Please indulge my rant here, as I want to warn members here of a rather horrible customer experience I have had the last week ordering thermal receipt paper for my POS printer. The company is ThermalPaperDirect, and they are an internet based company selling all sorts of paper products.
I started an order a week ago Saturday for a case of paper, then stopped prior to clicking their final “send order” button. A confirmation email came through anyway saying that I had ordered the paper and my Credit Card would be charged. I immediately called their customer Service 800 number and left a voice mail canceling the order advising I didn’t even click their last button. I also sent an email reply to the confirmation they sent. On calling Monday morning around 10am, I was informed that the order had been shipped and I could refuse the UPS delivery . . . but would still be charged for the shipping. The UPS notification didn’t come to me for 6 more hours, and no one has replied to me to answer my questions. I’ve left 2 messages for managers, sent three more emails, and zero response. Yeah, I’ll file the papers with my credit card and get the fees charged back if I can. I know that drill.
Twelve bucks isn’t enough to bankrupt me, but it is enough to warn you [u]USE CAUTION THIS COMPANY[/u]. They have been completely useless as a customer service entity, and might should be avoided if my experiences are any indications.
A lady named Sommer Bunch worked with me to correct an error I had made in clicking the wrong product, canceled my order and recreated the correct one, all in a 10 minute phone call. She was actively courting my business, showed appreciation for my ordering with them, and even knocked a couple bucks off their price to match what the losers mentioned above were selling at.
I ended up getting 50-roll case of 3 1/8" x 220’ thermal receipt paper for 55.75 delivered. I may have over-paid a couple bucks (I don’t think so), but the customer service experience will send me back to them first for all of our paper needs. I am telling everyone I know in the restaurant business as well as anyone using office equipment that they are worth calling to get pricing. They may even match competitor pricing if you ask.
I have been using Thermal Paper Direct for 2 years now. They have the best prices & best turnaround on delivery. I order on monday and have the paper tuesday. It is terrible customer service though Nick.
I assumed they are generally strong business to have such a long history . . . they just gave me the silent treatment on this transaction from the get-go. I’ll let everyone know if it turns around.
Just got a call from the President of ThermalPaperDirect. his name is David, and he handled the resolution very, very professionally and quite considerately. We spoke about the process and what may have happened for this whole thing to jump the tracks. He did refund the shipping charges, and apologized for the lack of response to my inquiries. He was travelling and was not certain what happened . . . I am convinced that he is truly a customer service minded man who will look at the situation to see if anything needs work.
I am of a mind that this situation just found a strange (weekend) gap in the processes and never got back on the services track. The gentleman wanted to get the address here to post a response, and I will send him the location to register and stuff. I also assured him I would post a clear resolution and share my positive impression of him as the one who resolved this and did an impressive job handling himself as I explained my stance and situation. Stand up guy who made a decision I respect . . . . his customer service and refund philosophy is delightfully similar to what we espouse here so often . . . make the customer or potential customer satisfied within all reason as they are the source of our business sales and word of mouth.
While I admit I am still cautious about making an online order (especially on the weekend) with this company, I feel confident that I could get a fair or even pleasant shake like RobT described is his experience. I also spoke recently to a couple other businesses who have had positive business with these guys.
I’m even going to stop the CC dispute of charge to save them a charge-back fee and record That would be absurd to continue, considering they’re making good on that small sum.
I’m glad it worked out. Your post was bad publicity for them and they fixed the unhappy customer.
Nick, They really are a great company. I am in NY, and their distribution warehouse is in NY also which means 1 day delivery. Their prices are #1 and shipping time is #1. They also have an 800 number to order by phone if u don’t trust the site.
I’m not thinking it is a big deal ordering on their website for their countless thousands . . . just that I had a bad call. If I order from them, I’ll try their phone number a couple times then work up to using their website. Just to make sure I build a relationship with them and avoid mishaps before going “person-ess” again. I am not a techno-phobe . . . just will start slower.
BTW, this resolved SO MUCH BETTER than the lunacy I dealt with trying to resolve an online order with Instawares a couple years ago where they charged be for expedited handling and then took three weeks to send an order. That one became surreal . . . ThermalPaperDirect was stand-up and actually left me willing to try them again some time.
I checked out their site after reading through this and loved thier prices. Unfortunatly, I can’t see shipping charges before inputing my credit card info, so I’m worried I’ll end up with the same initial problem that Nick experienced. If David from Thermal Paper Direct reads this, please consider changing your checkout procedure so shipping charges are displayed before payment info is asked for.
As promised, I wanted to follow up with your response. First, let me apologize to you again. I am back in town now and have had a chance to review your transaction. Your order was placed over the weekend, processed in our system and shipped. You did send a cancellation email which we received Monday morning. When your email was opened your case of paper was on a pallet along with hundreds of other orders. The truth is that it would be impossible to find the case at that point in the process.
Here is where our customer service department loses their star for the day. Our return policy is that we honor all returns ,regardless of the reason. If a customer ships merchandise back to us, we offer a full refund (less shipping charges). Our rep apparently told you that. However, they made a bad judgement call. She should have realized that your intent was to cancel the order and modified our policy by offering you the total payment (including shipping charges) back to your credit card.
Please be assured that the model of Thermal Paper Direct is to offer customers a shopping experience that will not only satisfy but to astonish. Our company is built on offering customers quality, service, competitive pricing and a smile. Clearly we did not do that here.
I sincerely hope you have accepted our apology. I also confirmed today that we have issued you a complete refund back to your card.
I had the same rep mail you a stack of VIP discount coupons in the hope that you will consider giving us a second chance.
I also want to take a minute to let your other readers know that we appreciate the feedback and support. I know that some of you are already customers (Rob, thank you for the kind words) If any of you send me your address, I will also mail you the same discount coupons.
That response would be from David, I think. Yes, I am back at level with you guys and am only cautious of placing weekend orders online. Actually it got me thinking about making any orders online over the weekend with folks for just such a large corporate model. Sometimes it just won’t be possible to manage cancellation in cases of my error, your error, or no specific error and just changed my mind.
The experience has made me a more aware consumer and a more sophisticated shopper so I can be more effective making my needs and orders known to prospective vendors.
I plan to use lots and lots of paper in my printers for our POS in the coming months since we plan to exponentially grow sales (OK, at least make more sales each month). We’ll give a shot again and keep you in our business index. Cannot have too many vendors who go to this length to make a customer happy/satisfied.
That would be absurd to continue, considering they’re making good on that small sum.