This is a little response to some of the comments made about etailers, mainly Express, and some customer service issues. This is purely my opinion, so please do not take anything personally.

I work for a DVD e-tailer (not going to say which one), but if you worked for one and say you WERE having financial problems, would you say that outright to your customers? I would be willing to give Express a little slack, seeing that Reel went under and they obviously don't want to follow in their footsteps. They have been pretty flexible with me at least. DVDs are a luxury item, no one NEEDS their DVDs, so if a title isn't here on its release date, I can wait. Yeah, it'd be great to have it on, or a day before, its release, but I can live without it. I can understand that a lot of Express customers have gotten used to receiving their titles on its release. I know I have. But we spoiled customers have to undeerstand that there can be difficult times, and I would rather bear with them, as they have to bear with us, and be as nice as possible about it. If I couldn't, then I would be the first in line at the local B&M store to buy it ON its release date.

I've also noticed that a lot of other customers seem to call or email their e-tailer with complaints and threats (I know a lot of people do at the place I work). But has anyone noticed that the Customer Service Reps will be a lot more willing to help when you're nice to them? They appreciate the break from yelling and screaming about (what I consider) trivial things (yes its money, and I don't have a lot of it, but whatever is reasonable is fine, even if sometimes its a simple apology).Yeah, I guess yelling and screaming will probably get you what you want in the end, but if you're nice and understanding, you'll get the same thing, sometimes extras, without the extra stress or losing your voice. Maybe that's just me, I'm very passive, and maybe I shouldn't be sometimes. But I know I don't like giving yelling customers what they want, why should anyone else?

[This message has been edited by aira07 (edited September 28, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by aira07 (edited September 28, 2000).]

So, how are the benefits at Express?

Welcome to the Forum!!!

My problem with Express is the fact that they are charging way too much for dvds especially when you figure in shipping charges. I use to be a monthly customer with preorders booked months in advance. Not anymore....If Express was the only online store left, I would be shopping locally which is a bad sign for online companies in regards to competition. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.

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http://www.dvdtracker.com/~djones6746.asp


"You know Andy...I never thought it would come to this....Mayberry....Gateway to danger."

Barney Fife

Funny, I was getting a Buy.com vibe from him...

I certainly agree that we should all be nice to CSR's: why shoot the messenger? However, if you feel that you're getting shafted by a vendor, the CSR is the only one likely to pass on your complaint.

As for the expectation that we'd get our DVDs on or near the release date -- what's wrong with that? The whole point of a pre-order is to be sure you get the puppy in your hot little hands ASAP... And when you see posts on DVDtalk by others who got the title from the vendor before the release date you kinda feel stiffed.

Even then, I can accept that a timely shipment might not always be possible. When that occurs, a customer should expect to be told honestly about the status of their pre-order. When I pre-ordered "Spinal Tap" from Buy.com, I asked (politely!) what the status of the order was. The terse CSR reply was that it would ship in the next two business days. Not only didn't it ship when they told me, all the while their website was telling customers "Tap" "Usually ships within 24-48 hours"! I found out after I cancelled my order that Buy had had shipment troubles with the DVD. I can accept this, but I was never notified of the change in status, and their site never changed the estimated shipping time.

They could've avoided a cancellation on my part by a simple email update on the release date: "We're sorry, but your order for xyz has been delayed. We estimate that your order will ship within the next xyz days."

The best analogy: if your date is going to be late you expect a phone call. If you don't get one, you're less likely to go on a second date whether or not they had a good excuse.

The horrible thing about the yelling and screaming is, with most CSRs, it is the only way you get results. More than once, at Amazon, I have called nicely (which is normally my first approach), only to be told there was nothing that could be done. In one situation, I was told that the woman would check with her supervisor and get back to me in the email. The next day, I got an email that nothing could be done. Only when I wrote a very strongly worded email in response to that one did I get results.

Look at the recent 800.com situation, where the people who called and were nice got a response of "too bad, so sad." Only when one started complaining loudly did the deal get honored.

CSRs might prefer not to be yelled at, but in most cases, only the people who yell at them seem to wind up actually getting what they are requesting. Whose fault is that?

quote:<HR>DVDs are a luxury item, no one NEEDS their DVDs, so if a title isn't here on its release date, I can wait. Yeah, it'd be great to have it on, or a day before, its release, but I can live without it.<HR>

I agree 100%. However, when a day or two stretches out into weeks (like has been happening with express.com orders), it's time to take business elsewhere because clearly something ain't right.