Trying to use the internet to order a welcome home sign.
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As you know my son will be coming home soon from the Middle East. In this event I want to give him a warm welcome and like many other mothers,fathers,brothers,sisters,husbands, wives,aunts,uncles,and grandparents I wanted to have a banner made for his arrival.
I checked all over town in search of a plain white banner but still was unable unless I wanted to spend a small fortune to find one, so like most I did a search on Bing for welcome home banners.
Buildasign.com came up many times and I read blogs about this place. They also are boasting about giving away banners for our troops for free, so I decided to give them a go.
I opened an account first thing and then went to the banner section to begin the process of personalizing my banner. Once completed I went to the check out page and filled in the first section with name, email and such but when I tried to move forward it would not let me go any place. I decided to give the place a call, it was toll free and then I would be certain the order went through and soon my banners would be on their way.
Well to be honest I was very disappointed in what took place next. First I was on hold for about 15 minutes, which seemed to be along time for placing an order, but then I said to myself well they must be very busy. Once a Representative answered my cry for help, he asked me to click on the help at top of the page and give him a four digit code. I did as he asked and he told me this was so he could view my order, well when he clicked on my order the prices that came up on his screen were tripled that of mine. I was very upset to think this was happening and in no certain words told him so. He said he had no clue why my prices came up the way they did because they were not right.
Now I have worked in customer service for many years and I know that when there is an issue such as this the customer is always right. Not this time the price quotes I had were not honored and I told him to just forget it. I was not paying triple what I had been quoted and then I decided to send them an email with the page I had in front of me so they could see what I was talking about and to also let them know I am not happy.
Below you will find the exact email I sent to them and also the page that was my shopping cart:
I am writing this to complain about your service. I tried to order these banners on line but could not get the order to go through so decided to call one of your service reps. He tried to help me through the process and said he could view my order but the totals was tripled compared to what I have given you below. I am appalled at your service tactics and have decided you are just another Internet scam. Your website came highly recommended by many people but after this mess I will be sure to let all of my friends on the Internet know that you are not to be trusted. My son has been deployed in Iraq for way too long and I wanted him to arrive home with a banner. I guess I will make one from the heart not one from the Internet.
I am sure I am not the only customer who has had the same issues with your company. Good luck in trying to keep yourselves afloat as a business.
Linda-Mother of one of our troops
Custom Sign
Size: 2ft x 4ft
Material: Vinyl Banner
Color: Full Color
Single-sided 2 $5.00 $9.98
Sign ID: 8414655
Add in a different material
Custom Sign
Size: 3″ x 11″ Bumper
Material: Magnetic
Color: 3 Colors
Single-sided 3 $3.99 $11.98
Original Total: $92.91
Promo: You Save ($70.96)
Subtotal: $21.95
Shipping Estimate: $16.97
BuildASign.com verified by:
HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime. click to verify BBB status
Click for company profile
Estimated Total: $38.92
I know I am only one of millions but my heart still aches when I am being taken advantage of. Am I angry? yes! Am I upset? Yes! Would I ever go through this place for anything? No! My reccommendations for using this company is DON”T!
More of mine:
August 13th, 2009 at 3:41 am
wink!!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Not cool linda. Some places are just out to make some quick cash and they don’t care who they hurt. Good luck.
RJ
August 13th, 2009 at 8:44 am
That is such a shame, Linda. You can’t seem to trust anyone on the internet these days. I too have just been conned by a firm online and am very angry.
Christine
August 13th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Maybe a silly question, -but did you hit the ’submit’ button several times?
This company is based in Austin, Texas and is subject to the laws of the United States. Seriously, -you think they are SCAMMERS? The U.S. is not a good place to have corporate offices for any ‘fly by night’ operation. Especially for a company that is also an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau.
I have to ask: -did you check with the Better Business Bureau online for any complaints against this company for the matters you cited? I did. I did find several minor prior complaints, but all marked “resolved” by the consumer to the BBB.org. No outstanding Gov’t or State issues are present.
see:
http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/business-reviews/signs/build-a-sign-in-austin-tx-90013077
While we can all say ’sorry’ for what to you seemed like a ’scam in progress’, I feel that you may potentially be wrongly accusing a good company for what is either a genuine error/glitch with their online purchasing system or personal error on the part of the purchaser (possibly having clicked the ’submit’ button more than once?)
At any rate, it will be a happy day when your son comes home!
August 13th, 2009 at 11:03 am
you’ve done the correct action. shame with this internet cons..
August 13th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I’m sorry for the experience you had. I have never had to deal with a situation like that and wouldn’t know what to do if I did. It is so great that your son will be home soon. I am so happy for you.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Everything is told about the scam. I´ll recommend you
utting many ribbons in your house and trees near your home with patriotic colors.
August 13th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Hi, Linda.
It’s too bad that this happened to you. I know how frustrating it can be to get what you were promised, however, …
stickman has a good point, you know. Accidents do happen, computer technology does run amok sometimes, … and slander is not a good thing! I hope you chose your words carefully.
August 13th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
everything that sound good is not true.
August 13th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Linda: That’s why I prefer signs made in a Silk Screen shop. They are big enough, very colorful, cheaper and done according to specifications. You can find a Silk Screen shop looking on the phone book. Look for Silk Screen Signs, or something like that.
Congratulations again on the arrival of your son.
Hugo
August 13th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Linda, tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree and give your son a big hug! He will be so busy looking to see who is there that he wouldn’t even notice a banner.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Glad to know that your son is back home. God bless you, your son and your family. Have my liked it.
August 14th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
You all have valid points especially you Stick, but being a mother and wanting everything to be perfect when my son comes home made me lash out. I will never even go to this site again and we all have our own opinions!
August 14th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Linda, You took the right action. I’m sorry to say I didn’t think of a banner when my grandsons came back from Iraq. I hope you will go ahead and make one. I’m sure it will be prettier than theirs.