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Re: Big Al's -- AZ Aquatic Gardens -- & The Deliverers

>> Robert H wrote, in part:
 
> I don't mean to sound
> like
> the guy thats always sticking up for the seller. I love to complain,
> I drive
> my vendors nuts with my complaints. But when I see people complaining
> about
> things that may be out of the companies control, it bothers me a
> litttle. I
> complain about the quality of products I buy, if it doesnt meet up to
> its
> hype, if the company failed to follow thru on a promise, if they are
> gouging
> prices, if they fail to correct a problem, mess up the billing, or
> wont
> communicate with me or handle it in a professional manner, but I
don’t
> complain about their email being too slow, or about their shopping
> cart
> software, or shipping tracking information.

It's often harder for small companies to compete with bigger ones, that
doesn't change the terms of competition.  All the service factors are
relevant, including whether or not they send the right information
promptly, how long deliveries take and how many shipping options are
offered compared to other vendors, and how well (and promptly) they
rectify transactions that have gone wrong.  Many of us are interested
in the criticisms, positive and negative about all these things.
> 
> Maybe I am biased because of my own business, but I know there are
> plenty of
> little guys out there that cannot afford 24 hour customer service
> operators,
> or sophisticated computer order tracking systems, or even shopping
> cart
> software. It doesnt stop me from buying from them.

Just because I have learned that a vendor has, hypothetically, a
somewhat primitive web site doesn't mean I won't shop there. I might
have other reasons for support that vendor with my dollars -- perhaps
the vendor is a good friend, a local business, a person for whom I have
empathy, a place with good product selection or great prices, or maybe
the vendor has provided especially good treatment while fixing
transaction-gone-wrong in the past -- lots of things can be factored
in.  But having the information so that I can decide for myself whether
I do business with a site is helpful and I am glad when folks post it,
even about poor email response, slow deliveries, etc.

> Some companies use
> shopping carts to automate their orders so they don’t have to answer
> the
> phone. 

I prefer that orders can be placed either way -- I certainly prefer
that I can contact someone by phone if I need to discuss a problem
about an order, even one placed via a website cart. 

> Az gardens only got a shopping cart a year or so ago. I don’t
> know if
> its been more of a convience for the customer or the seller. I always
> placed
> orders with them by phone and prefered it that way. I am still trying
> to get
> my shopping cart operational, which is a huge amount of work.

It must be a tremendously difficult, and expensive, task.  It must be
very hard to know what customers might prefer and every added choice
presents higher software costs.  And then, there are some software
designers/vendors out there that are overselling their product.

> Whatever works
> for people. Thats why there are many places for customers to choose
> from.

And the info, including the info about carts, email, software, etc. can
help us make informed choices.

> 
> Sounds like this guy caught AZ in a lie, or some sort of mis
> understanding
> to be more polite... something I would bring to their attention.

I think it's something that should be brought to lot's of people's
attention.

> But
> threating to cancell the credit card payment is a little harsh, 

As a comment, it's an expression of extreme dissatisfaction. As an
action, it's actually more difficult than it sounds.  The card-issuing
bank will insist that the cardholder seek, and probably evidence
attempts for, remedy with the vendor before it will cancel a
transaction -- unless a lost or stolen card is reported.

> again
> my
> biased opinion perhaps. 

I don't think your points sound biased.  They all make a lot of sense
to me.  I think we disagree over how many aspects of a transaction are
relevent when choosing vendors.  Things over which vendors have no
control and which happen chronically, presumably affect all vendors and
becomes a null-par factor in the competition.  But if a vendor is
having (what should be anticipated) trouble with USPS while other
vendors are doing quite well with other deliverers, I think that's
relevant.  

If a vendor or one of it's agents lies, that, IMO, is one of the most
important pieces of info a potential customer can have.  I am
especially interested to learn if the vendor takes corrective action in
those cases.  After all, since business transactions are based to a
tremendous extent on trust on the part of all parties, trustworthiness
is a critical piece of info.

> Unless you plan on returning the Flourite.

It's also probably illegal to accept a product then refuse to pay.

Regards,
Scott H.

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