My oldest son wants to be a Phillies player for Halloween, but he doesn’t want to have any old uniform. He wants the gray uniform that the team wears at away games. And he would prefer a player’s jersey with a name and number.
The kid’s birthday is actually on Halloween, so I figure if I can make this happen I can count it as his birthday gift as well as his costume. Efficient and cost-effective. Another brilliant move by Mom.
But finding the desired jersey was a little more challenging than expected. Baseball season is over and in stores Phillies’ gear has been replaced with Eagles, Sixers, and Flyers.
Some online searches lead me to a few outlets of discount uniforms that upon closer inspection are direct-from-factory operations in China. But I’m pretty desperate so I cross my fingers, hold my breath and order a Chase Utley, gray Phillies away jersey in a youth medium.
I try not to think about how risky it is to have something shipped all the way from China on a timeline. I try not to think about sweatshops. I try not to think about the fact that I’m paying less for the jersey than I am for the shipping. I try not to think about credit card fraud and identity theft.
I try to only think about a smiling nine-year-old.
It will be fine I tell myself. I’m even smug when I hear via email that the jersey has arrived in New York a full week before Halloween. Golden. We are golden.
Except the jersey that arrives at our house is not the jersey that I ordered. I need a youth medium. They shipped an adult large. From China. It’s five days until Halloween.
After some readjusted expectations, my son concedes he will take any jersey which we easily find at a local sporting goods store.
Then I contact my friends in China about the mix up. I email them asking for
1) a refund 2) the jersey that I ordered.
They replied asking for photographic evidence that it was indeed the wrong jersey. Although odd, I honored their request. To which they replied:
Dear Customer,
Sorry for the mistake.
1.How about keep this jersey and we offer a free shipping for you to buy the youth jersey. 2.Or you keep this jersey and we refund you $20 as compensation.
You are still growing and you will wear it soon. Or you can send it to your friends or relatives as a gifs. It takes so much money and time to return. Hope your understanding. If you can keep the jersey we will be very appreciate!
Best wishes!
Yours Sincerely,
Customer Service
(Copied and pasted directly from my email, typos and all.)
Maybe in China they don’t embrace the customer is always right. Maybe I was too friendly in my initial email and they got the wrong impression that I am interested in doing them a favor. Maybe they don’t realize that it will take approximately 10 years for my son to grow into an adult large.
Save for 2024 or send to an unsuspecting friend or relative? It’s a toss up.
Have a very real Halloween. It’s spooky out there.
What a crack up, Kaly! Thanks for the laugh, and the warning.
Actually, I almost bought one of the girl’s costumes (or parts of it) via one of these exact scenarios. It turns out that if you want a Ravenclaw necktie for under $40, China’s the only option. Ultimately, I decided against it, but now I’m wondering how things might have turned out…
People have been coming out of the woodwork with their China factory customer service stories. I had no idea this was so common. At least I’m not the only sucker!!!
Ha! This is really funny. Interesting approach to customer service for sure!
People keep sending me their own emails from their own experiences….definitely not what we’re used to. I think I’ll stick to Amazon from here on out!