The story you are about to hear may sound too ridiculous to be true. Trust me, I wish it were not.
This morning I sought an end to the horrible chapter in my life that is Sunshine Electronics (ebay id sunshineelec). My plan was simple call in and speak to Danny Woods (this time I am posting his full name. I'll explain why later). He was the "manager" who promised to get my package to me. I wanted to know why he was dishonest with me but more than that I wanted my money back. I wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Oh, if only Sunshine (ironic name huh?) had made it that simple.
I called in promptly at 10:00 and got a rep who asked for my order number. I barely got the number and the name Danny (the manager) out of my mouth before I was abruptly put on hold...for 15 minutes. Once again, no exaggerations. I literally kept a log of the amount of time I was being placed on hold.
He eventually got back on the line and said"you only paid for this a few days ago".
So I proceeded to go through the whole story "Danny promised me it would be in my hands yesterday morning and..."
"OK hold on"- He abruptly put me on hold again. Another 15 mins goes by when I remember an email with Danny's extension. So I hang up and call Danny's extension directly.
A few rings later I hear a man, whom I can only assume is Danny or his clone, answer the line. But instead of Hello, how may I help you I was greeted by, "Who's this? What's your name?"
I had to pinch myself to make sure I hadn't lost my mind. Was he screening his calls?? No...not even these guys would stoop that low. Ducking and dodging an irate and unsatisfied customer? Noooo, not in America!
Boy was I wrong.
"This is Curt...." Before I could say anything further...
Click...."Thank you for holding. Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line and your call..."
You've gotta be kidding me. Did he really just screen his call? Did he really hear my name and put me on hold in typical Sunshine (ironic) fashion?
I called Danny's extension back and wouldn't you know it; it went to voicemail. Caller ID huh? OK- I dialed *67 to block my caller ID and called back and guess what?
"Who's this? What's your name?"
"This is Curt again I...."
Click...."Thank you for holding. Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line and your call..."
Okay, now you've done it. You know that moment when David Banner starts to transform into the incredible Hulk? Well lets just say all I could see was green at that moment.
I continued to call back and get his voicemail. I decided to try customer service but got the put on hold routine from everyone I spoke to. This is getting personal.
I decided that since it seemed as though everyone in this company went to the Simon Cowell school of customer service, speaking to 20 diffrent people was going to get me nowhere. I decided that when I got the Voice menu I would just dial zero and get a receptionist.
I dialed zero and got what I assume was one of two receptionsits. I told her I was tired of being put on hold and that I wanted Danny right away. Naturally she put me on hold.
I immediately called back and dialed her again.
"Still waiting for Danny" and naturally she put me on hold again. This continued for about 20 minutes. I could feel her wearing down.
Eventually she gave in. "I'm putting you right through to Danny's Manager"
I got a live person right away. "Sir we are sorry for blah, blah blah...and we'll go ahead and refund your money. You'll see it in your paypal account in a few minutes."
Not falling for that one again! I insisted that he remain on the phone with me until I actually saw that refund show up in my account. He reluctantly agreed. For 10 mins we waited and checked untill he finally said "I'm gonna put you through to our refund department" and transferred me abruptly.
I got through to a woman (Esther) who said that she was with the refund department. She sounded annoyed as she said "Look, we'll send the refund through when we get you package back from the warehouse. But I'm not going to do it a moment before then."
There was no way I was going for that. I insisted that they send the refund through immediatly and that I would not...could not get off the phone untill they did.
Now brace yourself for this part...
She snapped at me and said "Well look, if you wanna be a baby about it go ahead but I'm hanging up this phone. And if you call back I'll just tell that person to put you on hold. You are acting like a baby right now and I'm not going to deal with this!"
Click....She hung up!
Seriously people....these are the words straight from Esther's mouth. I couldn't have made this up if I wanted to.
Long story short, I kept calling back until that same receptionist put me through to Danny's manager, who upon further discussion and investigation just happened to be Danny himself, and they finally decided to give me my refund right away.
And so ends my nightmare.
This was the worst customer service ordeal I have ever experienced. The folks at Sunshine (again that name is soooooo ironic) were blatantly rude, deceitful, and incompetent. I can just imagine them having meetings and training sessions on how best to undermine the customer.
And of course in the end they didn't have the capacity to make the situation right. I don't think they could get an order right from start to finish even if they wanted to. They just got tired of dealing with me and finally gave in.
"Enough of him. On to the next sucker."
My hope is that somehow this blog will keep others from making the mistakes I made. You can call it scarred straight for ebay.
Just know that there are plenty of choices on ebay. Choose wisely and please, whatever you do, DON'T SHOP SUNSHINE!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
I couldn't wait until morning to post this...I'm that pissed.
I have some real feedback for Sunshine Electronics (Ebay Id Shopsunshine). They are an Ebay store that specializes in selling Cameras, Camcorders, and TVs. I was searching for a Nikon D40 to replace a camera for my business. I won't go into too much detail but I do some freelance as well as working with one of the most popular camera review and information sites on the net (trust me, we'll be posting a front page article on these guys to tell our customers to stay far away).
Anyway, while searching for the D40 I came across Sunshine Electronics. The package and price looked decent, their feedback percentage was in the high 98% range, and they are based out of Brooklyn, NY (I usually get things from NY overnight with standard UPS ground service) so I decided to give these guys a try. Bad Idea!
As with most Ebayer's I pay for most things with PayPal. It's quick and easy especially when buying from an Ebay store with the Buy It Now option. Sunshine Electronics's listings said they accepted Ebay but when I tried to pay for my item I soon found there was no option to pay online. I received an email stating that in order to pay I would have to call in and speak to a representative.
Strange Huh? Also a little annoying. Why should I have to call in to pay something if I'm using PayPal? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of PayPal? But I decided what the heck, I'll do it anyway.
When I called in I spoke to a representative and told him I would like to pay for my Ebay order. I gave him my info and that's when the up selling began! "Ah ha" that's why I had to call in.
The salesperson asked me "What Kind of battery do you want with your Nikon D40? The 3 Hour or 6 Hour?". He made it seem as though no battery was included in the box or as if I had to buy an upgraded battery.
"Doesn't Nikon Include a battery in the box?" I asked? (If I wanted an upgraded battery I would have just purchased on from ebay)
He then told me that I had to purchase shipping insurance in addition to the 39.99 shipping charge. If I purchased it, he said, I would get expedited shipping. So in the interest of speeding this process along I said ok. Once the upselling was complete I was told that I would recieve an email with a paypal payment request and that would get everything moving.
It was all downhill from there.
Friday-
I waited all day for that payment request and nothing came. I was concerned so I called back three times to find out where it was and after a total of about 20 mins of holding was told that it would arrive shortly. It never did. I called back again and got a recording stating that they were closed for the day.
Now I'm concerned. I was hoping to get this camera before thanksgiving but it might not happen.
Saturday-
I called in hoping I could speak to a manager to straighten this whole thing out. "Just take my payment already so I can get this camera and get some work done.", I thought as I dialed.
No such luck- These guys arent even open on Saturday's. I got a message telling me to call back on Sunday"
....The clock is ticking...
Sunday-
I called early so these guys don't close up shop on me. I spoke to someone who promised they would send a payment request through.
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- Promised again-
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- "Sorry we are closed for the day".
You've got to be kidding me!
At this point I had enough. I went to ebay and left feedback -"After 3 days still no payment req. I called 3x and still nothing. I'm done."
And with that I began bidding on another camera package from another dealer with overnight shipping. That was until I got a call from Danny.
Monday-
I got a call early Monday morning from Danny (I won't print his last name) whom I assume is some kind of Manager over at Sunshine Electronics. He called me and told me he read the bad feedback and wanted to make things right. He informed me that the rep who took my order was new and had trouble with the payment request. He offered to upgrade my battery (that again) and give me overnight shipping. His exact words were "You'll have it in your hands tomorrow morning".
I just needed to do one thing for them; Withdraw the bad feedback I left for them on Ebay. I asked if I could withdraw the feedback after I received the camera package but was told that it withdrawing feedback first was necessary in order to get the overnight shipping.
Now normally I would have declined but I received a request earlier in the day to take pictures for an important city event on Tuesday evening. This would mean I could accept that job and get some sorely needed holiday money.
Against my better judgment I agreed as Danny took me through the steps of withdrawing feedback on Ebay. Once that was complete (and believe me, he made sure that was complete before we moved on) he told me I would receive a tracking number shortly for DHL overnight Air delivery.
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- Promised again-
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- "It is being shipped as we speak sir"- But still no tracking #. Oh well.
Tuesday-
I waited all day for that package to come. Guess what? After all of that promising nothing! It turns out the package was never sent. What makes things worse is that they tricked me into withdrawing my negative feedback!
Damn, They got me! I fell for the scam!! Now they have my money, my feedback, and I'm gonna have to cancel this shoot at the last minute. I lose money, reputation, and future jobs because of this.
At this point I am pissed. I called Danny, got his VM, and left a message. I called Sunshine Electronics and after waiting 20 minutes I got a rep. I barely finished explaining my situation when he put me on hold (without asking). I waited on hold another 30 mins (no exaggeration. I have a minute counter on my phone) when I got another rep. She asked for my order number and in likewise fashion abruptly put me on hold (without asking).
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Finally got a rude rep who gave me a "what the hell do you want me to do about it?" attitude.
He said "look it's in the warehouse and it will get to you by tomorrow morning."
"Really", I said, "How do I know I'm not gonna get stiffed like last time?"
"Because you'll have the tracking number within the hour." He said.
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- Promised again-
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- "Sorry we are closed for the day".
So that's it. I wont be getting my camera tomorrow either and these guys still have my money. They broke promises, scammed me out of my ebay feedback, were rude, cost me business, and cost me reputation.
I wrote all this so hopefully someone will read this and not have to go through what I went through. I plan on posting this on all the photography forums and blogs that I am a part of or visit. I might even send it to my good friends at CNET.
These guys don't keep their word and don't care. Really, when shopping online what is worse than that?
Anyway, while searching for the D40 I came across Sunshine Electronics. The package and price looked decent, their feedback percentage was in the high 98% range, and they are based out of Brooklyn, NY (I usually get things from NY overnight with standard UPS ground service) so I decided to give these guys a try. Bad Idea!
As with most Ebayer's I pay for most things with PayPal. It's quick and easy especially when buying from an Ebay store with the Buy It Now option. Sunshine Electronics's listings said they accepted Ebay but when I tried to pay for my item I soon found there was no option to pay online. I received an email stating that in order to pay I would have to call in and speak to a representative.
Strange Huh? Also a little annoying. Why should I have to call in to pay something if I'm using PayPal? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of PayPal? But I decided what the heck, I'll do it anyway.
When I called in I spoke to a representative and told him I would like to pay for my Ebay order. I gave him my info and that's when the up selling began! "Ah ha" that's why I had to call in.
The salesperson asked me "What Kind of battery do you want with your Nikon D40? The 3 Hour or 6 Hour?". He made it seem as though no battery was included in the box or as if I had to buy an upgraded battery.
"Doesn't Nikon Include a battery in the box?" I asked? (If I wanted an upgraded battery I would have just purchased on from ebay)
He then told me that I had to purchase shipping insurance in addition to the 39.99 shipping charge. If I purchased it, he said, I would get expedited shipping. So in the interest of speeding this process along I said ok. Once the upselling was complete I was told that I would recieve an email with a paypal payment request and that would get everything moving.
It was all downhill from there.
Friday-
I waited all day for that payment request and nothing came. I was concerned so I called back three times to find out where it was and after a total of about 20 mins of holding was told that it would arrive shortly. It never did. I called back again and got a recording stating that they were closed for the day.
Now I'm concerned. I was hoping to get this camera before thanksgiving but it might not happen.
Saturday-
I called in hoping I could speak to a manager to straighten this whole thing out. "Just take my payment already so I can get this camera and get some work done.", I thought as I dialed.
No such luck- These guys arent even open on Saturday's. I got a message telling me to call back on Sunday"
....The clock is ticking...
Sunday-
I called early so these guys don't close up shop on me. I spoke to someone who promised they would send a payment request through.
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- Promised again-
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- "Sorry we are closed for the day".
You've got to be kidding me!
At this point I had enough. I went to ebay and left feedback -"After 3 days still no payment req. I called 3x and still nothing. I'm done."
And with that I began bidding on another camera package from another dealer with overnight shipping. That was until I got a call from Danny.
Monday-
I got a call early Monday morning from Danny (I won't print his last name) whom I assume is some kind of Manager over at Sunshine Electronics. He called me and told me he read the bad feedback and wanted to make things right. He informed me that the rep who took my order was new and had trouble with the payment request. He offered to upgrade my battery (that again) and give me overnight shipping. His exact words were "You'll have it in your hands tomorrow morning".
I just needed to do one thing for them; Withdraw the bad feedback I left for them on Ebay. I asked if I could withdraw the feedback after I received the camera package but was told that it withdrawing feedback first was necessary in order to get the overnight shipping.
Now normally I would have declined but I received a request earlier in the day to take pictures for an important city event on Tuesday evening. This would mean I could accept that job and get some sorely needed holiday money.
Against my better judgment I agreed as Danny took me through the steps of withdrawing feedback on Ebay. Once that was complete (and believe me, he made sure that was complete before we moved on) he told me I would receive a tracking number shortly for DHL overnight Air delivery.
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- Promised again-
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- "It is being shipped as we speak sir"- But still no tracking #. Oh well.
Tuesday-
I waited all day for that package to come. Guess what? After all of that promising nothing! It turns out the package was never sent. What makes things worse is that they tricked me into withdrawing my negative feedback!
Damn, They got me! I fell for the scam!! Now they have my money, my feedback, and I'm gonna have to cancel this shoot at the last minute. I lose money, reputation, and future jobs because of this.
At this point I am pissed. I called Danny, got his VM, and left a message. I called Sunshine Electronics and after waiting 20 minutes I got a rep. I barely finished explaining my situation when he put me on hold (without asking). I waited on hold another 30 mins (no exaggeration. I have a minute counter on my phone) when I got another rep. She asked for my order number and in likewise fashion abruptly put me on hold (without asking).
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Finally got a rude rep who gave me a "what the hell do you want me to do about it?" attitude.
He said "look it's in the warehouse and it will get to you by tomorrow morning."
"Really", I said, "How do I know I'm not gonna get stiffed like last time?"
"Because you'll have the tracking number within the hour." He said.
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- Promised again-
Waited....Waited...Waited.... Nothing!
Called back again- "Sorry we are closed for the day".
So that's it. I wont be getting my camera tomorrow either and these guys still have my money. They broke promises, scammed me out of my ebay feedback, were rude, cost me business, and cost me reputation.
I wrote all this so hopefully someone will read this and not have to go through what I went through. I plan on posting this on all the photography forums and blogs that I am a part of or visit. I might even send it to my good friends at CNET.
These guys don't keep their word and don't care. Really, when shopping online what is worse than that?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
My horrible experience with sunshine electronics
I felt the need to go through the process of creating a whole blog based on my horrible experience with the ebay store, Sunshine Electronics, because the few words you are able to leave for feedback cannot begin to describe my level of frustration with them. (Not to mention i was tricked into withdrawing feed back...we'll get into that later).
After waiting on hold and getting passed around their phone lines like a cheap whore I am a little too tired to go into detail tonight. But tomorrow I will share the whole story of the worst ebay experience I've ever had. Until then I'll go to bed thinking of all the time and money I lost today because I decided to "Shop Sunshine" instead of dealing with a reputable camera dealer.
After waiting on hold and getting passed around their phone lines like a cheap whore I am a little too tired to go into detail tonight. But tomorrow I will share the whole story of the worst ebay experience I've ever had. Until then I'll go to bed thinking of all the time and money I lost today because I decided to "Shop Sunshine" instead of dealing with a reputable camera dealer.
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