Please help me with this customer

[Former_Member]

I shipped out a bracelet at the end of September. The customer messaged me Oct 2nd saying the clasp broke and that the custom charm she ordered fell off. The customer asked what she could do about it and that she would be willing to pay me for any additional costs.

I immediately responded to her email giving her the price for a new charm and I apologized saying maybe something was wrong with the clasp (which has never happened to me before and I always test the clasps).

Today, November 8th (over a month later) she emails me telling me "sorry it took so long to respond" and that she is "surprised that she needs to pay for anything." She then ended the email with this "I suggest that you send me a completely new bracelet, with a new charm, and a working clasp. I believe that is the professional and appropriate course of action."

Does anyone else here disagree with me? How do I even know the bracelet is broken if it has been over a month since she has even responded? I am a store and I believe that if she wants a new bracelet, she can send it back, I will make a brand new one and ship it back. Why do I just have to send a new one and lose all of the expensive materials on the broken one if just the clasp is broken? Help please!

[Former_Member]

Tell her to send the other bracelet back first and then you will be happy to replace the bracelet for her. Be firm about it, but polite. She's past the time where she can open a case against you in PayPal, it looks like. Also, keep ALL convos with her - on Etsy and in your email. If she decides to go further (get nasty) you've got your convos to back you up.

[Former_Member]

Erin, thank you! Now, should I pay for her to ship it back to me and for me to ship it back to her or does she pay?

Normally if I order something online and I am exchanging it, I always pay to send it to them and they pay to send it back.

[WithLoveFromLucille]

Tell her that you're happy to replace it ONCE you get the old one back, so it only costs her shipping to return.

That's what I would do and bite the bullet of costs to make...but not get screwed out of a free item.

[WithLoveFromLucille]

Yes charge her shipping....

and if its not in your policies...very important you update those with this kind of information.

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

I've replaced things before. It's normal course of business. Her tone is condescending though which is obnxious. Before you do any replacement have her send you the broken bracelet back. I would email her something to this effect:

"I'd be more than happy to offer you a replacement or to make repairs to the piece you purchased. Please know I stand behind my work 100% and I strive to ensure customer satisfaction. Please return the item to me at your earliest convenience. The item can be sent to my attention at such and such address. You can return it via first class mail but please be sure to add delivery confirmation to the package and message me the number once you have it so that I can keep a look out for your item. Once the item is received and inspected, if it cannot be repaired I'd be happy to offer a replacement at no additional cost to you. Thank you for reaching out to me and giving me an opportunity to correct the issue. Regards, ...."

I certainly wouldn't send anything out without getting the original item back and I definitely wouldn't refund shipping on it. They can't get a shirt at Macy's, say it was ripped when they purchased it, call the store and have a new one sent out. They would need to either go back to the store and return it or mail in their return/exchange. Doesn't work any different as a small business.

[Former_Member]

I don't even mind about the cost to make a new one. This has happened before but the customer sent me the bracelet back and I just used her old materials to make myself a bracelet, which is probably what I'll do with this customer's old materials.

The customer also stated in this last email that she "looked down, saw the clasp break and the charm fall off" If she was looking down, couldn't she have picked up the charm? The charm is custom with her initials on it. I have to pay $10 for a new one. Should I also bite the bullet on that one or charge her for the charm? She did say she would pay for any additional costs.

[DesigningParrotJewel]

Leandra,
If I have read your store policies correctly, you have stated that you will accept returns "within 7 days" and also that the customer is to RETURN the merchandise. So that said, I feel that for customer service and store service... what I would do would be to ask that the bracelet be returned and that you will in fact send out a new one when the broken one is received back. Personally, regardless of who is right or wrong I would personally just send it to her (after I received the broken one) at no charge.
Don't know if that helps you at all! It's a hard, uncomfortable situation.

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

Yes she will need to pay return shipping on the item. It should be less than $3 first class even with DC.

And I agree. If it's not in your policies add it.

ETA: I'd replace everything for free even though you are not wrong in what you are saying. At this point I'd just want to make her as happy as possible and get her gone. LOL

[Former_Member]

Since she messaged you on the Oct the 2nd initially, I would follow through with this even though she didn't get back with you until a month after your response. It could be that it took her longer to get back because she was unhappy with your answer, as it seems she did lose the charm due to a faulty clasp. I would take her word for it, and if that happened, it would make me unhappy too.

You can have her mail it back to you at her expense and then replace it, and explain that she would have to pay for the shipping to you since it is past 30 days, but that you will provide her a new one. If she wasn't past the 30 days, I would be really careful about making a customer pay for shipping on a faulty item. As a customer that would really upset me.

[CarolSMiller]

I agree with Erin, regarding the shipping costs, if it is truly damaged, then I feel you the seller should pay. I have had an instance where a piece of hardware malfunctioned. I would send the customer a pre-paid USPS slip via e-mail, then at least you control the cost.
Hope this helps.

[Former_Member]

Liz, I completely agree. Thank you so much, that helps a ton!!

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

My first question when I read your post was why does she have to pay for a new charm if the original one fell off shortly after she got it.

I agree that she should have responded to your email right away, but I understand her questioning why she has to pay for a new charm.

I'd ask her to send photos of the broken bracelet so you can take a look at it. If it is broken, you can instruct her on how to return it so you can either repair or replace it. If the bracelet broke due to a faulty clasp or whatever, I don't think, in this particular case, that the customer should be required pay for return shipping. It sucks but it's good customer service. It's how a bigger retailer would handle the situation.

[Former_Member]

Carol S Miller from CarolSMiller says

I agree with Erin, regarding the shipping costs, if it is truly damaged, then I feel you the seller should pay. I have had an instance where a piece of hardware malfunctioned. I would send the customer a pre-paid USPS slip via e-mail, then at least you control the cost.
Hope this helps.

-----------------

Even with what I said, I agree with this. I think we really need to step back at times from being a shop owner and put ourselves in our customer's shoes.

[UrbanPearlStudio]

What amazing advice and much I will save in case I run in to a like situation

My advice, you will eventually lose as PayPal will protect the buyer so do what you can up front to avoid double jeopardy.

Good luck - you have been given amazing direction from the above!

[Former_Member]

Normally, I would not charge to ship the bracelet back to the customer. But, this has been well over 30 days now and according to my policies, the customer can return the bracelet within 7 days.

I feel the customer should at least pay the shipping in this case because it is well overdue. I feel I am being nice enough to even return the bracelet at this point.

[Former_Member]

Let me add something, I just looked back at the actual order. She ordered the bracelet on AUGUST 18th. That is almost 3 months ago. She messaged me October 2nd saying it broke immediately when she put it on. She even left me positive feedback on September 8th saying how much she loved the bracelet!

[Former_Member]

Leandra, I think she was probably upset by your first response to pay for the charm, and may have put off talking to you when she was upset to avoid a confrontation. This is just my guess.

[Former_Member]

Leandra Peters from JewelrybyLeandra says

Let me add something, I just looked back at the actual order. She ordered the bracelet on AUGUST 18th. That is almost 3 months ago. She messaged me October 2nd saying it broke immediately when she put it on. She even left me positive feedback on September 8th saying how much she loved the bracelet!

_________

LOL, maybe we should regroup. Your original post said that you shipped it out at the end of September, and she first messaged you on October 2nd. If it's been that long, you could take a different avenue. Seems you could do whatever you like with this issue now.

[3LittlePixiesShoppe]

I'm sure upon inspection you'll be able to tell if the clasp was indeed faulty or if it was broken in another manner. I offer polishing, tightening, repairs to my customers when necessary. I handle enough components to be able to tell if something was "faulty" or put together poorly by me or if it's a case of the wearer not being careful with their item. (Like the woman who purchased a piece for her husband which he wore while working out. He caught the clasp on his shorts, pulled it, and stretched the whole thing apart so it needed to be replaced. That's not "faulty." That's his fault.)

Really...you're talking about a few bucks, so it depends how firmly you want to stick to your policies. Sometimes it's difficult when you feel like you are being taken advantage of to not want to dig your heels in. Especially if you feel like you're being treated rudely. It's not really the same as making a return to a big box store. The cashier at the big box store didn't put her time and energy into making an item to sell. She takes the return and moves on to the next thing. It doesn't come out of her pocket or ruin her day, know what I mean? I think you are probably feeling a little taken advantage of and attacked which makes it harder to want to work with someone. For me personally, a lot of it depends on how the customer contacts me. I've picked up 100% of the costs that weren't even my mistake for customers who weren't rude or condescending just because I felt so badly for them.

Her second message chapped your hide but at the end of the day, it's probably best not to bicker over a couple of bucks and just get her out of your hair.

[Former_Member]

@Janeane, I thought it was the end of September because I was scrolling through sold orders and sold the same bracelet to another girl at the end of September. I didn't look at the seller name. So, to clear it up, yes she ordered this bracelet AUGUST 18th!

[Former_Member]

@Liz, I agree with you. The customer initially messaged me very nicely and even though it had been some time, I was willing to fix it. Now she seems to be a little mean and is disrespectful in my opinion.

I think I am going to choose to respond to her nicely and tell her that I was being nice enough to make her a new bracelet for the cost of shipping and her custom charm even though it had been well over 7 days. Now, it has been too long and I cannot just send another bracelet without receiving the old one.

I am not going to say it in those words, but that's the idea. It has been beyond too long and she cannot do anything with PayPal.

[JewelleryByJora]

Looking at, what I presume is, the bracelet you're talking about, I don't understand how the clasp breaking meant the charm fell off?

I'd pay for the ladies return shipping though if I was you. It's not her fault that she's having to return it so she shouldn't have to pay (well, we have to assume it isn't her fault).

[Former_Member]

@Jora, Even I don't understand how the clasp breaking made the charm fell of either. They are not even connected at all.

I would normally pay for the return shipping, but this has been nearly 3 months! She emailed me over a month from when she received the bracelet and my policies say 7 days. I was being nice by offering her to fix it after it had been THAT long.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for your help and advice everyone!