r1v3th3ad Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Well guys and gals, as some of you that have been around the block for all that has happened around here in recent past, you might remember when hookahset(djhookahforum) used to be a vendor here. They lost their vendor privileges and were even briefly banned accounts due to the way they ran their business. I was an advocate for them...I had negative experiences, but they always had fixed their problems in some way, such as sometimes they sent me the wrong shisha because something was out of stock or misreading the order and they immediately shipped the right one; other times when wrong shisha was sent, I had to ship it back to them(at their expense), wait for them to receive it, then they ship me what I wanted. I really went out on a limb for them when their accounts were banned. At that time, I had an order thru them that had come, but not directly to me...(this section is in their review thread, you can see me sticking my neck out in a long spiel)...UPS delivered it, didn't knock on the door or anything, and the package was stolen...hookahset took the steps needed to collect from ups and get me what I ordered(but sent me a wrong flavor in the resend of package which was a new package, they fixed this by me mailing back the flavor)...Me and one of my friends who orders from them made a stink about wanting them back. Their banned account was reinstated and they were welcome to take the steps to become a vendor again. All they had to do was be active on the forum, and they could have been a vendor here again...they emailed us and said they fixed all their problems(such as screwing up a lot of orders, which is why they were kicked out of here) and they will do what it takes to be a vendor...its months later and they are only now sticking their heads back in the door. [b]now that the backstory is complete, heres my current situation:[/b] I placed an order with hookahset 9/28/11 for 3 sets of tongs, fantasia pumpkin spice 200g, 5 pack of tangiers deal that gets you a box of kanara coals, and ten boxes of kanara coals. Ship time has always taken two days from them to my door...that was a weds when I placed my order, friday package isn't here and I haven't received a tracking number. I called and called and called, but got no answer and they do not have an answering machine. I emailed requesting my tracking number and in the automated response, their signature for their email it happened to say that day they were closed that day for a holiday. I called monday and got thru. The answering girl apologized to me and told me my order had not gone out yet; she told me that the coals they were to send me were damaged and that they were waiting for the new shipment to come in to send out my package as a whole. She told me the shipment came in that day and that they were going to be sending me my package that night. No tracking number still. The package arrives Thursday, Friday my tracking number was emailed to me and in fact the package wasn't shipped when she said it would be, it was shipped the next evening. Well, I got my fantasia, I got my three sets of tongs, but the 11 boxes of coals I ordered weren't right. I ordered Kanaras and I received Cocojamras, all 11 boxes. One of my 5 flavors of Tangiers was wrong, I ordered Strawberry Kiwi and got Blue Gumball... I called, took a day to get thru, but I did. The girl informs me that Kanara Coals are discontinued in the U.S. and Cocojamras are the same company, better quality, so thats why I received that. The Tangiers problem, she said "didn't anybody contact you that we are out of stock of that, to replace it?" No. Nor did they contact me to say, "O hey, we are replacing 11 boxes of coals with another one that no one has ever heard of before". 12 items, approximately $80 of my order fucked up. She tried to talk me into keeping Blue Gumball, telling me that it is a popular flavor. I said this is unacceptable, I did not order it. I had two options: keep the BGB and take a discount on a future order or mail back the BGB and get a new flavor, I took the second. I jumped on their website while on the phone with her and went to pick a replacement flavor. The first five flavors I picked were out of stock, yet no where marked on their site's inventory...I settled with Sour Grape. She says she will email me the shipping label, I still have yet to receive it. Two hours go by and I haven't received the label. I'm pissed, they shipped my package a week later than I ordered it, they sent me 11 boxes of coals I didn't order and pretty much told me I'm stuck with them, and I have to mail back a wrong flavor, wait till its in their hands, and then they will ship me what I want...I emailed Mark(djhookahforum). I was disgruntled, but not a jerk. I pointed out some flaws in how things are, I pointed out that this is unacceptable, I wrote a short novel I suppose. I waited and waited and waited for a response...the disgruntled email was sent Oct 6, I sent a follow up Oct 12 [quote]I am still waiting to hear back from you. This is unacceptable. I have a flavor I didn't order and 11 boxes of coals I didnt order...your employee answering the phones said she would send me a label to ship back the flavor and receive a different flavor, yet I am stuck with the coals...its been six days since I wrote my disgruntled email and I am patiently awaiting your reply, but my patience is wearing thin.[/quote] I tried calling countless times and no one was answering the phone, easily 20x a day I called. I finally got thru on Monday Oct 17. I told the girl I am a pissed off customer, Mark hasn't responded to my emails and they haven't been answering the phones, I want to talk to him now. She says he is not in yet but he will call me back as soon as he gets in. I didn't get a call till the next day. He was polite and very apologetic. He pretty much told me try the coals and see if I like them, if I dont I can keep the box I opened and he will pay for me to ship the rest back and I will receive a full refund. He wasn't very clear on the Tangiers, but told me I would get the correct flavor, but sounded like he wanted to do the mail back method I described above. He was going to wait to hear back from me about if I wanted to keep the coals or not until we go any further. He said I can reach him at that number anytime, yet I called all day today and all day yesterday with no answer... I was just gonna tell him I'm settling with the coals, I'm not the biggest fan of them but I'll deal with it because I'm so aggravated with how long this has taken. I was just gonna tell him to send me my shisha. [b]So here it is, 10/20/11, I ordered 9/28/11...they fucked up around $80 worth of my order and still haven't fixed it and are handling this poorly.[/b] You know Mark, I risked my name for you in the past sticking up for you, trying to get you reinstated here(all before I was a moderator, I became moderator a week after my last rage for you, and once moderator, when the topic came up again...I said, hell lets give them a chance), you said you fixed all your problems but it is evident that you lied. You are still screwing up orders, you don't even call to tell someone something is out of stock, you don't update your inventory on your website, and you want customers to wait and mail back the product and then receive what they had ordered in the first place at a much later date. You don't respond to emails and you rarely have someone answering the phones. [b]You are a sub-par sales company and its a wonder how you are still in business, maybe you should stick to the store front of Kosher Meat.[/b] If you can't tell, I'm pretty pissed and rightfully so...all but maybe one of my orders has been screwed up and this is the last time you will screw up with me, you just lost a truly loyal customer(which are the best kind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 And I find it funny he can post here but has a hard time answering a phone or emails Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainUM Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 i know exactly how you feel, which is why i stopped giving them any of my business. i called time after time for hours on end and never got an answer. it is so frustrating how unprofessional that company is. their refusal to answer the phone has been a serious problem as well as their lack of communication with the customers when things are out of stock. i ran into this problem when i tried to order a base from them a while back. it was absolutely dreadful. i dont think i am ever going to order from them ever. 5star has cheaper tang than they do now. i think they should revert back to a banned vendor here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendetta_revived Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 5star also has great customer service! I vote to ban hookahset (although I've never had any personal experience with them, but then, it's a good thing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahir Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Sucks to hear about stuff like this....but if it's happening...let it be known I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dereksd Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) pat if it makes you feel any better cocojamras are really better than kanara but yea im also kinda shocked they are still in business but people want to risk a few saved bucks but its not worth the hassle. Edited October 21, 2011 by Dereksd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Well, id say thats pretty comprehensive. so, i'd say that it would probably be a good idea to avoid these guys. If you do order from them, don't expect much sympathy from any of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm waiting to see how Mark responds to this. I still can't believe with how much advice I gave him on how to improve he is still messing up orders and then not fixing them promptly or in the manner that he should. I long ago wrote it off as a lost cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satou Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Like others I am surprised that they are still in business with the ethic of work that they are bringing to the table. And that it really seems they are the type to just run out with your cash, give a plethora of excuses and wait forever to get anything done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) Yikes. That's no way to run a business, unless they're trying to run it into the ground. Word of mouth will spread, and they'll either be forced to put some effort in or have to pack it up. Also chiming in with vendetta to say that 5star has some great customer service and are quick to ship, I ordered from them last Friday afternoon and got my package on Saturday! Edited October 21, 2011 by Fusion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendetta_revived Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote name='Fusion ' timestamp='1319163198' post='528540'] Yikes. That's no way to run a business, unless they're trying to run it into the ground. Word of mouth will spread, and they'll either be forced to put some effort in or have to pack it up. Also chiming in with vendetta to say that 5star has some great customer service and are quick to ship, I ordered from them last Friday afternoon and got my package on Saturday! [/quote] Well they should have run into the ground by now, but as derek said, their prices lure a lot of newbies. Seriously speaking, all of their customer reviews across ALL forums go like this:- I ordered xyz on abc date, got it a week later, but the shipping is 5 bucks so can't complain. Everything came in alright, just the xxxxx item had dents in it, probably not their fault....also, they accidently sent me yyyyy shisha when i had order zzzzzz. I tried to call them by email but no one responded for days and I called them for 5 days but no one answered the call. I finally got to someone on the 6th day and they explained that the flavours I ordered were not in stock and they did try to contact me before swapping the flavours out but couldn't get through. Anyway, they took care of it and told me I'd get store credit the next time I order. There were some problems but they worked with me and took care of everything. A+++ vendor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote name='vendetta_revived' timestamp='1319164387' post='528542'] [quote name='Fusion ' timestamp='1319163198' post='528540'] Yikes. That's no way to run a business, unless they're trying to run it into the ground. Word of mouth will spread, and they'll either be forced to put some effort in or have to pack it up. Also chiming in with vendetta to say that 5star has some great customer service and are quick to ship, I ordered from them last Friday afternoon and got my package on Saturday! [/quote] Well they should have run into the ground by now, but as derek said, their prices lure a lot of newbies. Seriously speaking, all of their customer reviews across ALL forums go like this:- I ordered xyz on abc date, got it a week later, but the shipping is 5 bucks so can't complain. Everything came in alright, just the xxxxx item had dents in it, probably not their fault....also, they accidently sent me yyyyy shisha when i had order zzzzzz. I tried to call them by email but no one responded for days and I called them for 5 days but no one answered the call. I finally got to someone on the 6th day and they explained that the flavours I ordered were not in stock and they did try to contact me before swapping the flavours out but couldn't get through. Anyway, they took care of it and told me I'd get store credit the next time I order. There were some problems but they worked with me and took care of everything. A+++ vendor. [/quote] Wow, after checking out the reviews, it's pretty incredible how you weren't really exaggerating. I guess the prices are enough for some people to overlook the service.. and the bad customer service resulting in credit on a customer's next purchase is ingenious, customers can enter a vicious cycle of returning for more bad customer service and credit towards the next order containing wrong or missing goods. And they seem to get a lot of business! Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlec Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Sir I feel your pain. I have been there and done that but fortunately I got off easy and didn't have to jump through the hoops that you and many other have. That's all I have to say, I used to be more adamant about bashing hset but those days are behind me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camelflage Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 yeah, zildjian and i made our last order from them a while back, and it was kind of a shit show cause they didnt send all of our stuff and then didnt want to believe us. i could handle the random flavor swapping cause i can smoke anything, but shorting us stuff and then being impossible to reach was too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. B Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 1/2 their bowls are listed as "bowels" lol. also, this: http://www.hookahset.com/Hookah-Foil-Puncher/984/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atalanta Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote name='Dr. B' timestamp='1319209981' post='528577']1/2 their bowls are listed as "bowels" lol. also, this: http://www.hookahset.com/Hookah-Foil-Puncher/984/[/quote] I thought at first they were foreign because the way the wording for stuff is sounds like english is a second or third language. Then I looked them up, Brooklyn. That explains that . Almost tempting to head out there after work one day, the B train is half a block from my office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuie Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote name='Chreees' timestamp='1319162376' post='528538'] I'm waiting to see how Mark responds to this. I still can't believe with how much advice I gave him on how to improve he is still messing up orders and then not fixing them promptly or in the manner that he should. I long ago wrote it off as a lost cause. [/quote] Some people should not run businesses. If our current economic situation has taught us anything, it's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Their shitrocious website should be enough warning for anyone to stay away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote name='Dr. B' timestamp='1319209981' post='528577'] 1/2 their bowls are listed as "bowels" lol. also, this: [url="http://www.hookahset.com/Hookah-Foil-Puncher/984/"]http://www.hookahset...il-Puncher/984/[/url] [/quote] This made me literally lol so hard, you have no idea. Listing Bowls as Bowels, hilarious. Lisitng a stupid hole puncher that looks like a skewer you could find in the back of some old hick's broken down, rusty-ass truck in his front yard for $9.99, even more hilarious. And yeah, Stu, I agree. About the spelling errors, that's one of the big things I stressed they needed to fix. Nope, still errors left and right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote name='Dereksd' timestamp='1319161486' post='528533'] pat if it makes you feel any better cocojamras are really better than kanara but yea im also kinda shocked they are still in business but people want to risk a few saved bucks but its not worth the hassle. [/quote] I would say that they are maybe better for Tangiers(98% of what I smoke), but not better...the box is paper thin, the lid glued and you cannot reseal it after open; also the package is wrapped in shrinkwrap to hold it together due to the cheapness of the cardboard. The coals are heavier so I expected them to last longer than kanaras, they did not. They burned at about the same rate, however, since they were lower heat it meant shorter time utilizing the coals. Ash was about the same. Random charcoal taste in the bowl while smoking. O yeah, about 12-14 minutes to light, 7-9 minutes with the kanaras The one good thing is the lower heat because it is perfect for Tangiers...I once in a while burn my bowl with kanaras and dont see that happening with cocojamras. I'll live with them, but I am not happy with the CCJs On a positive note, I am friends with a family that owns a local Med. Market, they sell hookahs and what not...they told me they could get me a case of Kanaras if I wanted in the future for around $4 a box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 i love their "forum". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 [quote name='mushrat' timestamp='1319321576' post='528678'] i love their "forum". [/quote] Wut? I'mma check this out... should be good lulz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 [IMG]http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p40/INCUBUSRATM/Random/hookahsetscreencap.png[/IMG] [img]http://imagemacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/hurr_durr.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 If yo retail site has a whack forum with no sections, it ain't a forum, bro! If yo site looks like some guido from Seaside Heights made it, you lookin at Hookahset, bro! If you don't get yo order within a week and were promised a tracking number but never got it, you ordered from Hookahset, bro! If you get half yo order wrong, you ordered from Hookahset, bro! If you call for days and can't ever seem to get in touch with nobody about your jacked-up order, you ordered from Hookahset, bro! [img]http://www.blackhumor.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dj-pauly-d-funny-face-300x279.jpg[/img] -Pauly D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainUM Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 [quote name='Chreees' timestamp='1319343311' post='528702'] If yo retail site has a whack forum with no sections, it ain't a forum, bro! If yo site looks like some guido from Seaside Heights made it, you lookin at Hookahset, bro! If you don't get yo order within a week and were promised a tracking number but never got it, you ordered from Hookahset, bro! If you get half yo order wrong, you ordered from Hookahset, bro! If you call for days and can't ever seem to get in touch with nobody about your jacked-up order, you ordered from Hookahset, bro! [img]http://www.blackhumor.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dj-pauly-d-funny-face-300x279.jpg[/img] -Pauly D [/quote] i dont think i have ever loved you more than i do right now, chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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