Business ProfileforStarboard Press LLC

HOSTILE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Very long story short,the hostile and callous responses I received from this seller were beyond disappointing. I experienced technical difficulties while placing the order on the Etsy site, the personalization I desired was not received in it's entirety (Etsy ultimately gave me a full refund). While I understand it may not have been the fault of the business, their complete unwillingness to assist a paying customer and help fix the issue was infuriating. They repeatedly placed the blame on me, rather than focusing on how to assist me in resolving the issue. When I provided them a status update after the issue had been resolved by Etsy, I received another hostile message.

I chose them for my wedding planner because the ratings were so great, needless to say I was VERY disappointed.

They disabled my ability to leave a review on Etsy.com to warn other potential customers about their horrible customer service.

While the majority of our customers are great people, and we have worked hard for 10 years to earn the ratings that this customer has pointed out are "so great," to be honest this is one of the most "hostile" customers and situations we've ever encountered, as 2021 and 2022 are proving to be the years that Etsy has decided to market to a customer base that doesn't understand or respect custom products. This customer is currently sitting with a free product in their hands because they figured out how to work the Etsy marketplace to get free items. They demanded a refund from Etsy (only after berating us because we politely declined to issue one since we had done nothing wrong, and only after WE encouraged them to reach out to Etsy directly because we know our rights on the marketplace) because *they* did not enter their personalization correctly. The customer has to type it in, not the seller. And because Etsy is now a marketplace beholden to its shareholders who will not argue with their customers, she got one - from Etsy directly, though, not us, as the item shipped to them in accordance with our responsibility as sellers on the Etsy marketplace to adhere to ship times and our shop policies, and Etsy determined we were not at fault. This customer repeatedly insulted our business and purposely ignored and disrespected our shop policies throughout our interaction, refusing to accept any responsibility for ordering their product that *they* are responsible for entering the information for - somehow expecting us to cover the cost of their "technical difficulties" when we had already incurred the full cost to make and ship their order, as ordered. They made claims that they had entered 3-4 lines of text on their order when all that clearly shows on their order receipt is one singular name. We would love to post that receipt here but it it contains private information. They said nothing about experiencing difficulty when ordering at the time the order was placed, to us OR to Etsy. If they had really experienced such difficulty, one would assume they would have either 1) reached out to the shop or Etsy immediately after to make sure it had been received correctly or 2) reached out WHILE ordering saying "hey, I'm having technical difficulty, can you help." They did neither. In fact, they waited a full six days after ordering to contact us asking for a proof which they didn't request when ordering (our policies clearly state you have to request one *at the time of purchase* or the order goes straight to print). The order was already in production by the time they got around to messaging us after ordering and we were providing *exactly* what was ordered - to wit, their order shipped out about 2 days later because it was already about 95% done by the time they messaged us. We showed their own receipt to them (which they can also access any time as it's emailed to them upon purchase and shows on their order history) and to Etsy to verify. This was why there was no means for them to file a formal case against us through Etsy, as the order was prepared and shipped *exactly* as requested. This review is nothing but retaliatory because we would not give them a free product. This customer not only could not take responsibility for their own order error, once they'd received a refund from Etsy they came back to us to boast about it in an unsolicited, out-of-line message. All of our messages back to this customer were factual, professional, and to the point. Nothing was hostile, as we are aware of Etsy seller standards and adhere to them 100% of the time. But we don't back down to scammers when we know we're being taken for a ride, either. This customer never offered to return the free planner she is currently enjoying because she got a full refund AND her product - she knows full well she has just gotten her planner for free. We do not have the ability to disable a customer's ability to leave a review on Etsy, that is ridiculous. To insinuate that is defamatory. This customer has conveniently left out here that they successfully got a free planner by working the Etsy system and are currently using and enjoying that item completely free of charge. We will always respond back against this type of scamming and defamation. That's not bad customer service, that's just facts. We will bend over backwards for our customers when they are reasonable, polite, kind and professional to us, as we are expected to be in return - we always have, and we always will. Our 120,000 sales and 5-star ratings reflect that. But if you insult us and our business, try and scam us for free products, or disrespect and refuse to take our policies seriously, know that we will uphold our policies and rights as we are free to do on the marketplaces we sell on. That is not "bad customer service," that's knowing how to stay in business as long as we have.