another tricky customer issue

[rampzoid]

hi,

customer bought a kids item from us 24 nov (for a xmas present).

it cost around £110 & has a few decorative bits that can be knocked out if handled roughly - a warning lable is shown to inform.

got a call last week to say that she was unhappy with the product as one of the small bits had fallen out & wanted a replacement without question.

received it back & what a what a mess - whoever tried to replace the part with super glue & have rendered the item virtually worthless as the glue has damaged the visible surface area around where the part is situated.

any thoughts on how i can handle this one?

[Corey Bryant]

Document everything and take pictures. You might be able to refer her to the description, let her know that since the repair was not done via a "qualified service technician" the warranty / guarantee was voided. Depending on her personality, it might work but she can always call the issuing bank for a refund (this is where you documentation will come in handy to maybe win the chargeback).

Plus, depending on the issuing bank / type of card, the deadline for the chargeback could be just a couple of weeks away.

[ispy]

You have the same situation posted before in your thread profile, even with the same glue situation.

Getting similar problems or the same items returned regularly is a red flag that you have a bad product or manufacturer. I have developed a sixth sense about them and can even make a pretty good guess which ones won't be around in 5 years. They are always the ones with lots of returned products.

[Rugles]

I have developed a sixth sense about them and can even make a pretty good guess which ones won't be around in 5 years. They are always the ones with lots of returned products.

We get about 1 or 2 products a year that generate 1/2 our problems. We can't dump them quick enough.

I say, ship them a new item and drop the product from your website if its a recurring problem. It makes zero sense to waste too much time on what is essentually a manufacturing/design problem.

[rampzoid]

ispy - the product does not have any significant quality issues otherwise we would not be selling them.

however, there are specific issues, hence the mention here.