When being right is really wrong

Major League Baseball's opening day is fast approaching and hope springs eternal. You'd think this would mean they are gearing up the customer service at their online store, but at least one experience suggests this may not be true.

Full disclosure: this 'one experience' is represented by my wife, Sally. She represents 100% of the people I know who have recently made a purchase at http://www.mlb.com/, so according to my data 100% of the people that shop there have a bad experience. Yes, I know that's not statistically significant, but it's significant enough for me.

Disappointment!
It all started when Sally ordered two items, paid for overnight shipping, and then received one item a day later than expected. She responded to a survey she received from a 3rd party and shared her dissatisfaction:

completely dissatisfied with shipping. Paid a high shipping cost to have the items delivered overnight - while it did say 1-2 business days, I received 1 item in 3 business days, and another in 4 business days. I will be requesting a refund on shipping.

Proactive Service
Sally received a prompt email from http://www.mlb.com/ in response to her survey response. Very good move, but the email she received wasn't so helpful:

Dear Sally,

Thank you for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.

We have received your response through BizRate regarding our website and thank you for your feedback. Your opinion as a consumer is greatly appreciated and will be used to aid in the development of our online store to better serve our consumers.

We apologize for any misunderstanding. Our records show that the both packages shipped on 03/13/08 and that the one package that was shipped via UPS was received on 03/14/08. The package that shipped via DHL was also shipped on 03/13/08 and was delivered on 03/17/08, which was the 2nd business day. As indicated on our website, business days are considered Monday-Friday, excluding weekends and Federal Holidays. We hope this information is helpful.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.


Sincerely,

Magritha M.
Customer Service Representative
Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com

What part of 'overnight' takes 2 days???
Dear Margritha,

When I confirmed the order and items said were in stock, I was expecting to receive by Friday, 3/14 at the latest, for overnight shipping. Per your email, you state that both packages shipped on 3/13. Overnight shipping would arrive by 3/14, for both packages.

I am requesting refund for overnight shipping of the one item not received by Friday, 3/14. This was the expectation, and what was paid for, and you have confirmed in your email the item was not shipped overnight.

Appreciate your cooperation,

Sally

Really MLB?! Really?
Dear Sally,

Thank you for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.

We again apologize for any misunderstanding. Our website indicates that if you select overnight shipping that you can expect the order to arrive within 1-2 full business days. Business days are Monday-Friday, excluding federal holidays within the United States. Both items were delivered within the stated timeframe, and we can unfortunately, not credit you back the shipping. To view the shipping information as indicated on our helpdesk please click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the URL of your internet browser:

http://shop.mlb.com/helpdesk/index.jsp?display=ship&subdisplay=shipMetho
ds

We again thank you for your order. We apologize that we could not assist with your request.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Customer Support at www.shop.mlb.com.


Sincerely,

Magritha M

Read the fine print
If you read the fine print you'll discover Magritha at MLB is technically correct. And, I don't even doubt she's responding exactly as she's been instructed to respond. The problem here is them item was shipped via 'overnight' shipping and it took 2 business days to arrive. If you dig through the MLB website, you'll find their text explaining that their 'overnight' service is really 1 - 2 day service, but then why call it overnight? Undoubtedly because it saves MLB a few bucks on shipping costs, but it sure creates confusion and unfulfilled expectations.

Lessons Learned
Confusing policies are dumb for any business and it gets even worse when you stick to the fine print at all costs. A few bucks would have bought some good will and kept Sally satisfied. Saving that money cost MLB a lifetime of future purchases from Sally, from me, and anyone else we can convince not to shop there. Be careful of any policy that may seem cost-effective, but really drives customers away!

Minimum purchase requirements for credit cards

Do you know companies are not allowed to require a minimum purchase for Visa or MasterCard transactions? I learned this yesterday after a disappointing experience at my local produce market (conveniently called "Produce Market"). I drive by it nearly every day and often tell myself to go in there and load up on fresh fruits and vegetables. Yesterday, I finally got around to it and dropped in.

What I liked
They did indeed have a great selection of fresh produce and reasonable prices. The store had a straight-forward layout and was very easy to quickly navigate. I was feeling pretty smart as I browsed their selections since I had finally made the decision to do some shopping there.


A Heaping Dose of Surliness
Apparently, customers must accept a heaping dose of surliness in exchange for that fresh produce at low, low prices. The two employees I encountered were unfriendly and declined to say "Hello", "Good Morning", or offer any other form of commonly-accepted salutation, even after I said "Hello" to them.

What I did get was a scolding from the cashier who rang up my $7.98 sale. I handed him my credit card and he pointed to a sign that said "$15 Minimum Purchase Required for Credit Card Transactions". "I'll let you use your credit card this time, but please remember a $15 purchase is required to pay with a credit card in the future."


That Rule Is Against the Rules
My encounter at Produce Market left me a bit disappointed, but also curious about those minimum purchase requirements. These policies are very unfriendly to customers and I had heard they may actually be a violation of the merchant agreement with Visa and MasterCard. So, I looked it up and yes, these policies are a violation of the merchant agreement.

Visa
You can verify the rule for yourself on this page of their website.

MasterCard
They bury this information on page 2-22 of their merchant rules manual, but they do offer a handy complaint form you can use to zing your least-favorite non-compliant merchant.