Extremley disappointed with Ogilvy Equestrian

[ladyj79]

Also, because in all honesty, “good service” should be the norm. Simply shipping the correct item in a timely fashion to the correct location isn’t “good service,” it’s someone or some company’s job and entire purpose for being.

As someone else pointed out, cock-ups happen. It’s how you respond that demonstrates character.

And fwiw, I had the same situation occur with Dover shipping to my billing address. I called, they were marvelous, and immediately righted the situation graciously–and rest assured Dover doesn’t need my paltry business.

[alibi_18]

Not a houseguest here.

Just to really point out that it is a truly small business operated from a small house.
It might not excuse anything but it just can’t be compared to Smartpak at all.
Maybe they should expand or hire more people than the few they have. (When I went at the shop, there were 2 working spaces…).
Jack was more than polite/happy to allow me to get the dressage pad I needed for my show the next day. He trusted that I would pay one of their ‘on the road’ rep later on the next day, because she was away and didn’t had a white dressage pad in her stock anyway. They don’t usually sell from their “factory”.

I doubt that Smartpak owner would call anyone, they are big enough to have CS’s employees. Jack is really working hard to keep this business here with as low cost as possible so he, as the owner, is working really hard.

Anyway, I’ve always had great deals and good services with Ogilvy.

[CaitlinandTheBay]

[QUOTE=alibi_18;7560894]
Not a houseguest here.

Just to really point out that it is a truly small business operated from a small house.
It might not excuse anything but it just can’t be compared to Smartpak at all.
Maybe they should expand or hire more people than the few they have. (When I went at the shop, there were 2 working spaces…).
Jack was more than polite/happy to allow me to get the dressage pad I needed for my show the next day. He trusted that I would pay one of their ‘on the road’ rep later on the next day, because she was away and didn’t had a white dressage pad in her stock anyway. They don’t usually sell from their “factory”.

I doubt that Smartpak owner would call anyone, they are big enough to have CS’s employees. Jack is really working hard to keep this business here with as low cost as possible so he, as the owner, is working really hard.

Anyway, I’ve always had great deals and good services with Ogilvy.[/QUOTE]

Glad you’ve had such a great experience.

But being a small business is NOT an excuse for not setting up an ‘out of office’ auto response on the email. If he’d done that this whole situation could have been avoided.

the original houseguests thread (I believe) for anyone interested

[ladyj79]

Small businesses, especially relative start-ups, have to be BETTER than the large conglomerates, and more attentive to their customers. That’s how you grow or ruin your brand.

[alibi_18]

[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7560901]
Glad you’ve had such a great experience.

But being a small business is NOT an excuse for not setting up an ‘out of office’ auto response on the email. If he’d done that this whole situation could have been avoided.[/QUOTE]

Not an excuse but it explains a lot.
I don’t know, as bad as I feel for the OP, I can just say that they usually don’t have problem answering to people when they are away.
Maybe something happened, I don’t know. This thread just sounds full of mistakes and misunderstand from both parts.

Shit happens. Doesn’t make neither bad or better.

ETA: Ladyj79: there are numerous threads here about Ogilvy’s product and customer services that are good. Only one negative so far.
Why is there this need for blood? Is it because of the crappy weather?

[ladyj79]

Haha I’m not sure I’m the vehement anti-Ogilvy crusader, and am pretty sure I’ve made no comment on the product or company at all, merely poor customer service and the realities of business in general. But hey, I’ll be your strawman anytime

[Across_Sicily]

[QUOTE=jn4jenny;7560226]
Hmm, maybe they went back and deleted that comment. But I definitely saw it there a few days ago. Scout’s Honor. It wasn’t an earth-shaking comment, just a response to somebody who asked whats-her-face-who-runs-the-Ogilvy-social-media-presence if she’d seen this COTH thread. Whats-her-face said that she had + had left a brief reply on the thread.[/QUOTE]

You aren’t crazy. I was the Instagram poster who made the comment, which was just “I guess you’ve seen the COTH thread?” as the Ogilvy Instagram post occurred some one or two pages in to the whole incident here. Kristy responded on the same thread by saying she does only social media, etc. and wasn’t comfortable posting on COTH on behalf of Ogilvy, but had seen the thread. I suspect my mildly innocuous comment released the storm of Ogilvy lovers!

I don’t own an Ogilvy, nor do I aspire to, but they are lovely to look at and the company does a nice job with their Instagram account. Though I admit to not being tickled they deleted my comment, I can understand why they would.

[CaitlinandTheBay]

[QUOTE=alibi_18;7560909]

ETA: Ladyj79: there are numerous threads here about Ogilvy’s product and customer services that are good. Only one negative so far.
Why is there this need for blood? Is it because of the crappy weather?[/QUOTE]
I don’t think anyone is out for blood, but…

Because the response of the company was and continued to be inadequate. It’s great that so many people have had awesome experiences with Oglivy. But on this day(s) with this order they botched it across the board and then did not apologize for it. “We acknowledge our lapse in customer service” is NOT an apology. I don’t care if th OP was the worst, most annoying, completely rude and insufferable customer to ever darken Ogilvy’s door (she could have been, we don’t know)- they owe her a (now public) apology for their mistakes.

FWIW, I’m not vehemently anti-Ogilvy or anything. I do, however, very strongly believe that businesses shouldn’t get away with this sort of shenanigans. If they’d given her the pad for free, we would all have spent the last 3-4 days talking about how great they are. If Ogilvy can’t afford to lose the income on one pad, then their business model is clearly not sustainable.

ETA: the weather is delightful here in Texas.

[Coreene]

[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7560901]
Glad you’ve had such a great experience.

But being a small business is NOT an excuse for not setting up an ‘out of office’ auto response on the email. If he’d done that this whole situation could have been avoided.

the original houseguests thread (I believe) for anyone interested[/QUOTE]
Definitely was, and Aunt Esther’s debut as well. Or did houseguests first appear in Majikal Gyspy Vanners? Both were epic trainwrecks.

As for this thread: Jack, you inhaled. You inhaled!!!

[ladyj79]

[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7560901]
the original houseguests thread (I believe) for anyone interested[/B][/QUOTE]

I kind of hate you right now

How did that nonsense go on for 101 pages???

It makes me want to start a Conan O’Brian “ln the year 2000” type thread were we analyze the “beliefs” and predictions laid out in this 2005 thread, such as “John French says arabs are the hunters of the future” and “no one would spend 10k promoting a pony hunter.”

I will say, I do feel the general literacy level of Coth has increased over the last decade…and we mostly manage to get through at least one page before a trainwreck ensues.

Oh, and, um, Jack? Just send the girl the stupid pad.

[CaitlinandTheBay]

[QUOTE=ladyj79;7560985]
I kind of hate you right now

How did that nonsense go on for 101 pages???

It makes me want to start a Conan O’Brian “ln the year 2000” type thread were we analyze the “beliefs” and predictions laid out in this 2005 thread, such as “John French says arabs are the hunters of the future” and “no one would spend 10k promoting a pony hunter.”

I will say, I do feel the general literacy level of Coth has increased over the last decade…and we mostly manage to get through at least one page before a trainwreck ensues.

Oh, and, um, Jack? Just send the girl the stupid pad.[/QUOTE]

I tried to read it once when I was sick. I never made it all the way through. That thing is a true novel. Goodness, is it ever good, though. I think increased reliance on technology in other areas of our lives has definitely increased literacy here. Although, I’m still waiting for the rest of that ampersand data to be compiled. Not sure who’s on that, but let’s hustle.

I wish we had a COTH historian somewhere that could keep track of the lore of this community. Like, I know Arab Jumpers is the mother of all houseguest threads, but is it also the mother of all trainwrecks?

[scheherazadetbmare]

I am extremely disappointed in the posts by Jack in response to the OP’s thread. As others have said, customer service goes a long way to making people buy your products.

I too have had great service from both Smartpak and Dover. The customer is always right with both of them. A customer service rep went downstairs and checked out an item for me once, as someone else also experienced. Both Smartpak and Dover have taken items back with no hassle when i have mistakenly ordered the wrong size for either me or one of my horses. No issues and no problems with either of those companies. Which is why I pay their prices, because I know I will be satisfied or get prompt refund. And I can reach someone at Smartpak or Dover either by email live chat, or by cell. I’d expect a small company to at least let me know if no one will be available. The sellers on ebay always tell us on line if they will be out of touch for a few days.

[roamingnome]

[QUOTE=kmcnam;7560863]
In fairness, why is a positive review of the product less valid than the negative one presented by OP? Everyone is entitled to their opinion based on their own experiences.[/QUOTE]

Just wanted to clear up: I’ve never said anywhere that the product was bad. I borrowed a pad from a friend to try before I bought one. It was very nice. Obviously nice enough for me to order one!
I am only writing/commenting about their lack of customer service in my situation (as I’ve said earlier on this thread, I’m sure this is NOT the case for everyone, otherwise they’d be out of business by now, but that I wanted to warn others of what my experience was.)

[roamingnome]

[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7560926]
I don’t think anyone is out for blood, but…

Because the response of the company was and continued to be inadequate. It’s great that so many people have had awesome experiences with Oglivy. But on this day(s) with this order they botched it across the board and then did not apologize for it. “We acknowledge our lapse in customer service” is NOT an apology. I don’t care if th OP was the worst, most annoying, completely rude and insufferable customer to ever darken Ogilvy’s door (she could have been, we don’t know)- they owe her a (now public) apology for their mistakes.

FWIW, I’m not vehemently anti-Ogilvy or anything. I do, however, very strongly believe that businesses shouldn’t get away with this sort of shenanigans. If they’d given her the pad for free, we would all have spent the last 3-4 days talking about how great they are. If Ogilvy can’t afford to lose the income on one pad, then their business model is clearly not sustainable.

ETA: the weather is delightful here in Texas.[/QUOTE]

Well, I don’t believe I was the worst customer ever! Well, now that I’ve posted on here and it wasn’t 100% positive, I am!

As someone who works with clients daily, I was sure to be professional, yet strong, in my communication. I never yelled, cursed or threw a fit. I know what it’s like to be on the other end of that-not fun!- and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

As it stands now, my CC has been refunded, so hopefully that will be the end of my interactions with OE and Ogilvy.

What’s funny is that I was about half-way into a post about how awesome Ogilvy was Wednesday morning when I checked the shipping on my package and found out it had been changed to ‘Return to Sender’. Imagine how different this thread would be had that been the case!!

[Midge]

[QUOTE=kmcnam;7560863]
In fairness, why is a positive review of the product less valid than the negative one presented by OP? Everyone is entitled to their opinion based on their own experiences.[/QUOTE]

Because, unless something quite out of the ordinary happens, good customer service is what is supposed to happen.

I am a braider. Every time I go to work, on every horse, the result should be a customer who says, ‘My horse was done on time, the braider did not interfere with my normal prep schedule, and he looked beautiful when he was done.’

Every time. However, I am human and I have made mistakes. This winter at WEF, I had a couple and all with the same customer. These mistakes were so small, they did not change the results of ‘My horse was done on time, the braider did not interfere with my normal prep schedule, and he looked beautiful when he was done.’ They were, however, mistakes requiring a text or phone call from a customer who expected not to have to contact me at all.

I did a lot of apologizing every time.

[alto]

[QUOTE=roamingnome;7561044]

As it stands now, my CC has been refunded, so hopefully that will be the end of my interactions with Jack and Ogilvy[/QUOTE]

So if an Ogilvy Half Pad shows up that is a
not-very-traditionally-colored pad that has my last name embroidered on it
you’ll not accept the package?
Well Done!
Stay with your principles - after all that is what this thread is all about: principles.
And how OE lacks them. Completely.

[Stacie]

[QUOTE=roamingnome;7561044]

What’s funny is that I was about half-way into a post about how awesome Ogilvy was Wednesday morning when I checked the shipping on my package and found out it had been changed to ‘Return to Sender’. Imagine how different this thread would be had that been the case!![/QUOTE]

Hey Jack. Read this. Repeatedly. Until it sinks in.

At some point, your pad will not be the “pad du jour” and you will have to rely on past good deeds to keep your business growing.

You still have an opportunity to look like a hero here. Take it.

[Lix_Tetrax]

I order chinchilla toys and treats from a chinchilla rescue that is literally in someone’s house. The people who run it have given up things to make room for the rescues’ cages (80 of them!) and all the room for supplies. These people are friendly, timely, and have been amazing. It’s a small business running out of a house, and there have NEVER been any problems. It’s no excuse.

[AlterTops]

[QUOTE=Jack Ogilvy;7560446]
We acknowledge our lapse in customer service in this instance. We are working to resolve our customer service and production issues, due to our recent rapid growth. It takes time to do things thoughtfully.
My recollection of the phone call was different from that of the customer. My understanding, at the end of the call, was that the customer wished to cancel the order.
On a related note, I have read the thread and genuinely appreciate suggestions you have made, I have taken notes and will discuss them with our team, regarding process improvements.
As always, for those of you who would like to speak with me directly, my phone number is 1.514.258.7160
Jack Ogilvy[/QUOTE]

You must’ve skipped class the day they went over the ‘The Customer is Always Right’ principle, huh?

[pds]

[QUOTE=Jack Ogilvy;7560446]
We acknowledge our lapse in customer service in this instance. We are working to resolve our customer service and production issues, due to our recent rapid growth. It takes time to do things thoughtfully.
My recollection of the phone call was different from that of the customer. My understanding, at the end of the call, was that the customer wished to cancel the order.
On a related note, I have read the thread and genuinely appreciate suggestions you have made, I have taken notes and will discuss them with our team, regarding process improvements.
As always, for those of you who would like to speak with me directly, my phone number is 1.514.258.7160
Jack Ogilvy[/QUOTE]

And why should customers and potential new customers belive you? Give them a reason to believe, do the right thing and make this have a happy ending.