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AIBU?

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Original poster

Facebook company's response

129 replies

wheresthelight · 25/10/2014 21:23

Ok so am probably being unreasonable because the company is run through facebook however...

I am looking for a nice cosytoes for DD's pushchair and have seen this company on a few groups i am a member of and their products look really nice so i was messaging them to find out the procedure and lead time etc. They said to look through a fabrics album and choose one i liked, unfortunately there was nothing so i messaged again asking if they did any girly fabrics with owls on it. They very kindly sent me a picture of a single fabric but although it was owls and pink I just didn't like it. I messaged back saying thanks but it wasn't what i was looking for and got a really arsey response of "But its owls???" So I replied saying i knew that and i was sorry but i just didn't like it, but that I found their reply a little rude. they have replied with some proper abuse! I have attached a picture to prove their words because if i was reading this then i wouldn't believe it either!

Please see the picture and tell me if i am being unreasonable to think this is not how you behave with a potential customer who is looking to spend £££ on customised items

Facebook company's response
OP posts:
raltheraffe · 26/10/2014 10:04

Float if the company's margins are tight that is not the OPs problem, it is their problem for not pricing correctly/going into a market that is over-saturated.
The margins in the industry I work in are very tight, thanks in part to some companies employing illegals on £3 an hour, but that is just the way it is.

ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 26/10/2014 10:07

Float what rubbish! Businesses have to deal with inquiries as part of their day to day routine! It's not a case of "they weren't paid" Grin

wingcommandergallic · 26/10/2014 10:16

yeh, there's obviously a reason why you can't post comments on their page!

Regardless if the OP did respond in a provocative manner, there's no excuse for that kind of abuse from the company.

I think all of the small companies I've dealt with through Facebook have provided incredible service- much better than the high street so you certainly can't blame this on small producers not having a customer services department.

Reminds me of the time DP made enquiries on Facebook about buying a product then was almost harassed for an order with the comment "well, do you want it or not?" being mentioned.

MrsCosmopilite · 26/10/2014 10:18

If you are in the business of customer services then you should be polite to your customers. If your customer is vague about their requirements or thinks you are initially rude, you could just say, "Sorry that this is not to your liking. Have you tried zyx...".

At no point is it professional or polite to be rude to customers. Even if they are frustrating. Even if they are rude to you. Ever.

ThedementedPenguin · 26/10/2014 10:28

Okay so I'm going to go against the grain here and say you are not being unreasonable.

I have very recently ordered two hand made dols for dd for Christmas. I was looking for specific fabric for a dress and the woman took her time to search it out and sent me links to fabric she had available and ones she could buy off eBay/where ever she buys.
I don't know how long it took her to do this I got a message the following day with the links, could have taken 5 mins or an hour.

She didn't have to do this but this is what good customer service looks like. I have recommended her to everyone I've met. Her doing this actually made me order the second doll.

When she searched for these fabrics she had no idea if I was going to pay or what as no money had been mentioned. If you want the business then you treat the potential customer with respect.

PigletJohn · 26/10/2014 10:30

A customer is a person who buys stuff iff you and gives you money.

This is not a customer. It is an enquiry.

Maybe the trader has had a bad day or been overwhelmed with timewasters who have not and will not buy anything. Who can say. They might have done better to say "sorry I can't help you, goodbye"

raltheraffe · 26/10/2014 10:31

Recently a company handled by complaint really really badly. They were rude, accused me of lying (until I emailed them photographic evidence). It was appalling. I decided the best way to deal with this was by posting negative reviews all over the internet. That is what happens when you are rude to a customer.

Original poster
wheresthelight · 26/10/2014 10:46

ral - can't out myself in order to protect other posts I have! perhaps I should have named changed for this one Grin

OP posts:
JessieMcJessie · 26/10/2014 11:04

Don't get why naming the company would out you OP?

Original poster
wheresthelight · 26/10/2014 11:09

because I have posted the conversation on my Facebook and if the company is on here then they will know who I am

OP posts:
kali110 · 26/10/2014 11:13

I agreed it was bad customer service. Op was very annoying and very vague. I think from the sellers reply she did say something that she felt was an insult to her products.
Iv said before though her response was still bad. She should have still been polite and kept her cool. Even if she thought op was irritating if she runs a business then she needs to give good service which she didn't.
Yes i know op has posted however she has only screenshotted the end bit.
Maybe the seller has never learnt good customer service, i just wonder if something has been missed out.

FishesTit · 26/10/2014 11:38

I don't think you were rude or picky op, you explained that the item was stunning but the fabric was not to your taste.

The seller could have easily have left the conversation politely at that point. She was incredibly rude and very unprofessional. Name and shame!!

Neverbuyheliumbalonz · 26/10/2014 16:59

Ok, you were a bit of a PITA but come on, this is fucking shit customer service and I can't believe anyone would say otherwise!

I have to say, I have noticed that people (and I'm going to say it is mainly women) who conduct their business through Facebook are startlingly unprofessional. I have seen on business pages:

-A hairdresser who shared pics of things like 'top ten things guaranteed to annoy a hairdresser' and then a list of things like customers being vague etc.

  • A lady selling cakes who slagged off a particular customer (didn't name her but still) on her page.
  • someone who owns a 'gift shop' moaning on her page because not many people entered her 'comment with your favourite colour and enter the draw to win a piece of tat' competition.
  • A lady who makes (really lovely actually) children's dresses, but who seems to use her business page as her personal FB as well, so my newsfeed gets clogged up with pictures and statuses about her kids. Lovely and everything but I don't know her so I just want to see the clothes!
-really bad spelling and grammar as well, its just so unprofessional.

The cake making world seems to be the worst. A friend of mine has one as she sells cakes, so obviously everytime she like or comments on a cake related thing it comes up as they are all public (and I can't be arsed to fiddle with settings!) Well, I never knew making cakes could be so ruthless - there is slagging off of customers, both indirectly and directly, people stealing pictures of others cakes and passing them off plans their own (and the shitstorm when someone finds out), arguments about which is better butter or stork - all sorts!

OP if you want a lovely footmuff then I can thoroughly recommend Snunkie. They are a bit pricey, but I have just received a gorgeous one from them and not once did she tell me I was an idiot or that my head was up my own arse Smile

kali110 · 26/10/2014 19:45

Neverbuy, not just the cake making business, also people who make baby clothes into keepsakes. The amount of times i have seen people say that other businesses have stolen their pictures!

itmustbeabi · 24/01/2015 21:12

This lady is VERY rude and has a VERY bad reputation. If you search her page in facebook 2 other groups come up that you can read through posts and screen shots. She has passed nasty vile comments about peoples children and ripped a few off. X

MadameJulienBaptiste · 24/01/2015 21:18

No, its like going into next and saying that you don't like the fabric their clothes are made from and can they do it in a different fabric. So they hunt about to find you some different fabric but you don't like that either.

You sound like the kind of customer that will order bespoke items then want money back because its still not what you want.

FightOrFlight · 24/01/2015 21:34

Tbh I found their response rather funny.

Glad it's not just me! Sorry OP Blush

Having said that the seller was incredibly rude so YANBU to be upset/offended by the response though I also had the Little Britain sketch playing in my head

FightOrFlight · 24/01/2015 21:50

She has passed nasty vile comments about peoples children and ripped a few off

Hmm Where did she make the comments about the children - was it in the groups or via PM?

borisgudanov · 25/01/2015 00:49

Excuse me, have I landed on some kind of alien planet?

"They were not rude until OP started being rude". Well, OP may have been a bit brusque, but the customer service person was not merely "rude". There's no such thing as circumstances in which telling a customer her "head's clearly up her arse" and that she is an "idiot" can ever be remotely appropriate. If the customer service person had said something like "Did you mean to be so rude?" OP could have apologised and carried on.

OP may have said a word out of turn but the so-called "customer service" behaviour is totally out of order. There are professional ways of dealing with a customer who may have come across as not quite 100% polite, but this definitely isn't among them.

Find out who the CEO is and send the whole exchange to him. I've got a funny feeling he will communicate his decision by means of a P45. Even taken in context the remarks bring the company into disrepute and if quoted out of context by an uncharitable journalist they could destroy an SME in a couple of weeks. If I were her boss my main concern would be damage to the door in case she hit it with her arse as she left. Cow.

borisgudanov · 25/01/2015 00:53

Sorry, just realised the business is probably one old cow and her dog, so no CEO. Pity.

Still, name and shame.

DustyBedhead · 25/01/2015 09:50

Zombie.......nothing to see here folks.

SomethingOnce · 25/01/2015 10:38

The incredulity expressed by the triple question mark would make me a bit Hmm but I think you overreacted.

FightOrFlight · 25/01/2015 10:54

Dusty LOL! Didn't even notice the dates!

Looks like itmustbeabi has an axe to grind by bumping this (rival business perhaps?)

AmarettoSour · 25/01/2015 11:05

I know it's a zombie thread but I'm Shock that some of you wouldn't mind being spoken to like this by the seller!