company. It was one of the biggest discounts in the entire Shop Hop. It's no wonder merchandise flew off the shelves.
That's too bad you feel that way because I can honestly say that there was no malice intended. The owners opted to write hand-written notes and issue refunds so merchandise could be quickly shipped.I understand it's sad when you can't get your entire order but I know Flourishes being a relatively small company can't honor 25% off outside of the sale. That's a pretty big discount for a small company. It was one of the biggest discounts in the entire Shop Hop. It's no wonder merchandise flew off the shelves.
I'm sure there was no malice intended. For me, not having someone contact me about the issue is irritaitng. I am just not one for "cute". Especially when I'm irritated. To me the frownie face would just dig at me. But I'm only one person.
As for not honoring the 25% after the fact. As long as it is a well documented policy that can be found on the website when searched for.. I can live with that.
While I understand the sale was for stock on hand, I have to agree with the OP that the way the situation was handled was disappointing. I have had similar things happen to me. Being as I live in Alaska, my online shopping dollars are carefully watched. To place an order, and not be contacted when ANY part of the order is unavailible is unacceptable IMO. To me that shows a disrespect of the customer. I'm sorry but, even an email would have been preferable to me than getting a short order with a note with a frownie face. The frownie face note is actually what would cause my temper to flare. But that is just me.
i wasnt eligible for free shipping but i didnt receive any notice except my order had shipped by email,then when the order arrived i found it didnt have one set .they refunded but it was an awful way to find out you arent getting what you order.it will mean that any future thoughts to order from them will be very carefully considered to how bad i really want it.it was my 1st time ordering from them.i know things happen but the communication lacked in this case.
btw i did not email the company to complain and was not going to say anything until this was posted and saw how many were also disappointed.
br3n
Actually, I have this happen fairly often. I even have gotten emails to the effect of "we'll have to wait and see when we fill the orders who gets what."
As far as selling out-of-stock items, I had it happen with 2 SCS member companies during the recent sales, and neither of them was the company you mentioned.
Personally, I look at the whole order and the item omitted. If the whole order is large, and the item is small OR if the item wasn't something I really needed/wanted, I just forget about it. If those 2 cases don't hold true, I'd probably be miffed just like you. Not that it helps your frustration any, but I got some wonderful goodies from the company you mentioned during their recent sale. Sorry for your disappointment.
Good news to those who feel they didn't get the goodies they wanted during the recent sale. We are in the process of going through each and every refunded transaction and will be emailing you within the coming days with a sale code to take advantage of a one time 25% off code. The owner also spent three hours on the phone yesterday with our web store provider to make sure something like this never happens again. Now, when something is out of stock - it will say -- out of stock - it was a glitch that unfortunately wouldn't have been discovered without something like this happening.
So... stay tuned! Finding all the refunds will be tedious but Flourishes will try to make up for the "oops!"
Good news to those who feel they didn't get the goodies they wanted during the recent sale. We are in the process of going through each and every refunded transaction and will be emailing you within the coming days with a sale code to take advantage of a one time 25% off code. The owner also spent three hours on the phone yesterday with our web store provider to make sure something like this never happens again. Now, when something is out of stock - it will say -- out of stock - it was a glitch that unfortunately wouldn't have been discovered without something like this happening.
So... stay tuned! Finding all the refunds will be tedious but Flourishes will try to make up for the "oops!"
I'm very happy to hear that Flourishes cares enough about their customers to take the time effort and energy to make it right with their customers. I know when a similar thing happened to me I would have sung from the roof tops if that company had bothered to make it right. Or even called and explained the situation. Thank you for updating us on the situation.
I wasn't one of those who ordered during this sale but I have followed the thread. I'm so glad to see a company step up and try to make it up to those who were unhappy. Way to go Flourishes for stepping to the plate to fix a wrong!
I used to shop for my scrap supplies in an online store that is also a brick and mortar store in Texas. The owner is a huge QK retailer in addition to many other items. One month they were having a huge discount sale (QK approved) so I ordered several items but it wasn't huge. Still in the middle of the flurry of customers in the store and online orders (from all over the world) the owner called me to let me know one of the items I selected was out-of-stock, which also threw off the free shipping and gave me several options. I could wait til it came back in stock and would be offered at the discounted price , I could order something else in it's place or I could just get a refund and still get free shipping! Needless to say I was impressed and spent most of my scrapping dollars in her store. Personal phone call + options offered = one happy customer. Now that is customer service!
I want to thank the op who spoke up and by starting this thread got Flourishes to correct their software problem and ultimately make amends to their customers.
I want to thank the op who spoke up and by starting this thread got Flourishes to correct their software problem and ultimately make amends to their customers.
With all due respect, Flourishes was well aware of the software issue when the system started to become overwhelmed from all the orders. Flourishes does appreciate the thread however, because, while the company tried to share the news with customers, it fell short. Knowing when someone is upset is so important. If you don't, you can't fix it and make a customer happy.
With all due respect, Flourishes was well aware of the software issue when the system started to become overwhelmed from all the orders. Flourishes does appreciate the thread however, because, while the company tried to share the news with customers, it fell short. Knowing when someone is upset is so important. If you don't, you can't fix it and make a customer happy.
Not to beat a dead horse ...
If I understand your comment, the company was aware of the issue during the sale and decided to send frownie faces instead of contacting shorted customers about order disposition?
Have you had this happen to you?
