Email exchange between TexereSilk and me: From: inform@TexereSilk.com We deeply regret that our product failed your expectations. And we apologize for it. Bamboo terry is lighter than cotton terry, yet it is more absorbent than cotton terry. Many of our customers like this fact. We have very high customer service standards, and we always try to ensure that our customers are satisfied with their purchase of our brand. As our thank you for your understanding and graciousness, we would be glad to send you the following gift with our compliments: -- A Hand Painted 100% Silk Robe for Men in dark blue color We would, in return, respectfully request you to remove your Product Review and Seller Feedback from the Amazon website. When you look at the other customer reviews, you would realize that this situation is an anomaly in terms of our quality and service standards, and we have a stellar reputation for product quality and customer service. Also, this product is fulfilled by Amazon, and all customer service issues are also handled by Amazon. We apologize on behalf of Amazon if your concerns about purchase were not handled well by Amazon. We are eager to make up for the disappointment to you. We hope you will also be so fair as to recognize this to be an aberration vis-à-vis our quality and service standards. If you accept our offer of one of the above gifts, kindly confirm to us when you have removed both the reviews. We will then swiftly process your gift shipment. Once again, we apologize for the disappointment to you. We hope you will understand. Our best wishes for a happy new year! Sincerely, Kyle Hayes The TexereSilk Team   To: TexereSilk Subject: Re: Order information from Amazon seller TexereSilk Thanks for the call today about my on-line comments regarding your bamboo - cotton bath robe. I was still half-asleep when you called this afternoon, so please accept my apology for the tone of the conversation. As you explained to me on the phone, the bamboo cotton weave is thin and one should not expect this bathrobe to be thick. In your email you say that "Bamboo terry is lighter than cotton terry, yet it is more absorbent than cotton terry". And you say that many of your customers know this." I am a man. I'm not accustomed to learning the ins and outs of what are to me, technical terms, such as "terry", "viscose" and perhaps like most, I'm a stranger to the fine distinction of cotton / bamboo viscose weaves. But I do know from sumptuous. Sumptuous, as per your description on Amazon, means luxuriously fine, lavish or splendid but I thought this wasn't so for this item. "Highly absorbent", as you say about this product is what tricked me into purchasing this from you and it's a wrong description, in my experience. It's less absorbent than an old towel, I think :( So I accept your apology and your kind offer because of your expressed deep regret. Kindest regards Ps: I think you said on the telephone that I complained on-line about your service but I don't remember that and can't imagine why I would have done that. How can I fix that for you? I ordered from you on Saturday Dec 18, with two day shipping, and about noon on Dec 23 I received your product, on time. I looked it up in Wikipedia: Viscose is a plastic made from cellulose in wood pulp in a process first patented in 1892 in Britain. Wikipedia reports that it's a viscous organic liquid used to make RAYON and CELLOPHANE. Viscose is becoming synonymous with rayon, a soft material often used to make shorts, coats, jackets, and other outer wear. Other things made from viscose are Art silk, Rayon, Modal and Synthetic velvet :) Other uses included the manufacture of sponges and absorbent cloths. I apologize for waking you up when I called. Thank you for graciously accepting our offer. We respect your observations and feedback, and will try to bring more clarity in our description. There are two reviews you have left on Amazon that I had mentioned to you: Seller Feedback and Product Review. Kindly confirm when the reviews have been removed, and I will promptly send the gift out to you. Please let me know which size you prefer: S/M or L/XL. Below, I will try to provide you links to those pages on Amazon. When you go into your Amazon account, you can find your order for the robe and then remove both reviews. 1. Seller Feedback 2 out of 5: "I thought this thing -- a bathrobe -- was light, weak and overpriced but I did not send it back." Date: December 26, 2010 Rated by Buyer: nanning001313 2. Product Review It's not absorbent. It's thin and not very absorbent. The material is unlike that of a towel; so if you want to get out of the tub or shower and put that robe on right away (to save yourself the step of towel-drying), yet keep warm, like some are wont to do, this ain't for you; nevertheless the product seems well-made -- though sumptuous, as claimed in the description -- it isn't. Again both of these can be removed from the Order section within your account. In case of any confusion, Amazon customer service is very good and prompt. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Kyle Hayes The TexereSilk Team To: "TexereSilk - Amazon Marketplace" Thanks. I guess I was still a bit sleepy when you called and thus misunderstood what I thought was a kind offer to help rectify my embarrassment when I gave that bathrobe as X-mas gift. Now, with your clarification I see that your offer is actually -- what to call it -- a BRIBE to remove my feedback. (I prefer size M, BTW :). RE: When you said in email; "We respect your observations and feedback, and will try to bring more clarity in our description." -- I think that would be a good idea; please contact me via email afterward, thanks in advance. 1. Yes, the gift of a Silk robe to the original gift recipient would be a way to rectify any potential embarrassment caused by the other robe. We just did not know if you had bought it for your own self or for someone else. 2. As for the request to reconsider your reviews, the point simply is that if you are satisfied with our customer service and this offer (and if you feel your purchase has been made whole), then there would be no need for negativity in feedback. 3. Kindly keep in mind that different people have different levels of understanding about bamboo fabric, terry cloth, viscose etc. etc. Our effort is to make sure that, given the small space we have to describe the product, our descriptive language is geared towards the largest possible majority of our target audience. Your comments have been sent to our web development team. In the next revision (for the Valentine’s Day campaign), the copywriter will keep in view the feedback in forming the verbiage for Amazon and the website. 4. I checked and saw that both the reviews are still there. Sometimes Amazon takes some time before implementing any changes. I’ll check again tomorrow, and if both the reviews are gone then will ship the package to you. Thank you again for your graciousness and cooperation. Our best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2011. Service says: MERCHANT RESPONSE Feb. 23, 2011                  See this post on Amazon Dear Sir: We truly regret any miscommunication on our part that seems to have twisted the whole chain of communication, and has caused such negative perception in your mind. In fact, what you encountered was just our usual response to a customer complaint - a generous offer to make the situation whole for the customer. We would like to respectfully provide some information that may be helpful in understanding this situation. 1. Customer service is critical to us. It is our standard practice at TexereSilk to go out of the way to alleviate any concerns about the quality of our product or order processing. What you encountered was nothing new. We make generous offers to our customers to replace or exchange a defective product they may have received. 2. The performance of our customer service department is partly measured by the reviews and ratings we receive from our customers. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the customer service group measures its effectiveness by the opinion of our customers. It is reasonable for the employee working on a complaint to request that the customer's posting fully reflect the service the customer has received. 3. We are not perfect. Occasionally, our product may have a defect, or we may make a mistake in processing an order. When, however, we make such an error, we will go the extra mile to make the transaction whole for the customer. In fact, you will see that a number of our product reviews and merchant feedback is from customers who began with a complaint, and were then totally surprised by the way we dealt with that situation to make the transaction whole for them. 4. The sentence you have quoted from us in this review was not in response to what you are implying. As you are well aware, that sentence was in response to another concern you had raised. 5. The order you placed was fulfilled by Amazon. Amazon is also responsible for complete customer service on this order. We became involved only as a good will gesture in order to help out. Once again, we regret any disappointment you have been caused. Please accept our best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2011. Respectfully submitted, Customer Service at TexereSilk RE: "What you encountered was just our usual response to a customer complaint - a generous offer to make the situation whole..." This is not true. You offered to make the situation whole, as you say, ONLY IF I'd change my online evaluation of your product; only if I'd say that my opinion of your product were higher than it is. You tried to BRIBE me to lie. Amazon customers need to know that, from certain vendors, form those whose "usual response" is to offer bribes, such as yours -- Amazon and its victims need to know that customer ratings can't always be trusted and that there is no way, at present, to know which vendor is trustworthy. That's why I'm publishing bribery attempts by Amazon vendors on http://nowscape.com/suck/Amazon_Bathrobe.htm as well as on other consumer blogs. RE: "Customer service is critical to us... what you encountered was nothing new." Indeed that is's nothing new is the sad truth and it only makes your position worse,  To say that bribery is your modus operandi is to admit that you see nothing dishonest about the practice, no doubt because TexereSilk is, at core, immoral. TexereSilk makes a practice of buying favorable reviews on Amazon.com! Your bribery has been ongoing. As you say, in the past you have made "generous offers" to victims, if and only if they will change their interpretation of the quality of your wares. Shame on you. RE: "The performance of our customer service department..." Nobody cares what departments TexereSilk has or how your shop is organized. RE: "It is reasonable [...] to request that the customer's posting fully reflect the service the customer has received." There was nothing wrong with your service, except for the bribery, if that can indeed be considered a service.  My initial complaint was about your product. RE: "...our product may have a defect..." This flimsy product was intended to be as it is -- in fact you defended its quality, material and construction -- don't change the subject, my friend. RE: "In fact, you will see..." In FACT, I shall wait to see. RE: "The sentence you have quoted from us in this review was not in response to what you are implying. As you are well aware, that sentence was in response to another concern you had raised." I try not to make implications, as you say, I want to be ruthlessly honest and stick with accusations: I say that you BRIBE people in order to get better reviews.  I apologize for any mistakes that I have made but I am an not "well aware" of them, as you say.  If you will clarify which sentence and what response to which I should be aware, I'll fix it here on my "Sucks" web blog as well as on my blogs and on Amazon, etc., immediately.  I do not want to be inaccurate.  Thank you kindly in advance for your soonest response. RE: "Amazon is also responsible for complete customer service on this order. We [TexereSilk] became involved only as a good will gesture..." I see Amazon.com is partly to blame for TextereSilk's dishonesty.  It's nice to know of your good will.  I have as much of it as you. People need to know that they can buy with confidence from Amazon and that favorable reviews have not been purchased by bribery. Attached to all emails form  'The TexereSilk Team': "For Your Information: To help arbitrate disputes and preserve trust and safety, we retain all messages buyers and sellers send through Amazon.com for two years. This includes your response to the message above". Please Help Eradicate Intolerance

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