Right Stuf customer care

Visual Novel Community Anime/Otaku Discussions
#1

About a month ago I posted a reply in the Finally discussion on the B-games and Anime forum.

quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
I second the recommendation for media mail. It seems to work just as fast in California as any other service.
I’ve since had a problem with a RS delivery and I thought I’d share the experience here.

I placed a sizable order during RS’s last in-stock sale. I received a shipment confirmation notice on July 8th. After waiting a couple weeks and only receiving delivery on some of the items that had been backordered, I decided to contact customer care to investigate. They told me to wait another week and contact them again if I still hadn’t received the package. OK, I thought, stuff happens. I waited the extra week - still no delivery.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Customer service, which had been quite responsive up to that point, failed to acknowledge my email. I finally succeeded in getting a response, but it turns out they want me to wait another week until they can file an insurance claim and arrange for reshipment. What kind of a way is that to do business? Forcing the customer to assume the burden of loss by waiting until they recover their expense.

When I wrote back again to say that was unacceptable and could result in my cancelling the order and their having to refund the purchase, their reply was the same. Wait another week until we can file our claim. Does that make any sense? They’d rather lose the sale (and a good customer) than settle the matter simply by sending merchandise they have in stock.

I know you’re going to say that you’ve always had good dealings with Right Stuf. I have too, up until now. I’m just disappointed in their way of shifting responsibility back to the customer. How do I know they even attempted the original shipment? It’s just not the right way to handle things, IMHO. Thanks for listening.

[This message has been edited by perigee (edited 07-29-2004).]

#2

Well you can always just skip the CS and talk directly to the CEO Shawne. He posts regularly in AOD and is always more than happy to help you with any problems. I personally haven’t had any problems with their CS and I’ve ordered quite alot from them. If your registered in AnimeonDVD’s forums I’d post something in the retail forum. Anyway let me see if I can dig up Shawne’s email.
darklord@rightstuf.com Use this and state your problems I’m sure he’ll be happy to help you if not try to sell you more anime

PS looks like TSRI has a CPM/anime 18 sale this week, looks like I might have to get some more hentai

#3

Thanks, wanfu2k1. I’ll give Shawne a try. Don’t think I’ll be ordering any more RightStuf until I get the current problem straightened out, though.

[This message has been edited by perigee (edited 07-29-2004).]

#4

Wow, a CEO that communicates with and cares for its customers? Before I came to this BBS and saw how they cared about their customers and had direct communication, this was unheard of!

Glad there are still good CEOs out there.

#5

Hmmm… hope you can get it all sorted out. It doesn’t sound like their usual helpful selfs–although I’d have been on the phone to them, rather than trying to do it over e-mail… that way if they gave me an unacceptable answer (“Wait another week…”) I could tell them flat out that it was unacceptable, and perhaps move up the chain of command if the representative that I was talking to prooved uncooperative.

#6

It is no where near as major as your problem perigee and in truth not sure if it is CS themselves, and this is the only time I have ever had any trouble or confusion with them, but recently, after having to call and update an expiration date for a credit card, about a week later I got a message telling me there was a problem with processing the order with that credit card. Well I called them and they had no clue why that letter was sent saying they had marked the change and the order was marked as shipped. As said not major, but the letter did come from CS department.

Maybe they are undergoing changes because they were friendly enough throughout it all, but kind of dropped the ball on sending a letter a week after a correction for an order that arrived ironically the two days after the letter.

[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 07-30-2004).]

#7

What’s CS?

#8
quote:
Originally posted by Benoit:
What's CS?

Customer Service

#9

Update - I received a very quick reply from Shawne [thanks for the address, wanfu2k1]. He was supportive, but didn’t give me the answer I was looking for.

He explained [again] how RightStuf’s insurance plan requires them to wait thirty days after shipment before a claim can be filed. He offered to cancel the old order and start a new one, but that makes me wonder who would be responsible for the lost shipment? RightStuf’s method requires me to wait another week until the claim is filed, wait an unknown period until the claim is settled, then wait another period for reshipment. My biggest concern - other than the delays - is that certain items may be out of stock by the time everything is settled, resulting in having to wait even longer for backordered items. I’ve already received all the backordered items from the lost shipment. I don’t want to watch episodes from the middle of a series while waiting earlier episodes to arrive.

I suggested a compromise to Shawne that I thought would work in everyone’s interest. I proposed that RightStuf simply reserve the stock needed to refill my order and delay shipment until the insurance is settled in order to avoid the backorder problem. I haven’t receive any reply to that, so I guess he doesn’t agree.

This whole issue about recovering lost media mail shipments strikes me as poor management. If you purchase an item at a B&M store and it turns out to be defective, you can return it to the store and have it immediately replaced from in stock merchandise without having to endure some song and dance routine about how the store needs to settle an insurance claim first. Why are RightStuf customers penalized because of the way the company does its bookkeeping?

#10
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
Update - I received a very quick reply from Shawne [thanks for the address, [b]wanfu2k1]. He was supportive, but didn't give me the answer I was looking for.

He explained [again] how RightStuf's insurance plan requires them to wait thirty days after shipment before a claim can be filed. He offered to cancel the old order and start a new one, but that makes me wonder who would be responsible for the lost shipment? RightStuf's method requires me to wait another week until the claim is filed, wait an unknown period until the claim is settled, then wait another period for reshipment. My biggest concern - other than the delays - is that certain items may be out of stock by the time everything is settled, resulting in having to wait even longer for backordered items. I've already received all the backordered items from the lost shipment. I don't want to watch episodes from the middle of a series while waiting earlier episodes to arrive.

I suggested a compromise to Shawne that I thought would work in everyone's interest. I proposed that RightStuf simply reserve the stock needed to refill my order and delay shipment until the insurance is settled in order to avoid the backorder problem. I haven't receive any reply to that, so I guess he doesn't agree.

This whole issue about recovering lost media mail shipments strikes me as poor management. If you purchase an item at a B&M store and it turns out to be defective, you can return it to the store and have it immediately replaced from in stock merchandise without having to endure some song and dance routine about how the store needs to settle an insurance claim first. Why are RightStuf customers penalized because of the way the company does its bookkeeping? [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img][/b]

This is pretty bogus. Sucks for you... unfortunately, unless you want to take your business elsewhere, there's not really a whole lot you can do.

You might try this tack:

"Am I not going to get my items if your insurance company denies your claim? You already billed me for them."

Probably they will say 'yeah, you'll get them no matter what'. Then you follow that up with "In that case, what's the difference? You may as well send me the items now."

#11
quote:
Originally posted by Nandemonai:
You might try this tack:

"Am I not going to get my items if your insurance company denies your claim? You already billed me for them."

Probably they will say 'yeah, you'll get them no matter what'. Then you follow that up with "In that case, what's the difference? You may as well send me the items now."

I pretty much went down that route at the beginning. I even threatened to dispute the charge with my credit card company, which would result in their losing the sale and a good customer, and the merchandise would still be in limbo - a bad deal all around. They wouldn't budge, citing costs associated with having to pay for a return if the original package were subsequently deliverd [right, it's been 4 weeks now] and other expense involved in cancelling an insurance claim.

I think what it boils down to is they are able to offer a method of free shipping (media mail) by forcing customers to assume the risks and delays associated with lost shipments. I think I may choose an anternate shipping method next time and pay the delivery costs up front (assuming I stay with RightStuf).

#12
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
I pretty much went down that route at the beginning. I even threatened to dispute the charge with my credit card company, which would result in their losing the sale and a good customer, and the merchandise would still be in limbo - a bad deal all around. They wouldn't budge, citing costs associated with having to pay for a return if the original package were subsequently deliverd [right, it's been [b]4 weeks now] and other expense involved in cancelling an insurance claim.

I think what it boils down to is they are able to offer a method of free shipping (media mail) by forcing customers to assume the risks and delays associated with lost shipments. I think I may choose an anternate shipping method next time and pay the delivery costs up front (assuming I stay with RightStuf).

[/b]

If that's the way they want to go, that's fine; but it should say in the fine print that if the package is lost then you're out of luck until the insurance claim goes through.

Is the item available elsewhere? If I were you, I'd consider ordering the item from another online vendor, and telling them you want to cancel the order.

[This message has been edited by Nandemonai (edited 07-31-2004).]

#13
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
(...)

This whole issue about recovering lost media mail shipments strikes me as poor management. If you purchase an item at a B&M store and it turns out to be defective, you can return it to the store and have it immediately replaced from in stock merchandise without having to endure some song and dance routine about how the store needs to settle an insurance claim first. Why are RightStuf customers penalized because of the way the company does its bookkeeping? [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

I think a large part of it, and this is not in complete defense of the actions of RightStuf customer service, but part of it is the U.S. Postal Service plays the game of "CYA" so well that they make it hard for anyone else to take such risks as sending new orders or filing for lost items. Even if the package arrives after a new one is sent, most would not return the double items and even if it goes from Albany to New York City via San Diego, the Postal Service will protect itself against any insurance claims making it hard for RightStuf to help the customer by sending a new package or filing a claim.

So yeah part of it might simply be the insurance company, but I bet a large part is also the Postal Services way of protecting itself from lost packages. At least to me it seems that it might not only be the bookkeeping at issue but the "media mail" itself and those in charge of carrying the package from one location to another location. In truth I have had a lot more trouble with the U.S. Postal Service and media mail in general then I ever have from RightStuf or any other CS of any other company.

[This message has been edited by SCDawg (edited 07-31-2004).]

#14
quote:
Originally posted by Nandemonai:
Is the item available elsewhere? If I were you, I'd consider ordering the item from another online vendor, and telling them you want to cancel the order.
Most of the 34 items are probably available elsewhere, but I wouldn't be able to get RS's in-stock sale discount (40%) + membership discount (10%) anywhere else. I'll wait and see for now.

#15
quote:
Originally posted by SCDawg:
So yeah part of it might simply be the insurance company, but I bet a large part is also the Postal Services way of protecting itself from lost packages. At least to me it seems that it might not only be the bookkeeping at issue but the "media mail" itself and those in charge of carrying the package from one location to another location. In truth I have had a lot more trouble with the U.S. Postal Service and media mail in general then I ever have from RightStuf or any other CS of any other company.
I can believe USPS is slow about handling claims. They seem to take forever doing traces. I know my postal carrier pretty well, though, and he assures me that the package in question never arrived at the local PO. Maybe it disappeared near the beginning of its journey around Cape Horn by sailing vessel. I checked the insurer's web site (pipinsure.com), and they say all claims are paid within 7 business days of filing. That encourages me to wait a while longer before giving up on RS.

I'll let you know how it all works out, but a general word of advice - when it comes to media mail, caveat emptor.

#16
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
This whole issue about recovering lost media mail shipments strikes me as poor management. If you purchase an item at a B&M store and it turns out to be defective, you can return it to the store and have it immediately replaced from in stock merchandise without having to endure some song and dance routine about how the store needs to settle an insurance claim first. Why are RightStuf customers penalized because of the way the company does its bookkeeping?

Unfortunately, I think it's just this particular circumstance. I ordered a product from RightStuf once that turned out to be defective. Following their instructions, I called in got a DMA number, sent it back, and promptly got a replacement that worked. They were actually very quick about it. Obviously the thing that is holding everything up is the insurance problem. Personally, I'd have gone for starting a new order--if the items are on back order, there's no way they could replace your order right away anyway, so you'd still end up waiting.

#17
quote:
Originally posted by Wolfson:
Personally, I'd have gone for starting a new order--if the items are on back order, there's no way they could replace your order right away anyway, so you'd still end up waiting.
The items that had been on backorder were delivered a week ago. [Unfortunately, they are middle volumes of a series, so they remain unopened.] It's true that some of the items originally shipped may have since gone out of stock, but that applies to both reshipment and reorder. The difficulty with reordering is that I'd have to make sure the sale prices are honored, my account is credited properly and I'd still have to deal with a return shipment (on the faint chance that it actually arrives). I'll give it a couple weeks and then decide which way to go...

#18

I might be over-looking it, but, Perigee-san, where are you? I would assume that is CA…

#19

Another question, do they have regional shipping centers or just one national one out of Des Moines, Iowa?

#20

Yes, I’m in California. I don’t know whether RightStuf has regional shipping centers, but I do know that on April 13rd, 1860, the Pony Express set a speed record for mail delivery from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento California of just 10 days! Bring back the Pony Express!