To: store@urbanears.com

Thank you for your explanation and refund.
 
As a matter of company policy you might want to consider whether it is good practice to inform a customer that an order is ready to ship and that a tracking number and shipping label have been created and then inform the customer that in fact the item is out of stock. You might want to also consider whether informing the customer three days before Christmas when it is impossible to source a replacement is good business.
 
Regards

Ordered 3 weeks ago and they just managed to keep me hanging on long enough that I can't get my daughter a replacement from somewhere else - bastards

That's a cunts trick, right there :(

Maybe they sold a bunch all at once and their inventory system had a hiccup. 'Tis christmas. You should be down at the mall stabbing and punching rival shoppers.

It wasn't the mistake that annoyed me, it was the fact that they led me to believe it was being shipped and then did nothing to correct that impression until it was too late.

Anyway, it was just a  rant (as per the the title of the folder) and I'm over it now. Even managed to get hold of an acceptable alternative from the local headphone emporium.

I think you were right to be upset!  I understand that people make mistakes, but they could have made it right but instead didn't and left you in a bad position.  That's how you lose customers and go out of business!

Well, well, well:

Stacey T
Dec 22 20:58
I'm sorry I do realize that it is all very un-business like and for that I am not proud at all.
Thank you for your well written, direct although still kind email response.
Happy Holidays
Kind Regards,
Stacey T - Customer Support

Nice and all, but doesn't solve your problem at all!

But I'm proud of you for not being rude!  You catch more flies with honey!

Was the cheque attached?

Actually, in the circumstances, that's quite nice. Some others would just ignore.

Aye, at least he got a response. And a sincere apology at that. Now there's a shoe in the door, William needs to press Stacey a little further, a small amount of banter and cajoling, and it's freebies galore.

I had a paypal email just before theirs.

I was surprised. I expected the usual, 'very sorry...circumstances beyond control...every effort...blah' at most.

This is quite clever. It doesn't actually say much more than a stock response, but it comes over as contrite and diffuses the situation without any real concession.

On the other hand, although they sell a lot of headphones, they are, apparently, a very small company and I suspect that Stacey T may be all or most of customer support, and probably does some selling and advertising as well. They certainly aren't on top of their website which still features a whole range of items which they no longer sell, even though some are marked 'out of stock' or 'retired'. I get a very non-corporate, slightly amateur feel about them - so maybe it was genuine.

Didn't realise that Scandinavians are into this 'Happy Holidays' malarkey.

This doesn't help, but their stock seems to be all over the place here (at least in Manor, which is the Swiss equivalent of Debenhams etc.)

I was looking at them to replace the girls' knackered headphones, but Fiona found a cheaper equivalent online.

I've actually bought a pair from the local HMV store - not the requested style but apparently acceptable.