Instead of making a case for why you should not use America's Best for your business, I invite you to read the correspondence yourself. The record really speaks for itself.:
Written 5/19 (incidentally this is after they didn't respond to my original email so I sent this one to three different email addresses I found on the website including the person in charge of hiring. I believe had I not done this, I still would not have received a response.)
I am an extremely unhappy customer.
This is my second email with no response - which is upsetting as the first email was sent because I was having problems with customer service. Now, I still have not received a response, any of the products I have paid for, nor any information that I will receive either any time soon.
My original appointment for an eye exam was on April 27th. At that time, an order was to be placed for contacts - as I was told that if I did not schedule a follow up exam the following week my prescription would be null and void. Thus, per instructions, I scheduled a follow up exam on May 4th.
When I arrived for my follow up, they did not know what I was talking about. They had no appointment for me, no contacts for me, and a bunch of confusing information. Therefore, before leaving I made sure to explicitly go through next steps in order to guarantee that there would be no additional wasted time on my part. I also sent an email to you to confirm that the right steps would be taken. And yet, here I am, spending more of my time trying to get what I have already paid for.
It is 3 weeks from my original appointment, and 2 weeks since the follow up which was a waste of time - and 2 weeks since I sent an email to you for which I have no response.
This is what is needed ASAP:
1. Trial contacts are to be sent to me at home at no shippping charge.
2. My glasses are to have lenses put in them - and I will pick them up for the store when I come in for my final appointment.
3. Confirmation that this will be done needs to be sent to me, and I need to have an ETA as to when it will be complete.
At this point, I am obviously very upset. I have paid in full, in cash, and have nothing that I wanted to receive. Further, if I need to go through all this to make sure that you guys complete the job - then what exactly is it I'm paying you for? Where is the customer service here???
Please respond ASAP. From here forward I will be keeping documentation as to contact as I have no faith that this will be resolved any time soon.
Be assured, unless something changes dramatically to make me a happy customer - I will not only take my business somewhere else, but I will recommend to all my friends and family that they do the same.
Their response:
It is always our goal to achieve complete customer
satisfaction. I apologize on the behalf of America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses for any inconvenience that you felt occurred at our Lynnwood, Wa location. Thank
you for bringing your experience to our attention. I
also apologize for the delay in responding to your original email. When I received your original
email I contacted the store location and was told
that your contacts were there. The store was sending them out to you by overnight mail. That was May 7. Your glasses also had shipped that day and they would been there when you went back for the followup. The
assist manager at the store location was suppose to call you and let you know this. I apologize that
this did not happen. I checked with the General
Manager today about your order. The contacts were mailed to you but instead of sending them to
Lindon St they were sent to Lincoln St. The contacts
had to be reordered and I made sure that the address is correct do this will never happen again. The store is also sending your glasses today by overnight mail to
the correct address along with some alternate
contacts that you can use until your lenses arive.
If you decide to purchase product from us after your
followup for your inconvenience we will offer you a 25% discount. I hope that you will give us another opportunely to provide you with your eyewear needs.
Best Regards,
Customer Service Representative
Upon 5/24 when I still have received nothing:
At 11:24 AM 5/24 -0700, you wrote:
Ms. Brown -
A few things:
1. While you acknowledge reciept of my original email
(dated May 7th)- and state that you did follow up on
it, I clearly stated in that email that the purpose
was to make sure what I had asked for had been done
and that I wanted CONFIRMATION that it had been. Not
only was nothing done right, but I received no contact
from anyone.
2. When I was in the office for the follow up that
was a mistaken waste of my time, I gave clear
instructions to the lady helping me. We reviewed my
account information at that time, and discovered the
error in my address and corrected it. Not only do I
not live at Lincoln, I live at Linden (not Lindon)
which I spelled for her twice as I watched her type it
in wrong the first time. That was on May 4th.
Additionally, the email I sent you on the 7th, had the
correct address. Further, I filled out the address
online when I made the appointment, and on all forms I
completed in the office. Thus, I don't understand why
you STILL had the wrong address.
3.in the office on May 4th, and in my email on May
7th, I requested the contacts be sent to me and the
glasses be sent to the store. I wanted the screws
replaced in the glasses - which the rep. At the store
told me they COULD NOT do when replacing the lenses.
I could only get that done in the store - so I would
pick them up during my follow up visit. I stated this
clearly in the office - and wrote clear instructions
about this to you in my original email. Per your
latest email this has been changed. Right now I don't
care anymore - and will take care of that myself (YET
AGAIN). But thought I should point out that this is
yet another case where EXTREMELY CLEAR instructions
have not been followed.
4. Most importantly: i still have nothing. You
state in your email dated Wed. May 19th that you
contacted the store that day and everything was to be
overnighted to me. It is now Monday May 24th-
according to anyone's standards OVERNIGHT delivery has
long since passed. WHAT IS GOING ON???
Finally, to address all these problems - you offer me
a 25% discount on a future order. Yet I'm still
without an ounce of satisfaction on this order. It's
not enough that this has become a comedy of errors -
you expect me to trust you to make an order in the
future? Would you? Would any reasonable person?
I have now spent hours trying to get the simplest of
results. All while I attend school Monday through
Friday and work Saturday and Sunday - and next week is
the beginning of all my finals. I don't have the time
for this. Business with you is simply not worth the
inconvenience or stress.
Are you going to do anything about THIS ORDER? If
not, there will not be a future order - and trust that
everyone I know is hearing about my nightmare. As an
example of good customer service - I sent an order by
mail to 1-800-CONTACTS on Wednesday of last week, for
standard shipping, and received my contacts on
Saturday. That is customer service, and why they
continue to get my business.
Considering my original appointment was on the 27th of
April - we are quickly approaching a month, and I
still have nothing from you.
Their response:
I did apologize to for the mistake with your address. I am trying to resolve this situation. I have the tracking number for DHL (airborne express). The package containing your glasses and the alternate lenses
was sent by overnight mail on 5/19/04 to your address. I have the report from DHL. The package was delivered to the Receptionist on 5/20/04 and the package was signed for by. The trial contacts are still on order. I had the store send you the other contacts for you to use until your order arrives. We are really trying to resolve this issue and to get you your product. We have made some mistakes and we are trying to correct the mistakes. If this is not acceptable then I do not know what else to do for you.
Thanks,
On Tuesday, May 25, I wrote back:
This is not at all the sort of email I expect to get
from you in the light of repeated mistakes. Now it
seems that you are making excuses and entirely
insincere in your apologies. Having been a Call
Center Manager myself - I am amazed that this is how
you deal with an unhappy customer. What is clear to
me is that you are not concerned with what is
acceptable to me.
As far as not knowing what else to do - many places
would give me a discount on this order. As a manager,
I always instructed my reps. To empathize with the
customer (I'm so sorry for all the inconvenience this
has caused you. I would be upset if I were you. This
is not the sort of service that is common for us.
Etc.) and then to follow up with repeated apologies.
This is not what you have done. While you apologized
in the first email I recieved to you - this issue is
not resolved or satisfied. How is it possible that
you think it is only appropriate to apologize once and
then not again in the light of repeated mistakes.
Considering that I do have to go in for a follow up on
my lenses after wearing them - I can only imagine the
service I'm going to receive at the store will be
horrible as they will treat me with the same disdain
you have shown here. Thus, I dread having to continue
to deal with you on this single order. As a customer,
I am entitled to be upset - as I am paying for this.
You, on the other hand, are payed to deal with me.
Instead of treating me as the inconvenience in your
day, perhaps it would be better to recognize that the
customer is the only reason customer service reps.
Have a job. Without customers there is no need for
reps.
What you are doing now is not really apologizing, but
somehow trying to make it appear as if I am
unreasonable. It is unfortunate that you don't care
about your customers. Perhaps this is why when I was
looking for your website again, I found you on
usacomplaints.com. Apparently your company has a
reputation for not caring about their customers.
Incidentally, every person in my immediate as well as
extended family wears glasses. You have not only lost
my business but theirs as well.
Where is the service part of your so called "customer
service?" While you are now trying to imply that I am
somehow being irrational in my expectations - I repeat
again in light of the email I received from you this
morning, Why should I use you again? What should make
me think my business or that of my family is important
to you? Would you use your business if you had my
experience?
K.
Seattle, Washington
U.S.A.
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