rocknbil - 5:49 pm on Jan 3, 2012 (gmt 0)

The response was simply "we do not sell that product, please contact the seller or manufacturer." Of course, you never hear a "thank you for your help."

Of course not. The answer failed to "solve their problem" so they aren't interested in "wasting time on you." We get these all the time and find them mildly amusing. :-)

What we've learned to do is address the deeper issue, their frustration, something like

"Oh that's terrible, but sorry, we don't sell that product. We do have these (link) that are (less expensive, better product, define value) if you'd like to have a look. Best of luck in resolving your problem, thank you for shopping with (companyname.)"

Believe it or not, we've seen these responses convert, sometimes within minutes. Other times, well, you just can't make some people happy and that's their problem.

.... based on all the emails I have seen, less than 1% actually write back and thank her for her help. And, to my knowledge, these people do not shop on her site in the future despite the fact she has demonstrated great customer service.

... the moment you do not help someone, customer or not, your name could be smeared across the net without you even knowing.

That really answers it, I think. Always take the higher ground, even if it doesn't seem worth it.

So why can't people read?

Oh they can. They choose not to, they are blinded by what they want, that's all that's important to them. One of my clients gets bombed with "wholesale" requests even though the big bright fire engine red warning text says "we are a retail site and are not prepared to sell wholesale."