The company website advertises that same-day custom pre-inked stamps are available at this location. One of my colleagues could use such a stamp, so I finalized a design and placed the order online. Within seconds I received an email confirmation. So far, so good.
But shortly thereafter I received a call from the store. I was told the stamp making system was inoperable at the moment, but that they could ask a store in Greensboro to fulfill the order instead. Driving over there isn't ideal, but it's a workable solution so I approve the audible.
A few hours later I received a message from the store; the latest report indicated that none of the stores in the region could fill my order, so I'd need to call the corporate toll-free customer service line and cancel my order.
Well, I called that number but was told the order would HAVE to be cancelled by the local store. Conflicting info...great.
And so I visited the local store. The service clerk heard my request and immediately insisted that an on-duty manager would need to address my request since there had apparently been some debate between store staff and district staff about the correct process for handling the problem order. The manager then approached and, in a faithless admission, stated the equipment had been out of service for weeks; corporate had repeatedly claimed it would be fixed soon, but he clearly stated he had no reason to believe they were being honest with him. After a brief delay and a less than cordial phone conversation between another staffer and himself, I finally received the confirmation of order cancelation I'd been waiting for.
So...
1) if you don't offer a service, why advertise that you do? Why allow a service request to be placed for something that can't be fulfilled?
2) why does the staff here seem to be in such great conflict with the corporate offices? There are clearly issues of trust, accuracy, and miscommunication.
3) why aren't this store and the others equipped with working systems?
4) why should it be so difficult to cancel an order -- especially when the cancelation is at the direction of the staff themselves?
These are issues indicative of a dysfunctional franchise. Maybe buying standard in-stock goods goes more smoothly, but I will now be hesitant about using these folks to fulfill any custom services. read more