For those of you who don't know, I run mythic.tv, so feel free to dismiss what I'm about to say if you think I'm just trying to bash another online store.

I placed an order on 10/04/2006 with a store called ecost.com, which is an affiliate of shop.com. 10/05 rolled around, and there was still no change in order status from "Processing." Since I needed it to get to me within about a week of ordering, I was concerned. Having had no updates from them since placing the order, I contacted their online order support address to see if all was well. The vague reply: "After reviewing your order I see that there is some more information that we must verify with you. [...] please contact our customer contact center at 1-877-888-2678 [...]" (The elided parts contained no additional information - just standard pleasantry boiler plate.)

Ok. My view of the in-process order on ecost.com showed nothing inaccurate. I ordered with the same company card I'd used dozens of times before, with the same bill-to and ship-to addresses I'd used dozens of times before. Since our store also accepts credit cards, I couldn't think of what additional information they needed.

Setting aside for the moment that I had to contact them to find out that they needed more information to process the order, I called the number above. The support person asked for my name and the order number, and here's where it got really annoying. The support person was unable to look up my order and told me that I must have given her a bad order number. After repeating it to make sure, I explained that I'm looking at the order right now on their website, and it was correct. It did occur to me that maybe she actually needed the name that was on the order and not just my name. (There's a reason it's possible in English to ask "What name is on the order?" and not just "What is your name?") I provided it, and finally she was able to look up the order.

She went away for a while and came back, asking me my job title within the company, and I provided it. Then she went away again. She came back and said that the order couldn't go through as it was because it had the wrong order number, and the wrong name, and the bill-to and ship-to addresses were reversed. Bwuh? She was clearly not living in the same world as me. Not only would she not believe that my view of the order information showed 100% correct information, she implied that it was somehow my fault for providing incorrect information, and that there was nothing they could have done to prevent this. The item would ship 10/06, since it was too late to go out on 10/05.

I countered that the information was correct as I was able to see it on their own site, and that since I did not do anything wrong, I would like upgraded shipping so the item would still get to me on time. She said she couldn't do that. When I asked to speak to a supervisor who had the authority to do it, she said that they absolutely cannot upgrade shipping.

This is when I canceled the order. I did give them time to respond to the complaint I sent them directly before posting here, but it seems that they don't care about their customers. One of the fundamental rules of business should be that if the company screws something up, the customer should not be punished for this. And let's not forget the part where the customer service person has a reality disconnect and would rather be "right" than correct.

By upgrading the shipping service on this item, it might have cost them an additional $20.00. By not upgrading the shipping service on this item, I wonder how much it'll cost them.

_________________
KnoppMyth R5.5
MythiC Dragon v2.0
Join the KnoppMyth Frappr!

Ahh, eCost... Just a note from my past experience with them. Human's account seem very typical of what I have seen from eCost. However, I have made a few purchases from them that saved me a great deal of money. On big purchase was my in-wall speakers that they do not carry anymore, but it saved me nearly $300 bucks. The main thing if you are going to order from eCost is to first, call them and make sure they items are truly in stock. They can tell you how many they have. If the number is large, order. Otherwise go someplace else. The second thing: don't be in a hurry. Really, if you did the first thing, and made sure they have it, then you will get the items. It may take 2 weeks, but you should get it. I saved a butt load purchasing a few things from them, but be aware, that they are a pain in the rear if something goes awry.

And always watch out for "refurbished" items which come with "factory warranty". I bought a remote control, only to receive a DOA and then discovered my item had NO warranty from the manufacturer or anyone else. It took three months to straighten out and involved the support of my credit card company.

_________________
Do you code to live, or live to code?
Search LinHES forum through Google

I was given a chance to rate them by shop.com. It seems as if having bad experiences with them is common: http://www.shop.com/amos/cc/main/catalo ... /ccsyn/260

_________________
KnoppMyth R5.5
MythiC Dragon v2.0
Join the KnoppMyth Frappr!