[Cdt-l] Camera search experience

[Doug-Sue]

Trekker, I can't help it, I thought this whole post was outright funny!  Glad to hear it all worked out ok for you.  And I am assuming the two folk you spoke to on the phone spoke, ah, English as a primary language?  I have had some funny experiences myself with people who I suspected did not speak English growing up.  

-Trew
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Trekker4 at aol.com 
  To: bumblefist at gmail.com 
  Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net ;  ; at-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 2:44 PM
  Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] Camera search experience


      I've never had this happen with any other online merchant; I live 140 miles from the closest city, so have been ordering online for 10 years. No the "reservation" was not an order; the "reservation" was made verbally over the phone, as I'd done nothing online to place an order, or even start the process. He asked for my email address and confirmed that this was a 24-hr reservation, not an order. He also had to have written down the camera and 2 memory cards I talked about, as I never entered that info anywhere; the followup email a few hours later clearly says "thank you for your order", doesn't ask for payment info, and had no link for step 2. In the dialogue they both kept calling it an order, even though I kept saying there was no order... but you read all that. 
      One $, 1 vote. I voted elsewhere for $75 less, and let a few hundred people know of Ritz's dishonest practices and poor customer service. I'm satisfied; my camera from Sam's was shipped out 2nd day air this morning, less than 12 hours after my order. It's Fri, but I'm sure it will be here Mon morning.    

  Bob "Trekker"
  Big Bend Desert Denizen, and...
  Naturalized Citizen - Republic of Texas

  "Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See, if it wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' " -- Harry Browne

  "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when its free." -- P J O'Rourke



  In a message dated 3/12/2010 11:38:20 A.M. Central Standard Time, bumblefist at gmail.com writes:
    I enjoyed reading your post on the CDT-L but I think you must not have much experience with online shopping.  
    When buying things online there are usually three steps that you go through.  Step one, placing the order followed by step two, determining how you are going to pay for it and then making the payment,after that step three, the item is shipped.
    Sounds like Ritz Camera's way of holding a reservation is to complete step one by placing the order, but not procede to step two, which they could not have done anyways because you had not given them any payment information.  If you had decided to buy the item then you would have just proceded to step two and only after that would they have shipped you anything.
    They sent you a confirmation order number so that if you decided to procede to step two, there would be no confusion about what it was you were wishing to buy.  After that you likely would have received a "shipping" order number showing that the transaction was complete, you actually bought something, and it was being delivered to you.
    This all seems perfectly normal to me because I've bought plenty of stuff online and I'm familiar with these automated systems.
    As long as you had not provided any credit card information or any other payment information, there is no way that they could have scammed you.  Even if they were dumb enough to send you the camera, legally you would not be obligated to pay because the transaction was never completed.  It would be their own dumb fault for giving something away before they had secured payment for it.  

    I think you must have really confused poor Patricia.  Technically you had ordered something because in this case a reservation is the same thing as an order except that you have not yet agreed to pay, but you kept insisting that you had not placed an order.  Reading their side of the conversation I can understand what they were trying to tell you.
    That being said, I did get a good laugh out of the whole "Boaters World" thing.  You are right about them needing to improve their customer service so they at least don't confuse their customers even further.


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