Problem Customer That Makes Me Want To Scream.

[GaryNunn]

Out of the 200+ sales I've had in the last 5 months, I've had ONE single problem customer.

He ordered this holster, that CLEARLY said won't ship until 5 days after payment, he emails me via Ebay the next day wanting to know why it hasn't shipped yet, threatening to report me to Ebay. I told him it would be 5 days.

As soon as he gets it, he claims it's too tight. I told him to follow the break-in instructions, so the next day he emails me and said that he just "discovered" a small chip in the leather, and it's still too tight. I immediately offered to replace the holster or refund his money.

Now, 4 days later, he emails me another picture and says that the leather "developed" cracks and the piece is about to fall off the holster. I tried to duplicate the damage on a scrap piece in my shop, and I had to SERIOUSLY abuse the leather just to get surface cracks, there was no way i could crack it all the way through... not to mention the fact that it's 8-9 oz leather. It also looks like the finish has been seriously dulled, I'm wondering what else he did to it.

So now he's demanding that I replace the holster with one that fits and pay for his shipping expenses, with hints that he might expect me to pay for his "lost time" if I don't do a timely replacement.

That's an $80 holster he's destroyed.

I emailed Ebay and asked for guidance. One thing for sure, this guy is getting blocked from ANY future purchases.

Edited February 26, 2016 by GaryNunn

[TinkerTailor]

I would just send him his money, and cease communication. Not worth your time to make another one. Can't please them all, specially if they are trying to be displeased.

[Troy I]

I had one guy do the same thing, with one of my rifle slings...as soon as he got it he forced the leather around the swivel on his rifle...the leather cracked...he then wanted me to make him another sling in a different color....I gave him his money back and told him that he needed to go else where to have his next sling made.

Keep in mind I include a full sheet of instructions with each purchase...that has in it to not force the leather, let it break in on its own.

Also in my discription I state that leather is a natural product and may have blemishes and scars that make each item unique.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Troy I

[NVLeatherWorx]

As has already been stated: give this idiot his money back and end all communications with him, people like this are around every corner and the more that you try and make it right by them the more noise they make because they think that they have a patsy on their hands. People like this wake up every morning hating the miserable life that they enjoy and just all of us to join them in their misery, ain't worth it to try and keep the $80.00 on the books. Costs less in the long run because you can cut him out before he does any real damage to your business. It is also the main reason why I don't use eBay for any business; that place crawls with garbage like this guy.

[Studio-N]

eBay will NEVER stand behind a seller and their ex-wife paypal is the same.

Cut your losses on this one and refund it - BUT make sure it is on the condition

of him returning it. At least that way he won't have a free holster.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Studio-N

[Mike516]

I have been selling antiques and collectibles on eBay for years, but it doesn't matter what you sell, it's the same deal.

There are mostly good people on there buying but there are some that know how to "play the system" and get what they want for free. It has gotten so bad that I am liquidating my inventory and getting out of eBay.

I have researched other places to sell and will likely soon be making my own website. But my customer service will remain the same. I just don't want to be under someone else's thumb, especially one that has a broken system. And eBay's system is as broken as it gets.

But customer service should never change no matter who the client is. And in this case, the guy says he's not happy, so he's not happy weather it be about life or his job, it probably has nothing to do with your holster. But he's not happy and there is no way to undo that so don't try. I would do this by the book....have him send the item back (the only way ebay SHOULD force a refund - but I have heard stories where they will refund without a return so the best you can do is attempt to mitigate eBay involvement) then refund his money and place him on the blocked bidder list. Then, and this is the hardest part, forget about the guy and move on.

There's no point in letting him get to you. Remember the other 199 customers you have made happy.

Good luck to you.

[TinkerTailor]

Then, and this is the hardest part, forget about the guy and move on.

There's no point in letting him get to you. Remember the other 199 customers you have made happy.

Good luck to you.

In your mind, just pretend you spilled glue all over a finished holster and had to scrap it....

[Kulafarmer]

I agree with Tink, just give em his cash back and say buhbye

[dfrensdorff]

I agree.... Give money back and get the holster back. The one thing I completely disagree with as far as eBay goes is negative feedback that is completely unwarranted, and the difficulty in getting it removed....hope you don't have to deal with this as well.

[penguineer]

I agree.... Give money back and get the holster back. The one thing I completely disagree with as far as eBay goes is negative feedback that is completely unwarranted, and the difficulty in getting it removed....hope you don't have to deal with this as well.

One negative Ebay feedback is not an absolute end of the world.

Just suppose you have 199 satisfied customers leaving feedback with rankings in the 3-5 stars range and one customer leaves a nastygram review with 0 star feedback........

I tend to look for patterns in the feedback(ie if the last 10 feedback are negative or related to one item).....

On the other side - if a seller has 5000+ sales and every single one of them is five star glowing reviews....I start to get a bit suspicious(although it seems anything less than 5 stars these day is a no-no). Call me old-fashioned....

Cheers!

Edited February 29, 2016 by penguineer