Beware! Terrible Customer Service

[Neeyoko]

Hello, All.

Normally, I would not use the forums as a platform to complain.  But, after the shocked I received a moment ago, I feel it is my duty to warn others.

Two days ago, I purchased a skin.  I tried the Demo on first and although I liked the look of the skin, the hands were very dark. So dark that they were not cohesive with the rest.  However, as creators will often do to make it standout that what you are wearing is a Demo, I figured the extra dark hands were their way of marking the skin.  So, I purchased it....I was wrong.  What I saw on the Demo was truly what I got and at a price of 1799L, I felt I should let the buyer know and see if there was a solution.

Today, I received a nasty IM from the seller telling me that if I dont like their product, dont buy it and that is what Demos are for.

Before the seller could respond with another nasty remark, I blocked them.

I guess it is best to take how a Demo looks as gospel. 

Thank you :matte-motes-grin:

(Edited due to TOS)

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Sometimes it's best to think before you post.  Your posting priveleges here are in jeopardy.  From the Community Guidelines:

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Interpersonal Disputes or Personal Negative Commentary: If you have a personal disagreement, do not post about it on the Second Life community pages. Residents who have personal differences have other channels of communication available to them — private messaging in the forums, IM within Second Life, or chatting within Second Life.

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http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Discussion_guidelines

 

I would advise you to delete your post..........or at least remove the names of both the owner and store.  Just trying to help you out a little.  It could be real ugly for you.

 

[Sassy Romano]

Two things, well maybe three.  Naming is not permitted on the forums.  Posting IM logs is not permitted, you agreed this when you accepted the ToS.

Third and probably the most important, you tried a demo and assumed that it was different.  In fact the demo was a very precise rendition of what you were buying so reflect a moment on where the issue lies.

While the merchant could have responded differently, the error does rather appear to be entirely in your lap.  If you weren't sure, you could have contacted the merchant PRIOR to purchase to confirm if the hands were indeed as you saw on the demo or different.

A very firm case of "Caveat Emptor"

[Neeyoko]

Apologies all around.

First time posting here and didn't know not to mention names.  They have been removed.

I guess I will have to chalk my loss up to experience.  Hopefully, this will be the last time someone makes such a mistake -- here and with purchasing a skin.

 

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Not a problem with me.....really it isn't.  But, I do know the moderators frown heavily the calling out of others here on the forums.  They'll let you curse before letting you call someone out publically.

 

I understand your frustratiion but much like real life there's very little you can do except let people know about your issues with them and doing your own little boycott...........but, here, it must be kept private.

[Kylie Jaxxon]

Geez, I have to ask though...what would be the purpose of the hands being that much darker?  I would have assumed what the OP assumed

[Ariel Vuissent]

You live, you learn. Sorry that it had to come at that sort of cost, though, and that you had such a bad experience with a merchant. Try to take the experience and learn from it. Remember to ask before you buy something, if there's something about the demo you don't like. For skins, most demos I've seen have "DEMO" stamped in a prominent place; some also have lines running through the demo to make it unusable as anything BUT a demo. That would be more common, I think, since some people could certainly deal with dark hands and would use the demo if that was the demo indicator.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Gloves?  Or maybe a mistake with the creator of the skin.........though the hands are nothing but part of the arms on the template so if the template was used it would seem to be purposely made that way.  But it some 3D paint program was used it could be some easy to make mistake (I don't know anything about 3D painting though so that's a guess on my part).

[LolitaFrance Anthony]

I would've assumed the same thing too.

[Sassy Romano]

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Kylie Jaxxon wrote:

Geez, I have to ask though...what would be the purpose of the hands being that much darker?  I would have assumed what the OP assumed

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I don't know and without seeing them it's hard to judge.  If in doubt ask.

[Kylie Jaxxon]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

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Kylie Jaxxon wrote:

Geez, I have to ask though...what would be the purpose of the hands being that much darker?  I would have assumed what the OP assumed

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I don't know and without seeing them it's hard to judge.  If in doubt ask.

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Hi Sassy...I only say that because they do funky things with the hands and feet as the norm in demos, i.e. bigger/out of proportion...if it had been another part of the body, I would perhaps hesitate.  Lesson learned, I suppose :matte-motes-wink:

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Hands and feet are typically distorted in the demos for shapes.........not skins.  The typical demo for a skin has "Demo" printed on the torso, legs, arms and sometimes head.  Which would indicate to me that either the skin had a shape with it or it was intentional.  Since it was in the final sold product I think it was intentional........but for what reason, I haven't a clue.

[Sassy Romano]

Yes Kylie, i've also made the assumption in the past that when permissions say modify that it means just that, not that just one part of it is modify but not stated which.

Then when i've asked the creator for the rest of the outfit to be provided as modify, as advertised, i've been laughed at, asked "that's a strange request, why do you want that?" and then banned from the shop when i've persisted to just ask for what was advertised.

In this case, it's unfortunate that the demo was an accurate rendition of the product and not believed to be so.

Ask if in doubt and if the merchant doesn't respond within a timeframe that suits, that's one merchant struck of the list of people to patronise with custom.

I too despair at some of the dysfunctional customer service that happens here.  Studies reveal that someone that has a negative experience will on average, share that experience with at least 20 others.  It's far less when the experience was positive.  In this case, the OP is certainly well on their way to fulfilling their obligation.

It's just a shame that in this case, sadly the product was correct but the merchants attitude certainly could have had some "fluffy" wrapped around it.  Even if the skin is no transfer, if someone has raised a complaint that they're really not going to use it then a refund isn't so hard.

To Neeyoko, let this guide you in valuing the merchants from whom you have received customer service that earns your business and help them instead by sharing that information with friends. 

[Neeyoko]

This has definitely been a lesson learned.

Thank you all for your guidance and support.  If I had asked questions of the seller first, her/his personality would have come through and whether the hands were of the right color or not, I would not have purhcased from them.

There is a part of me that wants revenge, but know that karma's a B&%ch and what goes around will come around to them eventually anyway.

Again, thank you! :matte-motes-smile:

[Ceka Cianci]

how about a link to the market place so we can see this skin..there may be a good reason for the hands this way..also is the skin mod to where tones can be changed?

 

there are things you can do such as sculptiy hands if the hands are the onyl problem with the skin..

i use them all the time..i can't go back to regular sl hands now hehehe they just seem so puffy to me since using sculpt hands..

[Ariel Vuissent]

The best revenge is to tell your friends about your experience. Some will still shop there if they really want to, others - who may have purchased something - will stay away. That's always the best revenge against a store or company. Word of mouth travels faster and farther than people think it does.

[Melita Magic]

Sorry to hear it, OP.

Maybe the merchant was having a bad, even horrible, day. It happens.

Then again, even despite the low RL wage most merchants earn: If you don't want to be a shopkeeper, don't open a shop.

 

[Neeyoko]

Sculpty hands....what a great alternative!  Thank you thank you! :matte-motes-big-grin:

[Ceka Cianci]

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Neeyoko wrote:

Sculpty hands....what a

great

alternative!  Thank you thank you! :matte-motes-big-grin:

---

I give them two thumbs up hehehehehe

 

 

[Linda Brynner]

You should not have to apologize to anyone.

What you have is experienced is the average in SL. It is one of the reasons i hardly buy anything in SL at all., and started to make my own things... and to do it different in SL too. For you... i would say it is typical for SL... unfortunate ( and most sad.

Friendly or at least empatic merhants are very very rare in SL just for you to understand about SL. Why this is i never have understood. I think because in SL too many are here with a contact disorder or some sorts, or they just want your money and then you can go to... ...

Most here in the blog are merchants and shop holders so i would not expect a friendly warm or any empatic reply here ( They cover eachother here, and in the meanwhile you are treaten like some child. True but so sad.

There are some who are very different, but they are rare.

Also... not about naming names here... that is something which is being uphold here due to merchant´s interests and it isn't true.

It would be most silly if there were no platform to put any complaint if the merchant treats you so poor. I've done it very often here and i never had any problem.

So, don't let you get that bullied, and for now... so sorry, but the majority of shop holders and merchants are cross, bold, unemphatic and very very very unwilling in SL... SAD !

And i am glad to be not one of those

SLcould be just so much more a better place instead of all the super egoism and unwarmth

[CRITICUS]

So why have forums at all?  If customers cannot come in here ad warn others or at the very least describe a bad experience.

SL is full of bad merchants, and people who scam L$ and yet they sell, because either everyone is afraid to say anything, or they confort themselfs with the lie of  "use it as an experience...blah blah" I say NO way to that, let the merchants use the complaints as an experience and offer good customer service.  

[Sassy Romano]

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CRITICUS wrote:

So why have forums at all?  If customers cannot come in here ad warn others or at the very least describe a bad experience.

SL is full of bad merchants, and people who scam L$ and yet they sell, because either everyone is afraid to say anything, or they confort themselfs with the lie of  "use it as an experience...blah blah" I say NO way to that, let the merchants use the complaints as an experience and offer good customer service.  

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Well the answer is because it's one sided or just ends up being a slanging match.

You mention that SL is full of bad merchants, I agree, there are far too many dysfunctional merchants but that's not to say that a single event should be used as a whipping stick when there is often only a diluted version of the events brought to the forums and only usually one sided at that.

I often hear merchants complain about "scammers" trying to get free goods so you could say that SL is full of scammers who as a result, put merchants on the defensive.

The problem is deeper than this though, quite simply, studies indicate that someone who receives a bad experience will tend to share that experience with at least 20 others.  Those who receive a good experience share it with far fewer, that's our nature.  This becomes an issue because one person shouting loudly about how they were mistreated is a completely skewed set of events when compared with the much higher number who have had no problem at all.  Equally, a transaction that completes without a problem and where the merchant isn't involved doesn't yield any positive experience at all, other than "result as expected".

Purchasers do have a voice though and that's through the review mechanism.  It's important to keep the review objective though and not launch into a tirade of abuse since that can end up being removed if it's reported to LL.  Again, the problem with reviews is that so very few happy customers bother and they can easily be gamed in various ways such that they can end up being useless.

I'd love to see a mechanism for resolving this, I just don't know what it is other than to adopt the same rule that I have in my support group where the users of my products can get a little hostile towards each other, I ask that people are not called out in a name and shame UNLESS both parties are present where we can all then sit back with popcorn and enjoy the show. 

People by nature like to vent at times but one sided name and shame isn't appropriate either.  Maybe a forum or system where arbitration results are made public.  It's always good to see great merchants treating customers appropriately.

Beyond that I dunno!

[Storm Clarence]

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CRITICUS wrote:

So why have forums at all?  If customers cannot come in here ad warn others or at the very least describe a bad experience.

SL is full of bad merchants, and people who scam L$ and yet they sell, because either everyone is afraid to say anything, or they confort themselfs with the lie of  "use it as an experience...blah blah" I say NO way to that, 

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There are one or two wannabe musicians that need some calling out as well.

Perhaps you should start a blog identifying, in your opinion and why, these poor and pathetic wannabe merchants and musicians... CALL IT FOR WHAT IT IS!

PS Now is the right time for a blog with this kind of content... the new ToS states that LL, if they so choose, can claim rights over all product.  Do they really want to?

Show LL the light! 

PPS If you do start a blog please post the blog name here so I can participate.