I AM CHANGING MY OPINION AS ON 19th SEPT.2011 from BAD to Very Good. However, I do believe that Letsbuy.com can do and must perform much better to serve their customers.
This case shows typically how negative publicity and communication opacity affects the prospective buyer’s confidence.
Issue: Order placed with payment on 12/Sept./2011
Details:
Order # LSB-379604(Confirmed) Date: 12/09/2011 Total: Rs.19, 599 at 11:00 am
LG Optimus Black P970 Free: 2GB Memory Card
Payment Method: Credit Card(Citibank)
Status as on 14/09/2011 at 02:15 pm -
Payment approved by Citibank on 12/09/2011 Approval Code 916395
2 Emails sent to letsbuy.com -> No response.
3 Calls to Letsbuy customer care:
Wait time 10 minutes each time.
Soft spoken answers:
On 13th Sept. 2011: We have not recd. your payment.It takes 48 hours to clear the payment.
On 14th Sept. after 48 Hrs.: We have not recd. your payment. May be stuck up in the gateway.(As if the Payment gateway is a real door). Please confirm with Citibank and get the approval code.
->OK! got the approval code from Citibank. Citibank says "the approval is given the same day. The merchant has not claimed it yet."
- On 14th Sept. 2011 after 50 Hours. and after giving the approval code to letsbuy: "OK. This is one up case. We usually get the payment within 48 hrs. There may be some problem with the gateway. I will enquire and escalate the matter." -and - "Supposing we get the payment today afternoon, we will dispatch the goods latest by 21st Sept. 2011! "
OK! I think, I got it. There is nothing wrong with the payment gateway. Letsbuy is Pre-booking the orders. After they get a minimum quantity of orders for a given model/product, they claim the pre-approved payment and place the order on the principals to get a volume discount. Simple!
They do not keep anything in stock. So, if you are unlucky first in the order queue, you have to wait till the heap becomes MOQ(Minimum order quantity) to avail the discount. So, if you can wait for uncertain amount of time, buy with Letsbuy.com. Else -> goto Flipcart.com(My previous experience with them is pretty good.)
There is no one up case here. All cases are the same. Some of them are fortunate to be at the end of the queue, the other unfortunates at the start waiting for the doors of MOQ to open.So Letsbuy.com is’Bohari business’(those from Manish Market, Mumbai will understand.);)
Anybody at Letsbuy.com reading this? I need swift action and my order to be delivered in best condition in next 2 days.
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Status at 05:08 pm on 14th Sept.2011:
After posting this review, the status has changed from "Confirmed" to "Ready to Ship" and the team response says the payment has been received from the Gateway.
Waiting for the AWB number of the shipment now. Will update further.
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Status as on 15/09/2011 at 11:00 am -
Still no word on shipment. It is still’Ready to ship’ for last 24 Hrs. Now.
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Status as on 15/09/2011 at 12:30 pm -
No response to e-mails, Calls get disconnected automatically after waiting for 3 minutes.
On alternate numbers, reception phones are being picked up by Security personnel on working days.
What sort of company is this?
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Status as on 16/09/2011 at 12:17 pm -
*Calls to and from Letsbuy.com. Seems like they have responded and things are moving at last.
Shipment dispatched. At Aramex Mahipalpur facility. Will update status and give my views again at receipt of shipment.
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Status as on 17/09/2011 at 6:00 pm -
After repeated followup with Aramex, there was a twist in the tail. As per Aramex instructions, if I needed the delivery on Saturday 17th, I had to go to their distribution centre to pick up the shipment as their afternoon delivery boys had already left when my shipment arrived. To my surprise, when I reached their centre driving 10 kms, the shipment was already on the way to my home and was delivered there.!?
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Status as on 17/09/2011 at 8 pm:
All is well that ends well. Though the packing was not in a great shape, the phone was intact and working fine.:) So I did get the delivery on the 6th Day from my order. Not too bad. But the experience was really a roller coaster ride.
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Letsbuy.com should be more transparent and should update the customer on his order proactively, via their website status, e-mails and mobile calls.The reviews and blogs speak of past experiences which are affecting the customer confidence. Given the bad name they have earned over the months, only less prices won’t suffice. Goodluck, Letsbuy.com! I will buy again from you provided I see more positive feedback from others as well.