These boxes look remarkably alike, don’t they?
That’s because they ARE!
I went to Bath and Body Works on Saturday so that I could get some of my favorite body wash, but … I wandered all over the store, and they didn’t have it. Grr. Particularly frustrating, you know, because as a rule, I buy everything online these days, so the fact that I made a point of GOING there only for them not to have it in stock? Frustrating! But, well, these things happen. I came home and sucked up the fact that I was going to have to pay postage, and I ordered it online.
B&BW must have been feeling generous because they sent me the whole order TWICE!
Well, mostly. One of them, in fact, is incorrect, but still … they printed my packing slip twice by mistake and then sent me two boxes worth of stuff.
Now, I admit I was tempted to just keep the extra box of stuff, but my parents raised me to be an honest person, so, I sent them an email explaining the problem and asking if they wanted me to send the extras back, or could I keep them?
I got an email back saying, “Due to the complex nature of your inquiry, please contact us directly at 1-800-756-5005 regarding this matter.”
Um, maybe it’s just me, but this didn’t seem particularly complex to me, and I found it pretty annoying that the burden was on me to call them and then wait for an available operator … so I wrote them back and said so.
The email I got back? Well, they nicely credited my credit card for the shipping charges on my original order, which I thought was pretty nice of them, but they still wanted me to call them back to resolve the problem. (Sigh.) So I did. Ultimately, they do want the duplicate products back and said they would send me a UPS shipping label via email to cover the cost … though I haven’t gotten it yet.
Now, I mentioned this to a coworker this afternoon, and she thought I was crazy for calling them. “After all,” she said,” It was their mistake.” She would have just kept it. She even said that she never says anything if a cashier at a store gives her incorrect change (which really surprised me).
But I wouldn’t have felt right about that. One extra item in my box? Well, yeah, I suppose I wouldn’t have bothered to tell them about one extra bottle of bodywash–the shipping to send it back would have cost more than the item, what would be the point? But, an entire order?
How about you? What would you have done? Hypothetically, of course!
While you’re thinking about that, here are a couple links:
- My guest post/entry over at Joyful Jubilant Learning!
- Did you see Julie’s call for submissions for an eBook about love, raising money for charity?
Now, go forth and be fruitful and do whatever it is you do … just don’t forget to answer my deep, moral question before you go!
I would have done exactly as you did. Sometimes such honesty throws people for a loop. Of course, that means they took particular note of my honesty and maybe, just maybe they will do the same down the road. I somehow think they probably will.
There was a television commercial for something or other that showed a string of simple good deeds because the first person saw one. They saw someone stop a kid’s ball from rolling into a street, so they held a door open; somebody who saw that picked up a child’s toy that fell from a stroller; a person who witnessed that … you get the idea. It’s not just on the internet that there’s a world wide web!
–Deb’s last blog post..Good Company
If someone gave me incorrect change I would query it because it will probably come out of their wages, but, if a retailer makes a mistake by sending duplicate items and then when you tell them they ask you to jump through hooks then I would take the “screw them” view.
What you experienced is plain and simple lack of concern, lack of respect, and lack of interest in you as a customer. What they should have done, over e-mail, is just write it off as a mistake, let you keep the stuff, and not ask you to resolve their mistake.
I would never use a company again if I got that kind of reply.
Andrew’s last blog post..Tastes like chicken
I remember very well going back into a store because I had walked out with a spool of thread in my pocket. I also know that I tend to do what is asked of me, so if they asked me to call to make arrangements, I probably would. I’m not sure whether I would then write them off or not.
I admit that I’m tempted to take one of the bottles of my favorite body wash from the “extra” box, just because … is that wrong of me? (grin)
I would do what you did… send the stuff back. I’d be worried about the bad karma. I know it sounds silly, but these things have a way of coming back to haunt me.
Madame Purl’s last blog post..Sophie Chills
What you did. Just ’cause someone makes a mistake, doesn’t mean you should take advantage of it.
I am pretty sure that actual people don’t read a lot of the email. Some program does, checks for common phrases or words, and then sends it to wherever it needs to go. Hence the phone number for you – it couldn’t tell what your problem was.
Emily’s last blog post..Take Two
That happened to me once. I got two huge diaper orders shipped to me, with a request that I return one of them. Even though I was battling cancer at the time AND moving, I did return one… about a month later. I was REALLY tempted. I knew that legally I didn’t have to, but still felt that I should. I’m always telling my kiddos to go the extra mile and to worry more about their own behavior than that of those around them. I still think the company should have considered it a gift though, since I ordered so much from them AND referred many new customers to them. 🙁
Good on you to return the goods! That being said, I think I probably would have dropped it once they said, “Call us.” Whatever! I don’t have time to be initiating the fix. They screwed up…not you. That being said, it was good of you to take the time to help them out and make the effort. Nicely done.
As for your friend who keeps incorrect change in stores, I’m not in agreement with that AT ALL. Unless, of course, she stands be that rule when she is short-changed…
I was dumbfounded when she told me she did that! I might not notice an extra nickel or something, but how can you knowingly walk out of a store with more money than you should have? Especially when it’s the cashier who’s going to pay for that.
And, I’ll admit–since I had two almost identical boxes of stuff, but the one order was wrong to begin with … I swapped a couple bottles of scents I didn’t like as much for the extra bottles of my favorite … you know, for the inconvenience (grin).
–Deb
Absolutely! I think swapping a couple bottles was well within the moral boundaries. Enjoy the ‘improved’ order!
Rock Ballads’s last blog post..I Won’t Forget You – Poison
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There was definitely a time I’d have kept the duplicate order without so much as a second thought, but in this economic climate, with companies struggling to stay in business, and people struggling to stay in jobs, I would have sent it back…yes. I think we all have a moral duty to play fairly these days. But honesty for honesty’s sake? No….that’s not for me. If I found an old age pensioner’s purse, I’d hand it in….if I found the wallet of a rich man….I keep it. I call it ‘discretion’. It’s got nothing to do with how I was raised, as my mum and dad are honest to an absolute fault. I just weigh up each situation and proceed as my heart tells me.