Hey mate, I’m not passing judgement on the issue here, I suspect it is a little column A, a little column be when it comes to the fault for the issue blowing up here. But I do want to argue something that seems to pop up frequently- and that is the notion that 'the customer is always right".
This is a notion which makes us feel empowered as consumers, but it is, to a large degree, a fallacy. Why? Because if this was the case, then this would imply business existed solely for the purpose of satisfying the customer, and it isn’t. It also exists to pay wages, grow, and make profit. So really, it exists for the both the customer, and also it’s own reasons.
The more accurate saying for business is “There are some customers you don’t want to do business with”. This is when it isn’t financially viable for a business to do business with a certain client, and some clients cost more to deal with than it is worth in return. Business is fundamentally an exchange of value between two parties; the business exchanges goods and the customer exchanges cash, and a relationship builds based on joint value creation.
The adage the ‘customer is always right’ suggests that the only value that needs to be created is for the customer. Which is wrong.
What you might be seeing here is a case where @onloop is making a choice about value creation- it is simply makes more sense for him to service the next set of customers than to invest the same finite time trying to satisfy @makepeace et al 100%, especially when @onloop was not in control of the decisions the customer chose to make all by himself.
You can argue the merits of that in terms of reputation, building customer loyalty via reciprocity etc, but ultimately he runs a business and is making his choices based on what he believes is best for him and his business (and he is probably prioritising short term gains over long term effects because he has no choice as a home business with bugger all capital).
In terms of deciding which customers are worth doing business with and investing the extra mile in, I suspect most the growing businesses engaged on this forum find that the DIY scene is actually pretty fickle. Many (of course not all) openly shop on price alone, despite the pitfalls in doing that, and show almost zero brand loyalty by openly supporting cheaper clones or direct-from-factory suppliers, and trying to pressure price reductions out of small business with group buys and bulk orders with non-DIY scene suppliers. I find that ironic, especially when there is such a strong expectation of superior customer-support, but almost no brand loyalty in return. The title and intention behind this thread is a classic example of that.
I think @onloop could improve his messaging and demeanour with customers, but I also feel almost every issue is out of his control. If he wasn’t growing 1000 odd % in 3 months you could be assured he would be working 24/7 to solve dicky little problems like the one in this thread, because he would have no choice. But he does have choice (like @makepeace does) and it seems he is prioritising effort where it makes the most sense right now.
And if anyone thinks superior customer service comes for free- it doesn’t. You pay for it because it costs time and man hours and those costs get passed back in price rises. The blokes going after the DIY market share are always looking to reduce costs because DIY’s are largely driven by a desire to build boards at home as cheaply as possible. Cheaper prices is offset with an expectation you can order yourself without screwing up, you can determine what you want/ need yourself, and can build/ self-help yourself. It all goes to custard when you want all of that flexibility and support, plus superior quality products and the cheapest prices- it’s a mutually exclusive situation and something will give.