I went on this website for some deck chairs.
They had this nothing of a chair called the Harborside for almost $500. I was looking for 2 chairs, so that would've been a whooping $1,000 almost.
After a while on their web page, a chat box came up asking if I needed any help.
It was funny because the guys name was Jake, as in the commercial, "Hi, this is Jake from State Farm!"
Anyway, I must've been annoyed at their ridiculous prices and I had this farce of a dialogue with Jake.
Jake: Hello, We see you are checking out. Can we help in any way?
Me: trying to download a 25% off coupon...can you assist?
Jake: We don't have any coupons or discount codes.
Me: Just overpriced then. {smiley}
Me: Why do you charge so much for such cheap merchandise?
Jake: It's grade A teak which is the highest quality grade you buy but go on.
Me: It's a tree! Why should I pay $1000 for 2 small desk chairs. There is plenty of tweak in the forest for free!
Me: Can you explain?
Jake: *Teak. You're more than welcome to grow your own forest and make these but you'll have to move to a warmer climate. You can educate yourself better with our guide here [and he attached a link].
Me: Hmmm. Would you pay $1000 for thee little wooden chairs.
Me: Also, I'm pretty educated. TY
Jake: Yes, I have 4 on [my grandmother's porch]
Me: You didn't pay $2000 for 4 chairs for your grandmother's porch. NO WAY! I bet you got a big employee discount.
At which point, the chat box quickly bleeped off the screen!
Jake from State Farm...you didn't really buy 4 chairs for your grandmother for $2000 did you??? ;-)
(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
Overpriced Desk Chairs
So I purchase some nutrition bars from a prominent online store.
If you click on 2 boxes (12 bars each), they charge you $30.
But if you look over a little on the website page, they have 24 bars for $24.
I contact customer service and start chatting with them about this.
Basically, I wanted the difference refunded to me.
Surely, not a lot of money, but more the principle of it.
They are charging 2 different amounts for the very same thing!
The lady on the other end of the chat asks me to forward her the link for the product.
I comply.
She says, "You see that link is 2 boxes for $30!"
I say, "No, that's just the primary link to the product, and it has 2 different prices for basically the exact same thing."
She says, "On that link you sent it has 12 bars x 2, which is different than ordering 24 bars!"
I'm thinking, Oh really! What math class did she take in elementary school???
And then for good measure, she adds socking one to me:
"Truth Always Hurts!"
At this point, I couldn't believe my chat "ears".
Aside from her "truth" not being "the truth" in any universe...
I was in shock and said something like "How dare you. You are incredibly rude. Put your supervisor on."
She says: "Well, my supervisor will tell you the same thing!"
I repeated once more: "Please let me speak to a supervisor."
Finally when I got the supervisor, who was a more normal, reasonable person, and also could do simple arithmetic, she immediately apologizes issuing me a refund.
She asked if there was anything else she could assist with.
I asked, to confirm again, "Are you a supervisor?"
She responded affirmatively.
I asked her to review the chat with the prior customer service rep and asked, "Is this how you want your company represented to your customers?"
Needless to say, she was flabbergasted by what she saw from their outsourced "customer service" representative.
She assured me she was flagging the chat for review by management and that this outrageous behavior from this company representative would be addressed.
To me, it is amazing that our companies not only outsource the manufacture of our vital goods, but they also outsource customer service to people that barely seem to speak the language, can't do basic math, and have zero customer service skills.
This does not bode well for American competitiveness--in the age of Coronavirus or at any other time.
I believe that this truth hurts much more than any company's horrendous customer service. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
The Truth Hurts