So here’s how it breaks down.
I signed up for the Pathfinder RPG subscription shortly after the APG came out and on Aug 10th I received an e-mail saying that my book was being shipped and I could go download my pdf copy of the book. I was stoked. Weeks passed and no book, I got the cheapest shipping but it was already past the suggested time period. I went ahead and e-mailed customer service to see if they could find out why I hadn’t received my book yet.
I was told that it was only a couple days past the suggested time period for the shipping I paid for and that because the book had shipped my pdf copy was available and I should wait a few more days.
Another week passed and I began sending more e-mails, which I got no response from. We are now up to Sep 13th. Finally I decide to post something in the customer support forums to see what I could get done. I got a very quick response letting me know that my book was in fact late if I still didn’t have it, and that CS was running behind because they were preparing for their monthly AP subscriptions. Never the less I was told that another book was being shipped to me and I was once again happy. (I did see if I could get bumped up to quicker shipping but was told it would be sent via the same shipping method. No big deal just trying to get a little something extra.)
It is now Oct 4th, still have no book, but this time I called CS myself to find out what the deal is. So I was told that they didn’t know why I hadn’t received my original copy, but the replacement copy never shipped due to some kind of bug in their system. At this point it is their fault that I never received my replacement book, oh and did I mention that I was told yet again that I’ve had the pdf of the book the whole time, like that makes up for me not getting what I paid for. Any way I was told that the replacement would be shipped out today and I would get a confirmation e-mail when it did. This time I asked if I could get my shipping upgraded so I would be able to track the order, but again was told no and was reassured that the book would be shipped today and I would get an e-mail.
I don’t know about you, I don’t like being given the impression that because I got the pdf free it’s not that big of an issue that I have yet to receive my book. I just feel like because I have the pdf I was being back burned. From what I understood the pdf was a free gift for being a subscriber, not an alternative to good customer service and accurate shipping.
This ended up being much longer than I expected, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this kind of problem. I’m not so much mad as I am confused that a company that produces such great products would have (IMO) such bad customer service.
Sounds like just really bad luck, man. I understand the frustration, though. I'm sure it'll get straightened out, though. From what I can tell, Paizo is really fond of their customers. I'm sure none of what's happened has been deliberate (and I'm sure you don't feel that it was either).
In fact, I half expect this post to be ninja'd by a Paizo staffer.
Best of luck, and keep that patience well-fed. (You've waited a lot longer than most people I know would have without totally flipping their lid.)
I don't think it was deliberate. I just feel like CS doesn't really care that I am having an unsatisfactory experiance with my first subscription book because I already have my pdf copy.
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I don't think it was deliberate. I just feel like CS doesn't really care that I am having an unsatisfactory experiance with my first subscription book because I already have my pdf copy.
I'm not sure where you are in related to Seattle, but I've seen the 'slow method' take 2 days to get to me in CT, and I've seen it take 40 days. This isn't some thing that Paizo in general or CS specifically could help with - its all USPS. Because of this, they generally allow 2 weeks past the end of the shipping date, and 80%+ of shipments whichc people post about come in at that time (You can read through the threads here and see that much for yourself).
unfortunately, yours was one of these. I'm not sure what bug happened with the restock, but I do know that CS at Paizo is genuinely the best in the business. I wouldn't count them out on one bad experience (I see you have 90 other posts on these boards, so you probably know a little about what I'm talking about)
edit: my statistic up there was an estimate. I can actually go through the last 100 and get a more accurate number f you would like
there is no need to get accurate numbers.
I was mainly just wondering if any one else has had an experience like this. It has been my experience working in customer service, and dealing with them, that when there is a problem that is 100% to fault of your company (speaking of the replacement book, would expect this for an order that the post office flubs up) then you should do something to try to make up for the customers unpleasant experience. Again this is just the kind of customer service I have grown accustomed to in similar situations.
Example:
I ordered an RPG book from a 3rd party company through Amazon that I hadn’t received by a week after the estimated arrival date. I e-mailed Amazon, they e-mailed the company, then company e-mailed me telling me that they looked in to it and for some reason the book never left the UPS warehouse. They asked if I wanted a refund or if I would like them to expedite me a new book. I told them that I still wanted the book and they had already charged me so just send me another copy. No big deal.
Two days later I had my book and an e-mail from the company saying they had refunded my money for the inconvenience and to keep the book.
This in my opinion is great customer service, they made sure I got was I ordered and even went above and beyond to refund my money.
I don’t expect a refund or anything I really want my book, but I was just a little put off by getting told that I already had my pdf, and being made to feel like they shouldn’t have to do anything to try to make my buying experience with this company any better because I already have a digital copy of the book.
Edit: I felt I should specify that I do not expect this kind of customer service from every company I deal with. I just thought hearing such great things about Paizo CS on the forums I would get more than just bare minimum.
Tal_Akaan,
I'm truly sorry that you feel like you've been neglected by our Customer Service department in this process but I can assure you that all of our customers are equally important to us and your issues were not placed on the back burner. The reason that both Cosmo and Sara mentioned you having access to the PDF because some of our customers don't realize they have access to it and it's a way for you to read/use/view the info while the print edition is in transit. It was by no means their way of downplaying your issue.
Having your first order go missing in the USPS system is a frustrating beginning to our relationship and then to have your replacement get held up by a computer bug is like adding insult to injury. I get that. But maybe your expectations of how we would handle the mistake were a little high. Could we have shipped the replacement next-day to you? Sure.
Could we have refunded your money and let you keep the book? Sure.
But are these the lengths that we should really need to go to to keep a customer happy? I guess that is up to you to decide.
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But maybe your expectations of how we would handle the mistake were a little high. Could we have shipped the replacement next-day to you? Sure.
Could we have refunded your money and let you keep the book? Sure.
But are these the lengths that we should really need to go to to keep a customer happy? I guess that is up to you to decide.
Sorry for butting in, but Jeff this really is something you (meaning Paizo) need to decide. Tal_Akaan isn't just a one time customer. He (or she?) has just become a subscriber. That is a big faith commitment from a customer. That's saying, "Hey Paizo, I trust you enough to just send me every product from product line X and bill me for it. I trust that it will be a quality product, and I trust that it will arrive in a timely manner."
Should any customer expect to get free product for an inconvenience? No. However, when the customer specifically asked for an upgrade in shipping of the replacement item, so the shipment could be tracked and give the customer a little reassurance, that probably was not too much to ask.
Thank you.
Could we have shipped the replacement next-day to you? Sure.
Could we have refunded your money and let you keep the book? Sure.
But are these the lengths that we should really need to go to to keep a customer happy? I guess that is up to you to decide.
I don't think Tal is asking too much.
As a customer, if I encountered these kinds of troubles, I would expect at minimum, a free upgrade to shipping.
As a manager of customer services, at minimum, offer a free upgrade to shipping.
Just my opinion.
As I mentioned, in my previous post, I did not expect 2 day shipping, or a refund. The first instance on these forums where I asked, as I mentioned, because I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask. At the time I really wanted my book to bring into my game, so I thought I would see if I could speed up the process.
Even earlier today on the phone with one of your representatives I did not ask for 2 day shipping, I simply requested a different shipping method so I would be able to track my package. After two failed attempts to receive my order, regardless of who was at fault, I didn’t think my request was uncalled for.
As for what lengths you should go to in order to keep a customer happy, I firmly believe it is for the company to decide what they will do to ensure customer satisfaction. To be honest I have not seen you go to any lengths to ensure a pleasant experience. I did not receive my initial order, so you said you would send me another one, perfectly acceptable. When the second book never gets shipped due to an error in your system, you do the same, send me the book that I ordered and have paid for. I would classify this as doing the bare minimum of customer service.
I never “expected” any more then receiving a book that I paid for almost 2 month ago. I did however hope for more from a company that I wish to support and truly enjoy their products, and have heard has remarkable customer service. If you truly feel that expectation is too high then I am not doing business with the same company that produces a product that I love so much.
Edit:
I took awhile to draft this response and did not see Windquake and Boerngrim's post. So thank you Windquake and Boerngrim. Not for saying I should have been upgraded, but for saying my request was not above a minimum standard of customer service. I never asked for a free copy I just presented an example of someone that I thought went above and beyond what they needed to in order to ensure customer satisfaction.
After giving this an evening's thought and rereading this thread I admit that we dropped the ball on this one. Sorry Tal_Akaan.
Tal_Akaan, you've got mail.
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It sounds like it's resolved but wanted to say something ad well.
First I love all things Pazio and have had nothing but good things from them except a little hiccup on the Bestiary (mostly my fault) awhile back and have been 150% happy with their customer sevice.
Yet when th second book was delayed due to a bug I think I would of did a free upgrade.
Of course I am not in charge of Pazio. I do work at UPS and I believe that would of been the upgrade right? ;-)
Sean
Small push for UPS business!!!! ;-)
Edit: I do use USPS though. Can't afford UPS to Alaska. Rather large jump in price but if I lived in the lower 48 I'd use them/us.
Wow using iPhone and errors left and right.
But maybe your expectations of how we would handle the mistake were a little high. Could we have shipped the replacement next-day to you? Sure.
Could we have refunded your money and let you keep the book? Sure.
But are these the lengths that we should really need to go to to keep a customer happy? I guess that is up to you to decide.
I don't think he asked for next-day (unless that's the only option you offer after bare-bones USPS... which I doubt is the case). And if that isn't the case, why would you say that?
His hope for upgraded shipping after that long of a wait was hardly "high expectations". It was more than reasonable.
Just wanted to let everyone know that the situation has been resolved...so far. We'll need to wait until i get my book for complete resolution.
But Jeff sent me an e-mail expressing that he acknowledges that more could have been done, and that is all I REALLY wanted. I just wanted to know that the company was as concerned as I was that I had not received my book after almost 2 months.
So again thank you Jeff for taking the time to deal with the issue.
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But maybe your expectations of how we would handle the mistake were a little high. Could we have shipped the replacement next-day to you? Sure.
Could we have refunded your money and let you keep the book? Sure.
But are these the lengths that we should really need to go to to keep a customer happy? I guess that is up to you to decide.I don't think he asked for next-day (unless that's the only option you offer after bare-bones USPS... which I doubt is the case). And if that isn't the case, why would you say that?
His hope for upgraded shipping after that long of a wait was hardly "high expectations". It was more than reasonable.
Even UPS Ground is trackable.
There is even 3 Day UPS. Shamless plug, of course I am not sure all that Pazio offers.
All is good though.
Sean