Would honesty be the he best policy in this case?

     Hey all! I'm in the process of gearing up and rigging for my maiden voyage. I've visited and dealt with several shops in the Bay Area (all good experiences) as well as several online dealers. I recently placed an order with a large online shop and the experience was not so great. I ordered a total of six items which appeared to be in stock. It took a total of five weeks to receive the items in three different deliveries. I was also not able to track the order which lead to my first phone call after a couple of weeks of waiting and only receiving a couple of items. The sales reps were pleasant to deal with over the phone and the three different ones I spoke with each blamed their warehouse for the problem with my order and they also stated that they were not even able to get a hold of them for some reason. Anyhow, my issue is that I received the last item yesterday which was a yak attack black pak which some call a way overpriced milk crate in case you are not familiar with them. I still can't believe I payed over $100 for a "milk crate" but I feel it will work out for me and overall is worth it. I put the the thing together last night and spent time envisioning the ideal setup with it. Stuck the thing in the garage and called it a night. Get home from work today and there's another yak attack black pak sitting at the front door! This is the first time I've ever received a double order. I had already decided that I would no longer do business with this dealer because of this experience. I was going to call them to inform them of the double order but they are closed for the evening. Then I sarted thinking and did a little research. I'd have no problem sending the item back if they provide pre paid shipping return. Best case, I call them, they thank me for informing them and they tell me to keep the item at no cost and they earn a regular customer. The bad could be they request I return it on my own dollar and they reimburse me which I don't really feel like dealing with. I can see it turning into another long process and possibly a pissing match where they charge me for the second one which I have no use for. I want to do the right thing. I want to just return the thing but I will not do it on my own dollar.  I'm tired of dealing with this shop. It took them too long to get me my order and in the end they give me a double order. What says that they don't make the return process difficult as well? What would you guys do? Any similar experiences?

Personally I'd feel better If I called them and told them, from there it's 100% their responsibility to go from there, UPS and the Post office will pick up packages from residential addresses (I think). 

You don't owe them one second of effort after the call though.  And the call is actually to sooth your conscience.

Generally I try to separate my actions from the actions of others, so they did a crappy job, but I wouldn't hold that as a reason not to at least give them a call.

Now things would be different if they'd given you great service.

IMHO.

PS if you keep it post it up for sale here.

Had an almost identical situation with an online shop.  Great on the phone but both times I ordered, the items I received were not what I ordered, duplicate order, etc.  My experience was with ACK.  No hard feelings with them ... Stuff happens ... Twice ... I just know now who I choose for future business & who I might do so with some caution.

I get that you didn't call them out by name & its OK to do so just DONT harp on it post after post after post.

Personally I'd feel better If I called them and told them, from there it's 100% their responsibility to go from there, UPS and the Post office will pick up packages from residential addresses (I think). 

You don't owe them one second of effort after the call though.  And the call is actually to sooth your conscience.

Generally I try to separate my actions from the actions of others, so they did a crappy job, but I wouldn't hold that as a reason not to at least give them a call.

Now things would be different if they'd given you great service.

IMHO.

PS if you keep it post it up for sale here.

+1

Pretty much what Dale said.  Give 'em a call for the benefit of your conscience, and definitely don't send anything back without them paying postage.  They'll most likely just say thanks and tell you to keep it.

Worse case is;

They bill your credit card for the second milk crate if you don't send it back. 

Take it to UPS and have them return to sender

They can't make you send it back on your dime.  Think about it.  Short term gain or long term pain.  if you weren't honest you wouldn't be sharing this with us.

Guilt and loss of self-respect last a looooong time, maybe forever. I think you know what to do.

Sincerely,

Bushy

Honesty is always the best policy.

Even the best shops screw up sometimes. 

I recently ordered some parts for a repair and got all the items except the tool I needed to remove some pins.  It said it was in delivery status and didn't ship.  I made it work without the item and tried to cancel the item but they couldn't because it was in preparing to ship mode on the computer.  Then it was later determined to be out of stock so I called back and was able to cancel it.  Somehow weeks later it came back in stock and they shipped it and charged my card.  I ended up getting a full refund, a future credit and when the item showed up they told me to keep it for my trouble. 

So you never know. 

Beware the dark side. I say resist the temptation to take what you could so easily. Do the better thing and return it; you don't ever have to use them again, or not. Only what I'd do, of course.

It's too late NapaJustin. I bought a Hobie two weeks ago. I am now with the dark side! I'm so part of the dark side that I have two black paks! Lol! Mmmuuuaaahahaha!

getting otw and a beer might help you mellow out.  just a caveat of online shopping.

OK so you call their customer service line and get a call center located in some cornfield in the midwest.  Just your luck, you happen to linkup with a hot flashing menopausal CSR whose air conditioning is out the day of your call.  "Sir please return it immediately otherwise we'll  consider it stolen."  [Its not theft, but just saying for illustration purposes . . . "]

Pause there for a second.

You initially intended to return it anyway, right?  But does her insult added to the prior injury change your mind about the "correct" response?  I don't think you believe their shitty service affects for one second what you think you should do.  Just makes its less palatable to actually do it.

in reality, If they take 5 weeks to fulfill an order, they've got bigger fillets to fry!  A single crate probably don't even amount to an inventory rounding error for em.

some might just hand it to a stranger or a friend or PIF, fully disclosing its origin and story. 

Honesty is always the best policy.

x100

Or maybe the order taker thought.. This guy has been a understanding person and polite with all the confusion. I am going to send him an extra crate !! 

Alex