Bad Guy Michael Powell - Sunglow Serpents

[SobekSerpents]

You keep saying "you" spoke to me on the phone, you never spoke to me once. Your wife did both times I was able to get a hold of someone on the phone. And she did not give me the tracking number, she just said it was shipped and should be there the next morning. Nor did she tell me the tracking info was indeed the same. Not sure if your wife is posting on your behalf, but I never personally talked to you on the phone Michael.

And you did not inform me that there were any other GC's that would be ready in the near future, I would think if it was me selling them, that I would tell the buyer that I have multiple for sale, if they'd like to wait and choose from a group, OR take what was ready at the time.

I am not looking to prevent anyone from doing business with you, I just think there's a lot of facts that don't add up.

Very rarely are things just a coincidence. If things are not adding up there is a reason for it. What this looks like to me is that they did not ship the snake the first time, but were too embarrassed to tell you that. FedEx WILL NOT ship something TWICE using the same label. Just call them and ask if the label was scanned during the dates it should have been sent the "2nd" time. The lack of communication was probably due to that embarrassment. This is not saying he or his wife are "crooks"...etc because you received what you paid for, just not the best business people.

 

[Siukie]

Aside from never actually speaking to Michael on the phone, most of the emails were responded to from "Sharon". So I am wondering who I actually did business with. It was Sharon who took my calls, and most of my emails. So if Michael is really posting the replies on Fauna here, is he even aware of the conditions that took place on the sale? Because I was originally told by his wife "Sharon", that she indeed printed the labels and shipped them herself. Now Michael is claiming he was the one who printed and shipped them? I would like some clarification on this is possible, and from "michael_powell" as to who I am speaking to on this thread. While I can understand if she is sharing his Fauna account, she should of made it public that she was posting on his behalf, that's just my opinion though.

 

[Pasodama]

Using the same label (tracking #), a couple of times, does seem "off".
Also, if things are as Sarah states, it would be nice to know if she did business with Mike or if it was with Mike's wife.
Would also be nice to know if it is Mike, posting on this thread, or if it is Mike's wife (or both).
BTW Fauna rules are one person per account. So, Mike's wife needs to use/make her own account (IF she is the one who has been using, or responding via, Mike's account).

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Perhaps I am wrong, but Michael never said the same label was used twice. He said he printed two of the wrong label, and that incorrect label was on the box. He then says Fedex recreated a new label with a new tracking number to the incorrect address. The original tracking number would never have been shown as picked up in the first place, so it could still be used.

 

[EmeraldBoid]

It is possible, that upon scanning the second shipment with a same label, FedEx simply billed a new label to the account and treated it as a two part shipment. If this is the case then there would be two tracking #'s, a master and one for the second shipment. Tracking the master # will give you a page that looks like it is just one shipment, when it is actually updating for both.

I cannot see this all being a cover story for forgetting to ship in the first place. Isn't it a lot better to say, "hey hun, I am afraid I experienced a moment of incompetence and did not ship out as planned, let me know if you would like to reschedule or just a refund" than, "so yeah I shipped your snake to the wrong person...let me know if you want to reschedule or just get a refund, thanks babe"?

I think Sunglow Serpents did everything reasonable here, they made a mistake, they fixed it. As far as whether or not there were other animals available, I would like to point out that if I am reading right, the OP ordered a mutation, she did not order mutation #1. If I expect a specific individual, then I find an add that has every animal assigned to a specific name or ID# whether it is the same line/mutation or not. Michael may have walked into his facility, seen five of that mutation, but only three he wanted to let go, one of the three was the wrong sex, and the other just was not feeding to his standards...could be anything, he does not have to tell anyone his procedure for selling his animals, he just has an obligation to supply what was demanded, a certain mutation, not mutation #123.

 

[Siukie]

It is possible, that upon scanning the second shipment with a same label, FedEx simply billed a new label to the account and treated it as a two part shipment. If this is the case then there would be two tracking #'s, a master and one for the second shipment. Tracking the master # will give you a page that looks like it is just one shipment, when it is actually updating for both.

I cannot see this all being a cover story for forgetting to ship in the first place. Isn't it a lot better to say, "hey hun, I am afraid I experienced a moment of incompetence and did not ship out as planned, let me know if you would like to reschedule or just a refund" than, "so yeah I shipped your snake to the wrong person...let me know if you want to reschedule or just get a refund, thanks babe"?

I think Sunglow Serpents did everything reasonable here, they made a mistake, they fixed it. As far as whether or not there were other animals available, I would like to point out that if I am reading right, the OP ordered a mutation, she did not order mutation #1. If I expect a specific individual, then I find an add that has every animal assigned to a specific name or ID# whether it is the same line/mutation or not. Michael may have walked into his facility, seen five of that mutation, but only three he wanted to let go, one of the three was the wrong sex, and the other just was not feeding to his standards...could be anything, he does not have to tell anyone his procedure for selling his animals, he just has an obligation to supply what was demanded, a certain mutation, not mutation #123.

That would be a little out of line to call a customer "babe" even "hun" strikes a wrong cord with some people. While those are not only sexist terms, they should not be used unless the person is of close relation or they have specifically approved it. It is unprofessional to say the least.. whether you're selling to a man or women, using terminology to call them out on it in manners that they don't appreciate will only lead to the cancel of a sale.

A quick Google reference to the definition of "babe", in case one is needed:

Babe - "An affectionate form of address, typically for someone with whom one has a sexual or romantic relationship."

To each his own.. But not "my" first choice for how I want to address a customer. ​

 

[EmeraldBoid]

That would be a little out of line to call a customer "babe" even "hun" strikes a wrong cord with some people. While those are not only sexist terms, they should not be used unless the person is of close relation or they have specifically approved it. It is unprofessional to say the least.. whether you're selling to a man or women, using terminology to call them out on it in manners that they don't appreciate will only lead to the cancel of a sale.

A quick Google reference to the definition of "babe", in case one is needed:

Babe - "An affectionate form of address, typically for someone with whom one has a sexual or romantic relationship."

To each his own.. But not "my" first choice for how I want to address a customer. ​

My mother and many of my coworkers refer to me as hun and babe/baby and I am male (no, sadly I am not having any fun with my coworkers or anyone for that matter as my current love interest is a few states away from me atm). On top of this most of my classmates/friends are bro, man, sugar, babe, etc... . In any case, I used them in my scenarios as off hand examples, they were not directed toward you or anyone else in particular. If they did offend you for whatever reason then you have my apologies.

 

[hypocamaro]

Sarah,

You got the snake. Its healthy and alert... Calling someone sexist?, demanding whom is writing post?, getting butt hurt about availability?, blah blah blah.

His wife/business partner handled the transaction. Who cares who is writing the post if they speak with the same tongue. The seller's house burned down. C'mon!

Move on and let it be. You are making yourself look a bit silly. I wouldn't sell you a thing after what I have read here.

Just my .02

 

[SobekSerpents]

Sarah,

You got the snake. Its healthy and alert... Calling someone sexist?, demanding whom is writing post?, getting butt hurt about availability?, blah blah blah.

His wife/business partner handled the transaction. Who cares who is writing the post if they speak with the same tongue. The seller's house burned down. C'mon!

Move on and let it be. You are making yourself look a bit silly. I wouldn't sell you a thing after what I have read here.

Just my .02

That's a bit harsh. She was relaying her issues with this company, that's all. Michael screwed up and most likely didn't ship out the first time. Instead of being honest about it he gave some excuse. Yes, he made good. But the bad taste was already left in her mouth.

If he is being honest about the shipment issues, all he had to do was share the tracking info.

 

[SobekSerpents]

Sarah,

You got the snake. Its healthy and alert... Calling someone sexist?, demanding whom is writing post?, getting butt hurt about availability?, blah blah blah.

His wife/business partner handled the transaction. Who cares who is writing the post if they speak with the same tongue. The seller's house burned down. C'mon!

Move on and let it be. You are making yourself look a bit silly. I wouldn't sell you a thing after what I have read here.

Just my .02

Also, his house didn't burn down during this transaction. If his life is upside down right now, he shouldn't be advertising animals for sale. Maybe take a break for a bit, you know?

 

[Pasodama]

Using the same label (tracking #), a couple of times, does seem "off".
Also, if things are as Sarah states, it would be nice to know if she did business with Mike or if it was with Mike's wife.
Would also be nice to know if it is Mike, posting on this thread, or if it is Mike's wife (or both)

Never mind my above post.
I read this thread over again. The initial tracking number, that Sarah was given, was not used twice. John had printed out another label, going elsewhere, twice (So, it seems that Sarah's label was either not printed off or it was printed but not used). When the FedEx driver saw that two packages (going to the same place) had the same tracking number, he printed off another label, with a different tracking number, but kept the same address (assuming the two packages were going to the same place). Of course, when John figured out that Sarah's snake went elsewhere, he took measures to get Sarah's snake back (and did get her back).
Since the label meant for Sarah was never used, John (or his wife) used that initial label to ship Sarah's snake to her. Thus, the package would have the same tracking number that Sarah was initially given.

It seems that John is the one responding to this thread since he makes reference to his wife. Among the reference/s, re. wife, John stated that his wife spoke to Sarah and that she apologized to Sarah (more than once, re. both things, I believe).

Sarah asked if any other snakes were available and John stated "no" [also stating that Sarah's snake was the only one available (at that time)] . However, Sarah did not ask John if he would have any others available in the very near future.
I do not hold the fact that John had others (of a certain mutation) available soon after sending Sarah's snake to her. Communication failed here in the sense that John didn't mention it (no obligation to do so &/or he may not have thought to mention it &/or didn't mention it since, at the time, he did not know when the other snakes would be ready for sale) but, also, Sarah never asked.

Shipping did not go perfectly. I can understand Sarah's frustration, over that, but John corrected the error, that had occurred, and did send the snake (healthy snake, it seems) to Sarah.

In consideration of solely this case, I do not find Mike to be a "bad guy" and, if he had something I wanted, would do business with him.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Also, his house didn't burn down during this transaction. If his life is upside down right now, he shouldn't be advertising animals for sale. Maybe take a break for a bit, you know?

Why not advertise, especially when he needs the funds because of losing his house? If I lost my house, I'd be listing a number of my animals to help cover the costs.

 

[SobekSerpents]

Why not advertise, especially when he needs the funds because of losing his house? If I lost my house, I'd be listing a number of my animals to help cover the costs.

I'm not saying he shouldn't. I'm implying that if he can't (or anyone for that matter) stick to agreements made for shipping dates because of his situation... then take a break and collect yourself so you don't make yourself look bad. Either that or just be honest and tell everyone what's going on ahead of time. Most people are pretty compassionate if you're open with them from start about issues.

 

[nickolasanastasiou]

My impression is aligned with Deb's revisited account in post number 31.

-----------------------------

Also, while I would not address my customers as babe or honey for formal/professional reasons, the reaction post to the use of that as a hypothetical example proposed by another member was intentionally keyed up and is not a major point of focus in this transaction. I could just imagine how well calling customers of mine that have worked with the animals for more years than I have drawn breath "honey" or "babe" would go over.

In line with this tangent, anyone who wants to call me honey or babe can feel free to if they are not being infantilizing or condescending. lol

So while I would not employ or suggest employing that language in the context of a transaction in this sort of business, I also would not over-amplify any offense or feigned offense to it, either, honey-babe.

 

[nickolasanastasiou]

I'm not saying he shouldn't. I'm implying that if he can't (or anyone for that matter) stick to agreements made for shipping dates because of his situation... then take a break and collect yourself so you don't make yourself look bad. Either that or just be honest and tell everyone what's going on ahead of time. Most people are pretty compassionate if you're open with them from start about issues.

Also, his house didn't burn down during this transaction. If his life is upside down right now, he shouldn't be advertising animals for sale. Maybe take a break for a bit, you know?

I think the approaches to these situations have the ability to vary, but your words disagree with...your words.

 

[SobekSerpents]

I think the approaches to these situations have the ability to vary, but your words disagree with...your words.

Let me rephrase then. Advertise and sell, but if you can't make good on something (anything) because of other issues, be honest with the customer or don't advertise anything for sale until you can.

Sound better?

 

[nickolasanastasiou]

Let me rephrase then. Advertise and sell, but if you can't make good on something (anything) because of other issues, be honest with the customer or don't advertise anything for sale until you can.

Sound better?

Yes, that sounds better.

The vendor appears to me to have been honest with the customer.

The vendor made a human error shipping mistake, admitting this in full and taking ownership of corrective action as one should expect. The vendor then proceeded to achieve delivery of the purchased animal in proper condition. I would say shipping communications could have been better.

Anything more than that, to me, is "time machine advice". So unless the vendor has a time machine he has been not using out of apathy or spite, the unintentional wrong has been intentionally righted to the best of the vendor's ability at this point and I think expecting more than what has been performed after the fact, save for perhaps more abundant and clarified communications on shipping, could be deemed excessive.

 

[SobekSerpents]

Yes, that sounds better.

The vendor appears to me to have been honest with the customer.

The vendor made a human error shipping mistake, admitting this in full and taking ownership of corrective action as one should expect. The vendor then proceeded to achieve delivery of the purchased animal in proper condition. I would say shipping communications could have been better.

Anything more than that, to me, is "time machine advice". So unless the vendor has a time machine he has been not using out of apathy or spite, the unintentional wrong has been intentionally righted to the best of the vendor's ability at this point and I think expecting more than what has been performed after the fact, save for perhaps more abundant and clarified communications on shipping, could be deemed excessive.

+1 to this.

 

[Pasodama]

LoL I don't know why I used the name John in my last post.
So, wherever it says "John", I mean/t Mike.

 

[Mistyck]

LoL I don't know why I used the name John in my last post.
So, wherever it says "John", I mean/t Mike.

haha, I was wondering where you were going with that. Had me confused for a minute.

All in all, the customer didn't like the way the communication went, so she wrote a BG thread. While communication is pivotal, it shouldn't have warranted a BG thread in my opinion.

OP got her snake, and snake was in good condition. So seller made good on transaction, and did communicate (though it wasn't to customers standards.) This really should have been an informative thread...but to each their own.