This story starts out normally. Boy places order to Midway USA, order arrives complete and as expected. Boy checks order and finds one item (a Holster) doesn't fit either of the guns intended.
Rats.
Oh well, Midway has great customer service, they'll take it back and it'll only cost me a couple extra bucks shipping. Holster is mailed back within a few days, with receipt and in original packaging and obviously unused.
Fast forward two months. A review of the credit card statements and the Midway account still shows no credit. Sent an email to Midway's customer support asking what happened. They responded two business days later saying the return had never been received.
Midway has a great reputation for customer service. It never occurred to me that there would be a hiccup in the return. So I didn't bother with proof of mailing nor insurance. So I had no documentation that I had indeed sent the package. At best I might have a credit card statement showing the shipping, but that probably wouldn't show the destination.
So when Midway's customer service replied that they never got it, I felt truly screwed. I had nothing to back up my story. Only thing I could do was to write off the loss and chalk up the lesson learned. And make plans to make purchases from other suppliers and forward copies of the receipts to Midway. I also considered taking a couple guesses at Larry Potterfield's email address to raise the issue to the top.
But I never got the chance. Today Midway emailed saying they were behind in returns and my return had been found. This reaffirms the faith I had in their customer service, with only half a ding for the near two month delay. I say half a ding because it's possible the package was never actually received and they just decided to eat the cost (under $20) in the interest of good service (smart choice for a good customer if this is the case).
Either way, I credit them for making it right. Now I can continue making plans for my next order. This will include a chronograph and I'd still like to find a holster for the PT-92.
PS I still may make a couple guesses at Larry P's e-address. Only this time it will be a "GoodOnYa" for customer support.
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3 comments:
I had nothing to back up my story. Only thing I could do was to write off the loss and chalk up the lesson learned. And make plans to make purchases from other suppliers and forward copies of the receipts to Midway. I also considered taking a couple guesses at Larry Potterfield's email address to raise the issue to the top.
Forgive me for asking, but I'm curious why you'd even think to blame Midway in this event. Why blame Midway at all?
Assuming they were, in fact, telling the truth (and I have no reason to suspect they weren't) and they hadn't received the parcel containing the returned item, how is it their fault for not crediting your card for the return?
If the parcel had gotten lost in the mail and you had no means of verifying that it was actually received by Midway (e.g. by means of a tracking or delivery confirmation number, etc.), why blame Midway? If anything, blame the USPS (who'll likely tell you to go pound sand) or whichever courier service you used.
Things do occasionally get lost in the mail, and if this was a random event (as opposed to dealing with a shady vendor who may have a history of "not receiving" returns), I'd be willing to write it off and order a suitable replacement. In the future, I'd probably consider paying the extra $0.60 or whatever it costs for delivery confirmation.
(continued)
Obviously, it's a non-issue in this case, the parcel was found (or written off by Midway), but one should always consider the benefits of delivery confirmation or tracking numbers in the future.
Like I said... it never occurred to me there might be a problem. USPS has the best track record of the big four and never any complaints with Midway. So I didn't bother with any additional services.
OTOH, since they refunded the return in exactly the manner requested on the return receipt, that suggests that the package was indeed lost at their end.
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