Tiki Bar Soap Not delivering what I paid for.

Has anyone else had any problems getting everything that was ordered and paid for from Tiki? I ordered 6 different shaving soaps and 1 aftershave. I got 6 soaps, but one was the wrong one and I did not receive the aftershave. I contacted Amanda at Tiki and was assured she would correct her mistake.

I waited about two weeks and still nothing. I contacted Amanda again and she told me she was working on it, but was snowed in with orders. I said OK, I can wait.

Well... nearly a month later, I checked with Amanda again. She told me she thought she sent me the order. She gave me a tracking number, which I checked. All it said was that the shipping label was created.

Another month goes by and still nothing. I contacted Amanda again and she still thinks she sent the shipment. She apologized and said she would send it out first thing.

Now three weeks later and nothing. I contacted Amanda again a few days ago and have yet to get a reply.

Is there anything else I can do? I still have not gotten everything I paid for. This doesn't sound like good business practices to me.

What are you guys thoughts?

My thought? Something's wrong there. It's understandable that an issue arises here or there. But after this amount of contact it sounds like you are getting the runaround for some strange reason.

What can you do? I guess you could dispute the order with your CC company (I'm assuming that's how you paid). Not sure it's worth it for a smallish amount. Best bet is what you just did. Tell others about it.

Email her the URL to the tracking number to prove that the shipment didn't get beyond the label creation stage. Remind her of how long you've been waiting and that you'd like to resolve it working with her as opposed to opening a claim with Paypal or your credit card company. I would recommend a tone that is firm and persistent, avoiding expressing how PO'ed you might be feeling. Your goal is to get the soap (or a refund) and getting into a pissing match might not be the best approach.

It's not uncommon for single owner/staffed businesses in the shaving world to reach a point where it's too much for one person, even with part time help, to manage the ramped up demand for quality shave soap. Many artisan soap makers have gone through similar "maxing out" phases of their businesses.

I'll add that Amanda has shared on Facebook that he has had a perfect storm of morning the death of a close friend or relative (i'm fuzzy on the details) and another friend with a serious chronic disease that's flared up. I'm not offering this as an excuse, but as a possible explanation.

Switch to another vendor!

I am so sick of dealing with such worthless businesses. Such businesses deserve to lose customers. Sorry can't be more constructive - just been burnt myself lately.

I would just not order from them anymore. I would probably just forget about the aftershave unless it was really expensive

I would open a dispute with my credit card company, or bank if it was a debit card. For six soaps and an aftershave the amount can't have been that small. It's a fairly easy process if you have evidence that you have not been supplied with what you paid for and that you have tried to resolve the situation by contacting the seller.

Obviously never use them again. I don't want to sound cold and heartless but I couldn't care less what is going on in the personal lives of the owners of businesses with which I deal. If they have the time to take my money then they ought to have the time to fill my order correctly.

After hearing nothing but compliments (until this thread obviously) about Tiki shave soap quality I opened her website last night and every soap I looked at was out of stock. Then I went to Maggard's and they had 75% of them available. I have never ordered from them but they get a lot of praise on here. Good luck with resolving your unfortunate experience.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I hate to hear about someone going through a death and illness. I will contact Amanda again. I am really only out the aftershave, and was sent one wrong soap.

Thanks again.

Wow! You've been waiting over three months for them to rectify the problem and you're still willing to give them another chance. You must have the patience of a saint.

mionky said:

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I hate to hear about someone going through a death and illness. I will contact Amanda again. I am really only out the aftershave, and was sent one wrong soap.

Thanks again.

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Way to take the high road sir! I've had good experiences with Amanda, and could completely understand how a one person business can get bogged down like that. I'm sure she will make it right.

eaglesgift said:

Wow! You've been waiting over three months for them to rectify the problem and you're still willing to give them another chance. You must have the patience of a saint.

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That was my thought as well. The time frame goes way above and beyond. Maybe below and behind would be a better turn of phrase.

I had to give up on another small home based business in a non-shaving related field. It was tough because it was my favorite maker of that particular product, but I felt it necessary. Too risky to do business that way.

I wish the best for Amanda and hope that the issues that are going on personally and professionally are resolved soon. I've heard a lot of good things about her products. The internet has an unfortunately long memory.

1st of all, I am sorry for the situation that you are in. I have dealt with Amanda of TIKI several times and she provides great customer service and communication. I have never had a problem with her. I know that she will rectify this for you. Kindly keep us posted and good luck.

WARHAWK

Three months and numerous emails is unacceptable. Plain and simple there is no reason that can justify that customer service.

3 months? You're a very patient guy.

+1

Just got in touch with you via email but I will respond here as well. It isn't that I didn't send the order, an aftershave was left out of the order. I switched over to order fulfillment via a warehouse provider where I send them the soap and then they send out the shipments, so I am actually no longer in charge of shipping. This had to happen as I was so backed up from packing orders that for me to be able to make soap I had to have someone take over this aspect, and I hired and trained and subsequently fired 3 people because they were not able to handle using the automated software system we had in place for order processing. This means that if/when I can ever get a stock level up on my website the orders will go out within the same day, however I am working 18 hour days just to keep up with wholesale order demand at this point. I have been very happy with the staff at the warehouse but sometimes mistakes do happen, and I honestly thought I sent the aftershave out after we spoke via email. However within this short period both of my grandmothers have passed away, my best friend just died, my cousin is terminal after he fell from a beam at work, and my baby just had surgery this week, so if I have not responded it is not because I care but just simply because I have been a bit overwhelmed with life in general. I am not trying to make excuses, just trying to be transparent and honest. Also the reason Maggard's has full stock and my site is out of stock at the moment is because they keep placing very large orders, which I am quite happy about, but 100% of my manpower has been going to filling wholesale orders. I do have some stock here to send to my warehouse, which I am planning on listing before next week, however I can only do so much each day. I am the one running the website, fixing database issues, dealing with customer service, making the soap, everything. It isn't a family business, it really is just me. I have 2 guys who work part time to put labels on soap but that is it. I plan on expanding at some point but don't want to overextend myself or do too much too soon. I offered it via email and I will say it here, I am truly sorry you had this experience and I did not mean for it to happen, but no one is perfect and sometimes things fall through the cracks, even at larger companies. Please accept my apology and I will personally send out a package from my workshop and not the warehouse tomorrow morning. I also have no problem with refunding what you were charged for the aftershave and still sending it, as a heartfelt apology.

Thanks for responding. I know mistakes happen, and I believe I have been very patient. I am so sorry for your loss. I'm sure we all know what that is like. We have had many emails back and forth between us and you told me on several occasions it would be mailed out first thing in the morning. Each time, I waited a minimum of two weeks before asking again about my order.

Again, I am very sorry for everything that has been going on in your personal life. If I had known, I would not have posted this here. But after such a long wait, and no reply from my email, I didn't know what else to do.

Thanks again. I look forward to the aftershave because I have thoroughly enjoyed you soaps.

No, you don't need to offer any apology! It is totally my fault that it happened, not yours, and I completely and totally 100% own up to that. I am the one that should be offering the apology, not you!!! I just wanted to reply here so that others understood what is going on in general, and what happened, that is all. I just sent your refund for the aftershave and will email your tracking #as soon as I print the label.

Glad to hear that this issue has been resolved. Amanda... just wanted to say that I am praying for you and your family during this challenging time. Hang in there and God bless you.

WARHAWK