Liars, rudeness, and underhand practices to deal with problems...
I placed a large order for craft supplies from this company last November, after finding them through a Google search for a specific paint brand. Their website had a live stock availability system (this has since been removed!), and I was pleased to find that all of the paints that I wanted were showing in stock - and their delivery said that in-stock items would be dispatched within a few days. So I went ahead and placed an order for a selection of paints and other craft items.
Four days after placing my order, I received an email from Marie Eves, who told me that the majority of my order was discontinued, and that they were in the middle of removing the items from the website. So did I want to cancel my whole order for a refund.. I questioned why these were showing as in stock, and that surely, despite being discontinued, they still had stock, so surely could still fulfill my order? The reply was that they have to order their stock from a US warehouse as and when a customer places and order. And so don't know if items are discontinued until they try to order, or until they're sent a stock update from the US warehouse, which is only done once a month...
I then went back to Marie, and advised that I still wanted the remainder of the order, and so can this be shipped ASAP. I also expressed how disappointed I was with this experience - particularly the fact that they were misleading their customers by stating that they were a UK company, and that products were "in stock" ready for dispatch. So I requested a Manager name and address so that I could write a formal complaint.
And here's where the level of customer service really hits rock-bottom, and you think to yourself "Did she REALLY just do that?!"...
Marie replied to my email with a screenshot of the front page of their website, and said [quote] "As you can see on the attached picture we are very transparent that we don’t hold all of the stock here and that we have it sent from our American Warehouse. We also let the customers know delivery is likely to take between 10-14 days". Unlucky for Marie, in preparation for my complaint, I had already screenshot the front page of their website merely 15 minutes earlier, alongside their delivery, and Ts&Cs page. And since taking my screenshot, Marie had gone online and added an additional paragraph to the front page, which stated that their stock came from a US warehouse, would take 10-14 days, and that they don't hold products in stock, and therefore have no control over stock levels and discontinued items!! To say that I was both shocked and angry would be an understatement! I replied back CC. the Manager Carole Stewart, and called her out on her disgusting behaviour, forwarding my own screenshot showing that this information was NOT there 15 minutes earlier!
You can probably already guess that I didn't receive a reply! Despite getting an immediate read receipt from both Marie and Carole. I then waited a further FOUR DAYS, and still no reply. So I set about to try and contact the company directors. Who I can tell you, were extremely difficult to find any information on! The telephone number listed on the website directed me to a completely different company. Who told me that they had never heard of Caroles Crafts, and confirmed the number on the website as being their number, not that of Caroles Crafts. So I then emailed Carole Stewart again, and also an Alan Stewart of "Aston Create and Design" who was listed as a director of the business on Companies House.
The message was read by Carole, but again, no response was received. So after another 4 days, I found a telephone number on Companies House for the Aston Create and Design business, and rung that. The phone was answered merely with a "hello?". And when asked if this was Caroles Crafts that I had called, I was rudely questioned "why?" and "who wants to know?!". After explaining who I was, and that Carole had read, but not responded to my two emails, I was fed with some long-winded crap about how she'd been away at a craft fair for the weekend, and hadn't seen my emails, nor heard about the issue until she got home that evening... She also then went on to say how much she values her customers, and prides herself on their excellent customer service. So would never do something like this to a customer... When questioned as to why then, did I get read receipts from her a WEEK ago for the first email, and four days prior for the second, she said that she had opened them by accident when they popped up on her computer. And hadn't actually read them until now... The call went on for almost an hour of Carole harping on about how amazing her company's customer service was, and that this was all a big misunderstanding.. She then went on to say that she would personally check the stock for me in the morning, and send over the information of what paints she had in stock so that I could choose. And that Marie would refund, and then email me in the morning with an apology.
No email ever came from Carole, however I did get a refund, and an email from Marie. It was a very short, and extremely half-arsed attempt at an apology. Making reference to how she's having some personal issues at the moment, and work is stressful for her. So that's why she didn't give me her usual excellent customer service... There was no apology for the incorrect information being on the website. Nor an apology for the underhand crap that she tried to pull on me. Had it not been for the fact that I actually pay attention, and read Ts&Cs etc. Whenever I use a new company - and that I had conveniently already screenshot the website, I would have naively taken her message as truth, and assumed that I was in the wrong! Which has to make you wonder how many other poor customers have fallen for this act.
Overall, the fact that their sole staff member Marie made an error, and rather than apologising for her mistake, decided to try and pull wool over their customer's eyes by changing their website to try and make out that I as the customer was in the wrong, and had not paid attention to what I was purchasing. Shows that as an organisation they evidently do not care about their customers, and are not adverse to underhand practices in order to quickly deal with problems. Then the Director's attitude to dealing with a customer complaint, and failure to follow-up on promises made to said unhappy customer, is yet another reason that I'm thankful that I took my business elsewhere, and don't ever have to deal with this company again.