Customer Service Policies

[JayhawkCO]

Another "policy" thing that tends to create issues: return policies.

This it the main reason I still continue to use Amazon despite me having issues with big business. Returns there are about as easy as any company could make it.  I also love REI's policies as well.

[webny99]

This it the main reason I still continue to use Amazon despite me having issues with big business. Returns there are about as easy as any company could make it.

I think that's because they recognized it early on as a sticking-point. Returns tend to create disputes in both retail and distribution business models, but they do such massive volume that they are able to offer a super customer-friendly return policy and essentially take a loss on returns.

[JayhawkCO]

This it the main reason I still continue to use Amazon despite me having issues with big business. Returns there are about as easy as any company could make it.

I think that's because they recognized it early on as a sticking-point. Returns tend to create disputes in both retail and distribution business models, but they do such massive volume that they are able to offer a super customer-friendly return policy and essentially take a loss on returns.

And they're basically a logistics company just as much as they are a retailer. That helps the cause too.

[webny99]

This is where the story should have ended.  You were late, they charged you a fee, and you booked a new appointment.  That's how things work.
...

That's a fair response after all, and it's the only thing you should have done on Google to begin with.  You shouldn't have left the 1-star review but saved your review till the situation was fully resolved.  And it sounds like the later 3-star review actually falls in line with "the purpose of Google reviews"

So the three-star review should have also been the end of the story.... right? ...right? Well, it was as far as I was concerned, but the barbershop owner finally replied to my review just last week. I think he was waiting to find out if I was going to come back or not (noticing a theme here...?)

Anyways, his version of events was that I rebooked the appointment at their other location to avoid paying the no-show fee... which was untrue*. He also said that because of this, I shouldn't have been surprised by them refusing service, and that I should know better because I'm in [position x] at a [local] business... which I found insanely creepy and unprofessional, if not also illegal. And finally, I don't use my full name on Google, but he used it in the reply.

So I added a mini-rant to my review, calling out the fact that he had literally called me to complain about my review and was now attempting to reveal my identity online... which prompted a revision addressing me as "Anonymous" and stating that my diatribe was irrelevant to their business. Ha! So a meaningless one-star rating was grounds for refusing service, but a review which contained legitimate criticisms was suddenly not relevant at all. Talk about cognitive dissonance! I then made a final edit removing the majority of my rant and clarifying that I did indeed pay the no show fee and that the reason they lost my business was not because of the fee that I agreed to and paid, but because of their [descriptive adjectives] response to a poor Google rating, which proved my point. End of story, for good this time.

then left a 1-star review because you only accepted the cancellation fee because you assumed you could get away with not paying it

Apparently, the owner had the same view-point. But instead of just ignoring the 'irrelevant' rating or politely calling to clarify that I had to pay the fee*, he was immediately confrontational and stated that I could not return because I had rebooked and then left a poor rating.

*I had no idea that rebooking was a potential way to workaround the fee, and even if I did, I wouldn't have left a poor rating without being certain that I had to pay the fee. If they were literally going to credit the fee because I rebooked 'elsewhere', then I unwittingly exposed a massive loophole in their system, which is hilarious in hindsight... but also should have been very easy to identify and clear up in a polite manner.

[Scott5114]

[still thinking about this six months later]

webny99 : this barber :: Poiponen : Jade

[vdeane]

Since I typically pay cash, I honestly didn't think they had my card on file to charge, but I checked an hour later and sure enough they'd already charged it. I was pretty annoyed by paying almost $30 for nothing (partly my own fault, I'm aware) so I dumped a one star review on Google and figured I'd see if anything came of it.

...

And since the owner cared so much about the review, I also left a new *three* star review stating that they were tripping over dollars to pick up pennies and that they valued my review more than my business, so they could have what they valued most, but that I did have a good experience with both of the barbers that had cut my hair. So there you have it.

I think it ultimately comes down to this.  You took the charge thinking they couldn't charge you (because you forgot that your credit card was on file), decided to leave a bad review to "see if anything came of it", what came of it wasn't what you wanted, things got awkward, and then you left a mediocre review and continued the feud.

[Road Hog]

I let my typical opinion of businesses be known by my absence. Plus word of mouth.

Be legendary or be legendary not.There is no "try." But I'll cut a trying business some slack.

[webny99]

[still thinking about this six months later]

webny99 : this barber :: Poiponen : Jade

Ha!  Too bad likes are no longer a thing...

I think it ultimately comes down to this.  You took the charge thinking they couldn't charge you (because you forgot that your credit card was on file), decided to leave a bad review to "see if anything came of it", what came of it wasn't what you wanted, things got awkward, and then you left a mediocre review and continued the feud.

The irony of it all is that the payment of the fee didn't even occur to me until later, so it was not a factor in accepting the rebooking. Otherwise, fair summary.

Still, there was no reason for a mediocre review to be grounds for continuing the feud, and the fact that it did, only proved my point.

[vdeane]

I think it ultimately comes down to this.  You took the charge thinking they couldn't charge you (because you forgot that your credit card was on file), decided to leave a bad review to "see if anything came of it", what came of it wasn't what you wanted, things got awkward, and then you left a mediocre review and continued the feud.

The irony of it all is that the payment of the fee didn't even occur to me until later, so it was not a factor in accepting the rebooking. Otherwise, fair summary.

Still, there was no reason for a mediocre review to be grounds for continuing the feud, and the fact that it did, only proved my point.

I didn't say you rebooked to avoid the fee, you yourself said that you didn't expect they could assess the fee because you didn't think they had your credit card information on file.  They did, you got surprised, and left a one star review.  I can understand why they'd be mad at that.  You took down that review so you could get their haircut the next day, but then you posted a three star review because you were mad that they were mad about the one star review.