Received a damaged product, customer service reps don’t know what they’re doing (and/or don’t care)... I received a Hape refrigerator with two damaged parts. Was told by customer service that they would get replacement parts to me as soon as possible. So I tossed the box, spent two days customizing the non-damaged pieces (sanding, priming, painting), and gave the toy to my daughter with plan to exchange the damaged parts when the new ones arrived. I was then told (2.5 days after the last correspondence) that the supplier will not provide individual parts and I have to ship the entire refrigerator back and wait for a replacement, a process that would take 2+ weeks. I begged, “Please don’t make me take the toy away from my daughter and have to redo all of my personal hard work.” I asked why, if (as they claim) Hape would not send individual parts, they couldn’t simply send out a new complete item and I could take the parts I needed and send a full set with the damaged parts back. I told them they could even charge me the purchase price if I didn’t not send anything back as promised. What could they do with a damaged (and now painted) item anyway? Can’t resell, it’s trash.
They would not budge. Useless, punished me as the customer for their mistake of making promises they couldn’t keep. Offered a €20 voucher for their site, so I have to spend more in order to feel compensated for their mistakes? (If I use the voucher to buy anything under €40, €4.99 of it is wasted on shipping. If I want to maximize the voucher and avoid shipping then I need to give another €20 of my own money to this horrible business).
Terrible experience, they punish their customers for their mistakes, and make simple issues far more complicated than they need to me. I think they rely on the fact that most parents are too busy to continue fighting. They count on us to ultimately give in or go away. What a sneaky and shameful way to run a business!
