Charlie H.
Bad experience
I ordered a shirt through this company on 8/19/2024. First of all, the order was not shipped to the mailing address I provided. I got an email update that it was delivered to a CVS store a couple blocks away, for whatever reason. I walked over to pick it up, and they told me that they had not received it yet and that I should come back in a few days. I came back and they had it, although I had to wait about 20 minutes for them to retrieve it from the back room. This was not a huge issue, but I have no idea why you couldn’t just ship it to my apartment as I requested. When I finally received the package, I opened it to find that I had been sent a completely different item than what I ordered. I still wasn’t too frustrated at this point, mistakes happen, it’s not a big deal. But I contacted support via email, thinking they would just send me the item I wanted and that I wouldn’t have to do anything myself beyond requesting that. The rep gets back to me and tells me that I need to, myself, print out a shipping label, re-package the incorrect item, and ship it back to the sender, and that they won’t send me the item I wanted until they received the return (even though I took pictures of the item I received to prove that I did in fact receive the wrong product). As compensation for the mistake, they sent me coupon code for 20% off my next order. At this point, I was extremely annoyed. They essentially said “We messed up. Please take time and effort out of your day to fix this for us. And as an apology for the inconvenience, you get to spend more money at our store!” I know the customer service rep was probably just following protocol, but I think this is the wrong way to do business. I wrote back and complained about this, and the rep apologized and gave me a $10 refund from the price I originally paid. I guess that’s something, but I do not have a printer, and would have to find one, and then go through the process of sending it back. This just does not feel worth it to me to go through all of this for a shirt I kind of liked from a company I had never heard of previously until I saw an ad online. Mostly out of principle, I’m taking the $10 and keeping the incorrect item (even though I don’t really want it). I actually have worked in the past with successful e-commerce businesses, and I think there are a lot of things you all need to figure out if you want to make it as a business. I will not be purchasing any of your products again in the future.
Response from Surfside Supply Co.Sep 27, 2024
Hi Charlie, Thank you for your recent order and for taking the time to provide such honest feedback. We sincerely apologize for the frustrating experience you’ve had with us. After reviewing your order, it appears that UPS redirected your package to the nearest UPS Access Point due to delivery issues at your address. Unfortunately, that part of the process was beyond our control, but we understand how inconvenient it was for you to retrieve the package. Regarding the mix-up with the item you received and the initial resolution offered, we agree that we could have handled this situation better. While we do require the incorrect item to be returned in order to process an exchange—due to past issues where items were not returned—we realize this added an extra burden on you. The UPS store can assist with printing the prepaid label if needed, but we understand that this was not made clear or convenient. Given your feedback and the inconvenience caused, we’ve issued a full refund for your order. Please keep the incorrect item you received. If it’s not something you want, feel free to donate it or pass it along to someone who might enjoy it. We genuinely appreciate your patience and again apologize for the trouble. We hope you’ll consider giving us another chance in the future. If you have any further questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out. Best, Surfside Supply Co.