|
WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: September 21, 2002 WebWord Scavenger Hunt -- Jack wants to complain about the Deluxe Scrabble board game he purchased at Costco last week. Based on prior complaints to Costco, he knows talking to Costco is a waste of time. He wants to complain to the manufacturer. Can you locate an appropriate web comment form or e-mail address where he should direct his complaint? If so, please share the process you undertook to find it. Jack was stumped.
Reader Comments...
Hey, like how I talk about myself in third-person? Rule #1: Domain records do not count. Those e-mail addresses are not for customer service, not the appropriate place to direct a comment. Rule #2: I will be more impressed if your solution does not involve establishing an account and logging into the manufacturer's web site. Im my opinion, today's Deluxe Scrabble is a cheap (actually $$ costly), flimsy piece of plastic junk - a pure embarrassment. I immediately returned the game to Costco. I will buy a sturdy 1980s (maybe late '70s?) version on Ebay. In looking for a place to convey my shopping experience I went around in circles on the manufacturer's web site.
Why would they need to know your birthdate in order to "provide the best possible online customer service"? Maybe a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and Hasbro deceiving (lying to) customers? HOW DARE THEY? What business is it of theirs? Apparently, they just want it so that they can sell it. Posted by: Morris Cox on September 21, 2002 06:45 PM
Why would they need to know your birthdate in order to "provide the best possible online customer service"? Maybe a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about (why did I put and?) Hasbro deceiving (lying to) customers? HOW DARE THEY? What business is it of theirs? Apparently, they just want it so that they can sell it. Posted by: Morris Cox on September 21, 2002 06:47 PM
John, I'm not puckering up anytime soon. The birthdate screen was one of the first things I ran into. It is not a web form, nor an e-mail address. Supplying my birthdate only sends me to a page that says I have to read their FAQ first, and then I will be allowed to submit a question -- after I log in. I don't have a question, nor is it realistic to expect me to create an account and log in. I want a freakin' e-mail address or comment form to supply feedback. Posted by: Jack on September 21, 2002 07:31 PM
I'm not sure you'd want to give any personal information to them anyway, including when you complain. From their terms of service: "Should any viewer of a document on this web site respond to Hasbro with information including feedback data, such as questions, comments, suggestions, or the like regarding the site, or the content of any item, such information shall be deemed to be non-confidential and Hasbro shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such information." http://www.hasbro.com/home/terms.html
Later in the terms it says that personal information is governed by their privacy policy instead, but I still don't like them having two sets of rules for their information. Who decides what is "personal information?" Posted by: Adam Kalsey on September 21, 2002 07:51 PM
Hey John, how about adding a "customer service hall of shame" section to Webword? It would point out problems like these. Could be a hit. MadMan the ideas guy Posted by: MadMan on September 21, 2002 11:43 PM
The age question on the Hasbro site appears to be an attempt to comply with the The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires that children’s site obtain “verifiable parental consent” before collecting personal information from children under 13. This is an important consideration since Hasbro manufactures toys and the site contains sections aimed at children (note the age tabs in navigation bar on most pages in the site). When you enter a recent date on the site, It displays this message: Thus in the “customer care” are of the site, Hasbro attempts to step around the verifiable parental consent requirement, by asking children to have parents file requests in their place. The site’s privacy policy indicates that at least in some places of the site it does collect personal information from children and has a “Parental Consent Form” that must be filled out first. You only get that form after entering your age (either truthfully or not). This of course does not address Jack’s concern about having to view a FAQ before being able to enter a question. I find this a little obnoxious. It also does nothing to address Adam’s concern about the site treating all information as “non-confidential and Hasbro shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such information.” All the more reason to not collect information from children, who might be unable to give “informed consent” to this violation of their privacy.
In my last post, I did not address Jack’s original concern about how to contact Hasbro to convey his concerns about their shoddy merchandise. I note the frustrations by others when trying to use normal channels to convey the concern. Since at this point, the product has already been returned and we want to simply register a complaint about shoddy merchandise, I decide to go to the top and attempt to email the CEO. Of course the communication will actually be handled by an administrative assistant, if it is not simply ignored. Here is log of attempt to find CEO contact info: I click on the investor relation tab of the Hasbro Web site (mentioned by John above), and select “Investor Information.” This provides this contact info: Investor Relations Not quite what was desired; so I try again. This time I select annual reports under Corporate Info> Investor Information I select the most recent annual report (2001). I leaf through a couple pages, but I dislike the interface. I think about backing up and selecting the 2000 report, which is a pdf. PDFs are not desirable for browsing, but at least I would not have to learn a new interface and this one is rather ugly on my machine). Anyway I am not here to do an interface evaluation, so I decide to type “chief“ in the search box. I decide to search for address. I view the first entry in the search results and verify that the address and phone number above seem to be the general address for the firm. Still no e-mail address. Do some other searches on the Hasbro site without success. Move search to google, using “email hasbro Hassenfeld” as the search string. First entry on “Mayday Scrabble” is useless. Second entry about Hasbro suing clue.com gives info about contacting Hasbro. Yields two usable e-mail addresses (not the one I was after) for complaints and a list of other people one could contact at Hasbro to voice concerns (and a note indicating that snail-mail to corporate officers gets a lot of attention at Hasbro). E-mail addresses: Next search entry provides nothing useful, but does point out that the CFO at Hasbro earned $1,938,715 in 2000. Try new search on google “hassenfeld @hasbro.com” Scan the google search results page, and #8 contains the e-mail address I was looking for: ahassenfeld@hasbro.com
I was going to name my first boy after my dear departed brother, but now I'm thinking "Kent" has a nice ring to it. My wife disagrees, thinking it sounds too much like Kunta Kinte. However, when she hears my idea for a girl -- Eve Elle -- I'm sure I'll be able to get Kent by her. Posted by: Jack on September 22, 2002 09:22 PM
Hello. I thought I'd drop you some feedback about my recent purchase of "Deluxe Scrabble" from Costco. After opening the box, I immediately returned it. I was very disappointed at 'Deluxe Scrabble.' In my opinion, it is an expensive piece of plastic crap. A complete embarrassment. You should be ashamed. I am instead purchasing a 1980s (70s'?) era Deluxe Scrabble from Ebay -- at less expense -- because the quality of its construction is, in my opinion, 200% better than today's version. I am now seriously considering purchasing all of my board games from Ebay to ensure I am receiving quality products. I hope you will take a serious look at the cost-cutting measures you have taken and how it has affected your bottom line. No, not that bottom line. Your reputation.
Home | Moving WebWord | Cool Books | Hot Web Sites
URL: http://webword.com/weblog/ ©1998-2005 by WebWord.com. All rights reserved. |
