I don’t usually get riled up enough to actually bad mouth a business – but will gladly do so on this occasion.

The whole saga began when I rang Vanderwee Chocolates to order some chocolates for a friend. The amount which I wanted to spend was not available on the website, so I thought I would order over the phone. The owner advised me to select a box and place that order through their website but specify the amount I wanted to spend and they could do so for me.

So I followed his advice. Then I received an invoice – not for the amount I specified but for the amount of the box which I selected. Concerned, I rang Vanderwee and asked about the discrepancy between the invoice and what I specified. I was told that the owner had made up the box and everything was fine.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed that they have charged the box amount and not the specified amount on my credit card.

Now this amount is very trivia – only $4. So I rang the shop to tell them it is bad business practice to advise your customer one thing and to do another.

This is where the whole incident becomes farcical. The first thing the owner said to me was well they were very busy that week and if they had taken the time out to do what everyone wants them to do, they wouldn’t have been able to get out the number of orders they did. Mind you, this was not said in the apologetic tone of voice either.

When I suggested that that it may be bad business practice to advise one thing and then do another, the owner asked what did I ordered? I said I ordered the $24 box but specified that I wanted a $20 box and if it was not possible, then to call me and confirm. This was when he suggested that it was bad business practice on MY part to do so. He said that I should have read the website more closely and I would see that it was not possible to do a $20 box (remember why I rang Vanderwee in the first place). He then went into a rant about how they didn’t charge me a delivery fee. When I mentioned that the box was being picked up, he said yes but they had to deliver the order from one store to another. Now I could be wrong when I thought that internal delivery is the issue of the business and not the customer??? …. (Check out the delivery policy on their website www.vanderwee.com).

Then the owner raved on about how if I read the website properly, I would have seen that the minimum fee charged was $25 (in which case, why do they have presents for $10?).

Finally, he said that what I am after is the $4 refund. He was not too impressed when I said no I did not want the $4 refund - what I wanted was an apology or an acknowledgement that they did not do the right thing this time. Instead he told me that I have the dubious distinction of being the first customer to complain about their services in the 12 years they have been opened. Personally I doubt that – if he treated everyone the way he treated me, there must be more complaints.

I guess my point is what sort of society have we become when we pay money for bad customer service? Now Vanderwee may have many customers of whom I am only one. But that does not invalidate my status as a customer (ex-customer now). For them to be so secure in telling me that I should be sure to get their correct details so that I can tell friends and family not to buy their stuff reeks of arrogance.

Equally dismissive was the owner’s statement that if I can’t afford the chocolates, I shouldn’t be buying it. The irony of the whole saga is that I have bought their chocolates in the past and would have continued doing so regardless of the cost. However bad customer attitude is not one of the costs I am prepared to pay. So if anyone out there agrees, do not buy chocolates from Vanderwee. After all there are plenty of good chocolate shops out there with better customer service.

Now excuse me while I brush up on my Fair Trading Act…..