'You notice I stated that yes, the merchant could have been nice and given you a partial refund but was not obligated to do so. So I agreed with you on that. For whatever reason, he chose not to. That's between you and the seller. I tend to believe though that if FedEx was the one who lied to you, you should take it up with them.'
i would gladly take it up with them, but i did not pay fedex directly for the cost of shipping, did i? nooooo sir-y, i paid who now? thats right, i paid the merchant, and the merchant has to assume SOME responsibility on behalf of his customers, after all, gotta keep us consumers satisfied or how else do you expect your business to stay afloat? the only reason any business, even such moguls as walmart and target make so much money is the consumer. now start pissing us off in large quantities, and we'll boycott your businesses and then see how pretty you sit.
but true enough, you did agree with me that had the merchant been nicer, he COULD have offered at least a partial refund for shipping, then he should have taken it up with fedex HIMSELF, because after all, he shipped the package, and i paid him, so he should have, err, rather COULD have refunded me, then dealt with fedex himself. but, he chose not to. and not in the nicest way. he didnt even offer a kind word, or expressed sorrow, or sympathy for me, or anything. just flat out said, fedex ground is not guranateed, and im not going to refund your money, take it up with fedex yourself!
trust me, i wanted to forget the crummy $35 for shipping i paid, and just felt satisfied after posting this review, but guess what? after reading my initial review, the merchant got bent out of shape and before he even made an attempt to resolve the issue, he sent me a seething email, right off the bat! here, let me quote you some of it, hang on, lemme dig it up, just a moment please...
ah yes, here it is... feast your eyes on THIS...
'We want you to know that there ia a line that can be crossed when you write a review and post it on a public forum. We value our reputation, and will defend and protect it diligently. We recommend you now contact legal counsel to protect your self. You have crossed this line, and are now to the point that you are slandering our name.'
aint she a beaut? (to quote opie taylor/ron howard, the andy griffith show.)
while we were on the phone, i mentioned to the merchant, since he wasnt going to refund my money for shipping, to reconsider the refund, b/c now i noticed (looking back at the shipping carton before me), it said 8.8 lb capacity. i asked him to double check the model number and yup, the model number i purchased in good faith believing it to be 11 lb capacity, was in fact 8.8 lb clearly marked on the product packaging. he stated on his website it was an 11 lb washer, so i told him that was false advertising, and that he charged me for an 11 lb washer, but sold me an 8.8 lb washer, and still all i was asking for was a refund for the amount of shipping, alone to make up for the "error" on his site. again, he would not budge. he told me that he gets his product descriptions from the manufacturer, and instead of calling the manufacturer himself to straighten things out HIMSELF on the customers behalf, which is customery to do, he dismissed my concerns completely, said if i had a problem to call the manufacturer directly. i told him i dont have a problem with the manufacturer, my problem was with his advertising! but he did not wish to discuss it any longer, and advised me to call the manufacturer, instead. so i thanked the merchant (basically for spitting in my face). and believe you me, i might not be an angel in this particular forum, as this is the only place i can really vent my frustrations, but in person i happen to know how to conduct myself, and i did, despite my initial post here, handle myself like a lady. i do not raise my voice to authority, type of thing. and i called the manufacturer and again, in a very controlled tone (as my problem does not lie with the manufacturer, it lies with the merchant) asked 1) what capacity this model was and 2) if the merchant gets his product descriptions from the manufacturer, as the merchant said he did.
the manufacturer (rep) said this model is indeed 8.8 lb capacity and if he advertised it as 11 lb on his site, that had nothing to do with them. they do not tell their dealers what to put on their site, as far as product descriptions go. she even apologized to me for his rude behavior. (deja vu? why do i feel like im repeating myself, here?)
at any rate, when i learned of this, i went ahead and wrote my review. and like i said, he threatened to sue me over it. not to mention, when i took a closer look at the unit, i noticed it was dented in 2 places and found a couple protrusions, as well on the body. but since the merchants return policy states you cannot return items that have been removed from their original packaging and since i broke the box trying to get to the manual to look up capacity before calling the manufacturer, and given the merchant already threatened to sue over this review, and given his very tone and nature, i could not bring myself to bring up the damage i saw to the unit. i knew exactly what he would say. and lo and behold, when i mentioned the damage in an updated version of my review, he went and did exactly what i thought he would, he basically called me a scam artist. i'm a victim, but oh well. what can i do, right?
'I stand by the fact that your design issues/observations with the unit had no place in the ROR. You are complaining about the seller, any issues with the unit were extraneous to your concern with the seller.'
actually, they did. my observations have every place in my report about the seller, because they are only PART of the reason i was asking for a refund for AT LEAST the shipping fees. so i made mention of them, thinking the merchant would take it all into consideration when making his final decision about the REFUND. i'm not complaining about the design or damages to the unit to the manufacturer, i have NO intentions of ever filing another report about anyone given the reaction of the merchant (this is my very first bad review, ive never even posted a review of any other business before this in my life for fear this very thing would happen). i just wanted the merchant and the world to understand that the consumer should not have to pay for crappy service.
'Yes, you should have been nice. Like I said, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Based on the pure anger in your post, assuming you were not an angel when speaking to them was a safe bet. You even state in your rebuttal title that you aren't one.'
well again, believe what you want, but like ive said time and time again, i have but this one outlet for my frustration, so on here, yes, i am not going to be an angel, b/c this is not the place for nice-nice. this is where people who have been unjustly treated come to vent their frustrations, am i right or am i right? but again, i know exactly how to conduct myself where it counts, so please do not judge me SOLELY on this report, alone. i happen to be courteous in all my other dealings, i know how to handle myself in such instances. and yes, outside of this report, i drizzled 100% pure honey over the merchant right at the very moment he spit in my face.
and yes, it is too called SPITTING IN ONES FACE when the merchant, instead of assuming the responsibility of handling complaints with both the shipper and manufacturer forces the consumer to deal with them, herself!!!!! i paid the merchant, he should have at least shown some compassion, uttered a kind word, offered an apology...SOMETHING!!!!!
i worry about merchants who monitor and rebut reviews the second someone posts one on sites like this. it is my OPINION that businesses who monitor their ratings THIS closely and intently, are crooked, and know it, and are worried someone might say something accusatory that they feel obligated to refute, and then threatening with a law suit, instead of trying to calm the customer down by offering AT LEAST A KIND WORD!!!!!
please understand, i do not have a problem with you, consumer who feels it necessary to state his opinion about a merchant he never dealt with, personally. my issues lie with the merchant, and the merchant alone. i have even forgiven fedex for lying about the delivery, but STILL DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH MONEY FOR SUCH CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE AS I HAVE WITNESSED FROM THE MERCHANT, ELECTRONICS SHOWPLACE!!!!!
ive said my piece. im finished. the end.