another wow
After reading Chris' last few avoidances, I mean posts, I see nothing but double talk and skirting of issues that are very easy to answer. But, because of his health issues, he chooses not to answer them. Understandable, kind of. BUT, instead of answering the questions posed to him that would take a few short lines, he writes paragraph upon paragraph that he will not answer those questions or continue with the arguments. This in itself bothers me. And reminds of of another lovely breeder who has a not-so-nice reputation here on the BOI that I HAVE dealt with.
As a professional who not only runs my own computer consulting business, has a full-time job, and raises 2 children as a single mother, as WELL as the small breeding projects I have going on for a few species, I can only say this - Chris, I am glad you have figured out how to double talk your way out of this situation in your own mind, but I know if I treated my clients the way you have, I would have no other person to blame than myself when watching my business drown. I would not blame a Pat or Glen, because even though they were trusted to take things over in your absence, you are not dead, and still have control. I have been very ill myself, even lost a baby in November at 4 months pregnant (not a regular miscarriage, but a full delivery), and yet life went on, the customers kept coming, and life still moved forward, no matter what MY issues were, because it HAD to. It's business Chris, and that is what you take on when you start one. If you were not able to continue in your business practice with your illness, and you did not have reliable people to continue in your practice to keep up your reputation that you have worked so hard to build, you should have put things on hold for awhile until you could take care of yourself. As a business person, I cannot believe that if I was ill and bed-ridden, I would still not be concerned over my business, if at least not getting updates or SOMETHING. I know, I've been there. Your excuses have not only gotten more pathetic, but your business sense seems to have left you during your illness (if you had any at all, I have no idea). I just want to know how you find the time to sit and post the novels you have on here, and then end them all with "I'm so tired, I'm going to bed, and you all suck" (poetic rephrasing rights taken here).
As far as Paypal and credit card refunds, let me educate some people on how that process works, since Chris seems to think it is so simple to fight it all. First of all, Chris, Paypal is NOT going to just "issue the refunds because I'll tell them to." Paypal has policies that they follow, and their denial process is automatic after 45 days of purchase, and just because YOU say so, does not mean they will do it. BUT you do have the power to send money anytime you want. OK, your account is locked. But why? Has it gone into the negative? Too many complaints? Are you BLAMING the people who have complained at this point for waiting in upwards of 6 months for an undelivered product, causing you this horrible issue with your account? Seeminly so. But they have a right to their product, and you took and spent their money without delivering it - that, legally is fraud, and I am surprised the authorities have not come knocking on your door for that. That seems to be the one good thing about being in a relatively unregulated industry such as reptile breeding.
Now, what about your credit card you used through Paypal? Do you know it can take up to, if not over, 90 days for your credit card company to fix this? And if you paid through Paypal, guess who the credit card company goes for first? Paypal. And then they get denied from Paypal because of length of time or lack of funds or whatever, and you fight a 3-6 month battle between Paypal and the credit card company, because each wants to blame the other, which you may or may not win in the end. How do I know this? First hand experience on the buyer side. So this is not one of the "ignorant" people that you so like to call your customers, this is a real life experience from a buyer's side.
Now, HERE'S the great part - if it is all settled and taken care of, even if Paypal takes all of these thousands of dollars from your current account and puts you thousands in the negative, people get their money back and everything, guess what Chris? You still win. You've spent the money that was paid to you. All you get is a Paypal account that you can't use. And truly, how hard is it to set up a new account with them and get verified? I did it in 20 minutes. So, you move the "utilities" that you have linked to the bad Paypal address to the good one, get that all set back up, even reset up your business with that new, verified, good account. And what happens with the bad one? They email you, and email you and email you, and that it is, they MIGHT take you to court or go to collections if it is an insane amount of money, but that is highly doubtful. Paypal is out a few thousand, not you. Again, how do I know this? Personal experience on the BUSINESS side of things - I am in the midst of someone fighting ME because he believes I was in breach of a web design contract when I wouldn't fix his site that he let someone else mess with (even though it is stated in my contract that I claim no responsibility, etc etc and off topic). So what did Paypal do? Took the money from me, which put me in the negative, locked my account up. What did I do to be able to continue business with other clients? Opened a new Paypal account in 20 minutes. So while all the fighting of the issue is going on, I can still continue my business with a clean slate with Paypal. Now, how you choose to fund this account (or any other account) to issue the refunds that are due is your problem, because one way or the other, those refunds are due. So set yourself up a new Paypal account with a different email, link it to a credit card, click the "Send Money" button, and start refunding. Not too difficult while you "work out" your issues with Paypal. You've got time to post your novels here, right? So after your nap, I'd suggest waking up in more ways than one...
One thing you fail to realize Chris - as much as your health problems are no one else's business or problem (which I agree with, and wish you well in), they are also not anyone else's problem either. Business is business, personal is personal, you have basically said that yourself. So, either get to doing the right thing (I even spelled it out for you on how in case you didn't know), or find a qualified person to do it for you (maybe your accountant - you must have one of those if you have a business, if for anything but tax purposes), and get yourself better (both physically and professionally).
Kelly
