[Captain Eddie]

Pappy, I think they probably should have done the free shipping, for a number of reasons already mentioned. However, if they say they cannot, so be it....BUT, they ABSOLUTELY should have been all over you with apologies!

I had a similar experience. I was in an auto accident, other person at fault, and his insurance, the so-called "good hands" insurance, refused to total the car, wanted to weld in a used front end unibody. I was told this was a bad idea. They refused to budge, no "I'm sorry" or apology of any kind, basically told me where to stick my complaint. I turned it over to my insurance, State Farm, they totaled it and cut me a very fair check!

[Cardinal]

Pappy, I fully understand that you feel disappointed and disillusioned with the company. Personally, I think they should have given you the free shipping on a 'good faith' basis .

That said, sometimes policy is policy, a factor which does not however justify rudeness on the part of the vendor - there is no excuse for poor customer relations and the person responding to your query may not have been acting in accordance with the guidelines/wishes of the owner.

I would suggest that you definitely contact the owner directly and voice your dissatifaction with the way you've been treated, making it especially clear that you expected better from them given your long-standing relationship with the company.

[djjeffhall]

Cardinal,
Hey there.

For .02 cents, this borders on rediculous. I manage a small internet retailer and casually bend our "rules" much further than this. (My company is a music retailer so we are talking about $3-$4 per disc on an order, not the much larger amounts you are discussing with diecast.)

I would dare say that most companies I've worked with, or purchased from professionally or privately, have gone way over the line to take care of me. The company in question with you should be able to review your records and if you have been as steady a customer as you claim then .02 should not be an issue.

I'm sorry you had a falling out with these folks and I hope they are happy in their rigidly defined world, but I think you made the right call by moving on.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

Cardinal,
Hey there.

For .02 cents, this borders on rediculous. I manage a small internet retailer and casually bend our "rules" much further than this. (My company is a music retailer so we are talking about $3-$4 per disc on an order, not the much larger amounts you are discussing with diecast.)

I would dare say that most companies I've worked with, or purchased from professionally or privately, have gone way over the line to take care of me. The company in question with you should be able to review your records and if you have been as steady a customer as you claim then .02 should not be an issue.

I'm sorry you had a falling out with these folks and I hope they are happy in their rigidly defined world, but I think you made the right call by moving on.

I'll probably soften over time and cave and order from them again... It wasn't the guy in charge that responded to my request, but rather a newer employee lower on the totem pole, I think -- I am thinking of writing The Man a note about it, as Card suggests, I would like to believe that if the request actually got to him, it would have been granted... benefit of the doubt and all that. But yeah, I'm probably easily over $1,000 the last three years with this particular outfit... I've never wanted to add it up!

This $xXX.98 purchase is going elsewhere though, for sure.

[1250ships]

As someone who actually sells models for a living here is my two cents.

I offer free shipping over $300. I do that to encourage large orders as there are some fixed costs per transaction. I'd rather see a single $300 order than three $100 orders. It also helps encourage people to drop one more item into their cart to get the free shipping.

If someone is a long time customer and they come close to the $300 I will give them the free shipping. By close I mean within a dollar or two. If you only buy once in a while or it is your second order you don't get the benefit of the doubt.

I can also tell you that retailers get asked for discounts all the time. If they don't intend to extend them they should have a polite way of saying "no" to the customer.

[Raven]

I've experienced this many times where the free shipping threshold is $50.00 and the model I want is $49.99 or $100.00 and my order would add up to $99.98 (priced that way on purpose no doubt). I would gladly pay the extra 1-2 cents to save $5-8 on shipping. I've even considered buying a cheap item I don't even need to get over the limit. I GUESS THAT'S THE IDEA - ENTICE ME TO SPEND MORE THAN I WANTED TO GET THE FREEBEE. SEEMS LIKE THAT'S A TYPICAL MARKETING TECHNIQUE ...I CAN EITHER PLAY THE GAME OR GET STUCK WITH THE COST OF SHIPPING.

Maybe they could start selling bubble gum, candy sticks or microwave popcorn to help us out!

[MoMo]

Dear Pappy,

here's my two cents worth : mail the two cents to the dealer and tell him where to stick it!

Make sure that the coin has a letter explaining clearly why you are doing this.

Dealers rely on our good will to be honest and prompt with payment. We rely on them to be honest,prompt and flexible with repeat customers who are making them a living.

There is no excuse for acting like Stonewall Jackson!

MoMo

[Aircrafty]

I wouldn't have worried about contacting the company about this matter and just ordered an extra model to bring it over the required amount. The seller states what their freight policy is, so I think it's rude to ask for anything else. But that's just my opinion

[mhackl]

I'm sure that if you dealt with a green underling, it was just youthful error. This outfit has done something to earn your loyalty to this point, give'em another chance to do right by you. Seek out that superior that you're familiar with.

Business is all about relationships. Yes, we all have policies, but the more your friendship grows with your customers the more you relax those rules. Heck, I have a customer that calls, just to talk, almost everyday. It costs me for the phone calls, but because there is a relationship, he's fiercely loyal and he’ll refer others. You never know who that customer is going to be, but if you treat them right they’ll always come to you first, even if they know it might cost them a little bit more for doing so.

I say, go ahead try them again, I think it'll work out.

[MoMo]

Don't bother..just tell him where to stick that 2 cents!

MoMo