Bad Customer, Bad Store Owner, or SL borked?!?

Nope. They're not really close associates or what you would consider friends of mine. I know of them from these forums and as such I address them as I do. Or should I add the Mr. and Mrs. would that be more appropiate?

Who knew?

More like chewing glass, when it comes to shop owners.

Funny enough I did some custom work for a friend of his before.

He is actually quite a respectful customer.

So definitely Ricardo isn't as bad as people may think, even in this thread.

Its quite possible that he has had a really bad string of luck with some store owners.

It's possible. I agree with Bradley - I'm glad I haven't shopped where he shops. I actually tend to gravitate towards places where I've had a good experience anyway, so I end up shopping in a lot of the same places. Maybe I need to get out more. I've never been shafted by a store owner.

I just refuse to believe that "most" store owners are as bad as he says. Most implies a majority, and that just isn't my experience nor is it the experience of anyone I know, except Harris.

Hence my use of the word 'if.' Did you fail reading comprehension?



Why, no, I'm actually quite capable of asking questions and forming opinions all on my own.

Agreed. Case in point: I just got through moving 1500 miles. During the 4 day drive (one must stop often with dogs) I had zero access to either SL or e-mail. I do have all IM's go straight to e-mail when I'm not logged in, but in this instance, I simply didn't have access. Hell, what if I happen to go on vacation (gasp!)? Am I seriously expected to log in or check my email every 2 hours just to make sure someone like Ricardo doesn't get all bent out of shape? Gimme a break, dude.

As it was, as soon as I was physically able to check my e-mail, I did so, and responded to every single customer query, and explained that I was still unable to login to SL, but would take care of their problem/question/issue as soon as possible. All were very understanding and encouraging. NONE were as pissed off as Ricardo.

That's quite true; but you also said this:

Considering the total number of merchants in SL, saying all of them except a maximum of 5 is a very STRETCHED definition of "most".

Hold on now - you don't know Ricardo. Maybe he has an extra finger. It could be a maximum of 6. Maybe he's really messed up and has 7. I can't see it being more than that. So, if the total number of merchants in SL is 13 or less, and he was born with two extra fingers on one hand, then he has a perfectly valid point.

So to get back on topic...what was the script that you were looking for in the first place?

WOW!!! So many replies, thanx to ALL Way too many for me to reply to individually.
This yet may turn out to be the best $L100 I ever spent, due to the wealth of Info this thread has provided

I should explain, I kinda ignored the freebie scripts when newborn, as had no idea what purpose of them was

Have had a gr8 day visiting freebies stores today, way so much better now than I remember. Not found the "Rain" script I originally wanted yet tho, but is fun to search

I still don’t understand or believe this kinda Rip Off is permitted tho... Is it not poss for a Linden to fly-by and stop what is blatant theft?? Regardless of amount, theft IS theft!?!

Also, I don’t get why I can’t name the thief?? Like if I had a prob called "Caller - C + B Project"

IMO 99.99% of traders in SL have been way so fantastic with me with any questions/problems I've had... I just felt so very confused at the time of my original post.... like, was it me, him or SL!?!

/me hopes the A-hole reads this and enjoys his life changing $L100…. Scum!

Confidence dented..... Faith restored
Thanx again to all who posted,
Velda.

Ok, last night I came here and I had said I had been searching for a texture to use on rocks and a waterfalls. I had also included I tried to pay more for it in the place I finally saw it but got no answer from the shop owner.

I had taken a picture of these rocks which I then sent to several people who have texture shops as well as those who make waterfalls and rocks. I said I wanted to buy either a build they had as long as it was mod/copy for me to break down or the texture itself. Along the way I got some answers but no one seem to have it.

Late last night I got 2 replies and both people said they could make it. One said he could make it but it would be very expensive. I asked for a price range which he replied would be about 3000 or a bit more. He said it would be hard and would take time to make and it would take him away from whatever he was now working on. I thought the price was crazy but I responded as long it was what I wanted I would buy it.

Today when I came in, someone who I know who I've done business with who makes waterfalls as well as other items told me the texture I want is called Yellow Coral and can be found in everyones inventory, in their library.

In my inventories library, ok. And here I had someone who according to them is an expert on textures trying to get me to pay upwards of 3000L. This only restores and keeps my faith in exactly what I been saying all along.

Come on now, let me see whatever excuses you want to make up for this happening. Oh, this person didn't know it was in everyones inventory? A self described expert no less.

Trust me, they enjoy it even if it was 1L. Greed has no bounds.

Name him, happens all the time here. But the forums do-gooders will trip over themselves scolding you for doing so. Isn't that right guys?

Your bad experiences don't necessarily mean they are the norm, Ricardo, so why we should rush to find excuses in order to prevent you from tarring 99.99% of store owners with the Harris Brush of Shoddy Service and Cheating Twistery as a consequence, is beyond me.

Whoever it was is either unaware (it happens) or a shyster... but you are projecting the nature of that experience onto the whole of SL commerce. "It happened to me so unless you prove otherwise, it must be happening to everyone." Which is a bit rich.

Well, I think you are wrong.

I've bought a lot of stuff in my three years on SL, and I can count the two "bad" experiences on one hand - on two or three fingers, to be exact.

One was when I bought some $40 men's shoes from a smaller shop for a friend, not realizing they weren't transferrable, and sent him an IM about it. (I didn't know at the time it was better to send a notecard.)

And never heard back. Gasp!

And one other, for a $10 texture that turned out to be non-transferrable. I didn't hear back about that one, either.

Another time was when I returned to a store I had previously purchased from, only to discover that I had been banned from the store because the guy didn't like what I said on the forums.

That's it! That's all.

Yet I could tell you dozens of stories a week about the responsible merchants who go out of their WAY to not only provide wonderful products for more than reasonable prices, but will also get back to you with about your questions (no matter how stupid, and some of mine are pretty stupid!).

I could tell you off hand at least five or six where some merchant has made up for something that was actually MY mistake.

Want to hear one that was fairly recent? I bought some slippers for friends for Christmas, and one of them, which was from a different maker (I was buying these off SLExchange), I didn't notice wasn't transferrable. But these slippers were perfect for this particular friend, as he is a vampire and they were Dracula slippers.

So I wrote and told my mistake - knowing perfectly well they were copyable, and thus I didn't REALLY have another pair coming to me. But the guy not only sent agreed to send the pair to my friend, he gave ME a pair of bunny slippers, gratis! Just because he was a sweetie.

It's safe to say that 99% of my experiences, merchants have been friendly, fair, reliable, and bend over backwards to make sure I am happy as a customer.

As for this charge of "greedy," I'm sick and tired of hearing that.

When I first heard it, I was shocked, just shocked. There are very few content creators on SL who are making what their work would call for, if you looked at it on an hourly basis - or who even make a minimum wage.

Let me repeat that: NOT EVEN minimum wage.

They do it for the love of creating and the love of sharing their creations with others. If they can make money to pay their tier, great. If they can make any money beyond that, to buy some SL items for themselves, or to start getting something for their own labor, so much the better.

I have developed a theory about why the word "greedy" gets applied to content creators who charge for their work in SL.

I think it's because people are used to NOT paying for content in a game, because most games come with it all provided - and you don't pay for it; you work for it, in quests and things like that.

So I think some of them look at content creators as if we were actually Lindens, and have the audacity to charge for something on top of whatever the membership fee is. (Which is nonexistant, unless you want to become a premium subscriber, which itself probably raises expectations that content should be fre, too).

But we are not Lindens. We are just nice people, the vast majority of us; and working more for the love of the art and to help others enjoy their SL experience than for love of money, and I don't call that greed.

coco

Edit: Just finished reading the thread, and discovered that everyone else has already said what I did, down to the 99% and how many fingers are on one hand! lol

You can't name him here, but it's fine to link to external sites that discuss the person by name. Here's a link for more info on your scammer: http://www.slexchange.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=22948&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc

I
f you came on here and made an accusation then they'll post their side of the story then you'll post yours then they'll post theirs and it will be completely non productive and a waste of everyones time. We have too much of that happen already without naming names.

The other thing that can occur is someone makes a false accusation but because the merchant doesn't read the forums they can't defend themselves.

Since there are plenty of 3rd party forums that you can tell everyone what a jerk someone is, it's better here in the official forums to leave the rule as is.

The reason for the naming names policy is pretty simple -

You could be a liar. And it would have negative consequences for the person negative things were said about.


Since when is unsubstantiated character assassination defensible?

I've never had such a bad experience with a store as the person above described - although I have had people tell me to "go and find and buy it yourself" when I asked them about a texture from their build, when it turned out to be in the Library.

It can be negative for a seller too. I've had people asking for refunds before on products they didn't buy, or that were working fine. I've had someone post a "doesn't work at all" review of a HUD I made on SLExchange, when in fact they were using a buggy release of SL which didn't load the prims of HUDs properly.

I should also add that I, personally, tend to try and avoid buying scripted items where somebody has made a functional copy an existing successful product and just made it cheaper. I know most people don't consider it immoral to do that but I prefer not to reward that activity, unless the original price was clearly way beyond the pale.

Thanx for the explanations Re: reasons not to name, can see the logic for it I suppose.

Only proof I have is transaction history, guess I could never prove I never actually received the item

742642887 Date: 2008-02-12 10:50:59 Type: Object Sale L$99

Also thanx for link Me thinks life's too short to let this bug me any longer...
Has tought me loads though... So not a totally bad experience, more of a learning one

Time to draw a line under this for me, Thanx again, Velda.

___________________________________

i know of at least two freebie rainmakers/scripts:
1. simple rainmaker III by damani freebies
2. casval & rickard's rainstorm by rickard roentgen

as far as your experience goes, that guy is well known for doing to people exactly what he did to you. sometimes he doesnt even wait for you to buy anything before he bans you (as illogical as that sounds).

Maybe 3000L was the price for a bespoke waterfall, or a newly created custom texture that looked enough like the one shown. Not everyone is aware of the library textures (though I think there are some great ones in there), and not every account has access to them- an alt of mine has no library textures at all.

In no way do you have to assume that the merchant intended to charge 3000L for a full perm library texture. Unless you're predisposed that way.

Even while knowing Ricardo won't change his mind by reading my words, I do reply

Reading the answers in this topic, as well as the zillion topics about cutomer service there were in the past, most people (almost all) agree that most merchants are honest and bend backwards to satisfy their customers needs. Only Ricardo thinks different, has an almost exactly opposite opinion even.
Which can mean that he shops at weird places (at least different places then most others) or that his way of communicating is different then most others. Regarding the posts I read from Ricardo in this forum, I would go for the latter, but one never knows As for me, I think it is pretty safe to assume that most merchants are providing pretty good customer service.

As a merchant I've had only 3 incidents upto now: 1 time an item was borked, I went to the customers place, tested the item and replaced it for 2 working ones (bonus for the trouble). The 2 others were because my hippovend servers borked, and did not deliver. Delivered the items, and gave a gift. Everybody happy, and it did not cost me a dime. Once created, items cost nothing, so its very easy to replace something if needed. And no sane merchant wants bad advertising, so why would they not servive their customers the best they can?

The script store is known indeed, I was banned from there as well Jerks like that should get a lifetime ban from SL... selling freebies, and banning when they don't right away get what they want (or right after you payed...). Be glad it's only 99 linden, I got a script offered for 3k, which I later on found for free. When I refused the offer, I got booted.

One last word to Ricardo: Try to lighten up a bit And have some patience for gods sake... a few hours is nothing. I mean, when you send Sony an email with a complaint about your DVD player, do you get pissed when they do not reply within a few hours? Not everybody that is logged in, is sitting staring at their screen waiting for you to ask them a question, you know.
I am very impatient myself, and am disappointed when someone doesn't reply to me right away when I have a question, but I do understand them very well.

One example more of excellent service: I IM'ed someone with a question last night, and got the message: user is not online, bla bla. Within 10 minutes an IM popped up: How can I help you, with an auto-added signature: Sent from my BlackBerry. I decided to IM him back that I could wait untill he was online again


Greetings, Marcel