Weddingbee PRO
UPDATE #2: Someone submitted this post to The Consumerist!
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UPDATE: The owner of Urban Expressions responded to my email shortly after this post went up earlier today. This is what he or she said:
if the customer responds to me with several foul mouthed emails, they get foul mouthed replys right back. i figured if “fucks” and “shits” and “bitches” was her preferred tongue, I’d speak her language.
by the way i sold this company and all rights to its 1.7 million in inventory as of last week. it now operates under a new name, and at a new address as soon as they are done moving..
so you are wasting your time bashing it, but feel free. I have my money in my hand now.. so bash away ok..have a nice day, and have fun being an E-warrior hiding in the depths of the anonymus internet blogs that no one reads..
But Mrs. Martini’s friend only wrote that one email below. Her fiance did write an angry email to Urban Expressions without her knowledge, but that was only in response to the owner’s comments below. I believe that it was not a customer service agent that left those comments, as it appears to be a very small company, but the owner him/herself?!
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Mrs. Martini was supposed to help a friend create her escort cards over a recent weekend, and they had been waiting on a craft punch to arrive in the mail. When the website where the punch was purchased showed that it hadn’t been shipped some time after the order had been placed, Mrs. Martini’s friend wrote them the following email:
I ordered this over a week ago and it still has not been shipped!! Your shipping policy states that most items will be shipped within 48 hours unless otherwise specified - you guys did not specify otherwise! When will this item be shipped out?? I would like some kind of compensation for the delay. Sincerely, *****
Since I answer most of the customer service emails at Weddingbee and get all kinds of emails from users, I can understand that the tone of the email might have irked the person who responded. However, this was the response she received:
All I have to say is WOW.
I don’t know whether the person who sent this email intended for those comments to be included, but I contacted the company to see if they wanted to make a statement, and never heard back.
If this happened to you, would you take any type of action?
Please note that this post is in reference to Urban Expressions the craft supply store hosted at eCrater, and not the handbag store.
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AHHHHHHHHH! I’m finding a hard time believing this was sent out on purpose… like the employee fantasized writing that, but accidentally hit send. Either way, holy crap! This is horrible!
wow. if that was the response i received, i would stop buying from the company.
That is crazy. I remember a customer service exercise I participated in back in college where we would practice using silly/obvious questions, and we would have to respond with a polite answer and the “voice inside our head” answer. That kind of response is best kept inside your head. Even if the person was thinking it, they never should have said it, much less write it in the order comments!
If it happened to me, I don’t know what I’d do. I’d complain and tell my friends, but probably wouldn’t contact the company. I’m passive like that. And I don’t want to do business with someone who is ugly to their customers. However, I probably would have written a little nicer inquiry to the company to begin with though.
Holy WOW!
Mr Frenchie had a similar experience with a vacuum we ordered. It’s “status” said for ever that it had been shipped but UPS never showed it moving from the store location. When he contacted them about the status of the vacuum they pretty much told him if he didn’t like it he could cancel his order - so we did 
@AndreaO: I also used to work in customer service I remember that exercise… it was one of my favorites
Oh my GOD! I can’t believe someone would actually write that!
I don’t think I would have posted this at all.
Just because you can make something public doesn’t mean you should.
I find it interesting that Kim has been doing all these posts about the *tone* of the WeddingBee website. This doesn’t follow those guidelines at all.
Sure this is a bad example of impatience, as well as customer service, but does the entire wedding world need to know about it?
i think mrs martini’s friend’s email was just wanting to know what’s going on. i didn’t get a rude vibe from that statement at all. but the response is terrible! how in the world do you expect to do business with people by replying like that? even if it’s a mistake. ew.
Ok, that’s pretty terrible. Yes, I would take action! Like never giving that company any business ever again!
Oh, wow. Wow.
I’d send it to a friend with a blog. Oh, wait….
wow. you should post that to every review site possible. they deserve to receive negative publicity on a response like that.
OMGosh that’s is absolutely uncalled for.
And I must be a little website retarded because I don’t see where I can write WB with a question, comment, etc….where is that Mrs. Bee?
They have GOT to be kidding. How completely uncalled for. And she didn’t even cancel her order. Why would they just assume that. Nope, never ordering from them. It’s one of those things that they probably said to each other and then hit the “Send” button without checking.
Still, no excuse for a response like that.
OMG. My mouth DROPPED! I didn’t get a rude tone from Mrs. Martini’s email. If anything, I get a “i need this item desperately!” tone. I think the vendor’s name should be made known. I don’t think anyone would want to buy from them ever again.
Wow. That response was rude and just outrageous. I have made my fair share of customer complaints, and I am fortunate enough to have had reasonable and understanding responses. It was just uncalled for.
Wow. That absolutely should be posted to every review site out there. Great example of how not to treat your clients.
WOAH! I would have FREAKED out.. Needless to say, posting this here is likely FAR more impactful. What a jerk!
@Eric Hegwer: Yes, I think she should. I would never want to order from ( or associate with) a company that said that to a customer. EVER. I’m glad she posted it to show an extreme example of bad customer service.
I’d send it in to the consumerist if I were her.
OMG, that is intense. If this happened to me, I’d probably take some time to calm down (!) and then file a report with the BBB. What is Mrs Martini’s pal planning to do?
OMG! That is ridiculous! I worked in a bank as a customer service associate. And that would have resulted in immediate termination! Yikes!
I would definitely forward that to the company’s ceo or president or who ever is in charge. They need to be aware of the type of service their employees are giving.
OMG, I’m sitting here with my mouth hanging open. What a frakkin’ INSANE email!!! I don’t think the customer was meant to see that. A person that snarky and filled with so much hostility should NOT be in customer service at ALL.
I feel for Mrs. Martini and the bride she’s helping, but… Am I the only one that thinks the response? It’s sooo ballsy I just have to laugh. I think my fiance’s twisted sense of humor is rubbing off on me. 
Thanks for posting. As we can see, Mrs. Bee has done a fantastic job of keeping the snark off her sites. It’s not all roses and furry bunnies out there, people…
@denise: Oops, I meant to say, “Am I the only one that thinks the response [is kinda funny]?”
Um, WOW. I can’t believe that… “whore”?? Seriously??? Wrong on so many levels. I hope they’re now realizing the extent of their mistake as this is made public…
That is unbelievable! I will never order from them. Thanks for the warning. Hopefully they (and others) will learn that consumers will not tolerate such horrible service.
Ok, I couldn’t help checking out their website…and this is what I found about their Customer Service Policy:
We have maintained our success by treating our customers in a fair and honest manner while providing them with the latest products, best quality and excellent service.
LOL, I guess they are a little too “honest” for my taste!
Just brutal. I guess Urban Expressions will be out of my perview of stores to shop at.
WHOA! I can’t believe that response is from a vendor! Not cool at all.
@Eric Hegwer: As a consumer, I’m SO glad that Mrs. Bee shared this with us. Who wants or deserves a vendor/customer experience like that?
Wow! That is the worst reply ever. I’m glad you posted this Kim. Even if Urban Expressions has great products, knowing that their customer service staff would respond to a customer in that way makes me think twice about ever ordering something from there. If I were that company, I’d be working on an apology ASAP.
I used to work in customer service for an online company. Some girls would make comments like this on orders and the customer would never see them. I wonder if this is an example of that but the person messedup and made it visable…either way it is so BAD!
That’s ridiculous. I would definitely contact eBay (that looks where she ordered it from).
I will say that the “I expect compensation” bit was irksome, but Holy heck that’s an awful response. For one thing, it wholly lacked creativity. (If you’re going to be a rude ass, at least do it with some flair!) I would hate to be the company has this treasure working for them. You should contact the Consumerist!
all i can say is that I hope was an accident that Mrs. Martini’s friend ever saw that, but regardless–that is unbelievable!
It actually wasn’t something that happened to me personally, but we were all waiting for the punch that was necessary for the escort cards. My friend tried calling multiple times to speak to the manager but she either couldn’t get through or the manager was never available. Emails were also sent asking for feedback with no reply. She ended up ordering the stamp from another website, and of course we didnt get the stamp in time. We had to send the groom out for an emergency stamp finding adventure.
He was able to find something that worked for us and we now have great escort cards so everything worked out in the end. But as a bride I know the stress that can come from things that don’t go according to plan. My friend never asked for the order to be canceled - she was asking why the order wasn’t yet shipped over a week after it was ordered. maybe she used a couple of extra puncuation marks, but if they had just responded to let her know that it has indeed been shipped and that they apologize for any inconvenience, it wouldve been the end of it.
we were totally shocked when we saw the email and thought it must have been some kind of joke. It’s just crazy!
On the one hand, I think that she should have spent more time drafting an e-mail that wouldn’t piss them off. On the other…wow. Just wow. Stuck between laughing hysterically (because, as someone who currently works in retail, how many times have I wished I could say something like that to an annoying customer?) and gasping in horror.
Oh my gosh! That is crazy! I would be calling the BBB (Better Business Bureau) immediately to report them. If they are accredited with the BBB and they do not take action then they could lose their accreditation. If they aren’t registered with the BBB and ignore the complaint then it will be noted on their reliability report for anyone and everyone who searches the reports to see.
That is really sad if the management condones that kind of action!
Please submit this to consumerist.com!!
Oh my gosh! Haha that’s awful! You know, I think the employee must have thought that it was like an “internal notes” section that the customer would never see.
I had something somewhat similar happen at a pizza place once, of all things. I used to frequent this pizza joint in college, and one time I ordered delivery while I was at a fraternity house (was watching movies with the now-FI there). A few months later, I ordered some pizzas and picked them up, and I saw printed at the top of my receipt that the fraternity house address had been left on my account and the employee had added some…very colorful words about the location!
I wonder if it’s similar to my company’s setup. In our customer communication system there is a comments field. If you check a box (which is within pixels from the submit button) it will include comments on the customer communication. We have all but beat it into our cust. reps that they NEVER write anything in that box that the customer and our CEO would be uphappy reading b/c it’s all too easy to accidentally check that box when you are trying to click submit.
That said….what a horrible response to write anywhere! I do think that is one of the pitfalls of how easy it is to open an online store. There is often no accountability for the actions of the store owners when things like this occur.
OMG! I don’t think the tone of the original email was bad at all. I would do the exact same thing. Seriously, how hard is it to get ONE craftpunch in the mail?
I would make the biggest fit about receiving that response. I would take it to the top of the company. So wrong!
As someone who has worked in retail/waitressed/other customer service-I have to say I find it sort of funny because there have been many times when I’ve imagined saying this to people. I of course would never do it-AND I **don’t** think the original email deserved that response-although it could have been written in a way that would have granted her the response whe wanted. You catch flies with honey, not vinegar as my mom always says.
That’s totally inappropriate! Putting that company on my sh*t list unless they make a huge effort to reconcile this.
Well, I’m inclined to think those comments were not meant to be seen by the customer, but still…inappropriate!! And IMO, I don’t think Mrs. Martini’s friend’s email was particularly rude…urgent and to the point perhaps…and she never said she “expected” compensation, so that response was completely uncalled for.
WOW!!! 0_o
Not buying ANYTHING from that company if that’s the kind of business they’re conducting!!
Oh Bee this is hilarious!
We once had a company reply back to us by mistake stating something similar in tone, but not in poor language! That person got fired from their company for sending us that email!
Good for you for posting this! I am glad the bride was able to find a suitable replacement in time.
Oh my gosh! I cannot believe anyone would think this is an appropriate way to respond! If this happened to me, I would contact the Better Business Bureau and try to find any and all other regulation agencies to turn their name in to. Additionally, I would call the company and demand to speak with a supervisor and ask if this is the approved policy on how to handle complaints. Personally, I really like the Consumerist (consumerist.com). You can post your experience (exposing this unacceptable behavior further) and get advice from people who know how to handle these situations. I hope you get some type of satisfaction! Thanks for sharing!
Yikes!!
That’s unbelievable!!
Wow, there must be some very angry and embittered employees in that company… How awful.
The intial email put me off- the response made me laugh. While I don’t agree with the response, many customers/people in general believe having a demanding tone will get things done faster. Ladies, learn from this. Being rude never gets you anywhere (except disliked)
With 3 exclamation points on 2 of 4 sentences and a double-questions mark on the 3rd there was definitely a “tone”– one of frustration perhaps, but definitely a tone. Topping it off with asking for compensation without waiting to hear a response first from customer service is like a rotten a cherry on a melted sundae.
While the actual words in the customer email should not have generated this kind of response, the “tone” obviously was sufficient to trigger someone who just as obviously was having a bad day and poor impulse control.
For best results, customers need to practice public response vs “internal response” too.
Example:
“I ordered this on (date). To date it has not been shipped. Please advise status of my order, reason for delay and when you anticipate shipping it.
“I am very frustrated by this delay as I need(ed) it to complete my project by (event/date). I had ordered it from you because Your shipping policy states that most items will be shipped within 48 hours. Because of this delay I would appreciate your shipping it immediately via (expedited shipping method) without additional charge to me.
“Thank you for your prompt attention and assistance to resolve this.
Sincerely XXXX”
This kind of response would much more likely have gotten product in hand quickly w/o additional charge or upset–or at least a response explaining they were out of stock or whatever.
However, does the “tone” of “…!! …! …??” justify or warrant the customer “service” response or company action?
Not at all!
It was a completely inappropriate verbal response and followup action. And, just as likely the action of an individual and not representative of the company’s policy and practices.
Bringing it to the attention of the Customer Service Manager and/or owner of the company should be sufficient. Bad-mouthing an entire company over an isolated incident by one employee (who by this time may no longer work there) is unfair. (This, of course, is assuming it IS an isolated incident. If it is representative of the corporate “tone” that’s another matter.)
Just saying it is important to remember that a real human being is at the other end of the customer service line. CS is one of the toughest jobs in the world. The CSR’s job is to make nice face while someone dumps on them for a situation the CSR had nothing to do with creating yet must resolve–hopefully in a way that will keep the customer happy and repeat business.
@Miss D’orsay: Ditto, I would absolutely send this in to Consumerist. The company’s actions need to be publicized; potential customers should be able to read it and decide whether they want to give them their business!
Unbelievable!
That is just so wrong in so many ways! They should be out of business soon with attitudes like that.
Yes, I think action should be taken. I don’t know any company that would allow such a reply.
Wow…
after finding this on the seller’s website, it looks like they aren’t the most polite people ever:
Can I Pay Via Money Order.
We Accept ONLY U.S. POSTAL SERVICE MONEY ORDERS. Keep your prince of nigeria scams to yourself, In Fact Email Me & I’ll Tell You Where You Can Put Them. : )
@Lisa I was just going to post that! Also, as far as I’m concerned, regardless of how the customer acts (not that in the case it was all that bad, we should all be well informed at this point on how emails can be read many different ways) the company should no better than to take it personally and react like that….that is apalling! And to everyone who said Mrs. Bee shouldn’t have posted this here, why not? You can’t think that when you have poor behavior, it will merely be kept to a contained area and restricted to one person.
wow! this is so wrong that ends up being funny - How come people like that stay in business?
The response is vindictive and unprofessional, and that person should definitely look into another line of work. But, forgive me for being one of the few voices of dissent here, why did this girl have to write such a rude email over a $16 paper punch? I know “the customer is always right” but come on! That’s why I try to be nice to customer service people because they get crap like this every single day. Who knows, maybe this was the straw that broke the camel’s back???
I would contact Google since that’s who they process their order through - and submit a complain through them.
Sure, the first email was a bit aggressive (for a lack of a better word) but i’d be frustrated to with a late package!!
You should send this to other bloggers/media and spread the word, a company like that shouldn’t be in business!
While I definitely think the dissenters have a point about the tone of the initial e-mail being pretty inappropriate, I think the misogyny of the response alone warrants being published on Weddingbee. I would assume that an online crafts store’s client base would be largely female, and having such hateful and sexist language really puts this response over the edge for me.
I know Weddingbee is usually a place that doesn’t concentrate on the negative, but this is just so absurd that I’m glad you shared. I hope no one has to deal with any vendor that treats them as such. They are obviously not a people person and need to gain those skills or have someone else do their customer relations.
Wow, the craziest thing I’ve ever heard about! Good to know, also so I won’t be doing business with them!
Hilarious! I know it’s inappropriate, but I’m sure the person was having a pretty rough day. Brides can be hard to work with.
I should also add that I’ve been a total a$$ to people in customer service before (usually because I have made a mistake and they can’t correct it). They put up with some serious crap.
Anyone who works with brides, DIYers and customers in general knows that customers expect the company to adhere to the contract made at the point of purchase. Whether or not the employee liked it, when a customer makes a purchase they enter into a legal agreement. All Mrs. Martini’s friend was asking was why it wasn’t shipped. Thank you for sharing the company with us, customer service is a priority to me.
That is just downright embarrassing. Like Pengy said, something tells me they didn’t mean for that to actually get sent. Too bad that it did! Terrible business practices.
I seriously hope she’s called back to speak with the owners- and yes, I believe something like this needs to be escalated that far- I’m betting you’d end up with more hole punches (and any other product that they sell) than you ever dreamed of. I’ve worked in a number of customer service roles- I’ve even had a customer throw a fast food salad at me because someone else got their order wrong- it is no excuse. You don’t have to take crap from anyone, so you can walk away- but you have no right to represent someone else’s company in that manner. I hope they realize that it’s been posted here and I hope everyone else posts this as far as their reach goes.
Woah. Totally uncalled for. I can’t even believe it. I would be on the phone with their costumer service and the BBB so fast. I’m not lawyer it seems like the could get into a lot of trouble over this, right??
You know, at first I was just appalled that they canceled her order without her explicitly asking for that action. Then of course, I read on. Customer service: not really this person’s forte, eh?
well at least they gave her a full refund.
I have to say, no matter how over the top the bride’s email was to begin with, their email response was totally uncalled for. I am laughing out loud that somebody could be that stupid to respond like that. It’s their job to be nice and fix problems. If they don’t want to do that, perhaps they should look for another line of work. Or take the stick out of their bum.
Since I’m in sales, this thing has really irked me since I read it earlier today. It is just completely unacceptable!
I just emailed eCrater with the link to this webpage and asked them if they find this acceptable behavior from one of their vendors. I also pointed out the unnecessary wording in the money order policy. I told them that if they continue to allow Urban Expressions to sell on their site, they will lose any future business I (and anyone I know) might give them.
This still just blows my mind. Considering it happened on July 3, if it were me, by now I would have complained to eCrater, reported them to the Better Business Bureau, and complained about them on Consumerist.com (and anywhere else I could find), AND posted negative feedback about them on Twitter and Facebook. I would rage an all out war against this vendor. Not that 2 wrongs make a right, but others need to know about this in order to protect themselves from the same happening.
#1 rule of customer service: the customer is ALWAYS right!
This guy needs to go work in a coal mine…deep underground.
*mouth agape* i give them a week before they’re out of business.
If you must vent, be like me–passive aggressive!! That’s why voodoo dolls are so popular!
@Eric Hegwer: “Does the entire wedding world need to know?” Yes. They do.
Oh my gosh I laughed so loud when I read this and then procedeed to read it to the people around me. That is amazing. I hope Mrs. Martini’s friend called the company to complain and the person who wrote it got in BIG trouble. Classic that you posted it on here for everyone to see the company too, they will loose so much business from this community!!!
Annnnd I’ll be linking my blog to this so other readers won’t have to work with such a rude and unprofessional vendor. UNBELIEVABLE!
Also… is it just me or did her original inquiry really not come across THAT bad?
What is the website address of the company you tried to make the purchase from?
@Eric Hegwer: Bee’s name isn’t “Kim” and the name of the site is Weddingbee not “WeddingBee”
Wow, this is both hilarious and appalling. The initial email was aggressive, and I agree with those who suggest that a more polite request might have been in order. But regardless of the tone of that email, the reply was outrageous.
I looked at the FAQ on their website, and I can’t say I’m that surprised by their behavior. The FAQ is ungrammatical and unprofessional. I would not have ordered from them in the first place, and I definitely would not order from them now.
Whoa. Hooooooooly crap.
And to all the people saying this shouldn’t be posted, just ask yourself how you would feel if you were on the receiving end. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to hear about ANY business that works in a shady manner BEFORE being the victim. Whomever is responsible for this, it is something they brought on themselves.
WOW what a crude, rude business… They need to get a grip! They just lost a lot of potential clients!
I have to say, I work in customer service now for a company that prides itself in our relationship with our customers. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behavior! I am “yelled” at by customers multiple times a day, and in my training I am taught to remember that it is not personal, they are normally upset with the situation, not me personally. This person’s response was obviously a personal response back. I know I will not be giving them my business, ever.
If you all are interested…here is the site!
http://urbanexpress.ecrater.com/
We should all warn friends and family about this! That is just ABSOLUTELY unprofessional!!!!
I don’t understand why people think the original email requesting compensation or at least an explanation was unreasonable? She was expecting 48 hours and that’s what she should have received. What should she have said, “If please, you don’t mind, could you possibly, please send my product when you get a chance, please, if it doesn’t inconvenience you?” Gimme a break. She was in the right, the “tone” of her email was fine and justified.
Wow, I’m floored. I’d say I wouldn’t recommend anyone using that site in the future, even though ownership has changed hands.
I have to say, I highly doubt that company has in fact changed hands. How on earth would that be worth that much money!? What a skeezy person, I hope they do go out of business.
They also seem to have a scrapbooking outlet in Michigan, so watch out!
Not only do I agree what everyone else is saying, but I have to bring up the owner’s spelling and grammar! How unprofessional!
Wow, the followup really seals the deal on the fact that this person needs to get out of sales. 1. Profanity in business is not acceptable — ever. Maybe one or two cuss words between coworkers on bad days, but you DO NOT cuss out customers, even if they did it first (which was not the case here). How childish. 2. Fact check FAIL. Anonymous blogs no one reads? It’s a good thing he has his “money in his hand” because the Hive is a bigger force than he thinks it is. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Holy schnikeys! I can’t believe the mouth and the attitude on this person!
I agree w/ Ms. Penguin, probably hit send by mistake and can’t delete it. But if true, no I would not take any action against this person. Like an accident just waiting to happen, they will hit their own brick wall with that spirit and it’s best that I just get out of the way.
Haha…an “e-warrior hiding in the depths of anonymus internet blogs that no one reads..”
She/he has NO clue! I reckon every single Weddingbee reader should contact her to complain.
wow. just… wow.
totally outrageous! sounds like someone originally may have typed it as a joke, but then it backfired on them and now they’re trying to play it off! so inappropriate! even if a customer had “started” it (which they totally did not, in this situation) there is NO excuse for juvenile behavior and crude language!
i think the funniest part had to be “have fun being an E-warrior hiding in the depths of the anonymus internet blogs that no one reads” HAHA, joke’s (again) on you, crappy vendor! More than 100 replies in less than a day…I think that speaks for itself.
“depths of the anonymus [sic] internet blogs that no one reads”
I just saw the Modern Bride yesterday with Bee in it - not quite so anonymous after all! Good for Mrs. Martini - I never tolerate bad vendors.. there are so many good businesses out there to support instead of someone as lousy as this person.
Need to re-iterate what everyone has been saying….WOW!
But I feel really bad for the collateral damage…if the site was really sold, and the old owner is causing bad business relationships, I hope the new people know they are being sabotaged. They should get some of their money back because after this, who wants to shop there?
Definitely an issue for the BBB. Who is the owner of Urban Expressions? He shouldn’t be anonymous because if he has a new business, no way would I want to shop there!
This actually makes me really angry. OK, yes the original email was bordering on rude, and from years of working in customer service, I can understand how it might make a CSR a little bristly. You DO get bees with honey.
That being said, that email definitely does not justify the response. And then the incredibly arrogant, poorly written, mispelled response of the OWNER to this post?!?! Who is this person?! And how on earth did he/she start a business?! GRR!
That is crazy, can’t believe the “owner” responded with that!
Again.. wow. I’m not sure why I thought that the owner’s response would be any different from the initial message. Maybe I was trying to give some credit to this company since I didn’t know the background, but this response just makes me angry. Ugh.
By looking at the site, the company has only had 22 online orders in this past year with one feedback. Of course the feedback says that they never received the order. Companies like this should just go away and disappear into the shallow depths of the internet underworld to never be seen again.
That is so out of control!!! They are in Michigan? I will be happy to spread the word here. Ugh.
I love how it says that “no one reads.” Are they talking about Weddingbee?! One of, if not THE, wedding-related website with the most hits per day?! Ha! That’s hilarious!
I’m with what may have said, the person canceling the order MUST not have known that the order comments would go on the e-mail. I cannot imagine them writing that with the intent the customer would see it. But then again, there are some bizarre people in this world.
This is horrible. What ever happened to customer service?? I agree with Brian that this person will hit his or her own brick. “What goes around, comes back around”.
WOW! Angry, much? And 118 comments later on the blog that “no one reads”…Ridiculous
Holy freakin cow!! I am now officially AGAPE after reading the owner’s response, unbelieveable!!
Ok, I’m pissed now! I think we all need to find out who this guy is.
Seriously — INSANE! e-warriors??? LOL
Ummm “anonymus internet blogs that no one reads”? Think again! Unfreakin’ believable!
What a smug…okay I’m gonna stop before I go down to this loser’s level, this is totally ridiculous treatment, whether or not they sold their company!
Wow, the plot thickens! There really are some crazy people out there, huh?!
I wondered the same thing that Pengy did, maybe this guy typed it out, never intending to send it. However, in the follow-up, it sounds like he’s as big of a jerk as I initially thought. Simply unbelievable.
I love how the terrible woman says Mrs. Bee has a website that know one reads!! what a dumb dumb lady. Does she not realize how many people this info will reach?!! Does she not realize how many brides are reading about her insane behavior. I really hope this co. loses a bunch of buisness. That kind of customer service is insance. It is amazing that person was even able to start a biz in the 1st place. This place needs to be “blacklisted” by all us in the hive.
I am just floored by the unprofessionality of this vendor; I won’t even go to their site lest I give them the benefit of web traffic. And I don’t buy for a second that the company has been sold and is moving — sounds more like this anonymous owner is freaking out a bit about the business’ plight after being featured in his/her true light on “internet blogs that no one reads.” What a pity for it that Weddingbee gets over 300,000 daily page views.
(Regarding the update) Wait–what?? That was an actual response? Like, from the owner?
Here is a copy of my email to eCrater (that I sent yesterday after hours of this eating at me after I read the original post) and eCrater’s reply to me today:
Hello Nancy,
Thank you for your email.
We did not get a complaint from buyer regarding this issues, nevertheless
we will request an explanation from the seller.
Sincerely,
Mick
The eCRATER Team
–
> From: Nancy
>
> Store: Urban Express
>
> Have you all seen this:
>
> http://www.weddingbeepro.com/2009/07/16/craziest-vendor-response-ever/
>
> Question, are your vendors permitted to answer their customers like this
> and remain part of your business team?
>
> The victim is not me, but I will definitely never buy anything from Urban
> Express, and if eCrater continues to allow them to host their business
> here, I will never buy anything from any eCrater business in the
> future….and will make sure none of my friends do either.
>
> Urban Express’ response to a customer inquiry about shipment/delivery is
> absolutely unacceptable, even if the customer did have a little bit of an
> attitude in her inquiry…but then again, didn’t she have a right to since
> it was already late?
>
> And have you seen Urban Express’ words under their money order
> policy..absolutely uncalled for.
>
> Hoping to hear you have taken this up with Urban Express and that the
> client in question has had some kind of ammends made. In meantime, both
> Urban Express and eCrater will continue to receive negative exposure… it
> is allover Twitter.
>
> Regards,
> Nancy
(I do hope Mick gets back to me after they contact the seller.)
@Eric Hegwer: yes, the wedding world does need to know about these things. i’m glad she posted this, because now i know how to purchase anything from them. i can save myself the time, money and a lot of frustration, especially when i have a million other things to do with wedding plans.
Wow. It would seem somebody forgot to attend their weekly anger management counseling session or missed their medication!!!
That is totally unbelievable and the most unprofessional thing I have ever seen. Even on my worst day of pms and if there were a worldwide chocolate shortage I would never be that evil…
honestly, i don’t agree with what was said, and i don’t think that Mrs. Martini’s friend was all that harsh in her email.
But, I’m not surprised that it happened, given their awful, borderline racist terms of service:
what a sad, angry person. I almost feel bad that they feel the need to speak to anyone like that on a daily basis.
P.s. I love what a community weddingbee has become. It’s nice to have a place to share things like this that will actually have an impact.
I got got a funny vision of all us brides in our beautiful gowns with pitchforks and torches….
That is absolute insanity! Some people in this world are just so sad and pathetic.
This was bad customer service at it’s worst! But please don’t confuse this one seller with the thousands of wonderful people doing business on ecrater. Most of us live up to our promises, advertise honestly, and give much better than average customer service. You should investigate each seller by reading their about and faq pages, and checking their feedback. And if you purchase from an ecrater seller, please leave feedback for them so others can shop with confidence. Thanks! I can see this is not “one of those anonymous blogs that nobody reads”!
GAHAHAHA… I love the Internet: Google “Urban Expression Craft” and four of the five results ABOVE their store name are links to this story on WB, Consumerist, Digg, and other feed sites. This is after ONE DAY and you can count that there will be more and more as Google indexes the content and the story gets linked from other sites and spread across the web.
This person had better be serious that he has sold the business and is retiring the name, because if he hasn’t, he can count on the power of word of mouth ruining what credibility he has left. “Blogs that no one reads,” my arse!
But while it is fair to notify eCrater of this seller’s behavior, do not let it color your opinion of them as a shop builder. They are simply the “host” of this site, as wordpress is a host of myriad blogs… they may choose to control their choice of sellers based on content like this, or they may not. Either way, the responsibility for this behavior falls on Urban Expressions alone.
i had something similar happen to me, only i got not only email but abusive text messages saying i was too stupid to know how to read among other terrible things. i think it is funny that this story showed up in the “best of google reader.” i hope the dumb store owner realizes what a jerk he looks like to the entire world.
The address of this online merchant is identical to a home-based business named Spring Lake Bridal (www.springlakebridal.com).
Urban Expressions, 616 540-7949,
630 East Savidge Street, Spring Lake, MI 49456 US
Wow — crazy! (On another note, are PRO comments up for consideration in the Water Cooler? Because this one might make it if so, right?)
it’s so rude that it turned out to be amusing. i don’t know if that was the owner, but that’s really bad business practice!
@ eric hegwer— I am glad that this was posted. There are a lot of companies out there that strive for customer service and they are the ones that deserve our business. Companies that treat customers in this manner have no right being in business. I am a small business owner and I am appalled at how this company behaved. I believe that you have to earn your customers. Maybe you don’t agree with it, and that’s fine. Everyone deserves an opinion and you have every right to voice yours. From my end, however, I am glad that this was brought forward.
I would contact Better Business Bureau if possible.
Crazy is definitely the word for this - That vendor had better hope their deal is final because… they may have just killed it if everything isn’t final! I’d be so pissed if I were the buying party…
Wow - I really want to know what someone who acts like this looks like! Do they appear normal in real life? Crazy.Pants.
OMG! I am shocked. I may be a potty mouth myself, but I would never call a customer a whore! WTF!!!!
*Quote*
Author: Kevin
Comment:
The address of this online merchant is identical to a home-based business named Spring Lake Bridal (www.springlakebridal.com).
Urban Expressions, 616 540-7949,
630 East Savidge Street, Spring Lake, MI 49456 US
*unquote*
Excellent! Now we have another business to avoid. Good work, Kevin!
Oh my gosh, Spring Lake, MI?! That’s where we got married!! So interesting…
Pretty crazy! Somehow he/she needs to get a taste of their own foul=mouthed medicine! let me at em’! Lol!
I can actually understand the owner. Clearly this is major unprofessional behaviour but having to deal with bitching customers like this I would lose it as well. Compensation for a couple of days of shipping delay to the tune of a billing total of $16.64? It’s a frakkin’ joke.
You are hypocrites people. All and every one of you.
@xemox The thing is though, if you are establishing a business that requires providing a customer with an item or service, etc, then you have to understand that unhappy customers come with the territory sometimes! Sure, it could make the owner unhappy, but maintaining the integrity of your business should be the #1 priority, and they are only harming themselves by acting in the way they did. It doesn’t matter how much it cost! One of the most important things with customer service is to retain your customer!!!!
I used to work for Nordstrom, and I continue to be a loyal customer today BECAUSE OF THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE. I ordered a pair of shoes that had to be sent from out of state, and there was a problem with the shipping company, who ended up just holding my package and never delivering it to me (I had to drive to their warehouse myself and get the box). Clearly, I was upset, and so I called customer service to let them know about it. They reimbursed my shipping costs, and sent me a certificate for a free lunch or dinner at their Cafe. Overall, it wasn’t like they refunded my money, but they made an effort to make it right, and to keep me as a customer for the future. Sheesh, I highly doubt that will happen with this company! Goooood luck!
This is exactly how to not promote your company online.. Urban Expressions was just rated in WOT..
If I was the new owner and saw all of this bad publicity, I might want to rethink the sale or otherwise sue if business goes down because of this.
It’s plain to see by the response that this owner has anger issues. What goes around, comes around!
When I first read the original email by the customer and the response she received, I thought hmmm - that wasn’t meant to be seen by the customer. But after seeing the email sent in reference to this blog post, I am in awe!
Bad, bad business dude.
It makes me wonder about anger management issues or a total breakdown…. or perhaps a badly behaving adolescent employee?
“…anonymus internet blogs that no one reads…”
Funny reading that on a post with over one hundred comments.
To even point the finger at the customer here is just ridiculous. The owner’s response was so over the line - and the subsequent responses above indicating that this was not a rash response not to be seen but status quo - are just insane.
The owner doesn’t want to deal with unhappy customers? Call me crazy, but then possibly, just POSSIBLY, she shouldn’t have started a business serving customers! Sure, she can get annoyed, but to react that way is crazy.
katiebug3017 makes an excellent point about Nordstrom’s reputation for excellent customer service.
And re: Janna19 comment, yes unhappy customers come with the territory of being in business. No one commenting on the customer’s initial email said that the company’s response was appropriate– on the contrary. The anger management/impulse control, conflict resolution & communication skills exhibited by the owner/employee are way beyond the reach of this forum.
Comments about the customer’s approach indicated she might have gotten more effective results by taking a less confrontational approach in the first place.
It’s clear that the owner of the company is over the top, but continued bashing is only going to further entrench such a person in his position and his behavior. It will not result in customer getting what she wanted. It will not change that company’s customer service nor will it effectively serve as a cautionary tale for other companies.
It seems to me that discussing conflict resolution and how both customers and companies can communicate effectively to resolve a customer service issue would be much more productive.
The adage that “the customer is always right” suggests the company is always wrong. That is not always the case. When something goes wrong, it is important to find out what went wrong and why–not to ascribe blame but to fix it if possible and take steps to avoid the problem again in the future.
The customer may or may not always be right, but no one should be made to feel bad.
It starts with stating the facts of the situation and saying “Please advise” followed with “Thank you for your prompt attention to this situation.” That allows the CSR to deal with the situation without the distraction of overcoming the “Fight or flight” adrenalin rush of feeling attacked–which can then derail the transaction into the kind attack/counter-attack situation given here.
I’m outraged, so I also contacted ecrater because our family has a store there.
The owner, Justin did NOT sell his business. He just created an online store (which is not doing well).
If you want, he’s also selling his dog. Yeah, SELLING. If I were moving, I’d just be happy to find it a good home. The money is just an excuse.
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/pet/1250623484.html
And if you find the ad where he was also selling his car, you’ll see that this business “owner” communicates everywhere with the same potty mouth with the same racist, ignorant attitude.
But for good measure I sent to this a friend at CNN and thought they’d be interested in Justin and his customer service skills too.
An unhappy customer always is more likely to talk about their experience than a happy one. And then usually the people they tell will continue to pass on the story, and so on and so forth. THAT is a big reason why companies have the “the customer is always right” attitude.
Was an $11 item worth the negative publicity? I sure hope not.
Anyways, I’m forwarding this around to my coworkers who I know will find it outrageous enough to pass on as well.
Hope that’s what the owner was going for.
@Mom of the Bride: @Mom of the Bride:
The man isn’t *selling* his dog. If you knew anything about craigslist, you’d know that it’s against policy to post in your ads for pets, “free to a good home.” This is to prevent animal abusers from seeing, “free pet! sweet!” and picking it up and treating it poorly. A re-homing fee is to make sure someone is SERIOUS about adopting a pet.
I read this post while taking a break from writing some web copy for a client on their online reputation management service. Sounds like Justin could use a referral. What a knob.
You know, you should really submit that to http://www.emailsfromcrazypeople.com. Its a pretty hilarious blog.
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Mrs. Bee, New York
Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet
Engagement Date: May 7, 2004
Wedding Date: March 5, 2005
Venue: Westside Loft, New York
About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
WHOA!! That’s insane! I can’t believe they wrote that back!