Ordering online, what to do and what NOT to do!

Ok I work for an online division of a corporation that handles 5 different companies (jewelry) and I'm going to help you people order correctly so you aren't surprised after the fact. This is pretty universal when it comes to ordering online but this is more specific to jewelry. however common sense applies all around when it comes to ordering online.

1. READ what you are purchasing.

Don't just add it to the cart and think that by selecting next day shipping you will get it the next day. There ARE stipulations if you just take your time and read the "fine print." Everything is there on the site that you need to know, you just have to take the time and look.. If you were in a store wouldn't you want to make sure you are getting what you paid for? Now you should do the same when purchasing online if not even more.

2. If there is an advertisement for anything such as: free shipping, guaranteed shipping, save X amount and so on CLICK that link and READ what it says. Everything you will need to know in regards to shipping will be in that link. If it isn't then scroll to the bottom of the site and click on the sites shipping policy. All sites will have this information, usually at the bottom.

Just because it says "save up to 15%" it doesn't mean you will get 15%, up to means anywhere from 1%-15%. Each item will have a different discount based on the promo for the day. No you can't get the discount from 5 days ago, don't ask, you should have ordered that day. You can't go into a department store asking for sale prices from a week ago so don't do it online.

3. If there is a flashing advertisement that says "click here for details," CLICK that link and read the details. You need to know these

4. If you are ordering something that needs to be customized don't expect to get it tomorrow, it's a custom item and has to be MADE, they don't keep your name and birthstone on file, this isn't the CIA, we don't know your every move

5. Know your BILLING information! Most companies now a days when ordering online will ask for your billing information and it has to be exact to what your bank has on file for whatever card you are using for purchase and if it doesn't match exactly it will not go thru. This is actually done to protect you against fraud, so be happy someone is trying to look out for you. If you are unsure of your information, look at a recent bank statement or call your bank.

6. Shipping if you know you aren't going to be home when we tell you the item is expected to arrive then give us the address you will be at or one that someone will be at esp if it is an item that needs to be signed for! If you give us an address and you wont be there well we don't know that.

If it states 5-10 business days, that means no weekends and no holidays are included in that time frame. SO if you know that say on the 7th day you will be out of town for the remainder of the shipping time then please give an address where you know someone will be for the entire time because most of the time ship to addresses can't be changed once and order has been processed.

7. If you are getting married or it's a holiday such as Christmas, Valentines Day or a birthday and you know you need an item for a certain date do not place an order 3 days before expecting to get it in time, 98% of the time it isn't going to happen.

These are dates you know well enough in advance so to make it easier on you the customer give yourself enough time to order the item incase something happens with it and it needs to be replaced or reordered. This will save you a lot of headache and it will also give you peace of mind that you ordered enough in advance so that if something happened with the item you could reorder and have it by the time you need it by.....

***Those who like to order last minute for Christmas well....don't, just don't do it. Make this the last year you wait til the last minute then get upset because you can't get it by Christmas. Every site I have ever looked at including ours states what day you need to order by to get an item by Christmas. If you don't order it by that date you can't get it by Christmas. This isn't because we don't want to get it to you it's because there are thousands of other orders before yours that need to go out. Sites give order by dates for a reason, you should pay attention to them.



Some other things not to do when calling into a customer service agent:

*expect them to know your information and order off the top of their head, not gonna happen.
*expect them to bend rules or give you an extra discount or rush your item because you didn't read the directions.
*blame them for your Christmas, wedding, birthday or whatever holiday it is being ruined because again you didn't read the directions. We would love to make sure everyone gets their stuff when they want but we just can't do that. Next time read the fine print
*when asking for a call back, don't call back every 30mins demanding someone call you. There are other people in line before you, wait your turn and someone will call you!


Now Im sure I have missed a few things but I spent 10.5hrs getting chewed out all day because I didn't do something right when in all actuality it was because people don't read the fine print or the flashing print infront of them. When it is the companies fault then yes we will try everything we can to assist you but remember the agent isn't the company, they are the messenger so don't shoot them!




One last thing I learned from a rep in toys, DO NOT put your kids on the phone and have them tell the agent they are ruining their Christmas because they won't get their toys! Yes parents are doing this right now! It's kind of disturbing that a parent would use their child like that but in today's society nothing surprises me.




Now have a Merry Christmas!

Thanks for sharing that with us!

A lot of great info is in there!

SnF!

And Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to YOU Too!!

Sounds like a list of grievances and pet peeves from someone working online sales instead. Maybe I read the title wrong and got confused. Thought it would be more of how not to get scammed while shopping online or something along those lines. Merry Christmas.

I've worked for a retail giant for the last five years and I've gotten chewed out every Christmas since I began working there. Our website and our real world store don't always link up, which includes more bitching at me. Because, of course, it is my fault things don't work out for them or that policy cannot be changed for them as they are spechal snowflakes.

I can't believe people are putting their children on the phone and telling you that they ruined their Christmas! How horrible! I've been told it a time or two before and I'm always like, I can't do anything for you, I'm sorry.

People.. ugh.

That's why I ordered a lot of stuff from etsy this year and amazon...what you see is almost always what you get.

I hear your pain though...some people are just dumb They can't even place an order correctly yet they choose the leader of the free world..haha had to add that in!

Sorry Op you've had such a crappy day.
It does sound like you bear the brunt, but maybe if sellers were more up front with alot of these costs, eg 1%-15% post discount,instead of leading us to believe we're getting a great deal, then people wouldn't be so pissy.
I get sick to death of having to read a ton of fine print to know where I REALLY stand.

Originally posted by Snoopy1978
Sounds like a list of grievances and pet peeves from someone working online sales instead. Maybe I read the title wrong and got confused. Thought it would be more of how not to get scammed while shopping online or something along those lines. Merry Christmas.

Um you obviously didn't read.

I dont do sales, it's called customer service, people call ME.

You have obviously never worked a job like this and seen how stupid people are and want to blame everyone else for their own mistake and lack of understanding or reading before purchasing. Would you buy a car without making sure the fine print was alright? No!

Originally posted by ohyouknow
I've worked for a retail giant for the last five years and I've gotten chewed out every Christmas since I began working there. Our website and our real world store don't always link up, which includes more bitching at me. Because, of course, it is my fault things don't work out for them or that policy cannot be changed for them as they are spechal snowflakes.

I can't believe people are putting their children on the phone and telling you that they ruined their Christmas! How horrible! I've been told it a time or two before and I'm always like, I can't do anything for you, I'm sorry.

People.. ugh.

LOL yea thank god I don't work in toys because if someone did that to me I'd be fired for telling them what a horrible parent they are. That is just wrong!

Yea I have worked in customer service for years and it's funny how most of the time the person complaining is complaining about something they didn't do but should have and if they had they wouldnt be calling us complaining.

I had a girl yesterday DEMAND she get 14kt instead of 10kt for her engagement ring. It's not available in 14kt! If that is how she is gonna start off their engagement that guy needs to run so damn fast right now! I can't believe how selfish people are, but then again it doesn't surprise me.

Yea I always explain to them politely and even read the email they received when they said they weren't told. They were told they just chose to ignore it.

reply to post by Neopan100


What really scares me is when BANKS call in asking about pending charges and what to do..

Now if you work in a bank and are their customer service shouldn't you KNOW what a pending charge is? Why call me and ask me to do your job? lol Same goes for the brick and mortar stores I work for, they are kind of lazy and really rude! They lie to customers and I have had to get on the phone and tell sales agents instore to return items! I do about 5 peoples jobs and get paid for one lol It's not bad minus the people constantly demanding everything for free and thinking they should get it cause it's Christmas...

Today shall be fun....over 700 orders I found out wont make it today like promised.. They should serve liquor today not fruit! lol

Originally posted by jewells
Sorry Op you've had such a crappy day.
It does sound like you bear the brunt, but maybe if sellers were more up front with alot of these costs, eg 1%-15% post discount,instead of leading us to believe we're getting a great deal, then people wouldn't be so pissy.
I get sick to death of having to read a ton of fine print to know where I REALLY stand.

It wasn't all that crappy I just wanted to inform people on how to order online because it seems nobody pays attention to what they are buying esp when it comes to jewelry.

I can't speak for other sites but our site is pretty self explanatory, you can even add it to the card to get an idea of the cost before tax. It's really easy but people ignore all the links that explain the free shipping or discounts. Also when you click on an item and it goes to it's own page it tells you what discounts will apply, people just dont look! They are lazy and think what they see is what they get, it's not like that.

My favorite is the but it says "free shipping" and I say yes it says "free shipping on orders 149 and up" they ignore the entire flashing ad and see what they want lol I have to bite my tongue with many things because I jsut want to say "are you that blind!!"

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I don't work toys either, thankfully. I don't think I could handle the stress of working toys. While I'm not customer service I do sometimes have to answer the phone for the store and people like to tell me their life story and how my mild inconvience is messing up their lives.

More than 90% of the time I'm polite and things can get solved just find but when people continue to disregard policy and make me out to be the bad guy for something the main office makes me do, it just grinds my gears. Yes, it's all my fault you can't do that. Yes, please continue to belittle me because I'm not risking losing my job to appease you.

/retail rant