When I first started buying from ThinkGeek my initial thoughts were "Wow! So many cool things! Great reward system for stuff I actually want! Super awesome customer service!", but lately I've begun just using their site to find ideas, then buying the same/similar products on Amazon. Why? Because with Amazon, I rarely need to contact their customer service.
The issue here has never been how good ThinkGeek's CS was, it has been the fact that, for a company to be good, I shouldn't need to interact with their CS. I shouldn't be shipped an incorrect product more than once, I shouldn't be able to order an item that suddenly goes out of stock on their end such that I have to go through CS to get a refund on an item that was never shipped to me, and I shouldn't have my items breaking on me in the first week. The fact is that, though they've (until now) been more than willing to replace and refund orders, I shouldn't have to be in communications with CS more than 50% of the time I make a f***ing purchase.
The straw that broke the camels back was yesterday. Again, I ordered product X - 1, and received product X - 2 (this happens so often now I'm basically expecting it when the package is delivered). So I open up their live chat like normal, and while I'm waiting I take a picture of X - 2 overlaid on top of the receipt for X - 1. For the first time since I began shopping with ThinkGeek I had a negative experience with their CS. I was forced to talk with someone who obviously did not speak English as a first language, and who was very obviously outsourced, as they relied entirely on my knowledge of the ThinkGeek store. In order to process the return then had to know the exact name of the product I received in error, else their 'robot monkeys* couldn't find it in their database. I explained what the product was over and over again (I'd say what but my GF might be reading this, no spoilers sweetie ;) ), but unless I could give them an exact name they couldn't do anything. After multiple attempts I finally found the correct wording and spacing that clicked in their program, and was told for the first time that I would have to send the product back.
Now, for any other company I'd be okay with this, but for ThinkGeek I had NEVER been asked to send back a product received in error. I understand it's the normal thing to ask a customer to do, but the fact is that the unhelpfulness and general attitude I was receiving from their CS made me upset. At this point I was fairly sure I couldn't get the replacement in time, and I sort of wanted a refund. Then I found out the cost of the return shipping would be deducted from my refund and I just straight ended the chat.
At this point I re-rolled their chat until I got someone with an English name, and explained basically what I have said above to him. AS THINKGEEK NORMALLY DOES he offered to ship me the correct product express to get here in time to give to my SO, without needing me to go through the hassle of shipping the incorrect product back. I inquired as to why they has outsourced their CS and he responded that they had decided to try something new to help with all the traffic they get during the holiday season. That's great and all, but I don't know about you guys, but I would MUCH rather wait an extra 15 minutes (wait time was only 2-3 minutes) and speak to someone who KNOWS WHAT COMPANY I'm asking for help with and who speaks English at a level I can understand (I ended up having to have the previous CS person repeat themselves more than once so I could understand what they were asking).
Needless to say, this beast is done. ThinkGeek, your products look great but are more often then not made of some really cheap stuff. Your lack of a proper review system also deters me. Also, why would I pay an extra $7+ to ship a product from you guys and wait over a week to get the package when Amazon can do it in 2 days for free (granted I know not everyone has prime)? Finally, why would I continue to buy from a company that can't seem to consistently ship me a product I order, when competing sites have an error rate around 2% versus your massive near 50% error rate?
