Ultimately Gazelle Disappoints
OK, got the scoop from Gazelle today. Rather then paraphrase, here’s the note I received from customer service:
Hello Tim,
I have researched your order, unfortunately at this time we do not provide free shipping for items that are eligible for recycling only. If you would like to send your items please send them to:
Gazelle
61 North Beacon St.
Suite 3000
Boston Ma, 02134
If you would rather not send in your item here is a link to a page on our site that can help you locate a local recycle center so you can responsibly recycle these items.
Thank you,
Nicole
Customer Care
This is just a bit of a snafu don’t you think? No where is this policy mentioned on the site, or in the order fulfillment process. In fact, I was instructed to print up a packing slip and the FAQ says an envelope will arrive shortly.
At a minimum, this policy should be revealed during the order fulfillment process, prior to the step where one prints up the packing slip.
I venture to say that the envelope should be sent anyway in order to “buy a customer.” Everyone knows that customer acquisition is much more costly than repeat business, so Gazelle would do well to suffer a small loss in order to acquire a customer who will experience a smooth process from the get go, gain confidence from the experience and then continue to do (profitable) business with them.
As it is, I’m grumpy with Gazelle, doubtful that I’ll do business with them in the future and I now have to source a local cell phone recycler – after having old junk clutter my desktop for two weeks.
Related posts:
Do the tubes in office supply stores where you can drop your cell phone actually lead to the phone getting recycled? I wrote a blog post ages ago about finding a local place to recycle cell phones, but sadly, the blog is now defunct and I can\’t find the information.
For what it\’s worth, I agree with your opinion on Gazelle. They would have been well served to \’buy a customer\’ as you wrote, since in this day of the internet in particular, news of bad customer service develops a vibrant life of its own.