@Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) posted a new topic, subject "Help with Plan of Action revision". It read:

   Hello,
    
    After getting deactivated about a month and a half ago and immediately writing a plan of action, I've finally heard back that what I wrote wasn't detailed enough. The cause of the deactivation in the first place was our defect rate. We had three orders for wall clocks that customers weren't satisfied with, and as I understand it Amazon is more concerned with them being happy with the product in the first place than anything we can do in terms of customer service. Even with this understanding and motions taken to remedy it, evidently I'm still doing something wrong. Since I'm not sure what to tweak or add to improve this, I figured I'd see what others have done in similar situations and see what suggestions there are to help me get back in business. Here's what I wrote the first time around:
    
    * * *
    
    The root cause of the issue  
    The root causes of our defect rate are based around two issues. One of these involves our clock parts, specifically movements and hands, which are not manufactured by us but are attached to our high quality acrylic prints. Since all of our products are made to order and need to be shipped in a timely fashion, we normally only have a day to test these movements to make sure they are accurate, and inaccuracies can happen over longer periods of time. Additionally, we have had clock hands fall off of these movements or break in transit - These are made of fragile, thin plastic.  
    The other issue involved in our defect rate is confusion around the names of our clocks. We have had clocks with designs that resemble neon lights or LEDs which we named as such, and despite our descriptions stating that the clocks don't illuminate, customers still complained that they were misled.
    
    The actions you have taken to resolve the issue  
    We have already taken steps to prevent these issues from occurring in the future. While our customer service team has guaranteed customers' satisfaction with our products and we have refunded anyone with an issue, that doesn't stop the issues from happening in the first place.  
    In regard to the first issue with hands and movements, we have switched our source for clock movements and should have more success with those going forward. We have also changed how we will package the hands – In order to prevent them from breaking, they will be shipped unattached to the clock with instructions for the customer to attach them included. This way they won't be offset from the clock and can be safely padded with no risk of breaking in transit. Additionally, since they will not be attached to the clock in the first place, we won't need to worry about them falling off.  
    With regard to the naming confusion, before our accounts were deactivated we'd already made adjustments to the names of the offending clocks, changing our “Neon” clock to “Electric” and our “LED” clock to “Scoreboard”. The descriptions still clearly state that the clocks do not self illuminate. Between these two points, there should be no more confusion from customers. We plan to make any more naming adjustments as necessary, though we haven't received any complaints for clocks other than these two.
    
    The steps you have taken to prevent the issue going forward  
    The steps listed in the resolution above should prevent any issues from occurring in the future. Again, in summary, we have adjusted our packing methods, switched suppliers, and changed the names of our products to prevent any of the negative points we've dealt with through the three orders present in our defect rate. We value our customers' happiness with our product and believe we won't be seeing any of these issues again moving forward due to the preventative measures we have taken. For these reasons we encourage Amazon to reinstate our account.
    
    * * *
    
    I feel like this letter explains things pretty well, so for those of you who have gone through this, what am I missing here? The email I received asked for the following:
    
    "We received your submission but do not have enough information to reactivate your account at this time. To reactivate your account, please send the following:
    
    – Greater detail on the root cause(s) of customer complaints of unresponsive or poor customer service.  
    – Greater detail on the actions you have taken to resolve customer complaints of unresponsive or poor customer service.  
    – Greater detail on the steps you have taken to prevent complaints of unresponsive or poor customer service going forward.  
    – Greater detail on evidence or examples that demonstrate that your account has complied with our policy."
    
    We've been professional at every step, even making adjustments to our production process to accommodate Amazon, and it still doesn't feel like enough. I'm very lost!

After which, @Oneida (Oneida Books) added

    Acrylic_Prints_Direc:
    
    > The root cause of the issue
    > 
    > The root causes of our defect rate are based around two issues. One of these involves our clock parts, specifically movements and hands, which are not manufactured by us but are attached to our high quality acrylic prints. Since all of our products are made to order and need to be shipped in a timely fashion, we normally only have a day to test these movements to make sure they are accurate, and inaccuracies can happen over longer periods of time. Additionally, we have had clock hands fall off of these movements or break in transit - These are made of fragile, thin plastic.
    > 
    > The other issue involved in our defect rate is confusion around the names of our clocks. We have had clocks with designs that resemble neon lights or LEDs which we named as such, and despite our descriptions stating that the clocks don't illuminate, customers still complained that they were misled.
    
    I can't get past here. Even if I add in some spacing it doesn't read well.
    
    For ODR suspensions you have to address the specific area in your account health and solve the issue. So was it Feedback, A-z claims or Chargebacks? Each of these has a different approach.

After which, @rollthebonez added

    I agree with Oneida, you need to address specifically what the cause is and go from there. Seems your customer service was abysmal and amazon wants to know specifically what you will do to address this, not so much about your product…

After which, @Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) added

    Honestly, I'm a bit confused about the cause as well. I suppose feedback and A to Z claims, from the list Oneida brought up.
    
    The reason for the deactivation was the ODR, which applied to three orders for the two reasons I listed in the root cause.
    
      * One negative review based around a defective clock movement, which was resolved with the customer via full refund. Customer said they would delete the review but didn't.
      * One negative review based around confusion from the name of the clock (“Neon”, when the clock doesn't light up). The customer did not respond to us when we reached out, but we changed the name of the clock in response to this.
      * One A to Z claim (Again, defective movement) from a customer who never contacted us, which we opted to refund instead of contest since that's how we would have resolved it anyway.
    
    
    
    In terms of customer service, I'm not sure what we could have done better here besides contest the A to Z claim and then… replace the product or refund the customer, which is what we did anyway and still received a strike. Again, as I understand it, customer service is irrelevant in terms of determining ODR - It's that the problem exists in the first place, correct? Customer feedback isn't something that can be controlled, but that's not really an argument that you can make to get yourself reinstated. So I feel like it has to start and end with a 5 star product, and that's what I was trying to get across here. Is this the wrong approach? If so, what should I say differently?

@Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) replied

    To clarify, I'm not confused about what our strikes were and why we were deactivated, I'm confused about what specifically needs to be addressed that I haven't covered yet.

Then @Oneida (Oneida Books) said

    Can you clarify if Seller Feedback or Product Review (or maybe even a product review in your feedback which could be contested for Amazon removal)

@rollthebonez replied

    Sometimes bullet points get the point across better and faster instead of walls of text.
    
    it is a little odd to me they are requesting greater detail on customer service issues, if suspension was for odr, usually would ask for greater detail on how to resolve a-z claims, or feedbacks.
    
    Can you post the original suspension notice?

So @Oneida (Oneida Books) replied

    rollthebonez:
    
    > Can you post the original suspension notice?
    
    I agree with @rollthebonez on this one
    
    Acrylic_Prints_Direc:
    
    > customer complaints of unresponsive or poor customer service.
    
    This can be the base issue that led to neg. feedback or even A-z claims.

To which @Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) replied

    @Oneida: The negative reviews were both under Seller Feedback and read as follows:
    
    “Item came in not working. Immediately made contact thru the link on amazon and was notified that seller would make contact with 48 hours for how to return. It's been 5 days with no communication for returning item.”  
    This was the first case I listed above, which was resolved to the customer's satisfaction, or so I thought. We'd contacted them immediately but they missed it - Once we saw this review we reached out again and reached a resolution with a full refund. They offered to remove the review but didn't do so.
    
    “seller has not contact me after a week/. Clock hands were bent, was not neon light . VERY DISSAPPOINTED!!!”  
    This was the second case bulleted above. We didn't know there was any issue here until we saw this review (This customer never contacted us), and after reaching out to the customer never received a response.
    
    @rollthebonez: May need to try bullet points then. I'm also very confused as to why customer service was mentioned here when it's not the reason we were deactivated. Here's the original suspension notice:
    
    "Your Amazon seller account has been deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you but will be held in your account while we work with you to address this issue. Please ship any open orders to avoid further impact to your account.
    
    Why is this happening?  
    Your order defect rate exceeded the target of 1%. Amazon's Order Defect Rate Policy can be found at (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/200285170).
    
    How do I reactivate my account?  
    Please review your orders to determine the cause of the defects. You can appeal any A-to-z claim, negative customer feedback, or service chargeback that you believe should not be counted in your order defect rate by visiting the following links:  
    – Appeal A-to-z Claims: (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/G202041210)  
    – Request removal of seller feedback: (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/20231)  
    – Appeal Chargeback Claims: (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/G202145040)
    
    Additionally, please send a plan of action that explains:  
    – The root cause(s) of the A-to-z claims, negative feedback and service chargebacks  
    – The actions you have taken to resolve A-to-z claims, negative feedback and service chargebacks  
    – The steps you have taken to prevent A-to-z claims, negative feedback and service chargebacks going forward"

To which @Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) replied

    Also, not sure I've thanked you guys yet, but I really appreciate you taking the time to help!

@rollthebonez replied

    well I see both say they contacted but did not receive messages from you… probably what amazon is collinsemma@example.com.
    
    I don't know if this will help but… Maybe you can add in your appeal that you will check messages every hour , to see if any customers have sent you communication, or if you have sent them a message, it is possible they opted out of messaging altogether and the only way I believe to get through is using the "additional info required' subject… if you don't get a reply from them, try this way…
    
    or maybe add in there, that you did message these buyers, and amazon can see through your buyer-seller messages this is the case…
    
    not sure what else, since its hard to communicate prior to an event such as feedback or a claim, when a buyer basically tells you for first time there is a problem with these means of communication rather than a message.

After which, @Sam_Amazon added

    Hi @Acrylic_Prints_Direc
    
    My name is Sam. I would like to start by thanking you for your post. From my understanding, your account was deactivated due to your Order Defect Rate.
    
    Based on the communication you received, it seems that you addressed the issues with items not as described and items deemed as defective/damaged. However, you also need to address poor customer service, which I did not see addressed within your first appeal.
    
    I'd like you to consider the following when it comes to what goes into great customer service. Our policy is to respond to buyer-seller messages as well as return/refund request within 24 hours. If you are not responding to or accepting these requests within 24 hours, this may be considered poor customer service.
    
    I advise you to provide a revised plan that focuses on complaints of poor customer service. When it comes to your revised appeal, we are looking for you to focus on the root cause(s) of poor customer service that you are able to identify within your Negative Feedback and A-Z Claims.
    
    I recommend reviewing your current business practices when it comes to handling returns and buyer-seller messages and craft your plan based off of your findings. Ensure you include the root cause(s), your immediate steps as well as any preventative measures you are putting in place to prevent these complaints from recurring. Our policies regarding customer service can be found here: Manage Returns, and Respond to Messages.
    
    I hope you found this information helpful. Feel free to keep me and the rest of our community updated with your appeals process!
    
    Regards,
    
    Sam

Then @Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) said

    Hi @Sam_Amazon, thanks for responding!
    
    Based on what you and @rollthebonez have added, I'll be sure to address customer service in my updated appeal. I have some questions about the best way to address this however, since I don't believe customer service is something we did wrong in the first place.
    
    We have two orders from customers that mention not hearing from us. The first of these was a return request placed at the end of day Friday, which we responded to first thing Monday. the customer simply missed our message and left us a negative review assuming we never reached out.  
    The other was from a customer that never messaged us or requested a return in the first place - The negative review was the first contact we had with them at all, and the last contact was our immediate message to them upon seeing the review asking how we can make it right.
    
    As stated above, our third issue could also possibly be considered a customer service strike? It was an A to Z claim placed without our customer service team being contacted first. We opted to refund this immediately without realizing it would count as a strike against us since that would have been our policy anyway.
    
    With these in mind, my questions are:  
    -What could we have done differently here?  
    -Is correspondence with the first two orders something that Amazon can check in our message history? Would they even bother to do that, and is it worth mentioning in my plan of action?  
    -What would be considered the “Root cause of poor customer service” in this case?  
    -What would be the best approach to addressing these in our plan of action?
    
    I'm fine with taking responsibility and taking steps to improve anything Amazon thinks I did wrong, but I feel completely in the dark here. The request for more information on reactivating my account and the reason it was deactivated in the first place are two entirely different issues.

Then @Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) said

    Hey guys, just heard back from Amazon regarding our last appeal!  
    …And it's more of the same. We even got the same rejection message requiring:
    
    – Greater detail on the actions you have taken to resolve customer complaints of unresponsive or poor customer service.  
    – Greater detail on the steps you have taken to prevent complaints of unresponsive or poor customer service going forward.
    
    Since these were both things we addressed in our updated appeal, I don't understand at all what Amazon wants to hear from me. I guess they took out the bullet points regarding the root causes and evidence that we've complied with Amazon policy, so we must have done something right. In that case where's the problem?
    
    I'd posted an updated appeal we made in the post above this one, but since we tweaked it before sending it out I've deleted that one. I can post what we actually sent, but I'll add it in a followup post since this one's already getting long.

@Acrylic_Prints_Direc (Acrylic_Prints_Direc) replied

    So here's what we sent this time which was rejected. Any insight appreciated! 
    
    **The root cause of the issue**  
    The root causes of our defect rate are based around two issues: Negative feedback and an A to Z complaint.  
    Negative feedback included reviews mentioning the following:
    
      1. Faulty clock parts.  
    • The movements and hands used in our clocks are not manufactured by us but are assembled to our high quality acrylic prints.
    
    
    
    • All of our products are made-to-order and need to be shipped in a timely fashion. We test the movements for 24 hours to make sure they are accurate; however, inaccuracies can occur over longer periods of time.
    
    • We have had clock hands fall off, bend, or break in transit. These are made of fragile, thin plastic.
    
      2. Confusion around the names of our clocks.  
    • We had clocks with designs that resemble neon lights or LEDs with names involving those terms. Despite our descriptions stating that the clocks do not illuminate, customers complained that they were misled.
    
      3. 
    [code]     Ineffective customer service.
        
    [/code]
    
    
    
    
    • One of our two negative reviews (“Case 1”) mentioned not hearing from us in 5 days.  
    • The other negative review (“Case 2”) stated that we had not contacted the customer for a week.  
    • The A to Z Claim only mentioned that the clock was not working.
    
    The specific policies violated with the 3 orders affecting our Order Defect Rate are as follows:
    
      * Negative Feedback: “One and two-star ratings are considered negative”
      * A to Z Claims: “Claims for which you refunded the customer after the claim was filed”
    
    
    
    **The actions you have taken to resolve the issue**  
    We have already taken steps to prevent these issues from occurring in the future. While our customer service team has guaranteed customers' satisfaction with our products and we have refunded or replaced clocks for anyone with an issue, that did not stop the issues from happening in the first place and did not result in a satisfactory Order Defect Rate.
    
    In regard to the issue with hands and movements:  
    • We have switched clock movement vendors from a Chinese manufacturer to an American manufacturer and have created a QC area to test each clock movement for 72 hours. This will ensure clocks will be working and accurate.
    
    • We have changed the way we package our clocks that now protects the hands from getting damaged by using a “blister cover”.
    
    In regard to the issue with naming confusion:
    
    • We made adjustments to the names of clocks that we were alerted to being confusing or misleading. We changed our “Neon” clock to “Electric” and our “LED” clock to “Scoreboard”. The descriptions still clearly state that the clocks do not self illuminate.  
    • We reviewed our listings to insure that there is no more confusion in the naming of our clock designs and will be more careful in properly wording future listings. We will have a focus group review each listing before we post new products.
    
    In regard to the problems with customer service issues:  
    • The steps we took in “Case 1” mentioned in Root Causes:
    
      * We received a return request on Friday June 28.
      * We responded to the customer first thing in the morning on Monday, July 1 requiring more information, but did not receive a response.  
    • “Hi M, Sounds like you received a faulty clock. We're sorry to hear that! While this sort of thing is uncommon, we do of course guarantee your satisfaction with all of our products and will take care of this for you in full. Would you prefer a refund or a replacement? Acrylic Prints Direct”
      * The customer didn't respond, but left a review on July 5 after which we promptly contacted her and reached a resolution.  
    • “Hi M, Saw your one-star review and wanted to reach out to address it. We actually contacted you immediately following your return request on the 1st with the following message: “Hi M, Sounds like you received a faulty clock. We're sorry to hear that! While this sort of thing is uncommon, we do of course guarantee your satisfaction with all of our products and will take care of this for you in full. Would you prefer a refund or a replacement?" We've attached a screenshot showing that we attempted to contact you regarding this. Bearing this in mind, would you consider removing your negative review? And additionally, following up with our original question, how would you like to proceed with the return? Best regards, Acrylic Prints Direct”  
    • “Hi Acrylic Prints Direct, I never received the message, but yes, I'd like a refund and directions on how to return it. I will certainly upgrade my review once we get this resolved. Thank you so much, M”  
    • “Hi M, I went ahead and completed that refund for you and it should reflect in your account shortly. No need to return the clock. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience with the clock as well as the miscommunication with the return, and hope we can accommodate you better in the future! Best regards, Acrylic Prints Direct”
      * We sent an automated Update Seller Feedback link on July 16th as the review had not been adjusted yet, but it remains in our feedback as originally posted.  
    • “Hi M: Thank you for shopping with us. Amazon seller Acrylic Prints Direct has sent you a message about the seller feedback you provided. — Message from seller Acrylic Prints Direct: Seller feedback is one of the most valuable tools Amazon offers to its customers so that they can make informed purchase decisions. We at Acrylic Prints Direct thank you for the feedback you provided for our business. If we have resolved your problem to your satisfaction and you would like to update your feedback, click the link below. Update Seller Feedback https://www.amazon.com/[Link] — You can send a message to the seller Acrylic Prints Direct by replying to this email. If you were contacted inappropriately by the seller, please report this message. We hope to see you again soon.”
    
    
    
    • The steps we took in “Case 2” mentioned in Root Causes:
    
      * This customer never sent us a message nor requested a return before leaving this review. As we were not aware of an issue with this order prior to the review, our customer service team did not have the opportunity to remedy the problem.
      * We contacted the customer in response to their review in an attempt to make it right, but we did not hear anything else from them.  
    • “Hi K, We just noticed your negative feedback on our page and wanted to reach out. We're sorry you had an unsatisfactory experience with our clock! If you'd like to file for a return or replacement with us, please do so - We hadn't received any messages or return requests from you prior to the negative feedback, so we're a little confused and surprised. We do of course guarantee our customer's satisfaction with our products. How can we make your experience better? Best regards, Acrylic Prints Direct”
    
    
    
    The steps we took for our A to Z claim mentioned in Root Causes:  
    • As we never heard from the customer before the A to Z claim, we assumed this was a problem with a faulty clock movement. We chose to resolve it by refunding the customer rather than appealing the claim.  
    • We were unaware that this would result in a strike against our Order Defect Rate.  
    • We took full responsibility before checking that the customer was in accordance with the A to Z policy, which they were not.
    
      * From the A to Z Guarantee Policy Page: “2. You received an order that is different than expected and have requested a return with the seller.”
    
    
    
    • We have reviewed the A to Z policy and are now aware of what our responsibilities are in order to protect our Order Defect Rate.  
    We will check our incoming messages and return authorizations hourly and continue to follow up with customers who have contacted us until any issues are resolved.  
    We will continue to comply with any A to Z claims for which we are responsible.  
    These are policies we have adjusted, discussed with our team, and already implemented internally.
    
    **The steps you have taken to prevent the issue going forward**  
    The steps listed in the resolution above should prevent any issues from occurring in the future. We have accepted responsibility for all faults involved in our suspension, adjusted our process accordingly to ensure these same problems do not happen again, and will continue to comply with all Amazon policies.
    
    • In summary:
    
    We have adjusted our packing methods, switched suppliers, and changed our approach to product names in order to prevent any future issues related to those found in the three orders present in our defect rate.  
    • We value our customers' happiness with our products and believe we won't be seeing these issues again moving forward due to the preventative measures we have taken.  
    • In the event of any dissatisfied feedback or return requests, we will respond promptly to our customers with excellent customer service and continue to follow up until we ensure their satisfaction.  
    • We will comply with all Amazon policies moving forward.
    
    For these reasons we encourage Amazon to reinstate our account.

So @system (system) replied

    This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.


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