CGC Customer Service - Damaged Holders

[scottish]

All four CGC shipments I've received since May of this year have been received with no damage. Only one shipment had one book...all the rest had two or more (some as many as 10). I'm not saying their slipping...I have no evidence to indicate that though I do believe some folks have been receiving damaged cases...it seems an easy thing to do sometimes.

[Guest]

One of the general mindsets that I am picking up from this conversation is that cracked holders are just a side risk of doing business with CGC that we, the buyer of CGC's services, have to accept. I say bull**** to that. We do not have to accept this. I see a very disturbing pattern of CGC service buyers that are complaining about the same thing...inadequate packing. And CGC is trying to pass off the liability to the postal service through the buyer...which is . CGC needs to be reholdering for free each and every book that is damaged in shipping if they continue to cut corners on the packing.

 

Can I get an "amen"?

[WernerVonDoom]

Grriii, you may have been given some bad info...here's some claim information from the USPS website:

 

1. Senders and addressees can file claims for damaged contents.

 

2. Only senders can file claims for missing packages.

 

3. The following are needed to make a claim: contents, box (with all original labels), packaging material, and CGC invoice (you may need other documentation of value if the actual books are damaged).

 

4. The website says to file claims for damage "immediately". But it also goes on to say claims must be filed between 15 days and 1 year of the mailing date (for registered). I'd go on day 15.

 

5. Some exclusions: a) "Articles whose fragile nature prevented their safe carriage in the mail, regardless of packaging", b) Any item packaged in such a manner that it could not have reached its destination undamaged in the course of mail"

 

If anyone has ever collected on a claim, I'd like to hear the details. Thx

 

[WernerVonDoom]

I agree 100%

[greggy]

Well, Steve Borock did say that previously but mentioned that you would have to PAY for your own shipping both ways. That is such a joke that even if they did pay for reholdering fees, it is only economically worthwhile for me to get stuff reslabbed if I send it in with a grading order. Yeah, it sucks!

[scottish]

Ages ago I sold 3 long boxes of books to an eBay buyer and they were lost in transit (received the paper wrapping back from 3 of the boxes I sent).

 

I went into the PO and just filled out a form - they didn't keep the wrapping or anything from me that showed they were insured. About 3 weeks later I received 3 checks for the insured value + shipping.

 

That is the only time I had to experience the USPS claims process.

[OldGuy]

I've never bought anything via mail order that couldn't be returned for a new one if it arrived damaged. CGC is pioneering in more then one way evidently.

 

I just ordered and received a part for my Jeep and it had a small crack on part of the plastic due to damage during shipping. I called the company I ordered it from and they sent me a new part and credited my card for the shipping cost of sending the busted one back.

 

That's called "service". What CGC doesn’t get is that they are providing a *service* that people are *paying* for. If I give someone money for a product and I get the product in f.ucked up condition then the *service* was faulty. If they correct the problem that's good business. If they don't correct the problem (i.e. make me happy) then that is criminal unless they give me a full refund.

[WernerVonDoom]

One thing I forgot to mention:

 

When I called CGC to ask if they would reholder the damaged cases, one question I was asked was "Is this your first order?". I guess it is their policy to reholder books for newbies, but not for established customers. Very odd.

[Bonds25]

Amen!

[Kevin Boyd]

No 'amens' from me.

 

I've watched CGC's customer service people in action... they don't want the books to get damaged. Are you naive enough to think that a company this young DOES NOT CARE about customer satisfaction?

 

If the books are damaged when they arrive CALL CGC AND TELL THEM. I think they will almost ALWAYS say... send it back to them and they'll repair the holders.

 

I've had cracked books come back and my local dealer has sent them back and they have always been reholdered at no charge.

 

BUT I think you probably still have to pay for the shipping costs. There may be a way to claim for a return on your original shipping charges if you have to return the damaged goods. Since the package originated at CGC they may have to submit some paperwork.

 

THIS IS WHY THEY HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. CALL THEM AND GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT.

 

I have also had their staff explain in front of me some of the different ways that they have been trying to protect the books when shipping them out. They have tried shipping them in different types of boxes, with different types of padding, with different thicknesses of padding. Sometimes it works, sometimes not... but just like we all find when we buy or sell CGC books online, sometimes no matter how well you try to protect the slab for shipping a certain % will always get cracked.

 

On the flip side I have watched FEDEX drivers DROP the boxes with CGC books in them when deliverying them. Kick them from one end of the truck to the other so they can lift it off the back of the truck. I'm sure there's even less care put into the normal mail system and other similar courier companies. They just don't care and it's no wonder that any of the CGC books in those boxes survive the trip intact.

 

Kev

[WernerVonDoom]

Kev,

 

I guess you did not read the post at the top of this thread. I called CGCs customer service department and was told that they would not pay for replacing the damaged holders. Apparently they have changed their policy from when you turned yours in.

[Kevin Boyd]

Yeah, sorry, sometimes I miss the start of these things... oops.

 

I would call them again and ask to speak to Harshen directly.

 

Kev

 

Mine were pretty recent so I don't see why the policy would suddenly change without notice. Maybe you got one of the CS newbies?

[Guest]

Kev:

 

That is what I ended up doing and Harshen straightened everything out. And just to set the record straight...I have always believed that CGC tries very hard and, most of the time, does a good job. But I have been doing business with CGC for a long time and have observed a noticeable deterioration of their packing prowess. I am a fan of CGC and their service - I would not say this just to spite them. And I have notified Harshen. We all know that holders get cracked once in a while. All I am saying is that 1) CGC needs to pay special attention to packing the books, knowing what we know about the USPS and 2) I don't think we should even have to ask to replace a cracked holder and I certainly don't think *I* should be responsible for filing an insurance claim for a service that I paid good money for that was not screwed up by me. The better business practice is for CGC to realize that they need to personally take care of the customer's issues, within their ability, *each and every time*.

[Kevin Boyd]

And I don't disagree with you on any of those points.

 

CGC is expanding quickly and these types of glitches do creep in when the pressure is on to get the books graded and back to the submitter as fast as possible without compromising grading standards.

 

I know that they don't want to have more books crack en route. I know that they want you to be happy with the service so that you will continue to use it. I know that they have been trying new means to do protect the books, and not everything is going to work. Therefore, it is crucual that the person receiving cracked books call CGC to complain so they know that they are not packaging items securely and I agree *fully* that you should not have to pay for cracked cases.

 

(But with something as fragile as the CGC case there will always be a % that will crack).

 

The person that told Werner he should follow-up with the post office was obviously misinformed and, not that I'm excusing his actions in any way, the head of the customer service department probably needs to know this so that he can make sure that they don't continue to tell customers this. CGC has been expanding a lot this summer and they have made new hires in all areas, including customer service. Perhaps this is the first time that this person was confronted with this problem and answered on his own rather than confirming company policy.

 

If I am speaking with a customer service rep with any company or bank that I am dealing with and I don't feel that they know what they are talking about or are asking me to do something that I don't agree with I ALWAYS ask for their manager or a senior person.

 

Kev

[WernerVonDoom]

Kev,

 

You are wrong here buddy. CGC's front line policy is to tell the customer to go file a claim. It's happened to me twice (different reps), and grriii says they say the same thing when he calls.

 

So I have to be an irate customer to get reholders?

[Guest]

Exactly! That is my concern also. I want to be given the best option available because I am a customer, not because I am pissed off.

[Kevin Boyd]

Well that sucks. I've never dealt with their front line staff, only with the reps that I meet at shows and I've seen them tell people in front of me to send them back for reholdering.

 

If my holder is cracked in a shipment I just give it back to my CGC dealer and he handles everything for me. My only charge is the 2nd shipping cost. I don't think he even calls the main line, I think he calls Harshen directly and says he has however many cracked cases that he is returning for reholdering...

 

I still say you should do the same thing and ask him why they have this frontline policy about filing a claim while you are at it. Since they shipped the books to you wouldn't they have to file the claim anyway?

 

Kev

 

 

[Gorgo]

You're absolutely right! Bingo, we're in a customer service realm here, few businesses or organizations I know of can snub a customer like CGC, and get away with it, with no consequence. Besides, where else are you going to go? I hold my cracked containers & put a post it on each, so I know which books are cracked in case I want to sell them. The one hope for this outfit is Scott in Customer Service. He is a great guy to deal with & is very interested in helping customers. If they put him in charge, we'd probably have our books back from submissions in a week, with a minimum of complaints, and we'd have much more consistent grades on every book, regardless of rank & status with CGC.

 

What really irks me, is stuff (i.e. crumbs, flakes of paper, hair, etc.) inside the containers. This is far more disturbing than cracks in the slab. Check out the description on this auction I saw (scan is gone, but description makes point):

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2120319126

 

Fortunately for me this has only happened on a dozen or so books, and has enflamed a few buyers I've sold books to. One was a Hulk #104 9.4 (black cover) with a white fleck of paper smack in the middle half of the book! Trying to tap the container only moved it slightly. Another was an ASM #31 8.5 with a cookie crumb in the middle of the cover (sealed inside), that had a grease looking spot around it! Sold that one quickly!

[Dr_Neff]

CGC has an inelastic service, wherein a customer has no competition to go to for business. In an elastic service, the customer can go to the competition and get services or satisfaction. Think of it as a captive audience. It will be interesting to see the collections of encapsulated books hit the market, as people collect them and keep them for awhile. or at least until the next Comic Book movie comes out, right? What can we recommend to CGC to improve their existing services?

- Better PR?

- Better Packing?

- (your suggestions and reasons here)

 

[Bonds25]

Why should you be responsible for the 2nd shipping cost? It costs about $7 to ship it insured to them (which is the same as their reholdering cost). If it's their fault that it was damaged, THEY should pay all the charges.