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Kohl's has terrible customer service (1 Viewer)

Buzzbait said:
They acknowledged the issue, apologized and gave you credit. I don't see the problem since, as you already said, the product was great the first two times. Also, your wife was happy and the flowers looked nice on Valentines Day.

Now the credit resolution isn't acceptable because you "probably won't end up using your service after this fiasco." If it were me and I'd been happy two previous times AND they acknowledged the issue, apologized and gave me credit I'd be satifified.
:goodposting:

This seems completely reasonable and certainly doesn't equal letting a company taking advantage of you.

 
How much was the credit for?  A dollar amount or a % off the next order?

Oh, and your girl probably should have put the flowers in some water.   ;)

 
At this point, my fiance says to me that she kind of liked the pillow, so she'll just keep it instead of driving to the store and returning it.  So I email Kohl's back and say that I'm going to keep the pillow they messed up sending me, but I'd still like the pillow I ordered, and I wouldn't mind a little discount since they had made a mistake.  In my mind, I felt like they messed up and because of it, they got 2 sales instead of 1.  
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

 
Again, I just don't understand why not give my credit and a small discount.  I would guess that a new company would not want to lose customers.  A small discount could have saved a customer, as well as not turned into me telling everyone I know not to use Bouqs.com.  Am I still wrong for expecting some sort of small gesture for their error?
lmfao

 
INTERNET HERO: hey you guys messed up

EVIL CORPORATION: oh very sorry sir, we'll fix that and here's something extra for your trouble

INTERNET HERO: lol that's not enough.  give me way more than that

EVIL CORPORATION: ???

INTERNET HERO: I WONT SHOP WITH YOU ANYMORE

 
I guess here's what a lot of you are missing.  Most companies will go out of their way to keep customers happy.  Whether you think it's strange or not, it's the truth.  If a customer complains, they will try to appease that customer.  It's much easier to give a small gift then to lose customers.  The cost of saving that customer is much cheaper than the cost of trying to gain new customers.

I've been given anything from small discounts on current purchases to completely free large ticket items.  Dell once gave me a printer and old school PDA over a laptop order mix up.  This is just how most businesses work.  With that said, it's great that you think I'm being unreasonable or a curmudgeon about this, but the fact is most companies have a plan in place of how to appease upset customers.

If another flower delivery company has one of those plans in place, as I'm sure they probably do, then which company do you think will do better in the long run?  This is why I think it's humorous that you guys think I'm asking for too much.  Other companies out there will give me what I want.  These two just happen not to.  You go ahead and accept your refund and be happy with it.  Those companies love you guys.  

 
INTERNET HERO: hey you guys messed up

EVIL CORPORATION: oh very sorry sir, we'll fix that and here's something extra for your trouble

INTERNET HERO: lol that's not enough.  give me way more than that

EVIL CORPORATION: ???

INTERNET HERO: I WONT SHOP WITH YOU ANYMORE
Here's where your theory falls apart.  This is what I wanted and did not get.  

 
Hey Shiek, just wanted to let you know that I bought my wife roses from Costco on 2/13. It's 6 days later and they look glorious. Honestly, outside of them spreading a bit (they were closed up when I got them), they look like they'll go another week no problem. You can do a little work with your legs next time and get them yourself and put them in a nice vase with the little plant food they give you and surprise her in the morning. ;)

 
So you had a terrible experience, so bad you said you'd likely never use them again, but you would allow yourself to be lured back in with a measly 10% discount. 

Congrats on being a sucker. Saving $5 off your next order and only leaving them with $20 in profit instead of $25 is really showing them. 

 
Hey Shiek, just wanted to let you know that I bought my wife roses from Costco on 2/13. It's 6 days later and they look glorious. Honestly, outside of them spreading a bit (they were closed up when I got them), they look like they'll go another week no problem. You can do a little work with your legs next time and get them yourself and put them in a nice vase with the little plant food they give you and surprise her in the morning. ;)
You know, there's this little mom and pop store that has been in our little town for probably 50 years.  Always have great flowers and are the nicest people.  But they recently trimmed their store hours down.  Not sure why, but it made it hard to get to them with work hours.  I think I may have to go back to them and just figure out a way to leave work early.

 
So you had a terrible experience, so bad you said you'd likely never use them again, but you would allow yourself to be lured back in with a measly 10% discount. 

Congrats on being a sucker. Saving $5 off your next order and only leaving them with $20 in profit instead of $25 is really showing them. 
No.  I never said I wouldn't use them again because the flowers were bad.  I said I would not use them now because of the total experience.  When I emailed them to let them know about the flowers, if they would have said, "So sorry.  We're sending new flowers as replacement and we'll give you 10% of your next order", I would have been completely satisfied.  I just wanted a small gesture since they messed up.  If you mess up, try to fix your error.  

 
In the flower scenario, you did get it but it wasn't what you wanted because you didn't tell them and they weren't mind readers.
Again, no.  He's saying that they offered to fix that AND give me something for my trouble.  If they would have done that, I would have been happy.  It's not about reading minds.  Like I stated earlier, my current company tells the phone reps that if a customer is upset, offer them x% off their order.  I forget if it's 10 or 15, but it's a nice offer.  Most companies have this same policy.  It's not about reading minds.  It's simply about offering something small to keep a customer happy.  

 
Here's where your theory falls apart.  This is what I wanted and did not get.  
there's no "theory" here.  they made a mistake, tried to make it right, and it wasn't to your liking so now you're going to ruin their reputation with everyone you know (even though your first two experiences with them were great). seems reasonable.

 
Can you be a little more clear about what your main problem was with your scenario?

Was it that they didn't get back to you sooner after your first email? 24 hours might be kind of tough for a smaller company at their busiest time of the year.

Was it that they just gave you credit on a future order vs refund of the same amount on this one?  Your polite email not asking for anything and noting you were a repeat (happy other than this time) customer might have lead them to believe you were likely to order from them again, so a future credit would be reasonable.

Or was it that the credit wasn't for enough money?  I don't think you mentioned how much credit they gave you.  

Would you really have been happy if they had simply given you 10% back rather than a future credit?  Since you eventually asked for a full refund, it doesn't seem like 10% would have left you satisfied.

To me, when I don't ask for anything, I'm at least mildly impressed that I'm offered something.  If I then let them know that I don't value what they gave me enough and would be happier with something better and they give me exactly what I ask for, I call that some pretty good customer service. 

I don't think any (or at least many) of us are blaming you for asking for more.  It's the complaining about them afterwards even though they pretty quickly gave you what you asked for that's questionable.

 
Can you be a little more clear about what your main problem was with your scenario?

Was it that they didn't get back to you sooner after your first email? 24 hours might be kind of tough for a smaller company at their busiest time of the year.

Was it that they just gave you credit on a future order vs refund of the same amount on this one?  Your polite email not asking for anything and noting you were a repeat (happy other than this time) customer might have lead them to believe you were likely to order from them again, so a future credit would be reasonable.

Or was it that the credit wasn't for enough money?  I don't think you mentioned how much credit they gave you.  

Would you really have been happy if they had simply given you 10% back rather than a future credit?  Since you eventually asked for a full refund, it doesn't seem like 10% would have left you satisfied.

To me, when I don't ask for anything, I'm at least mildly impressed that I'm offered something.  If I then let them know that I don't value what they gave me enough and would be happier with something better and they give me exactly what I ask for, I call that some pretty good customer service. 

I don't think any (or at least many) of us are blaming you for asking for more.  It's the complaining about them afterwards even though they pretty quickly gave you what you asked for that's questionable.
Yeah, I get that.  Some times things get lost in translation over a message board.  I'll point out that even though I have quotes in things, those aren't the exact words or things said.  I'm really just editing for space.  But I'll try to give the quick break down here:

After the flowers had died, I emailed them and told them that their product was up to standard.  I think on their site they talk about how their flowers will last longer than any other shop and can last up to 2 weeks.  I don't remember the specifics, but they say something to that extent.  Obviously, it's more than 24 hours.  In the email I asked them what they could do to fix the problem.  

At this point, the email exchange became fuzzy due to the person on the other end not being great at English.  And I get that companies do this to save money.  I have no problem with that.  The problem I have is when it causes confusion.  The way she worded the email made it sound like she was going to fix my issue, but in the meantime, here is a refund.  This really was the crux of the issue.  On their end, they thought the issue was resolved.  But on my end, I was expecting more to happen.  This happened in two emails where her wording left it sounding like they were working on a solution when they actually were done with it.

Their solution was they gave me a credit of my full order.  This meaning that my next order would be free, essentially.  Problem was, that didn't rectify the dead flowers I already had.  I eventually just had them change that credit to a refund to my card.  To their credit, they did it without issue.  Fast, too.  But I was perplexed at why not offer to resend the flowers and give a discount on a future purchase?  Not a huge discount.  I'm not asking for the world.  But a small gesture to acknowledge they messed up.  As I've said before, it's much cheaper to do that and keep a customer, than it is to gain a new customer.  This is why most companies go out of their way to keep customers.  

Now if anyone wants to say it's my fault for not being specific, that's fine.  But I can go elsewhere and get flowers.  The onus isn't on me to keep me happy. 

If people want to disagree with my thoughts here, I'm fine with that.  

 
Again, no.  He's saying that they offered to fix that AND give me something for my trouble.  If they would have done that, I would have been happy.  It's not about reading minds.  Like I stated earlier, my current company tells the phone reps that if a customer is upset, offer them x% off their order.  I forget if it's 10 or 15, but it's a nice offer.  Most companies have this same policy.  It's not about reading minds.  It's simply about offering something small to keep a customer happy.  
It is about reading minds.  You previously stated you don't like asking for things.  Your original post (on the flowers) said you just explained facts and didn't ask for anything.  I understand your firm has a blanket standard response/offer to fix mistakes, but you have to acknowledge this simply isn't going to be a standard across the retail industry.  Ordering things online are going to cause a myriad of different issues; timing, wrong product, defective product, on and on.  Having a standard "this is what we offer to correct issues" isn't a one size fits all thing.  I worked retail all through high school and college, I was on that end of customer service.  While I am no longer in retail, I still deal with "customers" and problem resolution.  Having the ability to work with a customer with some flexibility is far more preferred, from my point of view over some canned response.

Regardless, I'll bow out of this conversation, because I simply don't understand myself what you are looking for here, but I do know that it is not my feedback.  Good luck. :thumbup:

 
Sorry to hear that. I appreciate your post and would be glad to post again. Please provide me your topic title and I would be glad to assist you. Thank you for your patience.

 
It is about reading minds.  You previously stated you don't like asking for things.  Your original post (on the flowers) said you just explained facts and didn't ask for anything.  I understand your firm has a blanket standard response/offer to fix mistakes, but you have to acknowledge this simply isn't going to be a standard across the retail industry.  Ordering things online are going to cause a myriad of different issues; timing, wrong product, defective product, on and on.  Having a standard "this is what we offer to correct issues" isn't a one size fits all thing.  I worked retail all through high school and college, I was on that end of customer service.  While I am no longer in retail, I still deal with "customers" and problem resolution.  Having the ability to work with a customer with some flexibility is far more preferred, from my point of view over some canned response.

Regardless, I'll bow out of this conversation, because I simply don't understand myself what you are looking for here, but I do know that it is not my feedback.  Good luck. :thumbup:
You don't have to bow out.  I enjoy talking with you.  I understand what you're saying, but if you are a company and you have an upset customer, you can't just sit back and hope they make an offer that fixes it.  You need to go on the offensive.  Who do you think loses out more here?  Me or the upstart company?  I can easily go get flowers elsewhere at no extra cost.  

 
Thought Amazon had a good reputation on resolving issues. Bought a crappy tablet for the kids.... actually my wife did, two of them for each of our older kids. She went cheap on it and got a Orbo? I never discussed it with my wife but I am sure she just saw tablet and the price and ordered it. We get them. One doesn't work almost out of the gate (it booted up and then my kid played on it for maybe an hour? and it stopped working... not dropped or anything). The other one got dropped once from a height no higher than 2 feet and it cracked and broke. For the one that broke right away I got it in the mail before the deadline. Been waiting for the credit and don't see it. Finally, I had some extra time in front of the computer at home and tried to contact Amazon regarding it.

Took me forever to find how to contact them. Finally do and go for the internet connection. It took me handed over to 4 different people who all spent about 15 minutes figuring out that they could not help me and then handed it off except the last person who tells me that they have to send it to the specialist team. ??? All I want is my freaking credit back on the return which they show they got already.

My favorite thing was when asked about the order number, which I look up order history and then give him a number that I find. It takes less than a minute for the reply that that was not the correct number and provides me with the correct one. ??? Why the hell did you ask for it if you already have it?!

 
Lehigh, that was great.  In a I'm glad it wasn't happening to me kind of way, of course. 

Hard to choose my favorite line, but I might have to go with,

" I will issue a $5 coupon to your account as a compensation. I do understand that this cannot compensate for the inconvenience."

Thanks for offering compensation that you know full well doesn't actually, uh, compensate!!

 
To the people who think I'm asking too much, let me ask you this.   Say you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, have a few drinks, and when the meal comes your wife's meal is incorrect.  Your meal is fine.  They apologize, take back her dish and spend 20 minutes recooking her meal exactly the way you ordered the first time.  Is that enough to make you happy?  What if the manager apologized and offered to buy your next round of drinks and recook the meal?  

I'm just trying to figure out where the line is where you're just OK with a redo.  If your wedding photographer messes up, do you just want your money refunded?  What's the line you guys draw?

 
Their solution was they gave me a credit of my full order.  This meaning that my next order would be free, essentially.  Problem was, that didn't rectify the dead flowers I already had.  I eventually just had them change that credit to a refund to my card.  To their credit, they did it without issue.  Fast, too.  But I was perplexed at why not offer to resend the flowers and give a discount on a future purchase?  Not a huge discount.  I'm not asking for the world.  But a small gesture to acknowledge they messed up.  As I've said before, it's much cheaper to do that and keep a customer, than it is to gain a new customer.  This is why most companies go out of their way to keep customers.  

Now if anyone wants to say it's my fault for not being specific, that's fine.  But I can go elsewhere and get flowers.  The onus isn't on me to keep me happy. 

If people want to disagree with my thoughts here, I'm fine with that.  
I see what you mean, but personally, I'd prefer a full credit towards a future order over new flowers + small discount on future order (of course, full refund would be my #1 choice). They may just have info that the majority of people don't want the flowers resent - the thought being that most of the value of Valentines Day flowers are in the receiving and showing off that one day - so it's reasonable that what they offered would normally be more valued by the average customer than the offer you expected them to give you.  I agree that being given an option would be awesome, though.

 
To the people who think I'm asking too much, let me ask you this.   Say you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, have a few drinks, and when the meal comes your wife's meal is incorrect.  Your meal is fine.  They apologize, take back her dish and spend 20 minutes recooking her meal exactly the way you ordered the first time.  Is that enough to make you happy?  What if the manager apologized and offered to buy your next round of drinks and recook the meal?  

I'm just trying to figure out where the line is where you're just OK with a redo.  If your wedding photographer messes up, do you just want your money refunded?  What's the line you guys draw?
In general, I would prefer them competently acknowledging the problem, owning it and taking immediate action to remedy it above a discount or some other token of apology. If that happens then I usually will walk away still positive about the experience knowing that mistakes happen but I know that they will take care of me if one is made.

That being said, when a company does offer some sort of token of an apology- it cane take the experience and turn it into a loyalty one. I am much more inclined to return as a customer because they have showed me that they value me as a customer.

For the best of best companies- they do both without asking for it.

 
You don't have to bow out.  I enjoy talking with you.  I understand what you're saying, but if you are a company and you have an upset customer, you can't just sit back and hope they make an offer that fixes it.  You need to go on the offensive.  Who do you think loses out more here?  Me or the upstart company?  I can easily go get flowers elsewhere at no extra cost.  
While I agree that a business should make an offer to rectify the situation when a mistake is made, I believe that a customer has a responsibility to voice their preference of solution prior to the business' offer, if anything less than what the customer wants is going to result in an unhappy customer.

I'll also admit I am probably colored by personal experience.  I still vividly remember a customer threatening to "pull my tie right through my neck" if I didn't give him what he was asking for to resolve his particular issue.

 
You know, there's this little mom and pop store that has been in our little town for probably 50 years.  Always have great flowers and are the nicest people.  But they recently trimmed their store hours down.  Not sure why, but it made it hard to get to them with work hours.  I think I may have to go back to them and just figure out a way to leave work early.
So you can order flowers over the Internet, but calling a store during store hours is difficult?  

 
To the people who think I'm asking too much, let me ask you this.   Say you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, have a few drinks, and when the meal comes your wife's meal is incorrect.  Your meal is fine.  They apologize, take back her dish and spend 20 minutes recooking her meal exactly the way you ordered the first time.  Is that enough to make you happy?  What if the manager apologized and offered to buy your next round of drinks and recook the meal?  

I'm just trying to figure out where the line is where you're just OK with a redo.  If your wedding photographer messes up, do you just want your money refunded?  What's the line you guys draw?
This situation here is more like the manager already gave you free drinks, but you are still upset because what you really wanted was desert which you failed to communicate. 

 
Sheik - serious question, how many times have you complained to a company about your experience?

Today -

This Year - 

Last Year - 

 
I see what you mean, but personally, I'd prefer a full credit towards a future order over new flowers + small discount on future order (of course, full refund would be my #1 choice). They may just have info that the majority of people don't want the flowers resent - the thought being that most of the value of Valentines Day flowers are in the receiving and showing off that one day - so it's reasonable that what they offered would normally be more valued by the average customer than the offer you expected them to give you.  I agree that being given an option would be awesome, though.
Either would have been fine, really.  New flowers or the credit for a future order.  No problem there.  

 
I guess here's what a lot of you are missing.  Most companies will go out of their way to keep customers happy.  Whether you think it's strange or not, it's the truth.  If a customer complains, they will try to appease that customer.  It's much easier to give a small gift then to lose customers.  The cost of saving that customer is much cheaper than the cost of trying to gain new customers.

I've been given anything from small discounts on current purchases to completely free large ticket items.  Dell once gave me a printer and old school PDA over a laptop order mix up.  This is just how most businesses work.  With that said, it's great that you think I'm being unreasonable or a curmudgeon about this, but the fact is most companies have a plan in place of how to appease upset customers.

If another flower delivery company has one of those plans in place, as I'm sure they probably do, then which company do you think will do better in the long run?  This is why I think it's humorous that you guys think I'm asking for too much.  Other companies out there will give me what I want.  These two just happen not to.  You go ahead and accept your refund and be happy with it.  Those companies love you guys.  
So is the issue that you don't feel what was offered to fair OR is the issue that they didn't max out on what you believe that could have offered to keep you as a customer? Two completely different things.

I'm getting the feeling that it's the latter.  Just because you can milk a situation doesn't mean you should . There have been times when I'm sure that I could have pushed and gotten more out of a situation but I also felt like what I was offered was fair. Just because I don't maximize an opportunity doesn't make me a sucker.

 
While I agree that a business should make an offer to rectify the situation when a mistake is made, I believe that a customer has a responsibility to voice their preference of solution prior to the business' offer, if anything less than what the customer wants is going to result in an unhappy customer.

I'll also admit I am probably colored by personal experience.  I still vividly remember a customer threatening to "pull my tie right through my neck" if I didn't give him what he was asking for to resolve his particular issue.
Now see, I don't want to be that guy.  That's why I don't want to be the one making requests as to what will make me happy.  That is 100% why I don't go in with a request of what I want to make me happy.

 
So is the issue that you don't feel what was offered to fair OR is the issue that they didn't max out on what you believe that could have offered to keep you as a customer? Two completely different things.

I'm getting the feeling that it's the latter.  Just because you can milk a situation doesn't mean you should . There have been times when I'm sure that I could have pushed and gotten more out of a situation but I also felt like what I was offered was fair. Just because I don't maximize an opportunity doesn't make me a sucker.
No.  Not at all.  I've said multiple times in this thread that all I'm looking for is a token gesture saying they screwed up.  This is the whole reason I don't go in saying, "I want my money refunded AND I want x, y and z. "

 
No.  Not at all.  I've said multiple times in this thread that all I'm looking for is a token gesture saying they screwed up.  This is the whole reason I don't go in saying, "I want my money refunded AND I want x, y and z. "
Fair enough.  You made a few comments that had me thinking you felt it necessary to maximize the situation. So, it really just comes down to what you think is fair. I think what they offered was reasonible enough and you don't.

Here's something that happened to me just last night. I went to the grocery store and when I got home reaized one bag was missing. Of course it was the one with three big steaks :(.  I went back to the store and apparently the bagger missed the steaks and the customer behind me got them. The other customer didn't discover it till she got home and then phoned the store. They told me to go pick out some replacement steaks. Now because I had to get in the car and make a trip back should I have expected something above having my steaks replaced? I'm betting you'd say yes because I was inconvenienced. For me, I'm good. Things happen and I'm not interested in constantly pushing the envelope to always get more to make a situation right. Sometimes s**t just happens.

 
Now see, I don't want to be that guy.  That's why I don't want to be the one making requests as to what will make me happy.  That is 100% why I don't go in with a request of what I want to make me happy.
I think this is the disconnect. They think what they offered you is fine, you dont. Yet, you didnt or wouldnt tell them what is fine. 

 
Either would have been fine, really.  New flowers or the credit for a future order.  No problem there.  


Wait, now I'm confused again.  Despite the confusing language of the email exchange, isn't that second option just what they offered?

Their solution was they gave me a credit of my full order.  This meaning that my next order would be free, essentially.  Problem was, that didn't rectify the dead flowers I already had.  I eventually just had them change that credit to a refund to my card.

 
Fair enough.  You made a few comments that had me thinking you felt it necessary to maximize the situation. So, it really just comes down to what you think is fair. I think what they offered was reasonible enough and you don't.

Here's something that happened to me just last night. I went to the grocery store and when I got home reaized one bag was missing. Of course it was the one with three big steaks :(.  I went back to the store and apparently the bagger missed the steaks and the customer behind me got them. The other customer didn't discover it till she got home and then phoned the store. They told me to go pick out some replacement steaks. Now because I had to get in the car and make a trip back should I have expected something above having my steaks replaced? I'm betting you'd say yes because I was inconvenienced. For me, I'm good. Things happen and I'm not interested in constantly pushing the envelope to always get more to make a situation right. Sometimes s**t just happens.
And that's fair.  I've said from the get go that we all have different views on this.  

 
Wait, now I'm confused again.  Despite the confusing language of the email exchange, isn't that second option just what they offered?
My issue wasn't with the refund.  Whether they refund my money or give me a credit, it's 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.  I wanted my money back AND something for the inconvenience.  

"We're sorry.  We are crediting your account what you already paid and will give you a 5% discount on your next order."  ACCEPTABLE

"We're sorry.  We are refunding your credit card and giving you a 5% discount on your next order."  ACCEPTABLE

"We're sorry.  Here's your money back."  NOT ACCEPTABLE

 
I think this is the disconnect. They think what they offered you is fine, you dont. Yet, you didnt or wouldnt tell them what is fine. 
This is the disconnect.  But as I've said many times, this is not my job to make me happy.  If you have a business and someone complains to you, you give them a refund.  If they say, "That doesn't fix the problem", you would say either "How about this..." or "How could we fix the problem."  To just let a customer walk because they didn't give a list of demands seems odd.  

 

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