> I don't think Bernd planned any of this, and probably feels terrible
> about it
> I think once he gets his problems behind him, he'll make good on his
> deals with you all
>
> Bob
IMHO, a business should not accept money for product until that product has
been shipped. after the item is all packaged up and waiting for UPS or
whatever, only then should the customer's credit card, etc be charged.
payment from a customer (in any form) should never be held until problems
get resolved. simple business law - a merchant and their customer enter into
an agreement. the customer by placing an order for an item, the merchant by
accepting the order. at that point there is an agreement - i.e. i want to
buy this-and-that for $?$. if the merchant accepts the money, he is
accepting the merchant/customer contract, and he is bound by the terms of
the agreement to deliver the product. then you get into ethics - if the
product cannot be delivered, the money must be refunded. there shouldnt be
any "i need time to get your product". the product should already have been
delivered. unforeseen circumstances do crop up from time to time, but the
long and short of it is this - dont take an order or payment if you cannot
deliver your end of the agreement promptly. and if it's not prompt, refund
the money immediately. holding onto a customers money while taking care of
problems unrelated to the actual merchant/customer agreement is wrong. and
if those unrelated problems keep you from being able to refund the money,
the merchant should not have accepted the order and payment in the first
place....
i'm not bashing anyone - and i realize that real life plays a role for
everyone. that being said, being out of pocket for 2 months affects that
persons real-life too.
my .02...
-crm
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Feb 06 2004 - 11:47:18 EST