E-mail of the Day.....I love these

[JohnLeupp]

What a tool.

[Cohiba Stevie]

Lol.

Showed this to the guys in work earlier. As someone who deals with customer complaints regularly I wish I could take the same approach with some of the idiots I speak to.

Like you Rob I am more than happy to deal with customers who explain and justify their reason for complaint.

The second I be subjected to both abuse and/or threats of escalation I end the conversation.

Well done rob mate, (moderated) him. Shame a good box of monte 4s have found their way into the hands of a tosser who doesn't deserve them.

PS. can I have his email so that I may make an offer to purchase his fakes? Lol

[investandprosper]

Love this =)

Good on ya Rob! You did a call with me a few years back when I had questions, and you couldn't have been more professional or courteous.

[Murri]

Finally stopped laughing long enough to type this.

A classic series of posts.

Too bad Rob and the others have to deal with this type of person.

[polarbear]

Ah the joys of owning your own business.

This remind me of an incedent from a few years ago

I had a customer in my workshop carrying on like a pork chop saying we'd over charged him and ripped him off to the tune of $100.

I had an itemised bill and the original quote he was forwarded before work had started and tried to calm him down

He started getting aggrevated and swearing at me. After 5 min of him carrying on i told him to Piss Off

Greg (the owner of the business) heard the whole thing and came over and looked at me and said

"Andy, you cant tell people to piss off! I'm the only one who can say that, Mate, Piss Off!"

After the angry customer left Greg looked at me and said "what a dickhead" before walking away

People s%&t me

[BehikeLover2]

Guess I'am missing something or just don't know the "aussie way" but I think your answer is harsh, why didn't you reply in a normal way?

eh I see you had that discussion...maybe he wouldnt get the money back from his cc company if you replied in a more professional way. dont get pissed

[DrunkenMonkey]

Guess I'am missing something

yup

[finecigar]

Guess I'am missing something or just don't know the "aussie way" but I think your answer is harsh, why didn't you reply in a normal way?

eh I see you had that discussion...maybe he wouldnt get the money back from his cc company if you replied in a more professional way. dont get pissed

Has nothing to do with "Aussie way" it is the fact that the dude made a immature threat to Rob about him selling fakes which is false, once that is said... The professionalism is out the door for both sides. It's open season when someone makes those kind of remarks. I'm not an Aussie and I would have said the same thing, if not worse...

[Stanislaw]

wow... just wow.... that's the epitome of shooting yourself in the foot with a giant hand cannon....

and this is perfect timing for me to read as I just got back from vacation and spied a young tourist impressing his in-laws with his recent purchase: fake Cohiba's (in glass tubes, no less) that he purchased at the hotel gift shop... I tried to be polite and mention (quietly) to him that they were not legitimate cigars and offered him one of my aged R&J churchills that I happen to have with me.... he refused, said (quite sarcastically) that he appreciated my knowledge but that he knew what he was doing....

go join your flock, dickhead..... and thanks for sharing Rob!

And David from La Casa Del Habano cancun says hello to all our members by the way.....

[Skyfall]

Guess I'am missing something or just don't know the "aussie way" but I think your answer is harsh, why didn't you reply in a normal way?

eh I see you had that discussion...maybe he wouldnt get the money back from his cc company if you replied in a more professional way. dont get pissed

[El Presidente]

Guess I'am missing something or just don't know the "aussie way" but I think your answer is harsh, why didn't you reply in a normal way?

But that is the normal way a discussion goes when people are face to face and one incorrectly accuses the other of being a liar. It is normally followed by a crack across the scon.

He will receive his money back through chargeback. He will keep a great box of cigars. In the end he is one of the (thankfully few) worst type of cigar people. keyboard ignoramuses with an overdeveloped sense of importance and no class. He is an oxygen thief.

[AussieCanuck]

Just out of interest.....why will he get his money back ? You have an email from him agreeing that he was wrong and that they are in fact genuine Monte 2s. Should that not be sufficient for you to prove that a refund from the credit card company is not warranted and that he is truly a (moderated) ?

[Orion21]

Looks like he might have disputed the charge with the CC company as a form of spite for being outed by Rob. What a WUSS!!!

[El Presidente]

Just out of interest.....why will he get his money back ? Y

retailers (at least in this country) can't win charge back claims. "Product dispute" is pretty much all you have to say in making a claim. In the end the CC companies go through the motions and then whisk the money from your account.

[Rushman]

oxygen thief.......love it.......there are far too many of those buggers out there

[Hafner32]

This guy will end up with 1 free box of Montes but in the long run he will miss out on all the great info, insight, humor, and people, and future offerings that this site has to offer.

Ultimately, it's his loss all around!

[CanuckSARTech]

retailers (at least in this country) can't win charge back claims. "Product dispute" is pretty much all you have to say in making a claim. In the end the CC companies go through the motions and then whisk the money from your account.

So THAT'S all I needed to do?!!??!!

[Dara]

retailers (at least in this country) can't win charge back claims. "Product dispute" is pretty much all you have to say in making a claim. In the end the CC companies go through the motions and then whisk the money from your account.

I've got a chargeback going at the moment.

After buying up the last R&J Dukes that could be found in Ireland last year, and knowing the Rob doesn't have any left I'm constantly keeping one eye out for them.

Stumbled across a website 2 months ago selling them at the standard price for the country the site claimed to be based in.

Long story short, bought one box and received a poorly constructed wooden box of crappy cigars with badly cut EL bands, ugly caps, under filled cigars with no Cuban tax label on the box (had some cigar mates look at them too and consensus was while the cubans could have buggered everything else up on a particular box, they'd never forget the tax stamp).

Emailed retailer to ask can I send these back for a refund (minus shipping), no response. Got on to the credit card company and sent in everything they asked (including a screenshot of where it said on the site they sell genuine cigars).

Heard back last week that "per VISA rules" they need "a letter from the producer confirming the goods are not genuine"......rang them to explain the chances of getting that from Habanos were next to zero.

I don't hold much hope of getting my money back but if they charge back the retailer and don't refund me then its a win win for VISA!

Lesson taken away, buy my cigars from a B&M and/or site owned by a bloke named Rob!

[canadianbeaver]

This is so true. A couple of careers back I sold antique silver on eBay. This was when BidPay went out of business and eBay bought PayPal. A thriving sub culture of that world is the chargeback process through PayPal and credit cards. The buyer dispute process is the stepping stone in the eBay site. Some people will figure out a way to get through anything and have no shame.

The focus of eBay is now on the buyer because they must compete with so many online retailers. The flip side of this is the crooked sellers in the high traffic electronics and jewelry business. Both sides are losing their buyer/seller protection from online payment sources.

I would also add that a huge portion of online retail is through drop shipping. The retailer may never have even seen or touched the product that arrived at your door. The volume of product moved is so high that if some is lost, damaged or whatever, this is a cost of doing business.

Problem is, when a fine, customer oriented, hands-on retailer does their job, the customer may not appreciate what an amazing and rare thing this is.

[El Presidente]

Heard back last week that "per VISA rules" they need "a letter from the producer confirming the goods are not genuine"......rang them to explain the chances of getting that from Habanos were next to zero.

I don't hold much hope of getting my money back but if they charge back the retailer and don't refund me then its a win win for VISA!

Dara, a better cause of action may be to state the product was damaged. If the business is still active, then you should see your money back.

Crikey in this country the CC companies don't follow up to that extent. they send you a letter giving 14 days to respond. In one recent case we responded and showed the client was refunded on X date. They still took the money from our account. So out a box, the refund and the chargeback. Ouch

It doesn't happen very often and always a new member. It really is just a part of doing business.

[Fuzz]

Thankfully, I don't have to deal with CC companies in our business. Cheques, cash or direct deposits are the only form of payment we accept. Of course, it is very different as we do very little retail business (we're in Import & Distribution).

Though, I still have to take complaints from nutjobs....

[Blakes]

It seems very unfair that you have almost no way to dispute a chargeback claim.

I think a few more (moderated) emails would be in order!

[DrunkenMonkey]

Dara, a better cause of action may be to state the product was damaged. If the business is still active, then you should see your money back.

Crikey in this country the CC companies don't follow up to that extent. they send you a letter giving 14 days to respond. In one recent case we responded and showed the client was refunded on X date. They still took the money from our account. So out a box, the refund and the chargeback. Ouch

It doesn't happen very often and always a new member. It really is just a part of doing business.

And let's not forget the effect of all this fraud on prices for the rest of us. Just like insurance fraud hiking the premiums for everyone, when the vendor has to eat this, it does have a cumulative effect on prices. As Rob said, part of the cost of doing business. When the cost of doing business is raised across an entire industry, guess what happens to consumer prices? 'Oxygen thief' is putting it kindly.

[Fuzz]

And let's not forget the effect of all this fraud on prices for the rest of us. Just like insurance fraud hiking the premiums for everyone, when the vendor has to eat this, it does have a cumulative effect on prices. As Rob said, part of the cost of doing business. When the cost of doing business is raised across an entire industry, guess what happens to consumer prices? 'Oxygen thief' is putting it kindly.

I blame Rob for selling genuine Cuban cigars that look obviously fake to people who are "very experienced in the world of cigars", have "smoked them for many years", and have friends who are "even more experienced".

Suggest you stop selling genuine cigars and start selling fakes that look genuine!

[Ken Gargett]

Yes..not my "finest hour"....but it was after a long lunch ....and late in the evening

Ken reported me.

someone has to maintain standards.

in truth, i cocked it up as i was never trying to do that. but sometimees the end justifies the means...