Chapters/Indigo customer service

[Euphonious Polemic]

Bought a toy recently on-line from Chapters/Indigo. They were advertising "free shipping". At the checkout, I noticed a $9.95 shipping charge, because the package was "overweight". The fine print says that over 5 pounds shipping weight is $4.95 shipping and over 10 pounds is $9.95. OK, I wanted this item, so I sucked it up and paid the extra shipping. (Shipping weight on the listed item showed 15.5 pounds.) I was pretty sure the toy was not that heavy, but the shipping weight includes the box, packing, etc.

Anyway, when the item arrived, it felt pretty light. Very light. In fact, the Postal mailing label showed that it weighed 2.15 kg (4.75 pounds). In total. Including toy, box, packing, tape, label, and misc. fingerprints.

I emailed customer service to let them know of their error, and received this in reply:

Thank you for contacting Chapters Indigo Online.

Please accept this e-mail as confirmation that your comments have been received. We appreciate hearing from our customers and value the information and feedback that we receive.

We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced. If you require additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for choosing Chapters Indigo Online. Books, Music, Movies and More.

Sincerely,

Isabelle 8127
Customer Service Team

I emailed Isabelle 8127* back:

Thank you for your reply:

I''m not really sure what to make of it though. Essentially, I was made to pay $9.95 shipping for the package because you made an error in the shipping weight. Your response seemed to be a boilerplate response. I must say, I don't even feel that you even read my original comments. Are you going to do anything about incorrect shipping weights on your webpage that cause customers to pay too much shipping costs? Is this just business as usual for Chapters/Indigo? I await a more detailed response.

Well, Ms. 8127 emailed yesterday with:

We are pleased to advise that we have sent a request to our website management team, to ensure that the listed weight price for "Skyrail Roller Coaster by Quercetti" is correct.

We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced.

If you require any additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for choosing Chapters Indigo Online. Books, Music, Movies and More.

Sincerely,

Isabelle 8127
Customer Service Team

Well, she's a chipper little thing, ain't she? Should I just leave it be? Am I being unreasonable? Should I ask where my $9.95 has gone? I note that the shipping weight on the website has not changed.


*what's with the name? Is she a robot? Is there an Isabelle 8126 that was terminated?

[kathmandu]

I certainly don't think you're being unreasonable in questioning the charge. I wouldn't bother continuing to send e-mails, though. You'll probably get better results if you call their customer service number - at the very least, you'll probably get to talk to an actual human.

[thirdwarning]

However you contact them you need to tell them what you want. If they've already agreed to correct the shipping weight on the website, then what you need now is a refund or credit for the overage you paid due to their error. You were overcharged, you need the money back.

[Never do this]

Sorry for a bit of a rant, but a recent experience with our great Canadian book retailer...Chapters Indigo has put me over the edge. Any of the US choices offer shipping and service that is so vastly superior I could scream. I am now waiting up to six weeks for an item I desparately need to ship. Amazon could have it to me in 48 to 72 hours. Anyone who has been into our neighbour's retail environment in the last few months (CDN $$ rules) has seen the difference in the retail environment. Friendly, helpful, will bend over backwards to get you answers and resolution of problems. Many have posted about the rip off on the cost of goods, but now it is also very clear that our American neighbors value the customer and treat them better than our friends at home. It's time we let the retail environment in Canada know how much greener the grass is on the other side, and as for Chapters-Indigo....don't ever use their on line services unless you have exhausted every other option in advance. Buy from Chapters..NEVER DO THIS

[Felice Howard]

I find the store manager of this branch of Chapters rude.