Local Internet retailer has long history of complaints with the Business Bureau
DOWNTOWN SM Sometimes, there really is nothing to watch on TV.
Boasting itself as the leading resource for digital television, a locally based Internet company’s customers are begging to differ.
In response to more than 125 complaints received about TVAuthority.com — an e-commerce site that sells high definition televisions — the Better Business Bureau on Tuesday released its review of the company, rating its level of service and business practices an F.
“Most... allege excessive delays with delivery of ordered products or the company fails to deliver at all,” the review states.
A self-proclaimed “savvy”online shopper, Shannan Clark, of Jacksonville, Fla., was in the market for a new television and surfing the Internet for her next big purchase when she came across a price comparison Web site that rated TVAuthority.com as a reliable place to purchase a new system.
She placed an order for an $1,100 40-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) television on Feb. 18. More than a month, five angry e-mails and three phone calls later, Clark is still waiting.
TVAuthority.com, whose offices are located in Seattle and Santa Monica, has been besieged with negative reviews by frustrated customers over the past few months — customers who have launched an online campaign of their own,posting comments on numerous opinion Web sites about their collective dissatisfaction with the company’s level of service.
The reviews detail experiences similar to those endured by Clark.
“I placed an order almost a month ago, and to this date, I have no idea what is going on with my order,” a user posted on Resellerratings.com on March 16.
In response to the angry e-mails, phone calls and reviews written about TVAuthority.com, its co-founder and president, Neil Kusens, posted a letter on the company’s Web site on March 12, addressing the situation taking place within his company. Kusens also owns TV Authority, a separate company that sells televisions in Downtown Santa Monica. The delays in deliveries and issues with customer service have plagued the Internet business, not the Santa Monica showroom.
“Over the past six years, we have prided ourselves on excellent customer service in addition to our great price, selection and product knowledge,” Kusens states in his letter. “However, recently we have become embarrassed by the long hold times and delays in all forms of communication.”
The owner cites “breakdowns” in the information technology infrastructure, increases in orders along with the growing market for digital televisions, and losing key personnel all as reasons for the delays.
“We never anticipated this level of inconvenience for our customers, and for that we are truly sorry,” he wrote.
Clark began calling TVAuthority.com a few days after she placed the order, when she noticed that the television was listed as being in stock, yet she did not receive a confirmation order notifying the shipping date.
“I was on hold for 50 minutes,” Clark said on Tuesday about her first call. “I timed it.”
The sales associate on the other end told Clark that she would receive her order within 24 to 48 hours and that her account would be updated to include shipping tracking information. That never happened, Clark said.
Her most recent conversation with TVAuthority.com took place over the weekend, when the sales associate again assured Clark that her television would be shipped within 24-48 hours and she would receive shipping information.
“I told my husband that the whole time we were talking, she was probably filing her fingernails and not even listening to me,” Clark said.“She was a person paid to answer to an angry customer.”
When no confirmation e-mail was sent, Clark finally had enough, calling her credit card company on Monday to dispute the charges.
The negative reviews on Web sites like PriceGrabber.com, where one user wrote “Be Smart! Do not buy from these people!,” represents only a small portion of the many customers that TVAuthority.com serves every day, Kusens said Tuesday.
The company is looking to change its ways by transitioning from phone-based communication operations to an e-mail heavy system.
The Better Business Bureau has received 126 complaints over the past 36 months, about 80 of which went unanswered. Before the rating posted on Tuesday, TVAuthority.com was graded as a C-level business, according to Gary Almond, vice president of operations at the BBB.
Many of the complaints have come since the beginning of February, he said.
The new grade could affect TVAuthority.com in that it could dissuade customers from doing business with the high definition television company, Almond said. The BBB also acts as a repository for government agencies and the complaints could be used by those agencies against the business in the future.
One of the customers who complained to the BBB is Clark, who contacted the agency last week.
“From now on, I will do a lot more research,” Clark said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 21, 2007. Read the original PDF.