Coffee Is A Serious Business. Don't Mess With Mine.

I'm a fairly easy-going person. Let's face it; being aggravated takes energy, so I have learned to let a lot of things slide, rather than cause a stir. I wasn't always like that, but then, I wasn't always like this, either. I used to have more energy and less tolerance.

Back in 2013, I started ordering my single-serve coffee pods online from a company that makes the actual single-serve machines. I've discovered that they are usually a few cents cheaper per cup, and they carry varieties I can't seem to find in stores. I enrolled in auto-delivery, so I'm never out of coffee, and it gets delivered right to my doorstep. The epitome of ease. I like easy.

So my latest auto-delivery order was placed on October 21. The orders process the same day or at the very latest, the next day. Shipping takes approximately 2 or 3 days to get here. On the 27^th, I realized my coffee hadn't come, and I hadn't gotten a shipping confirmation. I checked my order status online, and it still read “processing”. I decided to call and check on my order. After all, nobody wants me to be without coffee. Nobody.

I called their toll-free number, explained why I was calling. CSR put me on hold. At the end of the hold time, a supervisor named Stephanie came on the phone, and told me that the company was still within their 3-7 business days of shipping. I'm becoming annoyed. All I wanted was to know when my coffee would be shipped, not hear excuses defending a delay, or be told that Saturday and Sunday aren't “business days”, so we can't count them. Really? I had no idea, thank you for clearing that up! Looking back, I'm surprised that my sarcasm didn't melt the phone.

Stephanie puts me on hold, and at the end of that hold, Pam from corporate gets on the phone this time. I go ballistic! “Do you know that in twelve minutes, you're the third person that I've talked to? All I want to know is where my coffee is. You're a coffee company. I'm a customer. This should be a painless process.”

Pam doesn't have an answer for me, so she offers to call me back. When she calls back (and kudos to her for doing what she said she would), Pam explains that for whatever reason, my order was held up, and it's shipping today. She offers to give me a tracking number. I said no thanks, from your location to mine, it's only 2 days' shipping time. Besides, I can go online tomorrow and get the tracking number. I thanked her for calling me back, but I was still skeptical when I hung up. I placed the order on the 21^st, I call to check on it on the 27^th, and miraculously, it's shipping out that day. Okay. All I really wanted was to know where my coffee was because I was running low, and I'd get a box while I was out.

The next day, I get an email, which I assumed was the tracking information. Nope. It's an email telling me that “my order failed to process due to an item being out of stock”. After a week. After I was told it was shipping the previous day.

I emailed them back.

This is ridiculous.

I called yesterday to check on the order, and the first CSR put me on hold. When She came back to the phone, it was a supervisor named Stephanie. She put me on hold, and then someone named Pam from corporate took over the phone call.

Pam assured me YESTERDAY that my order had shipped, and offered me a tracking number. I declined, because I always get boxes from you within 2 days.

Now, you're telling me that the order was cancelled???

So, Pam from your corporate office LIED to me??

See if I order from you ever again.

Sincerely,

LouAnn Loveless

PS- you forgot to attach a coupon, but that's ok. I don't want your free coffee

Over and done with, right? Not quite.

The next day, I got an email from them telling me that my entire order has been replaced, free of charge. I called back, and spoke with a nice woman named Donna. I explained the whole sordid mess to her. I told her that I didn't want their coffee, and I wouldn't be ordering from them again. I'll spend the extra three cents per pod and buy from a store. I'll source out the brand I couldn't find anywhere but their site. Please, I hope they keep their coffee because it won't even taste good to me. Donna really was very nice, and she said, “I really wish you would accept the order.”

“No thank you. I really prefer not to receive anything from your company, free or otherwise. Please cancel this order.”

She apologized profusely and assured me that she would take care of it.

Later in the day, she sent me an email. Here is what she wrote, and here is my reply:

Good Morning

After speaking with you I further looked into this issue. When you spoke to Pam she had reached out to support services they provided her with a tracking number and told her it was going to ship. That was the truth. There was a system issue in the Distribution Center and the System cancelled the order.

The Customer Service Rep had no way of knowing this.

I am sorry that this has happened but I wanted to explain this to you.

Thank you.

That still doesn't explain why it took from the 22nd until I called to get any movement of the order, and then the order spontaneously canceled? 

No thank you. I'll spend the extra three cents per K Cup and buy them at a store.

Now the coffee saga has finally concluded, right? I mean there couldn't possibly be anything else to say after all that, right? HA! The following day, on October 30, I got an email telling me that my free replacement order has shipped, and they provided a tracking number.

Are you bleeping serious?

So next week, I'll have a shipment of coffee that I don't want. I wanted it last week. I think I'll give it away to friends of mine with the same brewers I have.

I'm just irritated from the whole process, and from spending needless energy on something so simple. What would I have done differently? If it were my company, I'd empower my CSR's to replace the order during the first contact if necessary. As a CSR, I wouldn't transfer a call without letting the customer know I was transferring the call, and I wouldn't make excuses for the delay. I certainly wouldn't make a customer stay on the phone for 12 minutes without offering a firm resolution.

All I wanted was my damn coffee. Nobody wants me to be without coffee, especially me.