Hit bottom? Keep digging!

June 20, 2006

As you recall from yesterday’s blog post, a simply request to find out where in my area I could buy Pitu, a tasty liquor, I received a highly insulting email from them. (Read the full account here) After I had posted the blog entry on the subject, I politely informed them that I had posted the exchange on this blog.

This morning I received three email responses from Ms. Krauss, shown below.

Email 1

Dear Jake:

We have received hundreds of contact pieces from our web site since its inception and many, many of them have given false or misleading information. Before we started checking each and every address (which takes a lot of time), we had many mailings returned to us with the resultant loss of postage and the time it took to create the mailing. At least your mis-information was obvious. We apologize for what you think is rudeness, but if you could see how many submissions like yours (and ones even worse) that we get you would wonder too why people even bother to fill in the blanks. What do they think will be the response to incorrect information? After we explain how we handle the information, a few people re-submit their requests and we send them the recipes and muddler.

Again, sorry for what you consider unprofessional, but, again, you should see what comes across from the contact page.

Loretta Krauss

EFCO Importers

Email 2 (I’m assuming in reply to my notification about the blog post)

Maybe after you have read my reply to your first e-mail, you will understand a little better, but other than that, it’s your problem.

Email 3

One other thing: We can only give the name of the distributor when we have a correct location. In some cases, we have two or three distributors in one state. They are the ones who give the name(s) of retailers in your particular area.

And here is my response:

So let me get this straight –

Because you have no method of collecting and vetting current customers in order to ensure a lack of duplicate sends, you hide the fact that you do something very cool in sending out physical goods. Further, you break Web usability conventions by requiring excessive personal information fields without explanation for the request. Then as a reaction to a pretty obvious issue that you’ve clearly said you’ve already discovered with other users, your first reaction is to send insulting emails?

On top of that, you let your frustration with your job turn into an insult to a potential evangelist, not once but twice. And the second time after I’ve told you that I’ve posted this conversation publicly.

If you’re wondering why people post junk, why not simply ask? Why shoot me an insult, rather than a question? You seem frustrated at the time requirement of sorting through the junk, but somehow you found time to insult me.

Thanks for your time, but if you would like to continue the discussion, please visit my blog.

Jake
communityguy.com

UPDATE: Here’s the latest response…I think it pretty much speaks for itself.

My boss set up the web site as a convenience for people to obtain information as to where to purchase Pitu. We do nothing with the submissions other than to give people the opportunity to purchase Pitu in their area, and give them a small gift of recipes and a muddler.

No one has ever said we insulted them. Only you. No other explanations are necessary.