D&D 5E (2014) WizKids ToD mini issue

[Fildrigar]

That's really kinda crappy. Most minis companies will just straight up send you a replacement.

 

[Dausuul]

So sent along the packing slip and the armless elf a while back and the other day received a new elf with both arms firmly attached. My son was satisfied which, honestly, is really what I was wanting in the first place, but while their system was effective, I was kind of bugged by it really. They made me sign in to a system I could care less about just to print off a packing slip and paid for postage (paid more for the envelope/shipping than I would have just to buy the elf individually...). It just seemed to be way too much of a hassle. Also, on the packing slip they were pretty clear that there was no guarantee that they could replace the same miniature, which wasn't reassuring. Overall, no huge deal, but unless you're trying to make your kid happy, I'd say don't bother jacking with all the hoops. It felt a bit like I was paying for fixing their own mistake.

As somebody who used to work in customer service for an online store, requiring people to send back defective product is almost always dumb. It's defective! What are you going to do with it when you get it back? Unless it contains parts worth salvaging, you'll just toss it in the trash. Very few customers are looking to game your return-and-replace policy to get free stuff, so all you're doing is throwing money at the post office and making your customer experience less pleasant. Just apologize and ship a replacement.

If a particular customer or shipping address is demanding a lot of returns, you can always ask that customer to start shipping things back.

Edit: On re-reading, it looks as if WizKids made you pay for return postage. WTF? That goes beyond "dumb" into "awful customer service, file a complaint" territory. You never, ever make the customer pay for your mistake.

 

[Beleriphon]

Yeah, that isn't anything like Wizards. They toss in some extra stuff to help make up for the defective product and the fact that you have to pay for shipping.

 

[justinj3x3]

I thought I'd share this story for comparison.

I bought the Scourge of Suderham miniatures from Gale Force 9. While prepping the pieces to paint the foot broke on Milerjoi and the sword hand broke on Nerelas. I emailed GF9 about the broken pieces, but assumed they wouldn't be able to help me since the product is a limited run. To my surprise they emailed me back asking for my address and within a week or so I had new pieces (not just the broken pieces but all the pieces for both minis) delived to my door at no cost. I was thoroughly impressed.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

They should have paid for the postage.

A company with good customer service would have thrown something extra into the package as a good will gesture.