Problems with HiFiSoundConnection - What to do?

[hifisound]

Nomaxim
Thank you for your reply and your concern about our company. Again we have had some complaints is the past and while one is too many, but as you pointed out we have had 117 complaints in the whole time we have been in business and most of those were resolved. Compared to the number of satisfied customers we have had that number while too high, is miniscule. We are a high volume, low margin business and while we try to please everyone it not possible. If 100 people are in a room with you no matter what you do there is going to be someone in that room with you that you cant make happy no matter what you do. As far as volume that we do I will let a recent writeup that was done on us in the May 2006 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine speak to that.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine.../159808-2.html

Again Nomaxim or Frostbitetwice or anyone else on or viewing this thread if there are any outstanding issues with my company that need to be resolved please let me know and I will make sure you are taken care of. However it seems that this thread has just turned into an exercise of pointing out every flaw and complaint my company has ever had and not solving issues with past customers which was my goal in responding to this thread.

Regards,
Chris Rush
CEO HiFiSoundconnection.com

[nomaxim]

Originally Posted by hifisound

We are a high volume, low margin business and while we try to please everyone it not possible.

but as you pointed out we have had 117 complaints in the whole time we have been in business and most of those were resolved.

First off, the BBB report only goes back 3 years, so those complaints only go back to SEP2004, your company started in FEB2001. Now then, lets compare your BBB report to the company's you mentioned earlier, Best Buy and Circuit City shall we.

BBB report for Circuit City;

The Bureau processed a total of 5286 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 5286 complaints closed in the last 36 months, 2709 were closed in the last 12 months.
.....
These complaints were closed as:

875 Administratively Closed
4411 Resolved

BBB report for Best Buy shows;

The Bureau has received complaints on Best Buy, which have all been responded to promptly with the majority of the customers being satisfied with the company's response. The complaints mainly are regarding defective merchandise, unavailability of advertised items, failure to provide repairs within a reasonable time and unsatisfactory service. Best Buy responded to customer complaints by stating that defective merchandise can be exchanged or repaired if the product is under warranty. In addition, the company states that they have made adjustments to their advertising and delivery policies and hope to have all products available for the customer, as advertised. Repair delays are being addressed by the company, and they believe that the time delays will improve with new policies and procedures. Best Buy has been cooperative with the Bureau in addressing areas of concern, responding promptly to complaints, and providing resolutions to all complaints received.

The Bureau processed a total of 11730 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. 4344 of these were closed in the past year.Of the total of 11730 complaints closed in 36 months, 4344 were closed in the last year.
NOTE; Too sum it up all these complaints were 'Administratively Closed' or 'Resolved'

That is a total of 17,016 complaints and not one of them was 'Unresolved' or a 'No Response'. I would also point out that both of these company's have had or are dealing with lawsuits from various State AG's.

You do not have to please everyone. As long as you make an attempt to resolve the complaint in good faith the BBB will list the complaint as 'Administratively Closed'. IMHO a 'No Response' shows that you didn't even try, in my book that's the same as saying to a customer, "Thanks for the cash, now drop dead." It is not a good business practice and to me shows that your company has a history of;

Originally Posted by hifisound

not solving issues with past customers

I have never used your company and don't believe I've even heard of it before yesterday. Like frostbitetwice, I wouldn't use it either based on the slim chance that you would not respond to any problems that may arise. Since this forum is titled ' Merchant Discussion and Shopping Advice', I would advise some caution when dealing with you solely for that very reason. If you didn't have the eBay feedback and were a newer company, less then 2-3 years, I would likely recommend against using your company at all. (Also considering the PO box for an address, hotmail email addy, [no verifiable physical location], and that your website is hosted in Finland. Per the WhoIs info. )

Originally Posted by hifisound

However it seems that this thread has just turned into an exercise of pointing out every flaw and complaint

Take a look at this thread, Legit Dealers?, it's somewhat the opposite of your situation.

[frostbitetwice]

Excellent post, Master nomaxin.. This just more bad information regarding this company.

Mr Rush, I am glad that you have resolved all problems with Pacman...

[MiK3Y]

I purchased a Sirius radio mounting bracket for my car from hifisoundconnection through eBay back on August 27, 2007. I paid for my purchase as soon as I used the "Buy It Now" option on eBay that same day.

Jump ahead now to September 13th (17days after I paid), I had already sent TWO messages through eBay and got response and I still have no product and no communication whatsoever about if my product shipped, whether or not they even acknowledge that I purchased it, nothing. So I email customer service and I get this email....

Hello,
That item has shipped via USPS mail.
Your Customer Service Rep,
Tony

Thats all I got, no shipping date, no tracking number...just that it shipped. So I reply back asking for a shipping date or tracking number and I get this.

Hello,

That item was sent via USPS.
Your Customer Service Rep,
Tony

Yes, the same thing again when I specifically asked for a shipping date and tracking number. So I reply again asking for the same information and I tell them that the post office does not take this long to deliver something (it was going on about 14days by now). I reply and get this....

Hello,
The item was sent on the 1st of Sept. And yes it can take 2 weeks, if you
deal with the post office as much as we do you will find that anything is
possible with them.
Your Customer Service Rep,
Tony

Well, it is now September 27th, a full 26 days after I was told by Tony that it shipped and i have no product and had to file a Paypal chargeback to get my money back. I filed for the chargeback on Sep 20th and they have not even responded to Paypal yet. I'm assuming they're just going to let it run out till the end and I win the case instead of taking the time to reply and tell me what happened.

If you also notice their feedback strategy on eBay is to wait to see what type of feedback they get first...positive or negative. If you reply with a negative they in turn give a negative with a canned reply of please call us or email us, we can assist you! Well I know that this is not true first hand...just a good way to cover up for the people who dont know the real story.

So Mr. Rush, where is your customer service on this one? My item was only $16.15, maybe thats why I'm just a waste of your guys' time?

[AnnoyedByHFSC]

Well chalk one more up for getting screwed by HiFiSoundConnection. After 2 generic "we will ship in 2-3 days" emails and 2 non response, one which I requested my order be canceled do to misrepresentation of items for sale and them not replying to my message with a reasonable answer. I took my complaint to paypal and gave them 5 days to respond to me, which they didnt, before upping it on paypal to collection. They didnt bother to reply to Paypal so I got my money back... unfortunately I also got my item (later that afternoon) which by this point I dont want and will not be able to use. I was never informed the item was coming, nor had it been updated on the site up to the 27th of September (I received my funds on the 28th). I checked the tracking number on the package it shows that they sent it out over 2 weeks (Sept. 25th) after I canceled my order and 8 days after paypal sent them notification of collection. Well now I get all kinds of rudeness out of Lisa @ HFSC and dont think I will ever order from them again.

The only reason the item was accepted is that it came along with another shipment with UPS. It was only later that evening when I got home that I realized I had received the package. I realize it should have been refused but the delivery was accepted before I knew the item was even shipped to me. If anything I am responsible for an apology which I have made but was basicly told to go screw off.

I have both the item and my money, with no intent of paying for the item nor paying to ship it back yet they refuse to give me a call tag to send it back.

After about 4 emails (Which they decided were important since I had their money) I got completely annoyed and talked to my lawyer friend and he told me not to worry, I have gotten all my documentation of emails and messages sent to/from them as well as copies of the tracking information and paypal dispute information. I informed Lisa that as of October 8th the item was going into storage, which if they dont resolve it by then they could pay. I do not have the space to keep a box laying around, so I wont. I also informed her that as such once its out of my posession I am not responsible for it as the storage is not climate controlled nor guarded. I feel this is fair as I have already tried to fix the problem for 4 days. A week of holding your merchandise is a bit more than I think they even deserve.

The final email from Lisa read as such:

'throw it away as far I concered. we will be filing charges on you for
accepting the item and not closing your dispute. Im sorry all you had to do
was refuse it and tell UPS you cancelled the order. we will not pay you a
dime for storage fees. no need to email us back.
Your Customer Service Rep,
Lisa'

That doesnt sound like any customer rep I have ever dealt with. If she worked for me she would have been fired long ago from what I have read from others stories.

I have no intention of paying for the item nor do I intend to pay for shipping. I think this company should get shut down and hope for that matter they do.

Anyone that knows a solution to this please reply. Also Mr. Rush if you happen to read this I have requested my message goes to the supervisor which was denied to me. You have a problem with Lisa and should look into it and think about firing her. Your business may look good on paper but from what I have seen your employees are losing you a lot of business. I have told everyone I know as well as posted on many forums about this problem. I hope eventually you figure out you have a problem and fix it. For $40 your employee is lookin to press charges on a customer. I would have most likely attempted to order from you again had this been taken care of properly from the beginning. I have a rather large project coming up that your prices would have been nice to go with. But to deal with the crap I have gone through just to get an amplifier I dont know if I could entrust your company with a show quality vehicle. Especially when it will be working with time constraints.

For those looking to buy from www.hifisoundconnection.com, hopefully you read this before getting screwed but if not, good luck to you and I hope you dont give in to there pressure.

[nomaxim]

AnnoyedByHFSC,
Welcome to RR.
Have you submitted a review?
If not, you can do so at http://www.resellerratings.com/store...und_Connection

Originally Posted by AnnoyedByHFSC

You have a problem with Lisa and should look into it and think about firing her.

If you check the BBB report on the first page, this company only has 7 employees. Also if you read the article that 'hifisound' linked to at entrepreneur.com. You would see that 'Lisa', is likely his wife and that 'Tony', mentioned above, is his little brother.

[sxmdaniel]

HIFIsound connection is terrible, it seems that i need to put in my two cents .
I started off with Hifisoundconnection real good , i placed a few orders at first and all went good , customer service ( by e mail only ) was always responsive , short but to the point . , and i received a survey form which i filled in a very positive manner .
About a month and a half ago i received an e mail from Chris Rush thanking me for the positive feed back and asking if i would go to this site / board and give my positive feedback for they were receiving a bad name , i visited this board as a non member a decided i would get around to writing a positive review for hifisoundconnection.com when time would permit .

HERE WE GO , on August 29 th I placed an order for which i paid extra for UPS 3 day select , served of course no purpose since the order shipped 10 days later , upon receiving my order an item was missing , no explanation about missing order , no e mail notification of item back ordered , nothing , I e mailed cust service at once and received a sorry response , i was told item is back ordered , i responded asking how long for back order and was told approx 2 weeks . In the meantime on sept 20 th i placed an order for another item and again paid ups 3 day select for this item was urgently needed for a project ( stupid me ), upon checking order status on hifisoundconnection.com site after a week it was still showing processed and tracking was N/A , i e mailed and was told again back order and asked about the first outstanding order still on backorder both coming from same manufacturing company Power Acoustik , I received another response on Sept 21 st from Lisa saying items were shipped from Power Acoustik factory to them on the 21 st of sept and they should receive them within a week or so and they will be shipped out as soon as they arrived.
On Sept 29 th ( one month later ) after still no news on any of my two back ordered items i E mailed Cust service again asking about the status of my items ordered August 29 th and Sept 20 th , the same day i received a tracking list from cust service rep Lisa showing they left on Sept 27 th and were scheduled for delivery Oct 2 nd with no further explanation , just the tracking list , i immediately replied and asked are both back ordered items in this shipment , for the first time ever , no answer from cust service , strange no ???
I did receive the UPS package on the scheduled deliverie date of Oct 2 nd , and guess what ,the first back ordered item from Sept 29 th was the only thing there , the order of Sept 20 th was not in it , of course I e mailed cust service immediately on wed Oct 3 rd saying that i was very dissapointed and maybe the reputation they have on this site is deserved , and again asked for a response on my missing back order status , again no response from cust service , the following day i sent cust serv another mail asking the status of my order and explaining how surprised i am for not receiving a response and feel that it is due to the fact that i complained , still no answer , today i sent another brief e mail asking the status of this back order placed 15 days ago , let's see what happens , again it's been 3 business working days Wed , Thurs, Friday and no response from Cust Service , usually they respond within 3 hours or by the following day , coincidence ???

Bottom line , the way i feel is that if u have a broblem with them and complain , all of a sudden you stop receiving a response from customer service , thay put you on there S . . T list if u ask me, at least that's how i feel and as far as calling i've been trying for four days at least 5 to 10 times a day and all you get on there sales or cust service extention is all representatives busy with other customers your call is important to us , after this message repeats itself twice you get forwarded to an answering machine and it says leave a message and phone # and our representative will call you back , yeah right .

I started off good with this company , and it's a shame they don't accept criticism for i too own 3 businesses with approx 50 employees in the food service industry serving between 500 to a 1000 people a day , and of course we do have our problems too , but i settle any issues good or bad , and accept criticism in a positive way ( even if i'm not happy about it or sometimes not even directly at fault ) and always turn it around and make it right NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES , EVEN IF I LOSE OUT .

Too bad i had to go to this extent a simple answer would of been satisfactory ( even if it's not what i wanted to hear at least i would know ). As a business owner i hate to complain for i know how it makes me feel , it's never too late to learn guys , i suggest a little more prevention in the way of communicating and notification , inform your customers by notification in the package when items are back ordered , send a warning by E mail you have it on file , or by a simple notification of delay or out of stock posting on your web page or at the time the order is placed in the shopping cart advise us of the items availability , then we the customer can decide if we still want to place the order or have the time to wait for the expected back order delay .

I NOTICED CHRIS RUSH RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS HERE LET'S SEE WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ABOUT THIS ONE , my cust rep i've delt with the most often is Lisa Cash , so how about an answer from you guys at Hifisoundconnection on this site since i can't seem to get one threw Customer service anymore .....


Daniel

[sxmdaniel]

Got an answer from hifisoundconnection.com this morning Oct 8 th , 18 days after my order was placed , and guess what , same generic e mail from Darren as i have received twice previously here's the exact copy /paste from my e mail and his response

To Lisa Cash and Chris Rush

What is going on ?????? , i have sent three mails since Thursday concerning my order # 2971026 status and still have not received a response , i can't help feeling my mails are being unreturned due to the fact that i complained about your services , this is the first time since i have been dealing with your company( for which i gave a positive survey in the past )that my mails are not being returned , if this is your business practice i must say it's rediculous , just answer my question , what's the orders status , it was placed Sept 20 th ....,

Hello,

On behalf of the Hifisoundconnection staff we regret to inform you the item
you had purchased is currently on backorder. Normally all items on
backorder return to stock within a 2 week period. If you could please email
us back we have a couple options available to you.

Option 1 We can continue to hold the order and ship it as soon as the item
does return to stock.

Option 2 We can offer a store credit of the original total purchase price
including shipping. Then you can pick out an item or items that you would
like us to send. For the trouble and hassle we will offer FREE UPS GROUND
for the items you pick as replacements.

When replying to this email please be sure to include the invoice or eBay
item number in the subject line. If you would like store credit to exchange
to another item please email us back with the item model number(s) of the
item(s) you would like us to send.

Your customer service representative
Darren

How about a non generic response considering that i have expressed my dissatisfaction a few times already , anyway i guess i got an answer from them finally , however the thing is the order was placed on Sept 20 th , there e mail states back orders usually take approx 2 weeks , if my calculations are right it's been 18 days since i placed the order so i should be receiving it anyday now , right ???, we'll see how much longer before i receive it , this was the exact same situation with the previous order that arrived 32 days after the innitial order date .

[nomaxim]

sxmdaniel, welcome to RR.

May I bring the following to your attention, FTC's Mail Order rule.

What is the Mail or Telephone Order Rule?

The Rule requires that when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days. That is why direct marketers sometimes call this the "30-day Rule."

If, after taking the customer’s order, you learn that you cannot ship within the time you stated or within 30 days, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delayed shipment. If you cannot obtain the customer’s consent to the delay -- either because it is not a situation in which you are permitted to treat the customer’s silence as consent and the customer has not expressly consented to the delay, or because the customer has expressly refused to consent -- you must, without being asked, promptly refund all the money the customer paid you for the unshipped merchandise.

What You Must Do If You Learn You Cannot Ship on Time

When you learn that you cannot ship on time, you must decide whether you will ever be able to ship the order. If you decide that you cannot, you must promptly cancel the order and make a full refund.

If you decide you can ship the order later, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delay. You may use whatever means you wish to do this -- such as the telephone, fax, mail, or email -- as long as you notify the customer of the delay reasonably quickly. The customer must have sufficient advance notification to make a meaningful decision to consent to the delay or cancel the order.

Some businesses adopt internal deadlines that are earlier than those set by the Rule to ensure that their delay notices give all customers a meaningful opportunity to consent to the delay. If businesses fail to ship or give delay notifications by their internal deadlines, they automatically cancel the orders and make refunds.

In any event, no notification to the customer can take longer than the time you originally promised or, if no time was promised, 30 days. If you cannot ship the order or provide the notice within this time, you must cancel the order and make a prompt refund.

There is more provided at the link above. This includes what they must say when they notify you of the delay and what options they must comply with. For example;

The following is one example of a delayed order scenario:

1. You have a reasonable basis to be able to ship the merchandise in 30 days. That being the case, you make no shipment representation in your advertising. When your prospective customer calls to place the order on July 1, nothing has happened to change your belief that you can ship in 30 days, so in accepting the order you provide no updated shipment information. You plan to ship the order by July 31.
2. On July 10, you realize you cannot ship by July 31. Within a few days (reasonably quickly so the customer has time to make a decision), you send a delay notice with a revised shipment date. Based on information such as customer demand for the merchandise and information you recently received from your suppliers, you reasonably believe that you will be able to ship 30 days from the original shipment date. The revised shipping date you provide in the delay notice is August 30, i.e., 30 days from July 31. Your delay notice explains that, unless the customer tells you otherwise, you will assume that the customer is willing to wait for the merchandise until then.
3. Having heard nothing from the customer, on August 10 you realize that you will not be able to ship by August 30, so reasonably promptly you send a second delay option notice saying when you now reasonably believe you will be able to ship. The notice tells the customer that the order will be cancelled automatically on August 30 unless you have already shipped by then or the customer expressly tells you not to cancel.

Other info;

How Much You Must Refund

If you cannot ship any of the merchandise ordered by the customer, you must refund the entire amount the customer "tendered," including any shipping, handling, insurance, or other costs. If you ship some, but not all, of the merchandise ordered, you must refund the difference between the total amount paid and the amount the customer would have paid, according to your ordering instructions, for the shipped items only.

For example, if you charge a flat fee for shipping and handling regardless of the total number or cost of the items ordered, you need not refund any shipping and handling charges if you ship some items. On the other hand, if your shipping and handling charges are indexed to the number of items or the dollar amount of the order, you can keep only those shipping and handling charges that are appropriate to the number or dollar amount of the items actually shipped.

When making Rule-required refunds, you cannot substitute credit toward future purchases, credit vouchers, or scrip.

sxmdanie, in your case, they have to get your permission for the back-order.

Substitutions

Q: If a customer orders an item which is backordered, can we substitute an item of similar or better quality without the customer’s consent?

A: For backorders, the Rule provides only two ways of responding to a properly completed order for mail or telephone order merchandise: obtain the customer’s agreement to delayed shipment or provide a full and prompt refund. Unless the customer expressly agrees to the substitution beforehand, you do not have the option of substituting merchandise that is materially different from your advertised merchandise. The term "materially different" means that the merchandise differs in some manner that is likely to affect the customer’s choice of, or conduct regarding, the merchandise. Any product feature would be deemed material if it is expressly mentioned or depicted in advertising. Differences in design, style, color, fabric, or promoted end use also would be deemed material.

And to AnnoyedByHFSC. I'm not sure if a cancelled order counts, but;

Unordered Merchandise

Whether or not the Rule is involved, in any approval or other sale you must obtain the customer’s prior express agreement to receive the merchandise. Otherwise the merchandise may be treated as unordered merchandise. It is unlawful to:

1. Send any merchandise by any means without the express request of the recipient (unless the merchandise is clearly identified as a gift, free sample, or the like); or,
2. Try to obtain payment for or the return of the unordered merchandise.

Merchants who ship unordered merchandise with knowledge that it is unlawful to do so can be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Moreover, customers who receive unordered merchandise are legally entitled to treat the merchandise as a gift. Using the U.S. mails to ship unordered merchandise also violates the Postal laws.

This is all on top of the general 30 day rule. That requires the merchant to ship within 30 days, unless noted otherwise, of completing the order process until they ship. Note: The shipping time is not included in the 30 day period. Generally it is from the time your billing and shipping info is confirmed, and the order ships.

You can file a complaint here; http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/cmplanding.shtm if you feel they are in fact in violation.

NOTE: Underlined and BOLD text added by me.

[sxmdaniel]

Thanks nomaxim , i did not realise they have up to 30 days to send out shipment , however they should notify you immediately in my opinion that they are out of stock or that a backorder has been placed with a description of delay , i did receive the same generic e mail from Darren upon requesting the following day of the order if tis item was backordered too , and yes they did advise me it was back ordered , however Lisa did tell me that their power acoustik shipment was on the way to them as of the 21 st of Sept the following day of the order placed Sept 20 th , so i assumed it would arrive in the same package as the first Power acoustik backorder of Aug 29 th , and it did not , this is where i got aggravated sinjce they recived there power acoustik order , obviosly since they shipped the first order , why didn't they ship them together , or do they just order the items as they go when they need them.
In any case i am also unhappy that i paid UPS 3 day select twice ( obviously because i need these products quickly ) and of course each time it took over 15 days to ship out , so what's the use ???