Sigh... My first negative or neutral feedback seems inevitable.... some advice please?

[michelleandmickey]

Hi All...

So I just received today (8th Nov), a message that reads:

I still haven't received the tattoos. Unfortunately my sons birthday party was today so we had to miss out. I wanted to contact to you prior to neg feedback.

My annoyance is, the buyer bought it on the 19th October! I could have sent it 7 times over for them again.

I now feel like replying, do what you want, coz if you wait that long, how am I meant to correct the issue for you????

So disappointing... especially seeing as the majority of my feedback is about the speed of delivery... so if something hasn't arrived, don't you think the buyer could conclude there may be a concern???

Thanks for letting me vent!

[cmcoins2000]

---

@lizzy6107 wrote:
Helen, you are in the wrong job! You should be a detective. lol

---

No Lizzy -

I am going at a cracking pace studying to become a CUSTOMER SERVICE - person ( think they are ).

[michelleandmickey]

Ok, you lot just made me smile at least, so thanks for that.

I have edited the email a bit, thrown in more guilt and will refund her, then block her.

We shall see... watch this space when I come back and cry!

Thanks people! You all rock 🙂

[cherry*135]

I wouldn't put the following in correspondence to buyers ( nor in listings) as it contravenes ebay policy

"I have no control what happens once I post your goods, and I posted yours on the 19th October. "

Policy:

What not to do

You should not:

Say that you're not responsible for item delivery, or for ensuring that the item is delivered. For example, these statements aren't allowed:
'I'm not responsible for the item once it's been dropped in the mail'
'I'm not responsible for items lost in the post'
'Without insurance, I can't be responsible for items lost in the post'


http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/selling-practices.html

[horizon1907]

Maybe send her a Crystal Ball or a Ouija Board too. 🙂

[2106greencat]

1998 positive -

1 negative - politely reply : Would have been happy to resolve if given the opportunity. Posted day payment received obviously lost in mail.

Seriously, buyers won't be put off by this, it is obviously an item gone missing, and most will realise the buyer has been unfair.

If they do leave the neg - block them immediately.

[michelleandmickey · Accepted solution]

As it turns out, my very polite email worked, and she has left positive feedback... Be nice to get to 2000 before the one red strike happens 🙂
Thanks again all, for your insight and giggles!

[horizon1907]

Well Done. Maybe she read the posts ???  🙂

[michelleandmickey]

Haha! Maybe she's stalking in here, I wonder hey? 

[digital*ghost]

---

@am*3 wrote:
I wouldn't put the following in correspondence to buyers ( nor in listings) as it contravenes ebay policy

"I have no control what happens once I post your goods, and I posted yours on the 19th October. "

Policy:

What not to do

You should not:

Say that you're not responsible for item delivery, or for ensuring that the item is delivered. For example, these statements aren't allowed:
'I'm not responsible for the item once it's been dropped in the mail'
'I'm not responsible for items lost in the post'
'Without insurance, I can't be responsible for items lost in the post'


http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/selling-practices.html

---

The two statements do not mean the same thing, and can even be used in the same sentence without repeating the same sentiment - eg: 

"I have no control over what happens to an item once it is posted and I won't accept responsibility / liablity if something does happen".  X

"I have no control over what happens to an item once it is posted but I am happy to accept responsibility / liablity if something does happen".  ✓

[springyzone]

I think communication is everything.

I was quite surprised when i read the comments, where people thought the buyer had done the wrong thing.

The 19th Oct wasn't that long ago and usually people in here complain if a buyer is impatient and expects goods too soon. Posters then often go into a host of reasons why something may be delayed, and say buyers should be patient etc

Your buyer went the other way and waited.. and waited. I probably would have written to you about the end of Nov to ask when i could expect the item. But your buyer was patient... and frustrated.

Didn't break into negative feedback, communicated with you first.

Then once they understood the situation, gave you positive feedback.

I think the buyer was a very reasonable person. They waited patiently, then from their viewpoint, they didn't hear a thing from you or have any indication of what was wrong, all they did was touch base to find out what the problem was.

Once they were reassured you were a decent seller and none of it was your fault, you hadn't forgotten them or tried to rip them off, they relaxed.