Why I am banning Dicks sporting goods (online).
Let me give you a little back story.
The week of Thanksgiving, I did a little online shopping at
Dickssportinggoods.com. I put a few things in my virtual shopping cart, but
didn’t check out right away. Two days later I got an e-mail from Dicks with a
coupon code attached stating that I would get a percentage off these items if I
purchased them now. So, I tried to
purchase them.
Problem #1. The code didn’t work. So I called customer service and tried to
order it over the phone. I got the nicest customer service lady, but she
clearly had no clue what she was doing. So she tells me that my items must not be
eligible for this discount. HELLO, Dicks already KNEW what was in my virtual
shopping cart. If those items were not eligible for the discount, then they
SHOULDN’T have offered me the coupon code with the discount.
Problem #2. The nice lady tells me that she will have to take
my discount off at the end of the purchase.
She asks how I will be paying. I tell her I have a gift card and then
the remaining balance will go on my visa. She immediately asks for my Visa
number. HELLO AGAIN. How do you even
know how much you are going to charge my Visa, you don’t even know how much my
gift card is for? O, she realizes her
mistake. I give her the gift card number
at least 10 times and she tells me I don’t have enough numbers on my card (apparently
it needs to be 16 digits). She finally
gets it to work ( so she says). I
explain to her that my discount should come off of the total purchase BEFORE
the gift card is applied. If you have
ever worked in retail, you know what I am talking about. I had to explain this to this poor lady as
least a dozen times.
This is what
should have happened
What is so
hard about that?
Problem #3. Okay,
we go through all of that and I ask ( just to make sure) how much my visa is
going to be charged ( I also had to give her the visa card number a half a dozen
times as well.) The lady replies, that my visa will be charge $53. WHAT. How is that even possible? This conversation lasts 37 minutes ( yes I
timed it on my phone). We get it down
to where my balance is only $13 and some change ( which is still incorrect, but
closer to where it should be). She says
she has to charge me the full amount, but then I will see the discount ( as a
credit) on my visa statement. Okay, we
will see how this goes.
Oh, and at
the end of the order, she goes over what I bought and she gets the colors
wrong!
Problem #4. A
few days later, I get my package in the mail AND I check my visa statement.
Guess What? No discount was applied and there was no credit on my card. I was
charged the full amount. Are you kidding me? So I called up the customer
service center again and a really nice lady ( a different one) helped me. She
got into my account and said that there was no sign of that other lady even
applying the discount. She said she would go ahead and apply it and that I would
see it on my statement. Okay, good, I was
pretty confident this mess was taken care of!
Problem
#5. I got a statement today from
Dickssportinggoods.com showing my credit. Umm, I was only credited half the
amount. Why? So of course I call. I get
a guy this time. He said it looked like the discount was only applied to one
item, not my total purchase. Yea, no kidding, why did this happen and how can
we make it right?
Problem #6.
The portion that was already credited back to me, ended up going back on the
gift card. I asked if I could have the full credit placed back on my Visa,
since that is what I used to pay the remaining balance. I was told I could not have it back on my
visa. It was store policy to put it back on the gift card because that was the
primary method of payment. Okay, I do understand this BUT I would have never
had to put it on my visa card to begin with if the customer service ladies had
been doing their job correctly from the beginning. By this time I am furious (
but I am still being polite because I do know that it is not the customer
service reps fault. He is just doing his job). I am just frustrated because
these sales reps say they will do something and they clearly aren’t doing it
correctly. I’d rather them ask for help
from a supervisor than tell a customer they will do something and then not be
able to do it!
So my
question is “Why should I be penalized because a rep did not do their job correctly”?
I know the
amount of money I am squabbling over is now miniscule at this point, but it is
just the principle now. I should not have a credit put back on the gift card,
when my visa shouldn’t have even been charged in the first place! I do ask to speak to a supervisor at this
point.
Problem #7.
My customer service guy puts me on hold and then comes back on the line and
informs me that he is only authorized to wait 2 minutes for a supervisor.
WHAT??? His supervisor is busy and can’t talk to me now. The rep takes my
number and says the best he can do is have the supervisor call me at some point
when he is not busy. He informs me that it is a busy time of the year, so it
might be a couple days. THIS IS TOTALLY
UNACCEPTABLE! I’m really sure that
calling back an unsatisfied customer is really on the top of that supervisor’s
to do list, right?
Okay I know
I shouldn’t have wrote this now while I am still angry, but it’s just the point
people! I can’t believe I’ve had so many
problems with this order. And I am sad that a company like this doesn't have better customer service. It makes one feel helpless. Almost as if they are thinking "haha, we have your money now, so we don't need to help you anymore". I know this probably isn't true, but it's the message they are sending. I hate being left with no resolution.
I truly hope that I do get a call back from a
supervisor and they do try to correct the mistakes of their employees. I don’t feel that I am being unreasonable. Do
you?
*If you read all the way to the bottom of this, I thank you!*Disclaimer, I have never had a problem at a Dick's Sporting Goods store and will continue to shop there. (Actually, I have been in there three times in one week ( and they were NOT busy) and not one sales person acknowledged me or asked if I need help). When I don't need help they are swarming all over, but the times I did need help, nothing. But I will let that slide!)
No, I do not feel you are being unreasonable. I, too, believe in fighting for principle; my husband asks me why do I continue to go on about things but at some point it is all principle. I hope someone does the right thing by you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support! Sometimes I think women are more likely to go out of their way to stand up for a principle as men tend to not want to "ruffle any feathers".
DeleteI do not feel you are being unreasonable and you are so much more patient than I. I would have flipped my lid with the second customer service lady. I would have had my credit card dispute the charges AND I would have filed a complaint with the BBB. I am good for that when I can't get the results I want. YOUR SUPERVISOR CAN"T TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW?!?!?! I think I would have gone through the phone and snatched his adams apple out! You may never get a call back from the supervisor. I wonder if those calls were recorded so IF she does call back she can listen and figure out a way to "train" her obviously clueless employees. I applaud you for your patience!
DeleteI agree with you, its the principle!
ReplyDeleteI had an issue at the farmer's market, the cashier lady incorrectly scans the bag of apples and it doesn't register (charges $0), so when she finishes the transaction and runs my credit card (totaled $15), she says, "Oh your apples are wrong" (suddenly they're 'my apples') she stares at me for a few prolonged seconds waiting for my response, and I'm the first to respond.. "Soo.. do you want to rescan them?"
ReplyDeleteSo she does which ends up being $3 in apples. I hand her my credit card, and
she says, "you need a $10 minimum to use credit card."
"I dont have cash"
"Well you need a $10 minimum"
"But it wasn't my fault you messed up"
She looked at the person behind me (who happened to be my friend) and asks "Can you loan her $3? She needs a $10 minimum to use credit card."
In my head I'm thinking WHAT! my friend would've given me the $, but *Its the Principle!* it was her mistake and she turned it around me!
I say "Fine. Cancel my order and re-scan Everything!"
she huffs and puffs off to her manager and grumbles away saying "I would've just paid the $3"
OMG seriously, people take no responsibility anymore. never once did she even say, "I'm sorry I messed up the first time, let me fix this issue for you" grrr...
I would have cancelled the order too! So frustrating!
Deleteme too
DeleteYou may be right that it is the principle of it. But, that being said, sometimes the stress/anger that is caused by the principle is just not worth "fighting" over (for me). Sometimes I let things go because I feel I will be rewarded by something else positive in the future. Sorry it was such a hassle for you though. Very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteYou are right! But I am curious to see if they ever get back to me and offer a solution. Thanks for reading.
DeleteI hope so too! Good luck :D
DeleteOhhhh my gosh. That is NOT unreasonable at ALL! I would have been livid!! Girl, I don't blame you for not buying from their online dept again...I'd tag this post on Dicks Facebook page, too. Not. Cool.
ReplyDeleteI got into a situation like this in Walgreens once over a toothbrush. It was a fancy dancy one...one I would never purchase if I didn't have the coupon I had. You can probably guess the rest. After arguing till I was blue in the face (but nicely), the manager finally credited my debit card back $2 over the amount I should have been credited. I tried to explain that to him as well. Nope. Nothin' doin'. My husband said, "I don't see what you're so upset about. You just went into Walgreens and made $2." I said exactly what you did; it's the principle.
ReplyDeleteWe have basically quit shopping at Dick's except for golf balls. My husband is very specific about the golf balls he uses and they are definitely a better price at Dick's than what he can buy online. But we have had some issues and they do not seem to care. Sorry you had to deal with such a mess. Maybe there is a locally owned running store that you can frequent instead.
ReplyDeleteMaybe take your order you got in the mail into a store and talk to a manager and have the manager call the customer service number and get it fixed for you. I had similar issues with Target and thats why I NEVER go there. I HATE no-customer service and if I get that repeatedly or I get an attitude from an employee when it was clearly their fault I wont go there anymore!
ReplyDeleteSo - I am not impressed with Dicks either. But I've never purchased from them online. Only in store purchases. Everytime I go there - they are not busy - but it takes forever to find help. After we ask for a pair of shoes for my son….the customer service rep disappears. Then after we find that they don't fit…we spend 5 minutes looking for the customer service rep again…..then we get attitude. I've called and complained before. I don't shop there often. Mostly only for soccer shoes for my son.
ReplyDeleteNo Dick's for me, thanks. Typically, I can find things cheaper elsewhere online. And, in person,if I'm going to pay full price I really really prefer shopping at my local running store where they know what they're talking about and where my dollars are helping to support the local running community a bit. (Disclaimer: I do buy off-season clearance at Dicks and the occasional trial fuel pack that isn't available at the running store, but that's it!).
ReplyDeleteHoly bananas! That made me stressed just reading it! I would have done the same thing.
ReplyDeleteOh, my! How frustrating. It sounds like Dick's has too many promotions going on and too few people who know what they are doing!
ReplyDeleteYikes, that is some seriously inept customer service. You would think, especially around this time of year, that the service would be twice as good as it should be even if they are super busy. You are completely right about it being about the principle too - I hope they call you back soon to fix things if they haven't already. Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteI hope they get it figured out and to your benefit. We have had several in store issues so we opt not to use their online services. Either way, I hope it's resolved soon and you can get in a run to clear your head!
ReplyDeleteNot at all - you should march into a store, return the items, and get the credit and then purchase them from a different store, and explain to the customer service rep at the store what and why you are doing that.
ReplyDelete