Foto Connection

Full review
My experience with Foto Connection exposed manipulative sales techniques and bad business practices.

First, when I placed my order, paying over $2,800 for the merchandise (good price) and almost $50 for normal ground shipping (normal) I received a Confirmation Request via e-mail detailing the transaction and asking me to call Jack to confirm my web-order.

Exactly one hour later I received another e-mail message. It looked a lot like the first, but the subject line now said, "Order is On-Hold" and the message requested that I contact Jack regarding a problem with my order details. This message got my attention and I called immediately.

Jack explained that the problem was that I had neglected to purchase their extended warranty protection. I quickly said I wasn't interested, and then the hard sale began.

I listened to Jack's spiel and when I could get a word in edgewise I said again that I was not interested. Jack would not be dissuaded.

The pressure was applied again with unusually aggressive force. I interrupted Jack and explained that I would not keep the equipment longer than its warranty period, so the extended warrantee was useless to me.

Surprisingly, this only ratcheted up Jack's intensity as he came at me again like a load of bricks. I endured another barrage of insistence that I purchase the extended warranty protection.

After absorbing his diatribe for a few seconds in stunned disbelief, I interrupted Jack and asked, "what is it about NO that you do not understand?" Believe it or not, Jack made another effort to add the high-profit optional extra to my order.

I stopped him mid-sentence by declaring in a loud firm voice; "Let me talk with your supervisor."

Jack put me on hold. After a twenty-second pause of dead air Jack came back on the line saying that the extended warrantee was not mandatory, but the item I purchased was too expensive to ship to me without the purchase of additional insurance protection. I smiled and asked; "How much do you charge for the insurance, Jack?" When he replied, "seventy-five dollars," I burst out laughing. My guffaw morphed into instant anger.

I told Jack; "Listen, my friend, I'll tell you exactly what you are going to do now. You are going to ship the merchandise to me as soon as possible. You are not going to add one red penny to the total of my order. And, you are not going to say one more thing about any added expense. If you do not comply, Jack, I am going to bring the wrath of God down around your ears. I'll write letters to every consumer organization I can think of, the Consumer Fraud Division of the California Attorney General's Office, the Better Business Bureau and any other agency that might cause you some grief. And then I am going to tell the world all about the scams you push at new customers by venting about your behavior on every Internet site I can find where people gather to exchange information about unethical businesses. Now, what will it be, Jack?"

Jack put me on hold. After another pause of twenty seconds Jack was back. This time he was contrite. He said his supervisor was going to make an exception in my case and they would ship the merchandise to me in a few days. It was a Friday, so I asked if he could be more specific about when the item would ship. He promised it would go out by Wednesday of the next week. I expressed my appreciation for his assistance and I hung up the phone.

Two weeks later my credit card has not yet been debited for the purchase. I received no responses to either of the two messages I sent asking whether the merchandise had been shipped, or not. There was only silence and neglect from Foto Connection. So, I called the customer service department.

The representative was quite nice. He said the merchandise I ordered was not in stock, but had been ordered. He didn't know when they might get the item in, but said it would be shipped to me as soon as it showed up.

I explained that I ordered the item to use at a conference that was now only ten days away. Was it possible to have the manufacturer drop-ship the item directly to me? No. Well, if I changed the shipping option to overnight delivery, what would be the additional cost? One hundred seventy-five dollars! No, thank you.

"So, there is no way for you to keep the commitment that Jack made to me two weeks ago, and you have no idea when, if ever, you will ship the merchandise, is that right?" I understood the situation perfectly. I thanked the representative for the information and politely ended our conversation.

I called Foto Connection two days later to cancel the order (PC Nation had the merchandise and could FedEx Overnight). The customer service representative said the projector was already in shipping. I asked if it could be sent FedEx Overnight. After holding for a few minutes the customer service representative returned and said it would be to me in 48 hours.

Four days later I called again. I discovered the item had not been shipped. I canceled the order and I hope PC Nation can still save my butt.

Beware, my friends. If you decide to do business with Foto Connection you have been forewarned.

Take care,

John K. Davis