A Refund!...and Ross's Communications (long post)

[David Lambert]

Yes, I finally got my credit card refund. It was processed on 9/4, and appeared this morning on the online statement available at my bank's internet site. That date (9/4) was 30 days from the initial charge (22 workdays, taking out Labor Day), and 18 days from the day I reported it, 8/17th (12 workdays).

Longer than the 7-10 workdays AU has said it would take to process, and right at the limit of the time period I had to dispute the charge. The credit looks like this on my virtual statement:

9/4/2002 THE COMICSTORE.COM , TEL9165672490, CA ( $69.98 )

I had stated to the folks at AU that they were sort of in a race: if my dispute forms showed up for me to sign and return before the refund did, then I would have the forms in the mail and AU would get the fun of dealing with it. Not only dealing with that, but also with me filing complaints with the California State Attorney General's Office, and the California Office of Consumer Affairs.

Well, the dispute forms showed up yesterday, but as I didn't get home until after dinnertime - too late to get them in the mail. So I held off doing anything until this morning. AU *just* beat the clock on this deadline.

Rightfully, I cannot now file with the two California agencies, as I have nothing to officially complain about anymore, other than a hassle. If my card get overcharged again, though, you can bet I won't hesitate.


I do have to give credit where credit is due, though. A lot of us, led by Jason, asked for a simple communication from AU mentioning the status of the order, and bringing up the issue of the overcharges. Most of us got the e-mail that included this lunchbox design picture:


Not only did I get that...but I got two other e-mails, direct from Ross Rojek himself!
(Heh...gotta say this; I've been bursting for days: Did anyone see the movie My Favorite Year? "Boss Rojeck" )


Anyway, I've already posted in another thread on MSCL.COM the first note Ross sent me on 9/5, but I'll repeat it:

To start with, I'm sorry that you were double charged. It's not something we did on purpose or wanted to happen.

Your credit was processed last week. I'm not sure it it was a result of your e-mail, or filling out the form on drygrass, but it was processed and submitted. Please let me know when it shows up on your account.

Ross Rojek

As I said before, it sure sounds like an apology of sorts to me. I realize that stockholders and liability and all makes it really hard for a CEO to just come right out and say "we screwed up". But he comes kinda close. I find it interesting that he says that the "credit was processed last week" on 9/5, but the date on my statement is 9/4. I will assume "lag time" and leave it go at that, though I think I'm kidding myself. There's also the issue of whether they used the Drygrass site form to process me, which I talk to Ross about, quoted below.

I responded to Ross immediately, just as soon as I answered a previously-arrived e-mail from AU webmaster Justin Martin, which I go over in my reply to Ross:

Ah, I am doubly blessed. I woke up to find two new e-mails: the first from Justin Martin, and then one from you. As I just mentioned in my reply to Justin, as soon as I saw the senders of these notes, I checked my online credit card statement. No credit has appeared yet.

You say "I'm sorry that you were double charged. It's not something we did on purpose or wanted to happen." In short, it HAS happened. And your organization is not dealing with the situation efficiently, by any stretch of the imagination. I will repeat something here I just wrote to Justin:

I spent over a decade running a retail store, at a highly profitable level, before I got married and so decided to get out of the retail business at the grizzled old age of 32. I know what it takes to make customers happy. It takes A LOT of work. But the basic idea is simple: establish trust, and work to keep it. AU has utterly failed here, and that is what has prompted this reaction. Not any one person's actions or inactions, but an entire pattern of them.


You tell me "Your credit was processed last week. I'm not sure it it was a result of your e-mail, or filling out the form on drygrass, but it was processed and submitted. Please let me know when it shows up on your account." I have received zero automatic responses from the Drygrass form as a result of AU opening it up or checking anything about it. So me must assume it was my e-mails that prompted the processing about a week after I sent it, which accounts for why the credit hasn't appeared yet.

I will definately let you know when I have my credit. And, to repeat something else I said to Justin: I'm sure you guys feel like it's now a race: will the credit appear on David's account before the dispute forms show up from the bank for him to sign? Upon their arrival, it is my intention to check the online statement one more time, and turn the forms around immediately if the credit doesn't appear at that time. If the credit appears later, your organization will be safe enough as long as no new charges have appeared. And the last sentence is the real rub: once my merchandise is completely in-hand (will that be two separate shipments, or three?) and I also have all credits on my account that ought to appear at that time, I'll feel it necessary to go through the hassle of changing my credit card account # so that I feel safe from more bogus charges appearing afterward. This has been more trouble than it's been worth, really. If we weren't so close, I'd cancel. But my wife wants the set too much, and we've already been through hell on this. I doubt that my cancelling would make the credit situation much easier...13 years of retail gives me that much insight.

In fact, when my sister-in-law found out the set was being made, I had to urge her in no uncertain terms NOT to go for this deal. She only understood why I was warning her off when I showed her all the complaints logged at HTF and MSCL.COM. So, you're losing business on these issues.

But I thank you and Justin for finally taking the 60 seconds or so necessary to reply directly to me. I will be looking for my credit, since as you know actions speak louder than words. But it is reassuring to know that I'm not being completely ignored here. Thanks again for writing,


DAVE LAMBERT
Memphis, TN

Ross's reply to this, which I got the following morning, was quite interesting, and was the only thing I've seen so far where he attempts to explain "his side of the story". It made me feel somewhat sympathetic to the situation he finds himself in:

You know I've been doing retail for a long time. I've got more than a few customers that have been shopping with me for 14 years. The Comics & Comix chain is hitting 30 this year, and we have customers that have been shopping at the original Berkeley store that entire time. No one goes into business to piss off their customers.

We didn't get into this project (the MSCL DVD set) in order to piss anyone off. It was pitched as an easy quick flip project that Jason and I could make some fairly easy money doing it. It has slowly and painfully turned into a mess. Some of it has been our mess.

I'm not sure why the drygrass site didn't send you a e-mail response. Mike was working on everyone earlier in the week. If you were in it, then it should have told you we handled your problem

More than a couple people filled the form out 4-6 times. In one day. Each entry has to be treated individually. And then they call the office to make another request. And follow it up with 3 e-mails. So in order to process one credit, we may have to check 10 different times to make sure it isn't processed multiple times again.

And today the cc processor site was down all day. No way to check anything for anyone.

It might make you happy to know, there pretty much isn't any way that we'll make money on the set at this point. I've got too many costs to ever really make it happen.

Anyway, I'm sorry it happened. We've corrected the way the shopping cart connects with the cc processor so that we won't have it happen again. You don't have to change your cc number, but I can understand if you don't trust us.

Ross

As I said, I feel a bit sympathetic toward him after reading that, but I have to realize (as do we all) that this is a "you made your bed, lie in it" situation. And I indicated that, in my reply to him (in which I also addressed the Google ad mentioned elsewhere on this forum):

Thank you for this response. It tells me more of your side of the story, which we really haven't heard on this end. I plan on sharing some or all of it with others, but not until at least tonight (gotta run and get ready for work...gonna be late!).

Note that I still don't have my credit yet. Hopefully will show up today?...


Finally, I have been made aware of a Google ad linking to my "big" post at MSCL.COM; I wanted to state to you that I did not take out or pay for that ad, nor suggest to anyone that such should happen. Frankly, I didn't know it was an available option until Justin mentioned to me that it existed. I suspect that another overcharged customer at the forum who liked what I was saying, decided to take out the ad. I know you have no reason to believe me, but it doesn't really matter to me whether you do or not. It's an unfortunate consequence of the entire situation, which I realize you're working on. Who's responsible doesn't really matter. I just wanted you to know it wasn't me. It's not beyond me or anything, it just wasn't me.

Gotta go,


DAVE LAMBERT
Memphis, TN

In the end, I must say that I seem to have gotten processed a LOT faster than many of the others who are complaining all around the internet. The squeaky wheel DOES get greased, folks!

For anyone who is not yet satisfied, I urge you to follow up as best as you are able to with AU. Let them know you won't be patient, especially if you have an old complaint.

If you aren't able to wait anymore, don't forget that you have avenues available to you, ones which I will not apologize for suggesting get used so until EVERYONE has every nickel of their overcharge back:

Better Business Bureau

State of California's Department of Consumer Affairs

State of California: Office of the Attorney General

Phone # for 60 Minutes


With the delivery right around the corner, I expect that some added patience will be needed because I foresee that Ross will have all of his people at the warehouse, packing up boxes and getting them in the mail ASAP. So don't be surprised if phone answering and e-mail response is actually WORSE than before, and credits take longer, etc. But folks who have been double- and triple-charged and folks who have waited months for refunds (and some of you qualify under both groups!) should speak up immediately and demand good service right now.

It seems to have worked for me. Good luck, you all (or y'all, as we say here in the South).