Beware the Bender Ball

I worked in the Customer Service industry for a very short while. One month as one of those poor agents that get yelled at and about three months training those poor agents that get yelled at. Out of all the stuff to memorize and learn, I remember this the most: Never piss a customer off (if it can be helped) because that pissed off customer will tell about 8 other potential customers who will eventually tell 8 other potential customers each, and so on and so for, ad infinitum.

Well, this customer is hoping to reach thousands, so hang on to your seats and see if you like them apples.

N.B. I know that much of the crap those goes on in these industries are really the big boss' faults. So this rant is directed to you big corporate bullies who think you can get away with swindling your innocent customers and letting your poor agents get all the flak.
My husband ordered a Bender Ball late last year. (No, I'm not providing you a link to that awful site...don't buy from them! You'll be seeing this warning a lot, by the way. It's a counter-marketing thing...) It's one of those small balls that help you do crunches (my husband's an exercise nut.) It arrived about a month after. Twice. We didn't order for another one, but since it was only about 10 bucks, we figured the hassle of returning the product wasn't worth it (they usually just refund the price of the product and not shipping and handling anyway, so why the ef bother, right?)

Quick Aside: The ball sucks. And I'm not just saying that to be spiteful. It sucks. If you have a small child who is need of a small ball that's safe enough to play with, this might be just the thing you need. Otherwise, don't bother. Don't buy from them! 


Anyway, fast forward to today. We get another package. It's a dish doohickey that's Barney purple. No, it's the-purple-that-Barney-would-turn-into-if-he-were-gagged. Double gag. Apparently, some people would consider this some kind of exercise apparatus. We think it's something our dog would chew on for a good 53.76  hours. (Yes, it's an exact science. Shuddup.)

So I call the 1-800 number that I had to find by myself. It wasn't on the package. I had to google the bloody address on the package. At first, they didn't have our records. The poor (but idiotic) agent, at the height of her panic, lost the connection. So I called again and got a more competent agent. Too bad though, because I was already beyond irate. Turns out, by ordering that benign ball for about 10 bucks, they managed to slip in other products that would "complement" our product into the mix. The agent said that the person with whom we placed the order should have informed us about this, but she didn't. I swear by this and would give my firstborn child, because I was on that call, and I know these clauses, and I specifically said we were not interested.

This fugly dish cum chew toy? $43.97!!! Not bad for a companion product to a 10 buck crappy ball, eh!?!?! 

Don't buy from them! EVER!!!
THESE PEOPLE ARE HORRIBLE CAPITALIST PRICKS WHO ARE OUT TO ROB EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US, I TELL YA!!!

*deep breath*
*counting 1 to 1000*
*still not working*

So we're going to return the bloody dish, we're going to get our refund, but we'll be charged for shipping and handling. Twice. Once for the effin' dish to come here when we didn't order for it, and again to send it to them.

Gah!!!

NEVER EVER BUY THE BENDER BALL!!! EVER!!!