cee6105b__scoop_on__DrsFosterSmith_com___Content
[Rating] Neutral [Author] Twonewfs Belgium, WI (Zone 5a) (18 reviews) April 22, 2009 [Content] 
Had a very strange experience with this company. I do order a lot of pet supplies online but found Drs. Foster and Smith to be very expensive compared to other companies so have not used them for that. This time I ordered several willow garden fences. Their description of the product was rather incomplete, but better than some. It came very quickly (although they are close to me), but it was shipped to my billing address, rather than my shipping address. This could have been a disaster, as there is a reason I did not ship it to the billing address, but luckily it ended being only an inconvenience. When I received word (through a shipment tracking service) that it had been delivered to my billing address, I called the company immediately, to make them aware of the problem and therefore preserve my rights should the product be damaged or stolen by the time I could get to it to retrieve it. The representative I spoke with sounded annoyed at my call and kept saying, "I don't understand why you are making this a problem." I explained that I was simply looking to have them make a note that it had been left at the wrong address, and, actually, I thought I was doing them a favor by letting them know that something had obviously gotten screwed up (businesses don't know they have a problem if people don't tell them). Finally I convinced to the rep to LOOK at my order, and he proceeded to insist that I had not specified a different shipping address. I assured him I had, and said I had an order confirmation from their company listing a separate shipping address and offered to e-mail it to him (he said he had no way to receive an e-mail). After he started getting more and more surly with me, I asked to speak with a supervisor, all the while remaining very calm and respectful. He was clearly irritated with my request, but said he would connect me. A few minutes later he came back on the phone and said that a supervisor looked in it and realized that indeed they had made a mistake. I never did get to speak with the supervisor, but in the end the rep apologized to me and said he made a note in my file. Had he not apologized, this would have been a negative review, but he redeemed himself in the end. The product, as it turns out, was fine because the delivery person had the sense to put it in the garage instead of the porch. But I value customer service above all else (and I will pay more to get it when necessary), so the the best review I can give is a neutral. In order to receive a positive, all the representative would have had to say when I called was, "I'm very sorry the mistake and I hope it hasn't inconvenienced you too much. We will take responsibility if there is any problem with the delivery. Thank you for letting us know this happened." Customer Service 101
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