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Bad Guy Dealing with Captive Bred Excellence left a bad taste in my mouth...

Easy enough for me Tad.
I literally won't even look at your ads any longer.

Renege. Renege. Renege.

DISGUSTING.

You are going to upset people over $50. Gross.
 
The only person "tarnishing your reputation" is you Tad. I cant even believe you would ask for more money after YOU made an oversight. I hope the $50 was worth people seeing this and thinking you are a greedy tool.
 
hhmoore said:
Unfortunately, these don't appear in the order in which is like to address them; but I'm on a mobile device, and won't be screwing around with shifting the order.

Ed,
Are you trying to play devil's advocate in this thread? When compared to the posts, and the facts as they have been presented, your posts don't make much sense.
The OP made an offer of $125 for the snakes. There may have been some confusion regarding specifically which snakes she wanted; but that was clarified in the subsequent messages. The money was sent, along with a specific notation about the snakes. The snakes were picked up at the seller's home. Are you really suggesting that it isn't the seller's responsibility to hand over the correct animals, or to ensure that the correct payment has been received? The time for him to address any discrepancies was before the animals left his possession.
Frankly, I'm surprised that this seller would have, even for a moment, thought it was acceptable to contact the buyer for more money the day after sending the snakes to their new home. He made a mistake - it happens - but nobody in his right mind would think it is okay to contact the buyer the day after delivery asking for more money or the return of the animals.
This thread IS about the experience, the money, etc,etc. The seller didn't ship them, so how they got from from point A to point B isn't his responsibility.

The seller doing the right thing in this case would have been either addressing the discrepancy before the transfer....preferably before the person picking them up was standing at his door; OR, figuring it out after the fact (as he did), chastising himself for his error, and not expecting the buyer to reach into her pocket to fix his mistake.

Unless there is a big piece of this story missing or misrepresented (which is unlikely, given the seller's participation), the seller blew this one. 100% wrong from contacting the buyer to request more money right through showing at Sarah's door to collect them. Giving the refund wasn't "the right thing"; it was simply a requirement for taking the snakes back.


Tad, it was once said, and often repeated, that it's easy to be a "good guy" when everything goes well...it is how one handles the problems that really tells the tale. You asked earlier if you were 100% wrong, and if there was a compromise. FWIW, in my opinion, you were 100% wrong. You were correct that it probably won't have a long lasting impact on your sales; but it will always be there as the time you dropped the ball. You've said that you don't need the money - why not turn this whole thing right back around? Bring the snakes back to Sarah, or ship them to Elisa (on your dime, because this mess should never have happened); recollect the $125 that you originally agreed upon for the snakes; and chalk this whole thing up as a lesson learned. Obviously, that will depend on them being willing to deal with you after that debacle; but it is (IMO) the "right thing to do".
Click to expand...

:iagree:
100%
 
Wow. Captive Bred Excellence, is business so dismal that you actually request additional money to rectify your mistake? And please quit trying to sugar coat this, it was entirely your mistake. No "buts"; no "howevers".
 
I feel bad about this deal and and if there was something I could do to make it right I would. I am a very honest person, the type that if I went to the store and the cashier gave me too much change I would give it back. I have had customers send too much money for their snakes and I refunded difference.
You can spin this anyway you want the facts are simple. Elissa was asked to make it right by sending an additional $50 for the pair of snakes she purchased. I made a mistake by not checking the pricing details before releasing her order. Obviously the majority opinion is the sellar made a mistake and should take the loss. I personaly don't feel that way, and this really is not about the money. I don't do well with "percieved threats", bribes, or intimadation. I may be an ass at times if you push the wrong button but I'm honest and I'm real. My decision still stands if Elissa wants that paticular pair she can pay $175. As far as selling her that pair for $125 that was off the table after her comments regarding the shows. If you feel it's nessasary to remove our "good guy" banner because of one incident perceived to be "bad business" in 24 years go ahead. And if you choose not to do business with us because of this one incident that's fine too. We will continue breeding and working with the animals we love and offer high quality animals and great customer service.

Best Wishs,
Tad Fitzgerald
 
Pasodama said:
Had she kept the snakes, for the price she paid, and were to be sued, over the matter, she would win the case.
Just saying.
Click to expand...

I agree.


Tad Fitzgerald said:
I feel bad about this deal and and if there was something I could do to make it right I would.
Click to expand...

You could return the snakes to her. But obviously, you don't feel THAT bad.

Tad Fitzgerald said:
I am a very honest person
Click to expand...

Saying it doesn't make it so. In my opinion you made up a threat to rationalize your poor behavior, that was dishonest.
Tad Fitzgerald said:
And if you choose not to do business with us because of this one incident that's fine too.
Click to expand...

It is how a seller responds when there is an issue that shows his true colors. There was an issue, you responded poorly. It may be that when everything goes fine a transaction with you will be fine, but it is Russian Roulette for any customer of yours in my opinion, because there are always possible issues in any transaction.
 
It just speaks a lot about you as the seller, that YOU did not notice the price discrepancy, even when she specifically asked about that pricing ahead of time, YOU accepted the money and a day later wanted to ask for more money or the return of the animals. You might give back money if you were handed too much, which is good, it doesn't make you a thief. But this, it doesn't make you a thief either, it just makes you look money hungry. Look at it if the shoe was on the other foot. Someone buys something from you, and a day later says, "oh I only meant to spend $50 less. Can you return me $50 or I will have to return the animals". That would piss you off and I bet that $50 you wouldn't be sending them money back.
 
As I stated I was in a similar situation I sent the wrong package to the wrong person, that mistake my mistake cost me just under $200.00 USD. There is no way it would have been right for me to ask for the package back. I covered return shipping for the person who received the lesser value item and sent what they wanted at my cost. While the person I sent the higher value item to kept it as it was my mistake, and it was worth more to me to have both the parties I dealt with leave positive feedback regarding our transaction I took it as a learning experience, and now double , and triple check prior to attaching labels to out going packages. That mistake cost me quite a bit more than the $50.00 you are upset about.
 
Tad Fitzgerald said:
I feel bad about this deal and and if there was something I could do to make it right I would. I am a very honest person, the type that if I went to the store and the cashier gave me too much change I would give it back. I have had customers send too much money for their snakes and I refunded difference.
You can spin this anyway you want the facts are simple. Elissa was asked to make it right by sending an additional $50 for the pair of snakes she purchased. I made a mistake by not checking the pricing details before releasing her order. Obviously the majority opinion is the sellar made a mistake and should take the loss. I personaly don't feel that way, and this really is not about the money. I don't do well with "percieved threats", bribes, or intimadation. I may be an ass at times if you push the wrong button but I'm honest and I'm real. My decision still stands if Elissa wants that paticular pair she can pay $175. As far as selling her that pair for $125 that was off the table after her comments regarding the shows. If you feel it's nessasary to remove our "good guy" banner because of one incident perceived to be "bad business" in 24 years go ahead. And if you choose not to do business with us because of this one incident that's fine too. We will continue breeding and working with the animals we love and offer high quality animals and great customer service.

Best Wishs,
Tad Fitzgerald
Click to expand...

Ok, let me get this right: YOU screwed up and didn't verify things before YOU gave the snakes to the person picking them up. YOU accepted $50 less than YOU originally wanted. YOU then tell the buyer that she better pay your $50 oversight/misquote/grab for more money since YOU screwed up (whatever you want to call it...) and when she says no, YOU tell her to return the snakes. Then YOU say she threatened YOU, when in all actuality, she has just gave her account of YOUR bad business practices with her.

Did I get it right?

Then you have the audacity to say, "I feel bad about this deal and and if there was something I could do to make it right I would. I am a very honest person." That's complete and utter nonsense and you know it. If you felt bad then you would have eaten the $50 because it was YOUR mistake. Not the buyers, YOURS! But no, you had to be stubborn and demand your customer send you extra money because YOU screwed up. What logical business sense does that make? YOU are the one tarnishing your reputation with this thread, not the buyer. YOU have chosen to take any flack given from this thread. YOU have chosen the consequences given when YOU chose to be demanding of more money AFTER the transaction was already complete.

If anyone is in the wrong here, it is YOU. No one else. And you complaining that she "threatened" you is BS and you know it. Saying you're going to tell everyone you know about the way you were treated by a business is not a threat, it is a promise. But you turn it however you feel it is necessary for you to sleep better at night. YOU screwed the pooch on this one, no one else.

Also, the part of your quote that I put in bold & red...I think my BS meter is going off on that one. Your customer service was and is lacking on this transaction, and if this is what you call great customer service, then I would hate to see what your crappy customer service would be like! :eek:
 
I've read through this thread and honestly, shame on you Tad.

What if this happened in say a department store. There was sale going on and an item got marked down a little too much. You can't go back in time and bother a customer once a transaction has already occurred, that's just bad business.

Could you imagine getting a phone call

"Hi this is Target representative Tad calling. Yesterday we made a mistake on that bookcase you purchased from us. It was actually $175, not $125. We're going to need that $50 or you're going to have to return that bookcase to the store even though you already set it up"
 
I'm disabled have been now for 10 years I'm on fixed income that 200.00 dollar mistake I made was crippling, but as I stated it was my mistake therefore it was up to me not my customers to make it right. We are all human and mistakes occur sometimes doing what is right will cost you, you then take it as a learning experience, and move on.
 
Interesting situation...... But quite surprising to me in how it was handled.

I remember years ago during the height of the crazy season, somehow two boxes got their shipping labels switched. So two people got the wrong orders. One got much more then what they paid for, and one got a lot less. Quite frankly, I would have felt like a complete ass suggesting that those two customers do ANYTHING to try to resolve this mess. So I simply sent out the corrected orders the following week and told them to keep the others as a gift. Did this sting? Yes it did. They weren't exactly nickel and dime orders. But it was MY mistake, so why in the world would I want to inconvenience or aggravate my customers because of MY error?

In the end, I had retained those customers as repeat business because they knew I would take care of things if mistakes or accidents happened in the future. But what about you, Tad? Do you honestly think the way you handled this was the best way to do so?
 
WebSlave said:
Interesting situation...... But quite surprising to me in how it was handled.

I remember years ago during the height of the crazy season, somehow two boxes got their shipping labels switched. So two people got the wrong orders. One got much more then what they paid for, and one got a lot less. Quite frankly, I would have felt like a complete ass suggesting that those two customers do ANYTHING to try to resolve this mess. So I simply sent out the corrected orders the following week and told them to keep the others as a gift. Did this sting? Yes it did. They weren't exactly nickel and dime orders. But it was MY mistake, so why in the world would I want to inconvenience or aggravate my customers because of MY error?

In the end, I had retained those customers as repeat business because they knew I would take care of things if mistakes or accidents happened in the future. But what about you, Tad? Do you honestly think the way you handled this was the best way to do so?
Click to expand...

It's funny. We would have remained loyal customers if he had handled this properly. It's just a shame that things went the way they did.
 
I own a small business. If I make a mistake, I make it right. Never the client. Pretty simple. You know as well as I that you can write at least some of this "loss" off on your taxes. BS on her threatening you. Frankly, you are coming across as a cheapskate. This thread is only going to get longer and when customers Google your companies name, this thread is going to come up. Near the top. Make it right. Believe me, your competitors in whatever is left of the ball python market love this. You are simply giving them more business.
 
It blows my mind Tad Fitzgerald, that you would let this thing get this out of control because your stubbornness and raging ego. Was the $50 really worth your reputation plummeting as more and more people read this. With this kind of customer service im surprised you still have a business. I still cant wrap my head around the fact that YOU actually called her demanding more money after the sale. I still cant wrap my head around this situation. I personally would have kept the snake and told you screw off but that's just me.
 
Mr Fitzgerald,
Was shipping included in the advertised prices on whichever Facebook page you posted?
 
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