Hello Gorgeous Hair Extensions Horrible Customer "Service", "Shipped"?, Misleading Information, Internet

I placed my order for hair extensions after being told about their company from a friend who is a cosmetologist and said that they had the highest quality extensions for the best price out there. I ordered my set on October 27 (however, their website states my order wasn't placed until a day later, but this is rather minor in comparison to every other mistake they've made).

I paid $139.99 for the extensions I ordered and $9.99 for a shipping. There was an option to upgrade to rush shipping for $30 which their website claimed would cut production time in half. I had seen people commenting on their Facebook page that with rush shipping they had received their orders in under three weeks. Given I didn't need the extensions until the holidays, I thought that would be plenty of time (I was expecting to wait about six weeks given the information I had seen on their website and their Facebook page).

After hearing nothing from them for almost seven weeks, I decided to send them an e-mail. I had seen Shannon (the owner) responding to other customers asking for order updates that you could send your order information to one of their e-mail addresses and receive an update. On December 12, I e-mailed asking for an update. I explained that I might be out of town and wanted to know when my order would be delivered in case I was out of town at the time the package was delivered.

I first received an auto response with some generic information that informed me they would respond to my message within two business days. On December 13, I received the following e-mail:

"Hi Tiffany,
Hope this email finds you well and Gorgeous. All of our stunning handmade extensions have a minimum production time of 5-6+ weeks, plus shipping time. However, demand for our luxurious extensions has far exceeded our expectations at this holiday season and we are running a bit longer that right now. We do apologize for that. We do hope you understand. USPS will be emailing tracking information as soon as we ship. Thanks so much for your recent order! Have a Hello Gorgeous Day! Sofia."

This was essentially the same information that was in the auto response e-mail I received the day before and did not give me any information as to the order I placed. I left two comments in the couple days after on the Hello Gorgeous Facebook page hoping to get a response with more information that way. Both of my comments were deleted within a day.

On December 17, I sent a second e-mail stating that I was very upset I hadn't been given an update. I quoted from their Facebook page where Shannon had stated customers could inquire about their specific orders and requested (again) for an update. I also complained that the information on their website and Facebook page led me to believe I wouldn't have to wait for much longer than about six weeks for my order to arrive because rush shipping customers were receiving their orders in under three weeks and rush shipping was supposed to cut production time in half. I stated too that my Facebook comments had been deleted without response and I felt that was poor customer service.

Again, I right away received their auto response message. Later that day though, I received a response from Shannon:

"Hi Tiffany :)
Hope you are having a great Saturday! I am very confused by the tone of your email. Sofia answered your order inquiry email promptly and courteously. I am not sure why you would assume that you would have your extensions within 6 weeks. We clearly state on our website that it takes us an absolute minimum of 5 weeks to hand make our salon specials. This is the absolute earliest they would ever be completed.

We also state that production will take longer during busy seasons. Sofia also told you this when she answered your email. I am perplexed at why you are so angry. You have ordered a beautiful, hand made product. We clearly state our minimum  production times on our website. We do say that production time is just an estimate. We clearly state that production takes longer during busy seasons.

I am sorry that you do not like our answer that your extensions are still in production. This has nothing to do with our
customer service. We are meticulous with our workmanship and never cut corners and hurry extensions out the door just to get them to our customers faster. If you needed them by a certain date, you should have purchased Rush Delivery like many of our wonderful clients do. This is guaranteed to cut production time in half. We have a special Rush team producing these orders.

The quality of our extensions cannot be beat. You will not find a higher quality, thicker extension set on the market with the price you paid of just $139.99. It does not exist. Your gorgeous extensions will be completed after Christmas and you will be thrilled when you receive them. You will receive an email with tracking when we ship!

Have a great weekend and wonderful holiday!
:) Shannon"

At this point, I was happy that at least one of my initial concerns had been addressed (I knew when to expect my extensions, although the wait was far longer than I had expected given the misleading information I had seen).

On December 18, I sent a third e-mail. Again, I detailed the confusing language that explained why I thought I would have my extensions in about six weeks. I explained why my tone was angry in the last e-mail (I had been ignored). And I complained about the awful customer service I had received so far.

Again, I got another auto response message. Shannon replied December 19:

"Hi Tiffany :)
Hope you are having a great night! I don't want to argue with you about what your perception is of our company's production time. It is the Happy, Wonderful Holiday season! Let's not sweat the small stuff! Please enjoy your time with loved ones over the holiday and you can expect your gorgeous extensions after Christmas. You will receive an email with tracking when we ship!
:) Shannon"

This is not the language a businessperson uses to speak to a customer. I felt like I had been sending e-mails back in forth with a friend or relative who was sick of hearing from me. I will admit, this was the most "helpful" e-mail I received from Shannon because it was so inept, it was comical.

According to their website, my order shipped December 21. However, the USPS website lists different information with the tracking number I found (I say found because they did not e-mail it to me, I was digging around on their website about my order and stumbled across where it stated my order had been shipped):

"The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on December 22, 2011 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

I sent them an e-mail just this morning asking about the confusing language on their website in regards to my package having already shipped yet the USPS claiming it hadn't. This was the response I received (again from Shannon):

"Hi Tiffany!
When your order says "Pending" it means that we are preparing your item for shipping. You will receive an email with a tracking link when your item ships. This is explained on our website. It is shipping later this afternoon. Happy Holidays!
Shannon"

This does not explain why their website doesn't just say "Pending" but that it has already shipped. She refused to acknowledge that at all. Everything about this seems extremely questionable and I'll be interested to see if I get my package at all (as apparently it's both been shipped but is shipping this afternoon). Also, the different statuses are NOT explained on their website. And "Pending" is far different from placing a specific date that the order shipped, yet they  have no problem doing both.

They have since changed the policies on their website (rush order now gets you your extensions in 2.5-3 weeks instead of just cutting production time in half), they also mention a fee for unauthorized credit card charge backs or cancellations (they do not give refunds or cancel orders). In addition, they have explained what "Awaiting Fulfillment" and "Pending" mean. However, they have yet to explain that the date listed under "Date Shipped" is not actually the date the item shipped.

The fact that Shannon feels the need to change her policies after a customer has complained tells me that she knows there was a mistake or some confusing language, but she refuses to apologize to customers for this or admit that she has any responsibility to be upfront and honest about everything.

I have spoken with several customers who have had similar complaints (including my friend who told me about their company in the first place) and cannot understand how people are still comfortable doing business with Hello Gorgeous. I don't care how pretty their products are, I'll pay more to do business with a company that actually has some integrity as Shannon most certainly does not. Being treated respectfully and fairly is more important to me than saving some cash to deal with inferior customer service. They have lost my business and I will NOT be recommending their products to anyone. It isn't worth the wait or the disrespect.