To those following along, here's the text of my email to VMP CS and Matt, the CEO:
I am in receipt of your email and I, to be frank, am very disappointed in your response. Not in the outcome of my inquiry to customer service, but the passive-aggressive tone and the insinuations that I am taking advantage of VMP's customer service policy.
To set the facts straight, I have received just under 30 records from VMP in the last 45 days (my April and May shipments, and the Anthology). Many of those records have been without issue and some of them (i.e. Al Green's Call Me and the Anthology records) are among the best sounding in my collection. In fact, I have made a dedicated effort to complete my Classics collection due to the outstanding choices and quality of records. However, I have received numerous records from VMP that have had scratches, static, and notable warps - none of which are acceptable for brand new vinyl bought at a premium price point.
On all of those occasions I have emailed VMP's customer service and provided proof, by either video or photograph of the particular issue. If you would go back through my inquiries you would also see that I almost never requested a specific remedy, I wanted to bring it to CS's attention and go from there because some problems require differing responses. In fact, every record in my April box had some form of damage to it and I specifically requested to not receive replacements for any record that didn't otherwise have playability issues (which were three records that had scratches, static, or significant warps). When I have received replacements, I have usually given the damaged copies to friends - I have not resold any or tried to make a buck off of VMP's formerly stellar customer service. In all of my prior inquiries, customer service has been friendly and tried to make the issue right.
In reviewing your website, it appears that the customer service policy has changed (
https://vinylmeplease.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011952891-Damaged-Return-Policy-) a few days ago. While I think the tone of the intro statement is unprofessional (satin-laced boxes, really?), that is certainly VMP's prerogative to change your policy. I am disappointed by the change, because one of the reasons I joined VMP was the stellar reputation of its customer service and the promise to make any issues right. I've noticed a lot of changes in VMP during the last month or two (pricing, ending the forums, CS, etc.), as a small business owner myself, I don't really want to second guess those decisions, because I don't know the company's financial and administrative positions, even if I don't necessarily agree that they are in the best interests of VMP from a customer standpoint.
However, what I will hold VMP to task for is poor customer service and attacking its customers personally. I've rarely had a representative of a company speak to me as rudely and dismissively as the message below as been and I've reacted the same way in all of those circumstances - by taking my business elsewhere. I have spoken to others who have indicated less than optimal interactions with customer service with VMP in the last week and believe it is important for the company to be aware of that.
I have several outstanding pre-orders/subscription with VMP and I am requesting that all of those preorders/remaining months of my subscription be cancelled and my credit card refunded. I have already cancelled my subscription on your website. I am disappointed to do so, because when VMP gets it right, it's a top-notch vinyl product, but I cannot tolerate a company that thinks it is okay for its representatives to attack its customers. Please let me know when I can expect to see the refunded amount on my credit card.
