New customers

[teaspoon]

Muahaha John Grebe is right, Chris, if you don't have to deal with trolls then I don't get to hunt them.

BTW, I'm sad that I missed the Kool-Aid comment before. Cos I'm fairly certain that we're all still alive, thus no Kool-Aid here. Besides, I've watched enough O'Reilly to know that it's usually the people with frivolous/incorrect complaints that are invited (by the one and only Mr. Bill O'Reilly himself) to partake of such a delicacy. Might not there be an anti-Adagio cult? Since all the people who complain say the same crap (even more uniformly than we counter them), I posit that there is an anti-Adagio cult, and that we are periodically under attack from them each time they recruit new members after killing off the old ones with poisoned Kool-Aid! It all makes sense now.

I think they're all gone now though. It's almost sad. I almost miss them.

~Leeroy teaspoon Jenkins

[Jing Cha]

I know you all would like to think there is only one person out there who thinks Adagio treats people badly. Adagio doesn't waste time on anyone who they size up as not being a future big spender who won't complain. Sending that person the deserved book would have been the right thing to do rather than telling her it will be included in her next order. (This is constructive criticism added here.)

Like one other guest said, I, too, am glad I found out about this company before I ever ordered. I will never buy from them. I will not give them a chance to treat me badly. There are other tea companies who are accomodating and give free samples that you all like so much.

I lurk here to get info on other companies and products. I never post but get angry from time to time when Adagio treats people like garbage and discards them. That's why I posted.

This is a forum and I'm chatting now. I will go back to lurking.

Hi Guest! I shall name thee Pythagoras for thy understanding and passion for harmony, well-measured ratio and all things tuned to their proper pitch.

How fitting perhaps that Pythagoras him/herself, the philosopher of concordant interval, should come to weigh in on Adagio Teachat, that slow tempo temple subject to tempestuous temptation of in-crowd chatter and occasional troll tumult (not to mention turgid observation of such by yours truly).

I have to say, I certainly respect your lurking. As the original Pythagoras outlined in his infamous cult-classic doctrine concerning the original Olympic Games, there are three kinds of men: those who buy and sell (lovers of gain), those who compete (lovers of honor), and those who observe (lovers of wisdom). I like to think that Teachat can allow for the essence of character of each toward an element of harmonious discussion.

Honestly, I do not feel that Adagio treats people badly. They are not stealing identities, scamming people nor intentionally misleading the public. Just check out the BizRate and ePinions reviews: they are glowing with radioactive extra gooey goodness for which other internet companies would invade small countries with large armies of PR gods, media gurus and slick marketing types. I will gladly tolerate a perceived small militia of bulletin board groupies rather than face the dumbed-down shelf-stable high-gloss pop-music-makeover alternative. Honestly, you cannot buy or fake or even brainwash ratings such as these. Adagio is clearly doing something right and wonderful. (Must be that brisk Jersey water, eh?)

However, I do understand your point. Adagio can be very choosy in whom they wish to please. I don't believe that they have a precise cold-calculated formula to estimate ROI of any particular customer given measurement of documented customer attributes or behavior (as do some large household-name corporations.) Nor do I believe Adagio to be illegally discriminatory against any race, religion, or disability. They simply don't want to be bothered by people who kick and cry over free this or free that or substitute this or accommodate that. They don't want to pour the profits they make from 95% of their customers into babysitting the other 5%. That would be unfair to the profitability of the company, yes, but it's would also be unfair to those customers who pay the same price but are less resource-intensive in placing and receiving their orders. The reason that Adagio is so successful is that they run a profitable business on a purified customer base, which allows them to reward loyal customers instead of pander to fickle ones.

If you are among the unwanted or unloved, I feel your pain. It is kind of like being left unchosen for the third-grade kickball game. Well, clearly, you can play in this game if you want to . . . but you need to play nicely and follow the rules. What are the rules? I don't think they are spending big bucks, shaving your head or boarding alien spaceships. Most likely they include acting in a civilized, polite, respectful though funloving manner in which you honor that Adagio has limited resources given their impressive but not stratospheric sales levels and solid but non-behemoth financial backing. They need to run a tight ship to survive and still offer quality tea at value prices. If that means letting a few people jump overboard, then so be it. (To their credit, Adagio does provide rowboats to Harney's and Rishi and Numi and Paper Street Teas and the other purveyors of fine tea.)

My opinion is that Adagio does go above and beyond in trying to provide a good experience for their customers, to resolve disputes, to solve problems, to keep problems from happening in the first place, and to achieve excellence in both service and product. Trust me, most companies are not so accommodating! (Ever try e-mailing Unilever customer support? They have the same people answering questions about tea as frozen peas!)

If anything, I think Adagio might improve their phrasing and tone of communication when dealing with difficult situations. If the postings of Adagio's response to that poor customer who didn't get their free book are correct and accurate (albeit incomplete and perhaps in poor taste to post publicly), I have to agree with you that Adagio handled the situation poorly. Not necessarily improperly, just poorly. A little tact could have gone a long way! Then again, it's hard to be tactful or display proper empathy when someone is screaming bloody murder at you for something which is technically neither your fault nor your obligation, particularly when they go out of their way to tell you over and over again that they will never shop again with you, that they didn't even want to shop with you in the first place, that you are a devil-spawning cult, yadda yadda yadda.

I'm not saying Adagio should open up a therapist hotline for people who feel unjustly wronged or hoodwinked by the company; but, gosh guys, try to sound a little less rude and a little more emphatic. You don't need to beat people over the head with the fact that you are right and they are wrong and you're going to help out anyway. I respect that you want to explain yourself fully and clearly to customer, but a certain modicum of grace is called for in such situation.

Poor communication is the primary complaint held against Adagio here by others, though the same could be alleged against the allegers. I certainly do not believe either side to be rude or unfeeling or unjustified; you just come across that way to each other.

There are a lot of difficult, challenging, uberpicky people in the American consumer market these days. They do not constitute nearly as large a segment of the market as they believe they do, nor do they individually matter as much as the believe they do. When they are firmly reminded of these things in anything less than an expert-level way: watch out! You are affronting a self-important person's self-importance, robbing them of the illusion of power they believe they hold. Even if you may not intend to be rude, you are going to be perceived as being such, especially since many American consumers have such an ingrained sense of unearned entitlement.

And, if you didn't get that free tea book that you thought you'd get when you ordered because you didn't jump through the right hoops or complete all the steps of the kooky dance in just the right sequence, don't complain but explain. I too would be heart-broken if such a lovely looking, sweet sounding tome did not make it in my $19 package of tea. I would write a polite e-mail to Adagio explaining that you didn't understand the order process, that you were eagerly anticipating the book and counting down the days to when you could display it out upon your coffeetable (or would that be teatable?), that you wanted this book even moreso than even their glorious tea, and that maybe they could find it in their hearts and soul to perhaps send you a copy as soon as possible because you know they wouldn't want you to go much longer, certainly not as long as it'll be before you may need to order more tea, before enjoying its wholesome goodness. Don't threaten them or presume upon them or feel the need to pressure them; such behaviour would just include you in a company of internet idiots and dishonest folk who literally will nickel and dime a company out of business. Maybe they'll send you out the book for free, maybe they won't, maybe they'll compromise and have you pay for all or part of the shipping costs. (Believe me, if it weren't for shipping and packaging costs, there's no reason Adagio wouldn't beam that book to you ASAP!)

So, Pythagoras, I don't blame you for not ordering from Adagio: they may not be your cup of tea. I certainly think Adagio respects that (heck, they even let you post uncensored on here even though you say many unkind things) and I like to think that other people in this forum respect that as well.

Can't we all just get along?


Will Gladly,

Jing Cha

Three quarks for Muster Mark!

[chris]

Jing cha--

Thanks for putting so eloquently and concisely. Ok, well... eloquently. Joking aside, he's right.

We may come across rude, if so - apologies. But please don't try to take advantage of us by trying to be threatening or pushy. It's not gonna work. There are freebie sites out there for those people.

Everyone makes mistakes, and we're usually fairly lenient and understanding. In fact, we've had the highest customer service ratings for a tea company for about 4 years running now. We've even been in Consumer Reports, people.

I say this not to praise us, but because i want to make sure that we are fairly represented. It seems that our customer service usually only comes into the spotlight when someone who is having a bad day decides to take it out on them.

As the author of the book in question, I'd love it if everyone in America had a copy. I'm all about spreading the good word of tea (and then I'd retire at 26 and focus on my real passion - hunting a live Coelacanth). Unfortunately, it is not practical, business-savvy, or simply fair to us to give them away at a whim. These things cost money, and we cannot continue writing new books and selling great tea without some funds to do so.

I think we can retire this thread. There's nothing meaningful we can glean from it any longer, except maybe analyzing Teaspoon's overactive hunter tendencies.

Yours,

Chris
Adagio Maestro

[librarianpirate]

I cought a Coelacanth once! Well - not a real one ... I cought one on Animal Crossing, though

[Guest]

Jing cha--

Thanks for putting so eloquently and concisely. Ok, well... eloquently. Joking aside, he's right.

Dear Jing cha:

Chris is right for saying you are right. Reading all points of view in this section, your analysis has hit the mark.

Your writings show that you are intelligent and have insight. They show that you have a sense of humor to go with those qualities.

Do keep writing.

[chris]

Is this a new guest, being... civil?

I ask this as a personal favor: for the love of tea, sign in. It makes things so much less confusing.

Semi-unretiring a retired thread,

Chris
Adagio Maestro