I’ve had this happen too, where a winery shipped me the same order twice (a case of $40/bottle wine) couple months apart. It was a winery I’d visited with friends & felt connected to. I also don’t like owing anyone anything and will go to great lengths to avoid what I think of as “Karmic Imbalances.”
I called the winery & explained the issue. The employee immediately told me to just keep it & consider it my lucky day. Unhappy with the recommendation, I asked if I could return it. He said sure, but I would have to pay the return shipping because there wasn’t an order in their system to issue the return against.
I asked to make the return against the original order that I received a couple months prior. Once again he said sure, but then he’d have to issue a refund for the “returned” case I was already drinking my way through.
The employee kept begging me to just keep the wine because fixing it would be a big PITA for him and me.
I finally gave up trying to “do the right thing.” We invited 10 couples over including the ones who visited the winery with us and had a wine party. I told them we had to drink the entire case of wine to set things right in the world. They all thought I was crazy but didn’t seem to mind helping out. We finished the case & had a great time reminiscing about the winery and other adventures together. Fun night.
I know, right?!
That’s why I mentioned my slightly neurotic need to not owe anyone anything. It makes me feel uneasy to enjoy a case of wine I didn’t pay for, like something bad will happen to me. It’s foolish, but I can’t help it.
Haha, you’re not wrong! I’ve suggested face-to-face meetings with potential young clients and it’s frequently met with, at first, mild shock and then an un-spoken, “No, gross.”
I brought home a case of wine from a trip one time and a few weeks later, another case showed up UPS. I emailed the winery to notify them and have them send me an invoice, I never heard back. I kept buying their wines because I loved them, but also to help make up for the guilt.
I received an extra bottle from a retailer once. I emailed them and asked how they wanted to handle it. I bought it for a discount. We were both happy.
I’m right there with you. It makes me uneasy if I feel like a small company is getting hurt when they do business with me. I generally go out of my way to make sure that I’m more than square with everyone I’m doing business with. I probably error too much this way, but would much rather people remember working with me fondly.
Mega corporations, those I take to the cleaners when I get the chance.
As an older millennial I can confirm. Generally prefer a text, but will take email over a phone call. Not the biggest fan of the Direct Messages on other platforms (instagram, twitter, etc.).
As someone who’s sent the wrong wines a couple of times, at least for me, it’s much better to just gift the mistake, get the right wine out, rather than go through the huge hassle and expense of shipping it back etc. Not to mention the bad taste it might leave in your clients mouth when he/she needs to allocate time and hassle to send it back.
I honestly don’t understand wineries or retailers thinking when they want to get paid for this. Just eat it and put it down as a customer service cost.
An extra case is still a mistake they made. Don’t charge for mistakes.
I was sent 2 bottles of Roumier Bonnes Mares 2002 twice in 2005 when I only had ordered the two bottles once. I was happy to pay the USD 80pr bottle tariff for the second shipment instead of returning it. One of my better wine buying decisions. Have drunk one, sold one for USD 2000 and am keeping the last two for future enjoyment.