Customer Damaged Item During Unpacking

[dusdo]

Sent a customer a full sized licenced replica championship wrestling belt that we sell - they are very fragile & require a special packing method to ensure that no damage occurs during shipping - the belts are thoroughly examined by me & a quality cert is enclosed.

to remove the belt both ends of the carton must be opened to release it - i f this is not done & the belt is "yanked" from one end only then damage to the belt links will occur - large notices were place on either end of the carton to advse of this.

the bottom line - the customer emails & says how discussed she is due to a broken belt also, the fact that she received a quality certificate enrages her even more.

we received belt today & guess what only one end of the carton was opened & the belt was effectively "ripped" from the carton thereby damaging the links - she is asking for a full refund including return postage about £375 in total.

any input on how i can handle this?

 

[Matthew : TekHive Hosting]

Does it say on the package how to remove the belt?

If so then I think you have covered yourself, however it depends what you really want out of this a happy customer or a unhappy customer. I'm not sure what kind of business you run but maybe offer her some sort of account credit.

 

[wayzgoose]

I would stick to my guns on this one and refuse a refund. With clear instructions on how to open which had obviously not been followed, I would think she doesn't have a leg to stand on. I know the customer is always right and they should all be treated with kid gloves but sometimes you should stand your ground.

 

[10032012]

I would refuse refund but it appears you have accepted a return? Therefore in order to refuse a refund you would need to ship it back out to her... Do you offer free returns or did the customer pay for this?

 

[dusdo]

Does it say on the package how to remove the belt?

6"x6" lables front & back -"to remove please open both ends"

... Do you offer free returns or did the customer pay for this?

customer paid for return & wants a total refund of all - had i not checked the belt myself then it would be a different story - i replied to her email before i even received the return stating that the damage she described would be caused if both ends of the box were not opened but how do you argue against rude attitudes based on ignorance?

 

[wayzgoose]

6"x6" lables front & back -"to remove please open both ends"



how do you argue against rude attitudes based on ignorance?

With facts.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I would question why its possible for the item to be damaged whilst opening the packaging, there must be a better design available or a stronger made product
I understand your frustration but by your signs you have already found a problem and worked around it rather than really fix the problem

 

[Merchant UK]

I would question why its possible for the item to be damaged whilst opening the packaging, there must be a better design available or a stronger made product
I understand your frustration but by your signs you have already found a problem and worked around it rather than really fix the problem

I would tend to agree with Chris, For such an expensive item how its packaged will effectively increase the chances of damage being done no matter how it gets unwrapped. For something worth over £300 some serious thought has to be made into the design and packing. I would be pee'd off if i paid a large amount of money and then find that i broke the product by just removing the packaging

 

[dusdo]

I would question why its possible for the item to be damaged whilst opening the packaging, there must be a better design available or a stronger made product
I understand your frustration but by your signs you have already found a problem and worked around it rather than really fix the problem

i think you would have to appreciate the precise nature of the product before making that statement - this is the only belt we sell that does not have a leather strap (its something similar to a metal watch strap) - it has no self support & must be rigidlly confined within the carton - it fits an adult waist but is for display purposes only - i previously packed all the belts with puffies (great) but we got complaints on safety grounds about dogs & kids eating them so that scared us off - thanks for your comment anyway.

 

[dusdo]

I would tend to agree with Chris........ I would be pee'd off if i paid a large amount of money and then find that i broke the product by just removing the packaging

so are you saying that simple & explicit unpacking instructions should be ignored?

 

[Merchant UK]

so are you saying that simple & explicit unpacking instructions should be ignored?

No i'm saying that although there is adequate unpacking instructions the item is so fragile that its so easy to break should the person be not able to read, or cannot understand english, or is blind etc.. for something so expensive the packaging is the failure here as well as a badly designed item which breaks just by pulling it.

You would image a full sized replica championship wrestling belt would be made from sturdy leather and heavy metal buckle whats it made from plastic?? especially for just under £400

Perhaps a Picture might help with the replies?

 

[dusdo]

No i'm saying that although there is adequate unpacking instructions the item is so fragile that its so easy to break should the person be not able to read, or cannot understand english, or is blind etc.. for something so expensive the packaging is the failure here as well as a badly designed item which breaks just by pulling it.

You would image a full sized replica championship wrestling belt would be made from sturdy leather and heavy metal buckle whats it made from plastic?? especially for just under £400

Perhaps a Picture might help with the replies?

if you look at my comment to chis ashdown you will see that i mentioned that we also sell leather strap belts.....
over the past 15 years or so we have sold 1000's of replica belts & have received few complaints regarding either the quality or packing.
.
the belt in question "million dollar" is, i agree, a bad design & very fragile - but thats the way it is - also that is the main reason why i pack them similar to the leather belts but held more regidly in the carton - i do not place a removal notice on the other belts as it is not necessary..

we have sold less than 100 of the "$" belts over the years & other than some stones falling out we have had no complaints.

i can confirm that the customer understands english but regarding whether or not they can read or possibly be blind would be difficult for me to ascertain.- if not, then following the simple removal instructions will result in that type of belt being received in excellent condition.

thank you for your comments & have a nice christmas

 

[The web design girl]

What about placing the "belt" in a smaller box with bubble wrap, then packing the larger box out with those inflated plastic air pocket things, I can't remember what they are called.

Would that solve your shipping issues?

 

[kulture]

Regardless of shipping issues and packaging issues and label issues. The basic problem is the law. The distance selling regulations allow a customer to return any item for any reason and get a full refund. All the customer has to do is use "reasonable care" with the item. Now it does not say what reasonable care is. A judge, having a bad day, could decide that reasonable care included getting the item out of packaging by pulling from one end. The judge could have the same attitude as others here and suggest that the packaging is not acceptable for the item and that it is your fault.

Personally I would like to agree with you and tell the customer to go away. In reality however whatever you do you will loose as the customer may do a card chargeback. What you will probably have to do is refund. This will then concentrate your mind on seeing if there is any other possible solution, or whether you should stop selling this.

 

[The Byre]

Anybody buying a replica wrestling belt is obviously going to be 'intellectually challenged' and anybody forking out £375 for such a thing is bound to be at the more extreme end of that challenge. Your packing arrangments should have taken into account the fact that some of your customers are going to fall over whilst chewing gum. Any visit to any wrestling match would confirm this.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

If the test is fit for purpose
Then whet is the purpose of the belt and how much handling wouldd be considered normal
But regardless of above you are aware of the problem, only two actions you can take

Redesign the item

Redesign the packaging

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

6"x6" lables front & back -"to remove please open both ends"

The wording will be very important here. If it only says "to remove please open both ends" with no other instructions, then I'm not sure if that is really enough. There's no mention of the danger of it breaking or why the consumer needs to do it. It looks like more of a suggestion than a very important instruction.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

6"x6" lables front & back -"to remove please open both ends"



customer paid for return & wants a total refund of all - had i not checked the belt myself then it would be a different story - i replied to her email before i even received the return stating that the damage she described would be caused if both ends of the box were not opened but how do you argue against rude attitudes based on ignorance?

Sorry but that warning isn't enough, I would probably ignore that as well.

You should have explicit warnings. e.g.

IMPORTANT> This item will be damaged if not unpacked properly, and no refund will be given.

OPEN BOTH ENDS TO REMOVE

 

[antropy]

It does sound like whatever the right or wrong of the situation that you may need to refund.

However I'm interested to know about this product that's so easily damaged and if it can be repaired or if the total £375 is lost?

 

[10032012]

You have your terms of sale, the customer has statutory rights...

You cannot disclaim against "customer caused damage" from opening the package and enshrine opening instructions into terms and conditions. Surely, you (to put in in another scenario) sent someone a loaded gun (even if its one of those toy BB guns) with a warning saying "don't pull the trigger"...

One could argue you packaged it to break! Regardless of the users actions, the product is not fit for purpose if its that fragile from unpacking - there is no reason why the belt would have to be fragile. Its not glass or china for instance.

A manufacturer can only make suggestions or recommendations.... these are either for correct operation ("plug in all cables before switching on the unit" such as on most if not all hifis...) or to disclaim from health & safety issues which could have otherwise made them responsible ("Do not dispose in fire" labels for example on batteries, its not the intended purpose or method of disposal for batteries but its there to let people know they might explode etc)

I think your major argument is the customer damaged the product during unpacking, but what actually happened is the product got damaged coincidently as the product isn't fit for purpose nor is it packaged correctly. The packaging of a product isn't solely for a safe delivery from shop/warehouse to door.

People get excited when they buy things, if you had a big sign saying "open this box this side up if not this box will blow up your living room" the chances are the majority will open it upside down, not because they want to destroy everything, or to break rules, but as they don't care... they just want to open it!

You only stick up warning signs for health and safety if you cannot fully eliminate the risks; a sticker telling someone how not to break their item isn't a disclaimer from returns but a notice saying you are aware that the package is inadequate. Customers will generally be stupid... but you know 5 seconds after damaging the product the person would have read the stickers and felt such an idiot. Assuming this is for a child, £375 is a very big purchase, you can reasonably expect that the customer wants a return and not just going to bin it like you would if it was £37.50.

You should work in Argos where certain customers try to return all sort of used items, a lot of the time without a receipt and outside the return period. Then perhaps you will realise that this customer isn't trying to rip you off.

 

[titanicuk]

Sounds like just badly design packaging. Dose not matter how many you have sold in the past, bad design still bad design. For a £375 item, likely you will be sending via parcel, so size and weight is not really an issue, so get bigger box and use more bubble wraps.