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I've got a serious customer service problem brewing with Handango and I was hoping someone here might provide some advice.
Here's the deal. Based on a blurb here I went and checked out Ectaco's Voice Translators. They have an English-Japanese version and, as I am always willing to spend money on study products as opposed to doing, you know, any actual studying, I downloaded the demo with an eye on adding it to my cache of Pocket PC Japanese learning apps.
Well, the variety of phrases and samples was intriguing enough that I decided to buy. I hunted down a promo code and went to the Handango site to put the order in the basket and complete the sale. Now here's where I made my mistake. Ectaco makes like thirty different language translators (in addition to a hundred or so other language apps). I used the search function to find the app for purchase but clicked on the Spanish-Japanese version instead of the English-Japanese version.
The two are right next to each other and when you are selecting from the search screen only the words "Spanish" and "English" are different, the logos, graphics, pricing and wording are exactly the same in all the different versions.
I did not realize my mistake until I started downloading the program after purchase. I stopped the download and immediately sent emails to Handango customer service and Ectaco asking for help. Ectaco, to their credit, got back within a couple of hours but refused to offer any assistance as I did not purchase through them (not too surprising).
This was on Thursday. I sent Handango another note on Friday. And I sent another email through their customer service site on Saturday.
All of my emails went to their customer service dept. All of my emails have all of the necessary information and describe in detail what happened. I am not seeking a refund! I only want to exchange this registration for the one I intended to purchase.
Trust me, I barely got out of Spanish 103 with a D in college. I have NO use for a Japanese-Spanish translator!
As a long term and very frequent customer....(my wife would kill me if she really knew how much I've spent on PPC software) I'm royally irked at the treatment I am getting from Handango.
Their website promises a response to serivce issues within 48 hours. I have sent three emails to them over a period of four and a half days and have not gotten ANY answer from them!
This software is fairly expensive, about $38.
Can anyone tell me what my options are at this point? I will email them again tomorrow and give them another 24 hours. But after that I want to seek redress with my credit card company because they have been completely unresponsive.
Thanks
I would try Ectaco directly. In my experience developers are often quite helpful in situations like this.
Good luck with the refund / exchange and the language study.
It's my opinion this will be resolved so I'd approach it as such and try not to worry about it. With that said, I'd consider handling it this way.
Simply apply for a refund through Handango. Put in there something like "I thought this was a Japanese to English translator, I got a Japanese to Spanish translator. Need refund so I can get the right one."
Handango will then contact the developer who more than likely will just resolve it right then and there. If not, the developer is required to respond via the Handango channel within 72 hours (I think) if they don't then...well you've made your case and I believe a refund will be issued.
Hope this helps...Keep us posted.
I would try Ectaco directly. In my experience developers are often quite helpful in situations like this.
Good luck with the refund / exchange and the language study.
Well, I did that just after I realized my mistake. But, like I said, Ectaco - the developer of the software - returned my email but told me I would have to deal exclusively with Handango as I did not make the purchase through them. (BTW, Ectaco's direct price for the software was something like $70 compared to Handango's $40... I have no idea what is up with that. )
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Issac
Simply apply for a refund through Handango. Put in there something like "I thought this was a Japanese to English translator, I got a Japanese to Spanish translator. Need refund so I can get the right one."
Handango will then contact the developer who more than likely will just resolve it right then and there. If not, the developer is required to respond via the Handango channel within 72 hours (I think) if they don't then...well you've made your case and I believe a refund will be issued.
Hope this helps...Keep us posted.
Brad, I did this. Three times. I'm gonna go do it again as soon as I post this. But despite that this happened six days ago and despite that I have sent three different requests for a refund, I have had NO response from Handango.
I am seriously angry about this.
Knelson... yea, I know about this - but that's gasoline for another flame war. I can sort of deal with them being harpy shills... that's fairly benign. But this situation is leaving me stuck with $40 out of my account and no way to begin to try and get it rectified since they won't even acknowledge my emails! FWIW, Here's a copy of the last refund request I sent today ( 7/28 ). If you can think of anything else I should note or say to them please tell me... I'm getting desperate here..
Quote:
Good Day:
This will be the fourth request that I have sent you over the last six days regarding this issue. Frankly, as a long-time and very frequent customer, I am extremely disappointed and frustrated at the lack of response you have displayed in dealing with my request for help.
I made an error while purchasing software and immediately after realizing my error, minutes after the sale, contacted both you and the publisher in a good-faith attempt to resolve my problem.
For the record, here again is what happened: Based on a blurb at a PPC review website I downloaded a demo version of one of Ectaco's Voice Translators, specifically their Japanese-English version.
The variety of phrases and samples was intriguing enough that I decided to buy. I hunted down a promo code and went back to your site to put the order in the basket and complete the sale. Now here's where I made my mistake. Ectaco makes like thirty different versions of their Voice Translator (in addition to a hundred or so other language apps). I used your website's search function to find the app for purchase but clicked on the Spanish-Japanese version instead of the English-Japanese version.
The two are listed right next to each other when you are selecting from the search screen - only the words "Spanish" and "English" are different; the logos, graphics, pricing and wording are exactly the same in all the different versions that are returned by the search engine.
I did not realize my mistake until I started downloading the program after purchase. I stopped the download and immediately sent emails to your customer service department and Ectaco asking for help. Ectaco, to their credit, got back within a couple of hours but refused to offer any assistance as I did not purchase through them (not too surprising).
This was on July 16th. I sent you another note the next day. And sent another request the day after that. All of my emails have been submitted through this help site and have been indexed with my reference number (XXXXXXX).
Let me be clear about this: I am not seeking a refund! I only want to exchange this registration for the one I intended to purchase.
Trust me, I barely got out of Spanish 103 with a D in college. I have NO use for a Japanese-Spanish translator!
I have purchased other Japanese / English applications from you in the past so my order history should support my claim here.
This software retails for about $40 which is a lot of money to me. I hope to hear from you within the next 48 hours regarding this situation. I hope that you will understand the seriousness of this situation and help me resolve it quickly.
Thank you
Thanks for checking back. Another 24 hours... another 24 hours of the Phil Spector deafening wall-of-silence. Nuthin'. I've got zip in terms of even an acknowledgment from them.
Looks like it's time to contact the credit card company and see if there's anything I can do from that angle.
I couldn't help myself Kamikun, I contacted Ectaco this morning about this to alert them to this thread and to ask if they might be willing to resolve this matter.
I couldn't help myself Kamikun, I contacted Ectaco this morning about this to alert them to this thread and to ask if they might be willing to resolve this matter.
Well, the ice cracked. I don't know if it was your doing, Brad, or if Ectaco had anything to do with it but tonight, one week after I first contacted Handango's CS dept, I got a reply.
It's dated 7/30 9:57 (guess that's Eastern time US) so draw your own conclusions...
They will credit the account.
True to my word I will use the credit to get the software I'd intended.
Brad, thanks for the Webmaster Ex Machina. Whether Handango responded to a push from Ectaco or it really took seven days for the request to be processed I still think this was not handled in the best manner. Their website promises some kind of acknowledgment within 48 hours... I heard nothing for over 170 hours.
I will continue to use their service but I will be a lot more willing now to look at specials and products at other sites.
Thanks again guys for your support.
Here endeth the hissy fit.
I've just got a mail from Brad and really striked with this issue.
I was absolutely sure that we provide free exchange in the cases like that. I will check with our customer support what was happened this time and hope this won't repeat again.
We actually cannot influence much on Handango but always help our customers regardless the place of purchase.
Best Regards,
Anton Epifanov
VP of Research & Development
Ectaco Development Center
...I was absolutely sure that we provide free exchange in the cases like that. I will check with our customer support what was happened this time and hope this won't repeat again....
Anton, thank you for responding directly here to Brad's letter. Handango sent me a note a few hours ago and it seems this situation has been resolved.
FYI, please check your PM box. I sent you a copy of the original emails I exchanged with your company. I have no complaints about your company because I did not buy the software directly from you and your customer service rep responded to my mail in less than two hours.
Thanks again,
RC
I have had to contact Handango on a few occasions, and had a long wait before they ever got back to me. But when they do, via email, you must type your response between the two lines in the email. What a pain. But they did help solve the problem. So in my case as in yours it ended well. I did suggest that they try to respond within a reasonable time.
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