Bad Experience with QED

**jungatheart** · 03-06-2008, 07:22 AM

Got really excited about buying some new shave creams so I went to the QED site and ordered almost $80 worth of Taylor's shave creams.

Today I get an email saying they've shipped my order and when I look, the address they've shipped to is different from the one I gave them. I write them about it and get a hostile and confrontational email back from them saying their mailing software changed the address and they have no way of overiding it and implied that it was somehow my fault that this happened. No apology, no regret. Then they say that, although, they've already charged my credit card, they haven't really shipped my package and have hand addressed it to the address I've given them and do I still want it shipped.

One of the things that really burns my butt is when people say they are something and use others to prove their point. When I wrote back to them I expressed my dislike at their lack of courtesy and the reply said that of course they are courteous, they said I should look at all the shaving forums that say so. Well, QED, I'm on a shaving forum and I'm saying you are discourteous.

I'm so tired of people and companies that don't accept responsibility for their actions. If their software changes addresses, and I mean a drastic change, I would expect them to notify me and ask which address to use. Call me old fashioned but I expect this kind of responsibility rather than just mailing a package to an address their software spit out rather than to the one the customer provided. And then to say it's not their responsibility that this happened is unconscionable to me.

I know I'm in the minority because I feel this way but I still think I'm right. I'm old now and have days when I think fearfully of death.. I also have days when I see the direction the world is going and thank God that I am going to die.

Update; They've asked me three times now if I want the order shipped even though I've always said I want it shipped. I think I'm gonna buy my stuff elsewhere.

**FaPat5** · 03-06-2008, 07:27 AM

I must say, and no disrespect to those who really like QED, and to the guy himself, but I also had a bad experience with them. All I wanted was to buy some of that DaVinci water. I sent an email asking for shipping to the UK for the small bottle. The first email I get tells me that I needed to buy more as they had a minimum order limit. Fair enough, so I asked how much the big bottle would be to ship. Then I get one back telling me that thye can't tell me until they shipped it. I asked if they could estimate it for me, and they just replied saying that it would not be a good idea to ship it anyway, because the bottle may not last the trip, and in general, the whole style of the email was not very friendly. It was more like they didn't want my order in the first place.

**jungatheart** · 03-06-2008, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by FaPat5

I must say, and no disrespect to those who really like QED, and to the guy himself, but I also had a bad experience with them. All I wanted was to buy some of that DaVinci water. I sent an email asking for shipping to the UK for the small bottle. The first email I get tells me that I needed to buy more as they had a minimum order limit. Fair enough, so I asked how much the big bottle would be to ship. Then I get one back telling me that thye can't tell me until they shipped it. I asked if they could estimate it for me, and they just replied saying that it would not be a good idea to ship it anyway, because the bottle may not last the trip, and in general, the whole style of the email was not very friendly. It was more like they didn't want my order in the first place.

Thanks FaPat5. Sometimes when dealing with discourteous people I start to wonder if it really may be me that's causing the problem. Your reply helps me to see that it's not.

**Ltltony** · 03-06-2008, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by jungatheart

Today I get an email saying they've shipped my order ... email back from them saying their mailing software changed the address and they have no way of overiding it ... Then they say that, ... they haven't really shipped my package .

This is the craziest part to me.

**jellywerker** · 03-06-2008, 08:40 AM

Excellent and fast service for me, so I don't know, maybe Charles was having a bad day.

**loueedacat** · 03-06-2008, 08:40 AM

Are we talking about the qedusa.com Charles site? This seems so odd compared to the great experiences I've had dealing with Charles. I'm sorry to hear this didn't go well.

**biomesh** · 03-06-2008, 08:44 AM

Sometimes tones don't come across well in emails. I would call Charles to clear up any concerns.

**denissawyer** · 03-06-2008, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by jellywerker

Excellent and fast service for me, so I don't know, maybe Charles was having a bad day.

Regardless his business should accept responsibility for such neglect. Without customers, there is no business, customer satisfaction is key in these niche markets.

**Handy** · 03-06-2008, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by denissawyer

Regardless his business should accept responsibility for such neglect. Without customers, there is no business, customer satisfaction is key in these niche markets.

Nailed it there. Last thing you want to do is put blame on the customer, not good.

You get people thinking like myself who where contemplating a order through QED.

**denissawyer** · 03-06-2008, 09:02 AM

And thats the problem with such a small customer base businesses such as QED realistically can't afford slip ups like that since word of mouth is the most pervasive was to advertise or discourage purchasing from certain outlets.

**jungatheart** · 03-06-2008, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by biomesh

Sometimes tones don't come across well in emails. I would call Charles to clear up any concerns.

Why wouldn't Charles call me? This is the same thing he did, saying that it's my responsibility. He's the one that changed my address.

**rabidpotatochip** · 03-06-2008, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by denissawyer

Regardless his business should accept responsibility for such neglect. Without customers, there is no business, customer satisfaction is key in these niche markets.

I fully agree that any business should assume responsibility for errors from their end, I think any individual should do the same.

Originally Posted by Handy

Nailed it there. Last thing you want to do is put blame on the customer, not good.

I'm not jumping to anyone's defense or attacking anyone, but I can't confirm or deny that the customer was blamed for the error. I think it's more likely that there was misunderstanding somewhere along the line rather than the proprietor being a deliberate jerk. I base that on the fact that as mentioned, it's a niche market, and any mistake you make can bite you in the ass.

Edit: Oh yeah, my only QED order was the Violetta group buy, so I don't consider myself as having any loyalty to the company.

**letterk** · 03-06-2008, 09:10 AM

This is very odd. I've ordered from Charles and spoke with him on the phone many times. He's never been anything but the best. I can't say I remember ever hearing a report like this about him before. Who signed the emails? Was it Charles or someone else?

**Baloosh** · 03-06-2008, 09:13 AM

Wow.. this is really unfortunate and not at all reflective of how the vast majority of guys' experiences with QED have gone. I hope you and Charles can work it out.

Personally, I've ordered from him numerous times over the past 1.5 years -- never had a problem. All my transactions have been flawless and excellent, but I do understand that there are bound to be "bad" transactions. "Blaming the customer" aside, I bet Charles has hundreds or more emails to go through every day... I'm sure some of them are bound to be interpreted as too succinct or short.

Sorry you had a bad experience. But far above average, Charles is one of the best guys around, and a vendor I wouldn't hesitate to order from again.

**bjrn** · 03-06-2008, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by letterk

I can't say I remember ever hearing a report like this about him before.

Might be because he is something of a forum darling. People in general aren't quick to post about bad experiences with vendors and I'm guessing even less so with a popular one.

For what it's worth I had pretty much the same experience as FaPat5. I asked for a shipping estimate and was told I couldn't get one but that I would only be charged whatever the actual cost was and that I could check that on the parcel when I got it.

**jungatheart** · 03-06-2008, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by letterk

This is very odd. I've ordered from Charles and spoke with him on the phone many times. He's never been anything but the best. I can't say I remember ever hearing a report like this about him before. Who signed the emails? Was it Charles or someone else?

E mails signed Charles.

**jungatheart** · 03-06-2008, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Baloosh

Wow.. this is really unfortunate and not at all reflective of how the vast majority of guys' experiences with QED have gone. I hope you and Charles can work it out.

His way of working it out was to ask me numerous times if I still wanted the order shipped. Psychologists call this passive/aggressive behavior and I finally got the message and canceled the order.

Sorry to all of you that say you've had good experiences but the only way to "work things out" with someone who won't accept responsibility is to not deal with them.

**letterk** · 03-06-2008, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by bjrn

Might be because he is something of a forum darling. People in general aren't quick to post about bad experiences with vendors and I'm guessing even less so with a popular one.

For what it's worth I had pretty much the same experience as FaPat5. I asked for a shipping estimate and was told I couldn't get one but that I would only be charged whatever the actual cost was and that I could check that on the parcel when I got it.

I would hope people would feel comfortable expressing a bad experience here at B&B. That's what we're here for, the good AND the bad. In doing so we can all learn more. I also know this will somehow get back to Charles and hope he might approach the situation differently in the future.

**bjrn** · 03-06-2008, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by letterk

I would hope people would feel comfortable expressing a bad experience here at B&B. That's what we're here for, the good AND the bad.

That would be ideal, but I don't think that's the case at the moment.

I know Joel posted that he's heard about bad experience one particular vendor by people who weren't willing to post publicly about it, I would think the threshold would be even higher if it was about a vendor with such vocal support as Charles.

**rabidpotatochip** · 03-06-2008, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by bjrn

That would be ideal, but I don't think that's the case at the moment.

I know Joel posted that he's heard about bad experience one particular vendor by people who weren't willing to post publicly about it, I would think the threshold would be even higher if it was about a vendor with such vocal support as Charles.

Maybe an anonymous vendor rating system could be put into place. The only record kept would be whether a person put their rating in already and they'd be able to change it after a preset time has elapsed (about a month?) in case they gave them another try and their experience improved. At the start you may end up with some good vendors getting bad reviews just because of the added anonymity, but over time the system would probably be a good indicator of who you'd want to do business with.