Letter from a Reader: Traumatic Online Shoe Shopping Experience

The pair advertised on her site

The pair I received

Dear Fashion Pulis,

I would like to share my bad experience with you and your readers regarding an online shopping vendor in Facebook. The vendor’s name is HOHH run by Miss RL. 

Last week I inquired about a pair of shoes that I really liked and so I reserved a pair in my size. Friday (August 19, 2011) came and I was supposed to deposit the money in her account before she ships the goods but I wanted to get a hold of the shoes right away so I inquired if I may just send someone to pick it up and give her the payment personally. She agreed without hesitation so at about 5:30 pm last Friday, I asked my staff to bring the payment to Miss RL's condo somewhere in Roxas Boulevard and to pick up the shoes that I ordered from the lobby of the condo. I was so excited when my staff came back. I wasted no time and opened the package right away. To my dismay, the right pair was damaged, and this was the start of my nightmare with this shoe vendor.

I called Miss RL right away to inform her that I received a defective pair and if she can kindly replace it. She said that she double checks all items and that it was not damaged when she left it with the guard at the lobby of her condo. I said that my staff did not open the package when he got it because it was sealed and I only opened it when 30 minutes after I received the package. I opened it in front of my staff and we both noticed the discoloration of the right pair. Miss RL then instructed me to just return the shoes and that she will look at it first. I requested her to just replace it with another pair and I will send the damaged pair right away.

When my staff arrived at her place, she took the shoes and instructed my staff to just go back for the shoes the following day. She did not replace nor hand my staff back the payment. I specifically asked my staff to have the damaged pair replaced or just get the payment back. Since she didn’t give the payment back and asked us to just come back for the shoes the following day with no receipt or proof of claim I decided to call her again and requested her to return the payment instead because it is already causing too much trouble on my end. Since she would not replace it right away, she agreed that she will just give the money back to my staff.

After more than 30 minutes, I called my staff and he said that Miss RL still has not handed him the money yet. I called Miss RL again to ask about the cause of delay and she irately replied, “Nire-repair pa namin yung shoes, hindi pwede madaliin.” I did not request her to repair it, I specifically requested her to replace it or just give back the payment. Why would I want to buy a defective pair of shoes? She decided to repair it without asking for my permission.

I called my staff again and told him to wait a little longer but not to accept the shoes if the right pair still looks damaged. All the while I was calling her for feedback but she would not answer my calls. When she finally answered my call, she told me “Tapos na” so I then answered “Salamat naman…” She dropped the call even before I could finish my sentence. 

After 15 minutes, I called my staff again asking him if he has the shoes. He told me that he has not received the shoes. I kept calling Miss RL's cell refused to answer my calls. A few more minutes later, she finally handed the shoes to my staff.

When my staff noticed that the damage was worse when Miss RL handed her the shoes, he told her “Ma’am ang sabi po ni Ms. Lisa huwag ko daw po tatanggapin kung damaged pa rin”. Miss RL abruptly told my staff “Basta ipakita mo muna yan sa amo mo no!” My staff informed me Miss RL was upset when he would not accept the shoes so she kept asking him “May problema ka ba? May problema ka yata e?” My staff so so scared so he replied “Mam, wala po” and left hurriedly.

The damaged part of the right shoe had worsen when I saw it so I messaged her on Facebook. I told her that I did not like her attitude and that she shouldn’t shortchange people. We exchanged text messages and she said in one of her text that I can choose from the other available styles. The problem was that was the only style I liked in her collection and now I am being forced to choose another style? Since she could not replace the defective pair with a new one, she should just offer to give back the payment. 

I have learned a valuable lesson from this horrible experience. I should have asked my staff to check the condition of the goods first before giving the payment. I was actually tempted to send her back the pair of damaged shoes without getting the payment back but I did not. How I wish I could throw the shoes back at her but even my staff refused to go back to her place because he was traumatized by Miss RL.

I am presently using the defective shoes that I bought from her. Why? It has become a conversational piece and I will not be tired of sharing my bad experience with the shoe vendor.

Thank you Fashion Pulis for allowing me to share this experience. I hope that this will serve as a lesson to all the people who love shopping online. Please be careful with the people you transact with. Also, do not hesitate to share your experiences to others so that they will not go through the same unpleasant experience. 

Sincerely,
Lisa Dy
Super Shoe Lover