annoyedThis is a warning about the business This Place is a Zoo, based in Snohomish, WA.
On September 23, 2007, I bought a stuffed collie plush from thisplaceisazoo.com.
After enough time had passed that I couldn't PayPal dispute [I allowed 6-8 weeks for delivery, and then some], I emailed the provided customer service email to ask where my stuffed animal was.
And...I didn't recieve a response. Until now, I just decided to ignore it and cut my losses. But that's not really fair to the people who WOULD have done business with them and gotten burned like I have. So here I am posting warnings and complaints!
A week ago [on Monday], I posted a complaint to complaints.com and within a few hours [wish their customer service emails were that fast], I got a reply from Kirk. He's listed as "sole proprieter" on the BBB website.
This Place is a Zoo is not a scam. We try to reply to all customer issues the best we can. A common problem with paypal is that customers don't follow the instructions on the website so we do not get the order. This is not a scam issue as much as customers not reading instructions. A simple call to our 360-668-9843 phone number could have settled this issue a year ago. Give us a call and if we can find your paypal orde we will send out a free dog.
sincerely,
Kirk @ this place is a zoo
So they're going to give me a "free" dog after it's something I already paid in full for! Wonderful. :) Not to mention their website is so strange that -many- people have the problem of their orders not being recieved/shipped. I -did- follow these special instructions and it's been nearly a year. Maybe it's time for a new website layout? Other businesses don't have this problem.
I recieved some feedback on artists_beware about another who recieved a similar promise [in her case, free shipping] and never recieved the lion she bought, anyway. I'm not about to go out of my way to get them to promise to finally ship my stuffed animal when they probably won't anyway. I don't have long distance, so I'd "only" be out the money for a calling card, but I'm past wanting my animal. I just want a refund.
Now I've also reported them to the BBB of AK, OR and WA's website [where they have other complaints of "delayed shipping"]. There was a place for desired resolution and I let them know that all I wanted was my $31.50 refund. Empty promises aren't doing it for me. :)
TL;DR version: I would recommend taking your stuffed animal business far, far away from thisplaceisazoo.com.
If anyone knows another place I could post a complaint or warning, I'd be happy to hear about it. :)