ComplaintsforOhio Artisan Collective, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On June 17 we bought a sign with the word “Cleveland” on it that was cheaply made with pressboard and it snapped off while gently placed on a chair. A day later ***** visited the shop but was informed for the first time of a no exchange or refund policy by the same store clerk who did not tell us about it when we bought it. Later we learned the policy is on a small sign on the left side of the front counter that neither of us saw because we were looking to the right at the clerk/cash register. We learned later the policy was in small print on a receipt placed in a separate bag that neither of us saw. At purchase the clerk did not say it was fragile, needing special care in handling; there was no offer to wrap it in protective covering due to its uniqueness. There is no signage anywhere else in the store informing customers of the policy. On Monday ***** called the owner who was rude and brusque after ***** suggested that it is best to resolve things amicably, regardless of fault, and exceptions to policies are preferable to consumers seeking redress elsewhere. It is improbable that gently placing it a chair would break a well-made product of quality. Calling it “unique” changes nothing. We view the policy as a pretext for absolving the store of its customer service responsibilities while blaming the customer for being unaware of a policy that was never clearly communicated at the time of purchase due to inadequate staff training, minimal signage, and a fine print statement on a receipt after paying money. The owner admitted as much when she said ***** was uneducated and indecent, which clearly shows that the policy had zero to do with the decision not to refund, repair or exchange. She admitted her clerk had to be “re-trained”. The only solution offered—to re-train staff, insult *****, and requiring a surcharge penalty payment to get a sign that is only unique in terms of how cheaply it was made and likely to break in the future--is unreasonable.

  Business response

  07/06/2022

  [BBB Transcription via Mail]
  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  This Letter is in response to Complaint ******** that we received on June 27, 2022.
  
  The store return policy is in a 8x10 picture immediately to the right of the main cash register. There is another sign behind the cash register at our coffee bar. Mr. and Mrs. ***** bought coffee at that register as well. The policy is also on the bottom of our receipts in the same size font as the other text on said receipt. Pictures of both signs and both of their receipts are included. 
  When Mr. and Mrs. ***** checked out, they were offered a bag for their purchase which they declined. The store clerk also offered to wrap the piece and mentioned that the script portion of the piece is fragile. We do all of these things for anyone that purchases an item that may be conceived as fragile. The 'retrain' comment was made in an effort to appease Mr. ***** and is taken out of context in this complaint.
  We have carried this item in our store for two years and no one has ever said that it was poorly made or had an issue with it's construction. 
  When Mr. ***** called the store on Monday, he threatened to use his employment as a professor to ruin the good name our company via social media and any other means to include the BBB. 
  Mr. ***** berated me on the phone for almost 10 minutes because I would not give in to his bullying. Finally, I offered to appease him with a 50% discount on a new item since he admitted to breaking the item himself. When we got off the phone, he was satisfied with this compromise.
  Mr. ***** came into the store again a few hours later and stated that he no longer pleased with the compromise and said that he wanted a new sign or nothing at all. I remained frim on my stance of our store policy but was still willing to honor the compromise. Ultimately, Mr. ***** continued to threaten me with negative actions towards my company and then left the store. 
  All of the statements about can be corroborated with A/V recordings from the store.
  
  There have been instances in the past where we have deviated from our return policy to go above and beyond in customer service. However, in this case Mr. ***** admitted multiple times that he broke the item himself. Additionally, Mr. ***** was rude and condescending to the point where disregarding our policy was not something we were willing to do.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  ******* ** *****
  
  Owner/ Curator
  
  Ohio Artisan Collective

  Customer response

  07/13/2022

   I am rejecting this response because: See attached response
  
  
  

  Customer response

  07/14/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Regrettably, the owner’s response shows why we had to take the unusual step of filing a BBB complaint.

  First, the facts are misstated. The store clerk never offered to wrap the item, nor did she ever say that the item was very fragile at the time of purchase. The only time she stated that the item was extremely fragile was the following day when my wife went to the store to see if the broken item could be replaced. Second, we tried several times to talk to the owner and work with them in a reasonable fashion that was far from “threatening”, “berating,” and “bullying”; and, from what we observed, saying those things is akin to calling the kettle black. On the day of purchase, I left a phone message indicating that the item broke when I put it down and I never received a call back. My wife also called the store the following day and still no answer. Thereafter, in a third attempt, my wife had to go to the store because the business did not answer the phone and/or respond. While at the store, my wife asked the clerk if she received my message and she said that there was not a message and that the phone never rang on both days. My guess is that the owner heard the message but chose to ignore it. At the store, we learned for the first time of the “no return” policy and it became clear that the store does not care about providing any level of customer service or satisfaction to its customers. The clerk instructed my wife to call the business owner’s phone number and I called her on Monday.

  During that phone call, I explained the situation in a very nice manner but was immediately met with a very hostile “No exceptions, no return policy” response, which was very terse and off-putting, and given with no explanation other than you broke it and there is nothing that could be done. At that point I suggested this could be worked out with a simple exchange, repair, or refund. The business owner did not want to listen to those reasonable steps (there were plenty of the same items in the store, unsold, and it would cost the business owner very little to make the customer satisfied and would go a long way in securing future customer goodwill and future business). Instead, now we hear the business owner claimed that I threatened her with the use of social media to ruin her “good name”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Given the lack of any or a reasonable or courteous response by the owner up to that point, I reminded her it is common practice to make exceptions to store policies; but also that customers have options as consumers to express dissatisfaction, including filing a BBB complaint or posting a bad review. But I stressed that was not a place I wanted to go, as it was not in the business’ interest and that there were reasonable customer service alternatives. To label pointing those things out as a threat or anything else is comical, but sadly not funny. In my view, a business owner that chooses to alienate customers by personalizing disputes is a waste of everybody’s time, and generally unreasonable; and, it is common practice in this day and age to post positive or negative reviews on any social media platform (though I admit I do not do it that much, and notably we have not done that as we wanted to see a BBB response first). It is unusual to say the least that business owners cannot expect customers to take advantage of Yelp, Google, or any public website, as they are mechanisms for customers to express their opinions about a business’ operations and customer service. Quite simply. It is not up to the business owner to decide what information can be posted about the service and/or goods they provide. And, instead of facing a negative review, the irony is that we could have posted a very positive one if the policy was waived and we were given some sort of remedy other than a Seinfeld “No Soup For You” response (delivered in the same manner and fashion in that memorable TV episode).

  As the business owner indicated in her response that I am a professor, it is important to note that she had a print out from “Rate my Professor” about me and stated that she would retaliate against me if I were to write negative reviews about her business. Her exact words were, “I am not going to tell you what I am going to do to you” after I suggested we could complain. If anything is a threat, that is certainly one and it raises all sorts of issues beyond this simple business transaction (and, as I said in the complaint, she called me a thief which was another defamatory insult to alienate a customer). Needless to say, it is very disconcerting and unnerving that this business owner feels it is necessary to treat customer service in a manner that in effect “stalks” her customers and had that information sitting out in the open on her check-out counter as some sort of unstable veiled threat. On top of that, we learn in the response that the owner surreptitiously records phone calls without telling the customer, which is in a way unsurprising given how hard it was for a store to communicate a “no refund” policy clearly with proper signage and proper store clerk training. The owner response is also confirmation that exceptions are in fact made to the store policy (and that there have been similar complaints before since exceptions would not have to be made if there were no complaints), but apparently that only happens when they like a particular customer. Lastly, it bears repeating that after I rejected her offer to pay more for the same item on top of what we already paid. During the Monday phone call, she said the “best she could do” was for me, a customer, to purchase another one for half price, so effectively we would be paying over $90 for such a fragile item ($59 for original, $29.50 for another one plus tax). In thinking about that more, we decided that we not want to spend that much money on product that broke when putting it down.

  Bottom line, we did not know about the return policy, and it would be a very simple thing to do to write us a check and be done with the transaction (then or now). If that is done, we will drop this complaint. If not, from what we understand it will be an unresolved public BBB complaint. Filing it, as we have said, was not our first or preferred choice. We feel, however, that customer service, as a principle, is the support offered to customers both before and after they purchase your products or services. Customer service should encompass professionalism, patience, reasonableness, and a customer-first attitude. Not providing it and unnecessarily alienating customers regrettably leads to what we have before us now, and a happier solution is taking care of the customer and making them satisfied, regardless of petty accusations of who is “at fault.” Taking that approach is a “win-win” scenario. We enjoy supporting, financially and otherwise, businesses that recognize customer service is and should be a priority, simply because it leads to profits, customer goodwill, and community support.

  
  
  

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