Losing respect for the fc community? Would you respect them more if they were more understanding of abysmal business practices. Because of the nature of the merchandise, many seem to excuse the incompetent, childlike behavior of many mfr's.
Most of the CS issues have nothing to do w/ working the kinks out of a product. How is it an acceptable business model to :
- not establish and maintain regular contact practices (especially when your product exhibits failure)?
- not offer refunds on items whose failure you are directly responsible for?
- not respond to real issues, yet respond immediately to 'fluffy' posts?
- not replace/repair/refund damaged units in a timely manner?
- ignore customers once you have received their $ ?
It is the mfr themselves who refuse to maintain good company contact and the sellers who refer disgruntled customers to this forum to resolve issues. If you were selling vapes out of your backpack down at the drum circle, these practices might be better understood. At the price these units are really going for, people expect the company to stand behind their product.
There are consumer protection laws that protect the customer - reguardless of what any particular companies' policy might be. I am sure every state has a sitelike this:
http://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer/Pages/index.aspx
Here is just a piece of the consumer law in Oregon (from the bar ass.):
"Oregon has a law called the Unlawful Trade Practices Act. This law applies when a consumer purchases real estate, goods or services for personal or household use from a seller who regularly engages in that business or occupation. It also applies to healthcare professionals who commit practices prohibited by this law in the course of providing professional services. In general, most purchases or leases, including those involving used goods (like cars) are covered by this law. Loans and extensions of credit are covered as well. This law does not apply to the purchase of insurance or most landlord-tenant disputes.
If you can prove that you have suffered any actual loss as a result of an unlawful trade practice, and that the business knew or should have known that its conduct or that of its agents violated the law, you may be awarded the amount of your loss, or $200, whichever is greater. If you win the case the defendant who lost will have to pay your attorney fees. If they think they are likely to win it, some lawyers will take your case without charging you attorney fees, because the law requires the defendant to pay your fees. If you lose your case, a defendant can charge you with attorney fees only if the court finds there was no objectively reasonable basis for bringing the action or asserting the ground for appeal. And, if the conduct was intentional and malicious, you may ask for punitive damages to discourage the business from engaging in the unlawful act with other consumers.
The Unlawful Trade Practices Act prohibits many practices, most of them involving some form of deception or misrepresentation by the seller. Here is a list of the most common violations of the Unlawful Trade Practices Act:
- misrepresenting the characteristics, benefits and qualities of the product or services offered;
- making false or misleading statements about prices, including price reductions;
- causing confusion about important aspects of a transaction, such as the approval, sponsorship or certification of the product by others;
- representing that used or altered goods are new;
- discrediting another’s products or services by false or misleading representations about them;
- false advertising;
- false representations about the availability of credit;
- false representations that goods are available for sale when in fact the goods are not available, or available in only a very limited quantity;
- false or misleading representations about prizes, contests or promotions used to publicize a product, business or service;
- promises to deliver by a certain time with intent not to deliver as promised;"
No matter where a company is located, they are bound by the laws of the state in which they do business.