Tiger Direct & Ink

Caveat Emptor Tiger?

When I began my third phone call in two days with Tiger Direct's call center, today, I was prepared for what I received.   Unfortunately, my negative expectations have been systemic of Systemax's former retail store in recent months.  Recent calls have met the diminished expectations.

To set the stage, in March I found that my local Tiger store was closing.   Further, that all (but the flagship in Miami, and ones in Puerto Rico) were closing, nationwide.   With this, I took advantage of the "Store Closing Sale".   Included in my purchase were several packs of inkjet cartridges.

Fast-forward to yesterday:  I opened another of the packs of inkjet cartridges, and discovered that the color cartridge was "counterfeit" (per two printer displays).   More than likely, this was just defective, though.  

I was told to contact the point of sale - Tiger.  However, as Tiger has not had a retail store - let alone the retail store used - in months, I had to contact their customer service line.   After 57 minutes of hold time, I got "Alex" on the phone.   We had a communication problem, it seemed, because he kept suggesting that I contact the store.   Eventually, we got onto, what I thought, was the same page.   He saw my receipt from the transactions, and placed me on hold.   Over one hour of hold music later, my call was terminated - after "Alex" told me that he was going to be "just 1 to 2 minutes". I did not have time to stay on hold for a followup call at the time, and when I did call back, I learned that their call center hours have also been reduced.

Today, I called back, and after a comparable hold time, I received another agent - "Jason", I believe his name was.  While he "was terribly sorry" an awful lot, he was no help, whatsoever.  Per him, I should have discovered this problem sooner.   When pressed, this meant that yes, I should have opened and tested each ink cartridge at the time.  Also, per him they only handle issues relating to online orders, and that I would have to take it up with the store.   Impossible now, as it would have been 2-3 weeks after point of sale. For the record, ink cartridges begin to dry out upon opening the package.  Further, their cartridges have a one-year warranty.

Instead of a company that was looking to help a long-time customer, I was met with a representative attempting to lay fault on the customer.   There was no deviation from the script.   It was "my fault" (in summation) for the problems experienced, and the company line was that there would be no deviation from this script.   The representative, in fact, would not escalate my call.  While I was told that he was notating it, I am not holding faith in any type of actual resolution within - or after - the next few days.

Previously, I was more than happy to use - and refer Tiger.  Unfortunately, I have a more difficult time now.    "Customer service" requires patience.  "Good customer service", on the other hand, is absent.    When call center reps divert and disconnect an inquiry - or take hide behind a script to excuse defective or counterfeit products carried - they do a disservice to the company.

Will I "never" do business with Tiger Direct, again?   This is hard to say.  I may  use them in the future.   However, I have a number of comparable - or better - vendors I can use for clients or the office.   Their value has dropped. The recent experiences have only hurt their reputation - and chances of future business/referrals.