Difficult customer and bad reviews

[RabbitRabbitRI]

Good morning everyone! I’ve been on here for many years, and I’ve only run across a handful of difficult customers. I sell beads and a customer had a fairly large order with one bead that had a small chip in it. I would’ve been happy to send her a replacement bead at my expense, but the item was sold out. I searched high and low in my studio for an extra, but had no luck. I informed the customer who had been hostile to me from the beginning. I told her I would be happy to take those beads back at my expense. I’ve been nothing but kind in our conversations and at this point she’s being abusive. Telling me that she regrets ever having anything to do with my shop. That she’s demanding that I send her a UPS label not a usps label and that I send her shipping supplies. She ordered several items from my shop, one of which I was out of and I refunded (I have over 1000 items and every once in a while, I can’t find some thing. I always feel bad about that and apologized profusely) and she already left a negative review, and I am expecting to get an onslaught of others. What I’m wondering is how others deal with this type of situation and person. How far am I obligated to bend over backwards for someone who’s being ridiculously hostile towards me over a 60 cent bead and will most definitely be leaving horrible reviews. Thanks for your time! I understand her frustration on some level but not to the extent to justify her behavior. I don’t know how to deal with this sort of thing… 

and is it even allowed to leave a negative review for some thing someone ordered and was out of stock refunded?

[RabbitRabbitRI]

After writing all of that I realized the best thing for me to do is simply send her a refund for her order. I’m pretty sure this is what she wants me to do and why she’s being so difficult. Best to just write it off and move on. It’s just too bad people have to be so nasty.

[bradgoodell]

That works.  Sometimes the cost of a refund is less than the cost to your mental being.  

We all have the occasional problem customer, I empathize.  Sorry you are going through this.  Good luck and many happy future sales. 

[BlaqKat]

I would be aware that even sending a refund... she may still leave negative reviews.

To get so hostile over a 60c bead suggests that she might still be very difficult.

But at least you are able to reply politely explaining the situation and how you rectified it.

[RiversEdgeRelics]

Yes, probably best to issue a full refund and cancel her order so can't leave any more negative reviews. Reply to the reviews she left saying you issued a refund. Sorry this happened to you. 

[RabbitRabbitRI]

Thank you. I did just that though I have to say it made me feel terrible to give her a refund for her entire order after her bad behavior. I feel like this is something she may do often.

[timelapse]

@RabbitRabbitRI - "I feel like this is something she may do often."

If she orders again, simply cancel and refund. You can cancel any order at your discretion. (I've never done it, but it is certainly allowed if you are uncomfortable with an order.)

[MynaCollectionShop]

Bonjour

A mon avis, la meilleure chose à faire est de lui faire un remboursement et ne plus vendre à cette personne.

Parfois nous avons à faire à des clients qui ne comprennent pas toujours l'impacte qu'un avis négatif peut avoir sur une boutique. 

Je suis désolé que cela vous arrive. 

Bon courage à vous et je vous souhaite beaucoup de ventes.

[GlassyFields]

I sell my handmade lampwork beads and every now and then someone will say there is a flaw or that the color is different than expected. I refund THAT particular part of the order. It's not worth anyone spending money on shipping. It's not worth much angst. 

For the most part I've found that people who buy my beads and cabs are super nice or at least reasonable and it makes me appreciate the beading community even more.

I took a look at your store and it looks like a great variety ... but honestly, from the days when I used to buy beads ... and at your reasonable prices, I would not have blinked at a single bead with a chip. I'd only notice if it was an expensive handmade bead.

I'd consider that buyer a rare lemon with unreasonable expectations, refund the part of her order that she claims is flawed and move on.

[RabbitRabbitRI]

Absolutely! I usually do give a partial refund if that happens which is rarely, but this particular customer made it seem like her entire order was unusable because of that one missing bead. Sometimes it is good for me to step back and realize all of this aggression is over a $.60 item. For the most part, when things do go wrong, I find most everyone is very understanding and cordial. This is a rare bird!

[RabbitRabbitRI]

Your beads and vases are gorgeous! Occasionally I get customers looking for specialty handmade beads like yours. When I do I will sent them your way! 

[GroundZeroCreations]

Issuing a refund was the right thing to do. However, I would be careful about having out of stock issues. In 10 years, that only happened to me once. Well, I wasn't really out of stock, I just messed it up when I was making it and then I didn't have any left to make it over. LOL So I just told the customer that I was out of stock and offered to refund her. She was nice though and chose to have me send a replacement instead. So now, every few months I do a quick inventory of items that have sold a lot to make sure I haven't made any mistakes. And I also learned from that to always keep one item back out of inventory in case something goes wrong. So if I have 10, I only enter 9 as being in inventory on Etsy.

I wouldn't give that negative star rating the buyer gave you a second glance. She said you refunded her. So anyone reading that is going to see it that the buyer was just upset because you were out of stock. It may lead to some folks contacting you to make sure you have something in stock. However, I think that is about the worst thing that is going to happen. 

[RabbitRabbitRI]

I totally understand that. Thanks! It happens very very infrequently, and I always feel really bad when it does. With the amount of inventory I have I just cannot be perfect all the time. It’s probably happened to me 10 times in five years with thousands of items. I always strive to be better!

[RabbitRabbitRI]

Thanks for all of the support and understanding! Really helps. We all try to do our best and give the best customer service but sometimes you just can’t make everyone happy. Moving on. Happy sales everyone!

[WhatMoreFabric]

There are scammers that know that if you make a big stink,  especially on Etsy,  you can get a good chunk of your money back.      \

My SIL was aces at getting free stuff,  including Static IP addresses.   She loved Wayfair,   a simple mark with a washable marker and that end table is free.     There is even a Facebook group for it.

I do not give refunds without returning the item,  even something as small as a 1/2 yard of fabric.    

You have do to what is right for you,  but I would put money on it this nastiness is for nothing more than freebies.

[VintageLakeshore]

Please keep in mind you have over 35k in sales, lots of great reviews and make many customers happy with your products! Keep selling and the reviews should move down