ComplaintsforMAPLE IMPRINT

• Initial Complaint

  29/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hello, On May 23, 2023, I made an online purchase from Maple Imprint for: - custom sweater (x1) - custom t-shirt (x1) Total cost was $96.34 (***** *****). The business website indicates delivery time in 14 business days. It's been 27 business days as of June 29, 2023 (5.5 weeks - for 2 items, locally!). Overview: May 23, 2023 – placed order online (*****) May 24, 2023 – seeking confirmation re: image print quality (3 times via email) May 25, 2023 – seeking confirmation re: image print quality May 26, 2023 – requesting to cancel order due to no responses (2 times via email) May 28, 2023 – received response via email, confirmed image quality is good, and an apology for delay May 28, 2023 – replied thanking Maple Imprint for the reply, advised to continue with order June 13, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via email June 17, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via email & FB Messenger June 19, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via email and FB Messenger June 19, 2023 – received response via FB Messenger, apologized for delay, indicated I should 'hopefully' receive the package week of June 26 June 22, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via FB Messenger June 23, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via FB Messenger June 27, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via FB Messenger June 28, 2023 – followed-up on status of order via FB Messenger (no response as of yet) As of June 29, their website is down and their phone number is disconnected. I suspect they're no longer in operation and I won't get my order. Their lack of communication has made this process extremely frustrating. I've been more than patient and must admit, I'm not impressed with this experience. What options do I have? Ideally, I'd like to get what I paid for or at least a refund (as a last resort). I have an email thread and FB Messenger chat as reference which can be share. PS. avoid this place. Thanks for your time and consideration, ******* ************ ************

• Initial Complaint

  29/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 22nd October, 2022, I ordered 14 hoodies from Maple Imprint, Merivale Mall, through Mr. **** over the phone. The hoodies were to be imprinted with some logos. He confirmed the order with an invoice amount of $965.02 through email. Unfortunately, the imprint service did not meet expectations and standards. There were ink smudges in the hoodies, uneven tone of colors, the vinyl was warping and some lettering prominently crooked around the edges. I wrote to them to explain my problem with the work as well as providing them with pictures as proof of my complaints. They reluctantly agreed I send items back for redress, to my disappointment, they returned the items in no better state and a worst one was a bit slab of white oil paint on the hood. Mr. **** will attest to it because his response to my discovery of that was: he can not do anything about it. I have asked for a partial refund (60%) of my money back to me. A request they have honor. They still have my 12 hoodies.

  Business response

  29/11/2022

  Thank you for your email and for allowing us to reply and respond to the customer complaint. It is a regrettable event as this is the first time a client has complained about us to *** since our operation in June 2017. For more than the last five years, we have completed thousands of orders and got satisfied customers. But we understand that even after our best affort there may be unhappy customers sometimes. And we try our best to resolve any customer dissatisfaction, and the first complaint in more than five years is proof of our effort.
  To briefly describe ourselves, we are a custom printing company with apparel printing as one of our main products. For this specific order, the customer placed the order with us by email queries and phone conversation. By responding to the initial questions, the customer was satisfied with the responses and placed an order for 14 PCs of Hoodies with printing on four sides of the hoodie. She paid 965.02$ based on the quote we provided to confirm the order.
  As the customer confirmed the order over the phone and in emails, the customer did not check how a custom print can feel and look after the completion. We have samples in our store, and we show our clients samples or methods we will use so the customer can check by themselves before confirming any order. In this occurrence, the customer never reviewed the feel or output as the customer never visited the store in person before placing the order. We have specified in our email conversations what methods we will be using for the specific positions to print on the hoodies before the customer places the order.
  Over the period before the completion of this order, we were always in touch, sending sample pictures of the hoddies and responding to any queries the customer had before completing the bulk order. However, based on the email, phone conversation, or even texts, we realized that the customer doesn’t possess the necessary knowledge of different printing methods or may be confused about the outcome. Therefore, we explained in emails responding to customer queries again, writing in detail about a DTG print, its feels and effect, or what is a vinyl print, etc. A PDF document is attached containing such a conversation. Apart from the email correspondence, the customer also responded by phone and text.

  
  Upon receiving the delivery, the customer complained about dissatisfaction, stated various problems with the hoodies, and asked for a refund. We informed the client about every process before completing the bulk order, and upon delivery, the complaint was an unfortunate event. Upon delivery, the customer complained about issues, and we immediately offered free fixation services to rectify them. The objection regarding the color can never be raised as we have explained our methods, the machine we will use, and the output over our email. But the customer insisted on providing with 60% of refund and only wanted to keep a few hoodies from the total order.  

  
  Unfortunately, as these are custom work and there is a cost of producing such material, we don’t have a refund policy for custom goods. These can not be sold anywhere, and creating such materials is costly. But we provide free-of-cost fixation service or give a completely new product if the product is rejected for quality. Therefore, we have fixed the products where the prints had minor deformation and returned them to the client. We usually don’t give physical delivery but ship through courier. But on this occasion, we even went further as the client wanted to inspect the product and arranged for physical delivery.
  At the time of delivery, the customer expressed dissatisfaction without being considerate and asked for a 60% refund, even though we have mainly rectified the issues. And as we could not reach any solution, we returned with the hoodies. For reference, attached is the picture of the finished goods.

  
  Upon re-inspection on our end after this event, we have found that only two items may have white paint at the back that covers the smudges that appeared due to the wetness of the ink. Therefore, as a resolution for these two items, we can redo the items for the client again or refund these two items.

  
  We try our best to provide satisfactory services to each client and will continue to do so. However, we are already suffering from inflation, labor shortages, and reduced sales since the pandemic started. We also expect our customers to be considerate towards retail workers and small businesses. We will try to continue our store operation with the best will as long as we are in service. 

  Customer response

  30/11/2022

  
  Complaint: 18472659
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The dispute here is about the quality of workmanship, not, about the method Maple Imprint used to customize the hoodies.
  There was minimum 4 hoodies that had ink smudges. The pictures he has uploaded still have lettering that are not straightened at the edges and one that has ink smudges on the sleeve. The tone and shade of the printing are not even. From the pictures Maple Imprint uploaded, kindly compare all the prints that have “SCAN ME” on them, especially the purple-colored hoodies as an example of the tone and shade of printing I am complaining about. Find attached a copy of a hoodie with the SCAN ME print okay.
   The workmanship is bad and they keep saying no one ever complained about them, I should be considerate.
  Sadly, I realized from interacting with them that they do not care about the quality of work they give to their clients; worse I discovered they have very bad review on the internet after they delivered my items, the first time.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****************

  Business response

  30/11/2022

  The customer has never checked a sample about how different prints will come out after printing by physically visiting us beforehand. If now, after delivery, questions about print output quality that doesn't justify their claim. The customer talks about the workmanship, and that is very unfortunate. The item needed four side prints, and a lot of work was involved in making a single item. We did that with good faith. If the primary intention of the client is to reject the order in any circumstance, it isn't easy to make the client happy with whatever steps you take.

  
  In our reply to the client, we explained our process description, the machine used for the process, and the output will be. We acknowledge that there was little error in the vinyl parts as these had to be manually done; we rectified the issue before the second delivery attempt. Unfortunately, the customer rejected the entire order for the two hoodies during delivery, as explained in our earlier reply. Therefore, we will issue a refund for these two specific items, although the error was negligible even for these items.

  
  Regarding the online reviews the client is referring to, sometimes you make an informed decision by checking them before you place an order but not after bringing this issue for an argument. But reviews sometimes also can not be decisive as the customers who may have somehow a negative impression is more likely to leave a negative review than the positive one. Moreover, we have seen a case where a single ex-employee has left reviews to lower our rating purposefully. We have reported such cases and have taken the necessary steps for that.  

  
  In this particular event, it's regrettable that the client rejects the order even after our best efforts. And if you intend to abandon it anyways, there is no resolution we can reach. We reject the customer's demand for a 60% refund and will offer the full refund for the two items that still have some minor error, or we can also redo these two items for the client if required.

  
  Thank You 

  Customer response

  30/11/2022

  
  Complaint: 18472659
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  The first 4 items I inspected upon second delivery were all not properly done, being presented as well done. As I mentioned earlier, their employee who delivered the items was asking me to be considerate. How can you present finished work on new hoodies with ink stains and say it is your best effort of work. This presentation is akin to paper print job with ink stains and some illegible writing. If that was their best then I am sorry to say they are acknowledging their best is below standards, how good will it then be?
  

  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩