Columbia Sportswear broke my heart!

[Moab]

Its probably because I love Columbia Sportswear so much. That my interaction with them today broke my heart.

And where does anger come from? Pain. Lol.

CS is one of the few and maybe the only outdoor company that makes big n tall sizes. I have searched for the better part of two decades for companies that carry my big n tall sizes.  And its impossible to find them. I have literally searched for years for things like a goretex jacket. Because no one carries one in 3xlt. And USGI are the only ones available. But that took years of notifications on Ebay as they are still very rare.

All of my fleece jackets, hiking pants and shirts come from CS. And their products are well made, reasonably priced and often go on sale.

But after returning a shirt this week. I ended up posting this review EVERYWHERE I could online:


"I ordered a shirt that was not the size listed on the label. I started a return and was told i would have to pay $6 in return shipping.

I spent 35 minutes on chat getting the $6 refunded.

Because I did not believe that I should have to pay to return an item that was not the size they claimed it was.

When my order refund finally came it was $12 short of what i had spent.

This time I called and complained. The first operator hung up on me. The second one tried to tell me that because they had already refunded me $6 (my return shipping that they had already agreed to pay). That I only had another $6 coming to me.

I tried to explain that the previous $6 was for my return shipping, when I had to ship the item back, and he would not let me speak. He continued speaking over me. Until I finally asked to speak to a supervisor.

The supervisor continued to make the claim that because i had already been refunded $6 for "my" return shipping - that that sum would have to come out of my total that I spent on the shirt. But he said it in such a way that it was the most corporate double speak I have ever heard.

I pointed this out to him. And he continued to recite the corporate policy. That basically they had lied to me and would never pay my return shipping.

In this day and age, when they are competing with Amazon and every other online retailer, they should refund the entire amount and NOT charge you to ship the item back. On top of already wasting your time sending you an incorrectly sized product.

And the hour and a half i lost from my life trying to get a $12 refund.

I love Columbia's clothes. I will never shop with them again."


To be honest I probably will. Lol! But only because they are the only game in town.

And it wasn't just the $6 in return shipping. It was their attitude. This wasn't customer support from India. This was obviously well spoken and trained stateside support. Meaning they weren't just reading from a screen. They were highly trained in corporate speech, and underhanded tactics. Like i couldnt even get them to admit that they had lied the first time by claiming they were giving me $6 for my return shipping. If they were just going to take it out of my overall refund.

Anyway. Don't do business with Columbia Sportswear. Unless your a big ass person and have no other choice. Lol!

Also order up in size. Because they are obviously taking sizing cues from overseas manufacturers (the product was made in Vietnam. I don't recall if they were made elsewhere in the past.). As this shirt was easily a complete size to small.

[majorhavoc]

Dick move on Columbia's part.  I'm sure you told them at some point that you were a long-term customer who loved their products.  Yet they still lost a loyal patron over return shipping?  This is 2022.  People buy clothing online and expect to return stuff they don't like or doesn't fit.  Are they actually unaware of a little company called Amazon? 

I bet good money yours is not an isolated case.  I'm sure in a couple of years they'll hire a big dollar consultant to help them understand why they've lost so much market share.  And the consultant will come up with some bullshit solution, like increasing their social media presence or switching to some god-awful colors to appeal to Gen-Z. 

Make the customer happy.  It's not rocket science yet I'm amazed how many companies seem to struggle with that concept. 

PS: and an employee actually hung up on you?  Any company worth your patronage would fire a worker who did that.

[Moab]

Dick move on Columbia's part.  I'm sure you told them at some point that you were a long-term customer who loved their products.  Yet they still lost a loyal patron over return shipping?  This is 2022.  People buy clothing online and expect to return stuff they don't like or doesn't fit.  Are they actually unaware of a little company called Amazon? 

I bet good money yours is not an isolated case.  I'm sure in a couple of years they'll hire a big dollar consultant to help them understand why they've lost so much market share.  And the consultant will come up with some bullshit solution, like increasing their social media presence or switching to some god-awful colors to appeal to Gen-Z. 

Make the customer happy.  It's not rocket science yet I'm amazed how many companies seem to struggle with that concept. 

PS: and an employee actually hung up on you?  Any company worth your patronage would fire a worker who did that.

I started every conversation with the fact that i love Columbia. And have purchased their clothing for years. It did not seem to matter. It was as if i were talking to a middle manager at a predatory corporation. The way they tried to turn the conversation around was very sophisticated. They were obviously trained on what to say so that Columbia would never have to pay for return shipping. And neither the customer service agent nor the supervisor would even admit that basically what they were doing was reniging on there agreement to refund my return shipping last week on the 1st.

It was crazy. It was if they were fighting tooth and nail for this $6 in return shipping. And trying to make it out like I was just not understanding their system. I felt like i was talking to beaurocrats in some cold war nation.

I also said "You do realize that your competing with Amazon and other major online retailers. That do not charge return shipping. Right?" No answer. Just more corporate speak.

I probably would have settled for just paying the return shipping if they had refused on the 1st. But when I called in and they tried pretending like it was my fault. And that they weren't trying to screw me out of the return shipping they'd already agreed to refund. I was done.

I couldn't even get them to agree that they were simply refusing to honor the refund on the return shipping. It was so crazy.

I posted that review on every major review site on the internet. Including the BBB and one that forwarded the review to Columbia. I was that upset. I have never done that. Not one time. They were that conniving.