Problem With Jetpens.com

[Ceilidh]

Ditto what Migo said.

[Archman66]

Well, I can see they have a lot of support around here, so I guess I was wrong. Sorry. I freaked out.

[Archman66]

Way back in time, before the internet, I used to purchase records through mail order a lot. It took a while for my order to get there, and then for the packages to get here. I also had to use money orders from the post office. Those times were so exciting, as I waited to hear the music. Now I am habituated to more instantaneous responses. I try to keep my experiences in the present tempered by my life of experiences, so that I don't lose a valuable perspective. Actually, I miss those days. I regret speed and instant gratification quite a bit lately (except when it comes to the chance to purchase pens ).

Remember when we ordered stuff from the back of comic books that took 6 to 8 weeks for delivery? For gum that tasted like pepper?

[dunhamsa]

Remember when we ordered stuff from the back of comic books that took 6 to 8 weeks for delivery? For gum that tasted like pepper?

 

Oh yeah. That stuff was such a waste of money. It was the adventure that drew me in.

[Dottie]

Well, I can see they have a lot of support around here, so I guess I was wrong. Sorry. I freaked out.

 

No problem, you didn't know their reputation with the fountain pen crowd. Thank you for sticking around and reading. I look forward to you being an active poster here.

[doggonecarl]

Remember when we ordered stuff from the back of comic books that took 6 to 8 weeks for delivery? For gum that tasted like pepper?

 

Yeah, Sea Monkeys and plastic Army men. Never as good as the advertisement led you to believe...

[Skyppere]

Or those x-ray glasses!

[Archman66]

A previous poster hit the nail on the head. It was childish. It was my first fountain pen (at least in a long time) and I was tracking the package online as it was scanned in and out of postal centers, and then stalled. I calculated when it would be here at the latest, like a kid looking out the window for the mail man. And then found out he wasn't coming. Then I threw a tantrum like a kid.

 

Jetpens.com DID RESPOND QUICKLY via e-mail despite my worries it would take 1-3 days. They did make it right as best they could. Given all of your positive feedback, and my guilt for dissing them so publicly, I may just have to give them another shot.

 

I ain't a rich guy, but if there's a charity they are passionate about, I could make a small contribution in their name as an apology. Hopefully all of your support for them more than mitigated any damage my post may have caused them.

[de_pen_dent]

However, your point is well taken. Business owners have the right to set the terms and conditions under which they will conduct business (provided the terms and conditions comply with aplicable laws and regulations). And customers have the right to reject those terms and conditions and do business elsewhere. Unfortunately, since I've been burned in the past, I am sensative when something goes wrong and I cannot call someone. I am no longer comfortable doing business without phone support. Especially with a company that's new to me and that I am unfamiliar with.

 

^^ That's a perfectly fair and reasonable approach - my only issue with your earlier comment was calling a lack of a phone number as unethical, but I guess that happens in the heat of things, when one is frustrated over a delay in received goodies.

 

I'm sadly in the position of being forced to learn patience - most of my goodies typically take 30 days or so to reach me, out here in the middle of nowhere. I just realized I need to send my Visconti Opera Crystal to Pendleton Brown for some nib work, and am now resigned to spending 2-2.5 months without it.

[Archman66]

 

^^ That's a perfectly fair and reasonable approach - my only issue with your earlier comment was calling a lack of a phone number as unethical, but I guess that happens in the heat of things, when one is frustrated over a delay in received goodies.

 

I'm sadly in the position of being forced to learn patience - most of my goodies typically take 30 days or so to reach me, out here in the middle of nowhere. I just realized I need to send my Visconti Opera Crystal to Pendleton Brown for some nib work, and am now resigned to spending 2-2.5 months without it.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe you'll rediscover another gem in your collection to use in the meantime. Something you forget how well it writes? Here's hoping.

[Blue_Moon]

 

Yeah, Sea Monkeys and plastic Army men. Never as good as the advertisement led you to believe...

 

And guys can have muscles like Charles Atlas in six weeks. No, seriously, don't mess with my plastic Army men.

[Bill Wood]

Way back in time, before the internet, I used to purchase records through mail order a lot. It took a while for my order to get there, and then for the packages to get here. I also had to use money orders from the post office. Those times were so exciting, as I waited to hear the music. Now I am habituated to more instantaneous responses. I try to keep my experiences in the present tempered by my life of experiences, so that I don't lose a valuable perspective. Actually, I miss those days. I regret speed and instant gratification quite a bit lately (except when it comes to the chance to purchase pens ).

You read my mind.

[wallylynn]

Jetpens.com DID RESPOND QUICKLY via e-mail despite my worries it would take 1-3 days.

Might I ask why you feel (felt) 1-3 days is too slow?

[KBeezie]

Might I ask why you feel (felt) 1-3 days is too slow?

Also this post was on Monday... So if he contacted after business hours on Friday, good chance he would not hear back until about 3 days later on Monday or Tuesday depending on the weekend email queue. In which case a phone number would not have done any good anyways. Gouletpens is the same way, they're not in the office on the weekends. (course I'm checking my email nearly 24/7 because my service is more to do with Web administration which doesn't take a weekend break, but phone support for that? NO thanks! Can't be fixing a problem and be on the phone at the same time)

[Archman66]

Might I ask why you feel (felt) 1-3 days is too slow?

I will give you a real world example. I just ordered some items online. I decided afterwards to add something to that order and take advantage of the economy of one shipping charge rather than two shipping charges for two different orders. An e-mail that took 1-3 days for a response would have been too late and would have cost me money. By having a phone number to call, I was able to add the item, and pay for it in 5 minutes. Saved me my time, shipping time, and money. Even if the e-mail response is in hours instead of days, I might have missed that window where they read the e-mail before the order ships. And let's say they do stop the shipment, and they have questions, or want to verify something. That could delay the shipment a day or so. Again delaying the shipment. Sometimes it's more efficient for the customer to make a 5 minute phone call because you can converse, ask questions and get immediate reponses. An e-mail thread is likely to take at least hours if not days.

 

That said, there are advantages to e-mails that telephone conversations do not have, such as an easily accessible written record of what transpired. Each is a communication tool and has it's place.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Archman66

[Dickkooty2]

Thank you, Moderator, for rewriting the lead to set a better tone for this longish series of comments. And good on you, Archway66, for recognizing that you may have over reacted.

 

Jetpens is a long-time and trusted source for me for gifts as well as stuff for myself. I have never had a problem with their deliveries and they have an interesting selection of Japanese items that are not yet in the US market. The gloves with the conductive finger pads for using your phone outdoors were a hit this Christmas.

 

I have no relationship with them other than being a satisfied customer. And I find their free shipping on orders over $25 inspired since I always find an item I didn't know I couldn't live without!

Edited April 8, 2014 by Dickkooty2

[GUNGA GALUNGA]

+ 1. I have a small business and we dont deal with customers on the phone initially either: all contact is via email. Someone can choose to take his/her business elsewhere if they prefer to deal with a person on the phone right away - that's their choice (and ours as well), but it is a little over the top - and self-indulgent, to say the least - to call this unethical.

 

I am selling a service and I get to choose the terms and conditions under which i will do so. You, as the buyer, get to decide whether they are acceptable to you or not. But you do NOT get to decide what my terms and conditions are, and you are DEFINITELY in the wrong if you go about accusing a seller of being "unethical" b/c his offering does not fit your requirements.

 

Ultimately, you had to wait a few days to get your package, is that about it? Yes, that sucks. But let's keep some perspective here.

de_pen_dent YOU ARE WISE BEYOND YOUR YEARS

[Fabienne]

I am a small businessperson and I don't have a phone number on my site. If I did I would get a never ending bunch of calls from every loony, needy person, lonely person, lost person, salesmen, and other folks! Trust me, we are the targets of just about everyone. So, I keep my phone number off the internet as much as possible. I get work done that way and that makes my customers happy.

[hardyb]

Have you considered that the USPS may have damaged and/or torn the shipping label in handling and processing the package. I can only tell you from my experience:

 

1. I mailed a rent payment to my landlord's office as I had for twenty years. I mailed it at a post office that is two blocks from that landlord's business address. It did not arrive and I was charged 20.00 USD for late payment. A month later I got a sealed plastic bag with a soiled, tomato sauce stained original envelope I had mailed with my check still in it. The address was still readable but it was not deliverable. I went to the Post Office and got no satisfaction.

 

2. Using UPS, I shipped a $400.00 pen back to a vendor that he had sent it to me for inspection and approval but the vendor had accidentally sent me the wrong pen . It arrived in the Jacksonville, Florida facility per their website and tracking number. I never got delivered, it never left the UPS shipping facility in Jacksonville. It "disappeared" and they would only reimburse me $100.00. I payed the vendor and filed a complaint with USP. They warmly invited me to # sand.

 

3. Everyday FedEX delivered several thousand pieces of mail containing Medical claims for payment to the company where I worked. 4 to 5 times a day their truck came and went. I ordered a pen and the seller sent it by FedEX. The address I used was exactly the same as the company address where they delivered the envelopes of claims. I got a call from them saying that they could not deliver the envelope with my pen because they could not find the address listed on the envelope. I had to drive to their facility, pick up my package. The address was letter for letter the same as that on the stack of envelopes I brought with me which they had delivered that very day. Their response was " Well how about that Gee, I would like to help you but not as much as i would like not to...."

Edited April 8, 2014 by hardyb

[TSherbs]

....Just one thing I like to do when considering a complaint is to 'kill em with kindness' for most of the initial volley of support interactions, if they still can't get it together after those initial volleys I'll step up on the sternness.....

Sage advice