On May 31, 2014 I purchased a "Buck Naked" Express e-cigarette from Planet K at Stassney for $39.99. The woman who sold my wife and I the product told us that if anything went wrong within a 30-day time frame, feel free to return the e-cigarette to Planet K.
Some three weeks later the e-cigarette proved to have a defect. When I called to inform them of the problem. After a woman answered, "Planet K, hey whassup," I explained my problem and said I was coming over to the store to return the product for another. The woman, initially sounding "hip" suddenly became incredibly corporate, telling me it was impossible to rerun it. I then asked for the store manager. A man, Kevin, asked me to reiterate my story. After doing so he told me to bring the e-cigarette back top the store and he'd "swap it out for another one. " Additionally, he explained, "I always want to do right by my customers."
Now, my wife and I are smokers, and purchase a $43 tin of American Spirit tobacco every 5 or six days. At 5.5 tins a month we spend $236.50 at Planet K on Stassney. Since we also purchase tubes for our tobacco there at $5 a pop, that's somewhere between $250 and $260/ month that we spend at the store.
When I arrived at the store I showed Kevin the problem, which seemed to be a defect with the Buck Naked Expresses' tank, as a portion of its metal interior was bent in, not allowing the tank and battery portion of the e-cigarette to sufficiently screw together.
Suddenly, Kevin told me he would not replace anything to do with the e-cigarette, calling it a, "Wear and tear" issue, and therefore my fault. when both my wife and I asked him if many of the product was returned he said, "Hardly ever," which is obvious double-speak since the product was rarely returned, and had NEVER been returned with a similar problem, there was no way he could tell us it was a wear and tear issue!
However, Kevin remained staunch in not even exchanging the tank, which cost $10 should you buy a replacement. What he did is offer to SELL us a replacement at a 25% discount, while lying to my face telling me, "I thought you were talking about the battery," when, while on the phone with him earlier, I especially made sure he understood which portion of the e-cigarette was broken.
In the end, Kevin, the Planet K manager, sacrificed at least $250/month in business from one set of customers for a $10 e-cigarette tank, because we will NEVER buy anything at ANY of their stores again; Oat Willie's, though a few more miles away from us, is infinitely more respectful toward its customers than the employees of Planet K.
Thanks, Kevin and the faux hipster woman who answered the phone late in the afternoon on 6.20.2014, for letting us know your true colors. read more