Monday, May 3, 2010

Oakley Customer Service Issue

Recently, I'd been shopping for new sunglasses. I've worn Oakley sunglasses almost exclusively since 1994. The optics, fit, and styles have been unrivaled, in my opinion. I've currently been rocking my Half Jackets for about 5 years, and last year I bought a new set of XLJ lenses for them (previous frames include Frogskins,
M Frames, Fives, Minutes, Twentys, and Square Wires). I've always been 100% satisfied. I've also always bought from various retail locations.

This time, while shopping around, I surfed a few different manufacturer's websites. Other brands that caught my eye were Rudy Project and Smith. My stipulations for my purchase this year were simple: I wanted full frame coverage (I'm not happy with my Half Jackets for cycling), they had to have rubber nose pieces (to prevent sliding down my face while in the drops), and they had to look good. When I went to Oakley's website, the new Straight Jackets (white chrome with red iridium lenses) immediately caught my eye. As soon as I had a chance, I stopped by, or called every sunglasses store I could think of, trying to find them. At the very least, I tried on different frames to see which ones fit my narrow face. NOBODY had the white chrome Straight Jackets. Finally, stopping by a retail store in the mall, I KNEW that the Straight Jacket frames fit me well, and decided to place an order directly through Oakley via their website.

I ordered late last Wednesday night. I payed extra shipping fees for 2nd Day Air via UPS. The order processed, and I got a confirmation email in the wee hours of Thursday morning. I used UPS' website to estimate my delivery. It showed that as long as the order shipped on Thurs., I should have my awesome, new sunglasses in my hands by the end of Saturday. Friday, I tracked my package via UPS, which showed that my package had been RESCHEDULED for a delivery date of Tuesday. DEFINITELY not the 2 day shipping that I had paid for. On Monday (today), I called Oakley customer service and explained to them my disappointment. The rep. explained to me that this was normal and, in fact, exactly what I had ordered. She explained that UPS does not deliver on Saturdays, and that even though my package shipped Friday (why didn't it ship Thursday...I ordered Wednesday?), Friday and Monday would be my transit days, and Tuesday was my delivery date. While I was on the phone, I went to UPS' website and explained to her that UPS originally showed my delivery date of Saturday, but later was updated and rescheduled to Tuesday. She still insisted it is the correct ship time.

I'm a rather non-confrontational person these days, so I didn't want to argue with her. Is it too much to expect my shipping costs to be refunded? Is this really how Oakley wants to do business? I wonder if I'd decided on the Rudy Project glasses, would their customer service say the same thing? I know the ship time doesn't seem like a monumental crisis, but I specifically paid for faster shipping, and didn't get it. I think Oakley can afford to refund my extra $9...after all, I paid $160 for the sunglasses.

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