Frustrating customers

I have a customer who lives about 2 hours from me; who, rather than drive down or meet me halfway to pick up her snake, she wanted it shipped.

I shipped the snake, gave her a tracking number, the shipping company had some problems with delivery due to fog, and the shipping company's site claims the snake is held up about 1 1/2 hours away from her (according to mapquest). She claims the snake is in a completely different area, that is 33 minutes away from her according to mapquest.

She neglected to contact me about it until 3 hours after the snake did not show up, claiming she was on the phone with the shipping company and that they told her the snake was shipped "in a taped up shoe box." Funny how that could be. I seem to remember placing the snake in a deli-cup (for shipping snakes), taping the sides (not over the air holes), placing the cup in a newspaper filled PROPACK shipping box, placing that box in a cardboard box of the proper size, and labelling all sides of the box as PERISHABLE - ELAPHE GUTATTA GUTATTA in big, red, letters. It was even labeled as such on the shipping label.

I'm guessing she did not read my Terms of Service before purchasing the snake, as she has sent me a rather rude email saying I sent the snake to her under false pretenses and that she wants a full refund.

Funny how she can't be bothered to drive to where the snake is to pick it up and would rather leave it there overnight.

My terms of service specifically say that "We at Lower Ground Reptiles are also not responsible for any damages caused by the shipping carrier during transit. You may request insured shipping at an additional cost."

It also says "Deaths due to abuse, theft, improper husbandry, or shipping delays/damage in transit are non-refundable."

Yet she appears to be blaming me for the snake not arriving, demanding a refund, and the snake hasn't even arrived yet!

To top that off, she has my phone number, so even if she could not have emailed me from her job (where the snake was shipped to) she could have called me.

My question is, what do I do now? I've called the shipping company, they have the box in a warm area for the night until they can get it out first thing in the morning. The lady I spoke to said they have no recollection of the customer calling them, and that no one ever told her it was in a taped shoe box.

I'm really angry about this, as I care about my snakes, and I don't understand why she can't drive 30 min to an hour or so to go pick it up and make sure it is alright.

1. The snake will more than likely arrive fine as it sounds like you took care with the packaging. According to our terms, if the snake arrives healthy then no harm no foul. In instances like this we will also go into "baby sitting" mode. Walk the customer through re-hydration. Send an email for the first couple of days to make sure everything is alright etc etc.

2. To appease a customer you may wish to refund the shipping costs (you may be able to recover that from the shipping company as well, we have in the past). Personally this is what I would do just to quiet her down.

3. If she still wants a refund when the snake arrives fine tomorrow I would make her pay shipping back to you.

While I don't understand the not willing to go and get the box, try to keep in mind that MOST (not saying that is the case here) customers tend to get stressed when having an animal shipped and may account for some of her "edge" that you posts shows she has.

Turns out some rather rude guy told her that I was "not authorized to ship through them" and pretty much violated the shipping companies' privacy terms. I have his first name, not like that's going to help any.

I did manage to get ahold of a lady who contacted the place where the snake was being held, and she told them to keep the box in the office overnight, and NOT in the warehouse. She also mentioned the snake was held up due to "bad fog" which was not what the customer was told prior.

I am going to pursue getting the shipping refunded from the company, and will refund the shipping back to the customer. All this over a $15 snake that she could have easily driven down here to pick up.

If the package was at a DHL warehouse, chances are NO ONE could just go there and pick it up. I've had a package stuck within my city limits over the weekend because UPS wouldn't pull it off a truck at the warehouse *too hard to find a single package*.

sweet

Clara,

This whole thread is quite interesting from both the standpoint of a buyer and that of a seller. Of course to be fair I would like to hear from the buyer of this to hear her side, but for now I will limit my points to ponder to statements made by the seller simply because we do have the seller's side.

Clara you said this:

who, rather than drive down or meet me halfway to pick up her snake, she wanted it shipped.

and then you said this

Funny how she can't be bothered to drive to where the snake is to pick it up and would rather leave it there overnight.

and this

I don't understand why she can't drive 30 min to an hour or so to go pick it up and make sure it is alright.

It immediately makes me think that you are faulting her for wanting it shipped. It also makes me wonder, is this person a driver or are there reasons she cannnot pick it up? Does she have a license or a car? Is she disabled? Are there other valid reasons, why she would need it shipped? Is it possible that she wanted it shipped, and was willing to pay for it to be shipped because of anything to do with her not being, for whatever reason, able to make that drive? Is it possible, heck is it even ok, that she would simply rather have it shipped? She paid for shipping - and you shipped it - so why make this a point of contention at all? Did you do that to make her look bad? I am not saying that is what you did, but I am saying it sure seems that such could be possible from how it appears in your post.

Next I would question this statement you made:

She neglected to contact me about it until 3 hours after the snake did not show up, claiming she was on the phone with the shipping company and that they told her the snake was shipped "in a taped up shoe box."

What does three hours after the snake did not show up mean? Do you mean three hours after a scheduled delivery time? Did you inform her of the scheduled delivery time? You seem pretty careful to describe how you packed it, that she would not pick it up, how far she is from you, and that you gave her a tracking number; maybe I missed where you said that you told her the delivery time.

You also seem miffed that she did not telephone you but rather sent you an email. So what! What is wrong with that? Some people prefer communicating by email. Some people communicate better in writing. Some people prefer not making telephone calls that are toll or long distance because of the expense. Or are you trying to say this is why there was a 3 hour delay in her contacting you? If so it is not very clear. But if that was the case, so what? What would her having been in touch with you sooner accomplished? Granted it would have been better for her to call, but if she could not pick it up BECAUSE OF WORK... oh now wait a minute, you seemed upset with her earlier because she would not drive halfway to pick it up and you seemed to fault her for that! Does she work, is that why she wanted it shipped? You are faulting her for that! Come on now, you must be kidding! Sure a phone call would have been in order if she could have called, but how can you say there is anything wrong with her needing it shipped because she was at work?

It is kind of funny how you do not believe that someone told her the animal was shipped in a shoebox, just because you did not ship it that way. I have found that shippers often BS customers about the conditions of shipments, but maybe it was not BS. How big was the box you used. Maybe around the size of a shoe box or a boot box for just one snake? Was it much bigger than that, and even if it was, does that mean that someone did not tell her that?

You also find fault with her in that you seemingly, at least to me, doubted she spoke to anyone at the company when you said:

The lady I spoke to said they have no recollection of the customer calling them, and that no one ever told her it was in a taped shoe box.

But while you doubt she spoke to them in that instance, you seemingly do not doubt she spoke to them when as you said:

Turns out some rather rude guy told her that I was "not authorized to ship through them" and pretty much violated the shipping companies' privacy terms. I have his first name, not like that's going to help any.

Do you believe this because she was told you are not an authorized shipper and that is in fact the truth, or is there some other reason? Are you an authorized shipper with the company you used? If not, and if they told her you were not, they probably did not violate any privacy terms because you first violated the shipping terms likely negating any other terms including privacy terms.

Finally you admit you are pissed off, yet you are not the one who paid good money for something that was not received. She paid for shipping but you are pissed off that she is not picking it up. She works, and may or may not be on a tight schedule with other obligations, yet you are pissed off. I am willing to bet that you have her money already because you are talking about refunding her shipping costs, but you are pissed off. She paid in advance if that is true, and you accepted her money, and you are pissed off! The lady is the one who has not received her merchandise, and when she looks at your terms she now probably feels like a fool for ordering from someone with as restrictive sales terms as are yours, and you are pissed off! You have not mentioned that you would be willing to pick it up from the shipper to care for it (and aren't you closer to it since you say it is still 1.5 hours away from her and you guys are only 2 hours apart; would that not make it only 1/2 hour away from you, and you are pissed off! She called the shipper to try to handle the problem herself and you are pissed off!

Maybe you have something to be pissed off about but I do not think it is that she wanted the animal shipped for whatever reason, that she would not meet you half way to pick it up, that she cannot or will not drive to pick it up for whatever reason, that she is upset for having paid you good money for what she has not received, or that she tried to handle the situation from her end and waited 3 hours to call you when it made no difference in the long run. Maybe you can be upset because she did not call, but if she cannot email from work, chances are she is not allowed to use the phone for personal long distance of toll calls from work either. Maybe you can be pissed off because she did not call from home, but maybe the expense of long distance is too much or maybe she simply prefers email. Maybe you can be pissed off because she may have exaggerated what the shipper said about the type of box, then again maybe she did not exaggerate what they said.

I am not judging you or your business methods; I could not do that without at least seeing both sides. I am giving you some food for thought on the subject though, that is all.

Egads did I write that. My apologies for going overboard, I had a bad day yesterday......

Wow...
I was wondering, Glenn...it started out alright...but got a little harsh at the end. Hope today is better for you!!


I would have picked it up...at least halfway, and if I was the seller I would have delivered it myself for $40.

However...these things happen...and most sellers do NOT cover shipping problems...sounds like you did everything you were paid to do...and the buyer did everything they were supposed to do and this is in the hands of the shipper. If the buyer didn't insure the shipment...tsk tsk. Lesson learned.
The close proximity of the two parties should be of no consequence, because, for whatever reason, she wanted it shipped and that is part of the service you offer. If you were shipping to me, personal delivery would not be an option so this matter should be treated like any shipment. Luckily you got the package put inside (if they in fact did so...may have told you that just to appease you). I would wait until the snake arrives and see what condition it is in before anybody jumps to any conclusions.

Personally, I can't sit around waiting for snakes to be delivered, I would have gone straight to the shipping warehouse and picked it up as soon as it became an option...but I am not everybody (thank God for them =) ).
As a sidenote...I am waiting for 2 snakes to be delivered right now...and it is killing me. They left on a truck from 1 1/2 hours away about 2.5 hours ago. The anticipation is killing me. So I can understand the buyer's stress and worry. Demanding the money back is ridiculous at this juncture however.

Derek, the only problem for me to deliver it is that it would have cost me over $40 in gas to do so.

I agree, I don't like sitting around either. I have gone to shipping warehouses to pick up shipments before when they didn't arrive here on time-but I NEVER blamed the seller for such things.

The main problem was that she was blaming me for the situation, and then threatening me over email about it. In the end, she got her snake, and I'm still waiting to hear if she got her shipping refund, but I shouldn't have to refund her the cost of the snake as well when the snake arrived alive and healthy.

I can understand the gas thing...I am lucky in that work gets me out and about all over the greater Chicagoland area...so two hours away is not a big deal...and I love to drive anyway...gets me out of the office or the house.

I certainly hope her refund for the shipping came from the shipping company, as long as the snakes are okay...you owe her NOTHING.