- Report: #167455
Complaint Review: Soggy Paws - Chicago Illinois
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Soggy Paws
1148 W. Leland Avenue Chicago, 60640 Illinois, U.S.A.
Phone:
773-3347663
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Soggy Paws ripoff dishonest return policy Chicago Illinois
I have never been as displeased with a customer service experience as I have at Soggy Paws recently. I recently bought a couple of dog toys (1 Large Invincible Chains by JW Pet & 1 Combat Extreme Bone Tug Dog Toy) for my puppy at the recommendation of one of the co-owners at the store, Paul Rathe. At roughly $13-15 each, I would expect them to perform. After just 2 days, both toys were damaged beyond use. I have bought $5 toys at Petsmart that have lasted me 6 weeks.
When I returned to the store the weekend after I bought the toys and asked them for a replacement/refund, I was told I should directly contact the customer service of each of the Dog Toy manufacturers. And they proceeded to give me the contact numbers of each of them. Unheard of. A store that won't directly deal with their customer and asks them to take it up directly with the manufacturer.
So after trying to call the manufacturers, one of them, JW Pet, nicely enough, sent a replacement toy, that lasted about 5 minutes. The other, Bamboo Pet, has not returned any of my phone calls.
When I called the store back to inform them of my experience, they said there was nothing they could do about it. Apparently, they have no problems dealing with the toy manufacturers themselves and therefore feel that we should continue to take our problems up with them directly.
This type of customer service experience is atrocious, in my opinion. Especially with a small, so-called neighborhood mom-and-pop store. I expect this type of behavior with large, uncaring multi-national corporations. The whole purpose of a retail store is offer a pleasant shopping environment with the ability to handle returns/refunds for products that are either obviously defective or are sold under false advertising claims.
I sincerely hope that this level of service catches up with Soggy Paws soon. They deserve to be out of business ASAP.
Vikram
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
When I returned to the store the weekend after I bought the toys and asked them for a replacement/refund, I was told I should directly contact the customer service of each of the Dog Toy manufacturers. And they proceeded to give me the contact numbers of each of them. Unheard of. A store that won't directly deal with their customer and asks them to take it up directly with the manufacturer.
So after trying to call the manufacturers, one of them, JW Pet, nicely enough, sent a replacement toy, that lasted about 5 minutes. The other, Bamboo Pet, has not returned any of my phone calls.
When I called the store back to inform them of my experience, they said there was nothing they could do about it. Apparently, they have no problems dealing with the toy manufacturers themselves and therefore feel that we should continue to take our problems up with them directly.
This type of customer service experience is atrocious, in my opinion. Especially with a small, so-called neighborhood mom-and-pop store. I expect this type of behavior with large, uncaring multi-national corporations. The whole purpose of a retail store is offer a pleasant shopping environment with the ability to handle returns/refunds for products that are either obviously defective or are sold under false advertising claims.
I sincerely hope that this level of service catches up with Soggy Paws soon. They deserve to be out of business ASAP.
Vikram
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Paul
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Information on Vikram's Case
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, December 21, 2005
In reply to Vikram, we remember this customer very well. We worked with this customer for a long time, to respond to him and his friend, about the many questions that they had. The customer purchased several products, including 2 toys. One was clearly labeled as specifically a tug toy which is different from a chew toy. Most toys, especially those not specifically designed for chewing, will be destroyed if the dog is provided uninterrupted chew time. Soggy Paws is always very careful never to say that a toy is indestructible; when a toy provides a manufacturer's satisfaction guarantee, we point that out. This customer's dog, who was a young puppy when he purchased a "$5 toy" that lasted for 6 weeks, is now a much older, much stronger shepherd mix. The customer's friend admits that she left the toy with the dog as a chew toy, rather than playing with it with the dog. In conversations with the customer, she has stated that it lasted seconds, then minutes, and now in this post, days. The customer contacted JW Pets. They replaced the product with a different toy. When the dog chewed through that toy, the company again offered to send a different toy. The customer said that she did not want a different toy and demanded a refund. The customer acknowledges that there was nothing defective about the toy, and that she did not use the toy in the way that it was intended. When the company refused a refund, but continued to offer a replacement, she came to us to demand a refund. The customer says that she contacted Bamboo and left a message, but did not receive a reply. I cannot say why the company has not replied, however, when I contacted Bamboo on behalf of the customer, they picked up immediately and offered to replace the product with a different toy or grooming aid. I called the customer and told her that, and even offered to provide her information directly to the company. Ultimately, this customer wants a refund for a product that their dog has destroyed. Both companies have stood by their warranties and offered replacement products. Soggy Paws has contacted the manufacturer on behalf of the customer to ensure that the company can provide a replacement product. The customer will only be satisfied with a cash refund - for a product that was not defective, and by the customer's own admission was used incorrectly - and now blames Soggy Paws as a convenient scapegoat for their dissatisfaction.
