www.storesonline.com - eServices and Web hosting - not happy with services

December 19, 2006 - Business Reply:

StoresOnline is committed to customer satisfaction and is constantly improving its products and services. StoresOnline is eager to satisfy its customers by fixing problems and overcoming misunderstandings. If StoresOnline has problems with its software or its services, then a detailed complaint about what is wrong is necessary for StoresOnline to remedy the situation. General postings made about StoresOnline’s products or services are often unclear as to what consumers want StoresOnline to do. StoresOnline’s products are constantly improved when customers identify specific glitches in the software or shortfalls in its services. Indeed, the latest version of StoresOnline software, introduced earlier this year, is a result of detailed and clear feedback from StoresOnline customers. We urge you to contact StoresOnline and identify your concerns. Please provide your full name, address, telephone number, and StoresOnline product license numbers. StoresOnline will respond to your email and will find a resolution to your questions and concerns. Other useful information about StoresOnline can be found at its website at www.storesonline.com. StoresOnline provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with eServices to help their customers successfully market their products and services. Whether a company wants to extend an existing business to the Internet, or launch the next big idea, StoresOnline's eServices are there to help each step of the way. From education, to training, to eCommerce-enabled websites, StoresOnline seeks to be the best in the business. StoresOnline's software platform has continuously developed over the past decade, evolving to fit the needs of the dynamic, global economy. Today, the development platform (StoresOnline Pro) sets the precedent as small business owners and entrepreneurs offer their products and services to the world. You should not only consider what StoresOnline is claiming about its commitment to customer satisfaction. Consider the recent report written by Ed Magedson, founder of RipoffReport.com, detailed below. Please visit www.ripoffreport.com to confirm this report. Through exhaustive research in conjunction with RipOffReport, StoresOnline found that only 12% of complaints filed on that website were true StoresOnline customers. In that report Ed Magedson - Founder, Rip-off Report, stated: “Rip-off Report discovered disgruntled ex-employees, competitors and persons who have taken a "short position" in StoresOnline Stock have tried to victimize StoresOnline repeatedly. Actually, Rip-Off Report's investigation reveals that many of the complainants are not StoresOnline's customers at all, but some of the aforementioned miscreants instigated others to file complaints without even first contacting StoresOnline customer service.

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Rip-Off Report's investigation of StoresOnline shows that StoresOnline is fulfilling its commitment to provide excellent customer service.” StoresOnline has researched this consumer’s complaint and has determined this is not a StoresOnline customer. Sincerely, Customer Service

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on August 12, 2002:

From: Ken /* */

RE: www.storesonline.com - eServices and Web hosting - not happy with services

StoresOnline (www.storesonline.com ) is an eServices and web hosting firm that markets its wares in a very expensive series of public sales presentations promising a user-friendly way to create your own business on the internet, even if you don't have many computer skills. The following is a portion of a memorandum of protest sent to VISA in support of our complaint re: Defective Product and Deceptive Sales Claims from StoresOnline / StoresOnline.Com and request for refund. Please note that We were successful in getting a full refund in this matter. Summary: StoresOnline.Com’s product is deficient because it does not fulfill promises they made regarding the quality of their product before we signed a contract with them. (The product we contracted for being essentially a user-friendly combination of computer software, instructions and free-help for using this software, plus internet hosting services for using the software.) Examples are provided herein. Because StoresOnline.Com uses an extraordinarily high "front end" cost marketing effort (e.g., hosting a hotel ball-room dinner at their introductory sales session; paying for most of the cost of our airline tickets to fly round trip from Kauai to Honolulu for a no-obligation all day training/sales presentation, etc.), I was initially very suspicious that we were being offered what locals here call a "high pressure rip off."

But the StoresOnline.Com people described a number of state-of-the-art features that I had never seen in one affordable package, and they were very on top of answering all of the technical and business-related questions I asked, so I reluctantly agreed to a multiple person partnership in a Storesonline.com contract, and to be the technical "scout and guide" who would be first to prove the system, using my own company as a demonstration test, much as is done in industry. Among my specific questions and their answers at the all day training, were these: I asked a number of detailed questions about the "user friendliness" of their instructions and help system, and whether a non-expert could successfully build a storefront without professional coaching services which they make available at additional cost.

To underscore their affirmative answers on this, they said that they had recently hired a team of elementary school teachers to take the training and to revise the StoresOnline.Com new user instructions to be "user friendly," and that this was now done. Although they also said that they made professional website design and coaching services available at additional cost, they repeatedly insisted that non-expert lay people could do make their system work with materials and help services provided by the basic contract

I asked about whether they could host independent website addresses as part of the costs we were being quoted. They quickly said that there would be no problem doing this.

But noticing that they quickly slid over this question (in pronounced contrast to their usual detailed answers to other questions) when I got home, I read all the fine print and list of additional charges and discovered that there is a $50 one-time setup fee and a $15/month charge for hosting of websites other than e.g., www.storesonline.com/mystorename . This is only one of several examples I could cite of their using excessively deceptive sales tactics, which I cite here to underscore the context of the defective product claim I make next.

I spent approximately 80 hours reading all of the materials, both printed and online, that StoresOnline.com made available, following all of the detailed instructions they gave to create a number of different "Target Market/Entry Pages" for my business, to set up a home page and so on in the sequence of developmental steps that they suggested. Throughout, there were many problems indicative of a deficient product. For example: Promise: StoresOnline.Com’s people repeatedly stated in the training seminar that there was full compatibility with no problems of service for Mac users. Actual Reality: For at least a week after signing up, it wasn’t possible to log on, even though the StoresOnline people said there should be no problem. This was not our problem. It happened for all mac users. During this week, many hours were spent trying unsuccessfully to get any meaningful answers from StoresOnline.Com as to what was going on.

Their non-communicativeness about what was really going on turned out to be typical, not an exception.

Promise: Quick coaching service on all aspects of setting up your StoresOnline.Com operation. Actual Reality: StoresOnline.Com’s free Merchant Support Live Chat service usually had a waiting time of five to fifteen or even twenty minutes between responses, which was unworkable because answers often didn’t address at all directly what was asked.

And the long-distance telephone help line, which cost us a long-distance charge usually had a waiting time of more than 15 minutes before we could even reach someone.

Promise: Helpful coaching service on all aspects of setting up your StoresOnline.Com operation. Actual Reality: Both in the online Merchant Support Live Chat service and in the Email User email service, StoresOnline.Com’s answers frequently were only a few words that simply didn’t come near to giving sufficient information to answer the question involved.

Promise: A listing website addresses for StoresOnline.Com patrons who had successful stores online that we could peruse for ideas and to see how many successful stores were, in fact, out there. Actual Reality: We never were given such a list, although we asked several times.

But the specific product deficiency that led me to say "uncle" and quit the project was when I tried unsuccessfully to make the different "Target Market/Entry Pages" interface successfully with the home page, couldn’t figure out how, and the so-called "help" I got was of no help at all. This is but a number of instances where questions we would ask would bring a "canned" response of a few words that were inadequate.

I can only assume that this is but another aspect of StoresOnline.Com’s deceptive sales strategy (a variation of the well-known "bait and switch" tactic) since I was phoned soon after returning from the training seminar by a coaching company that is an affiliate of StoresOnline.Com, offering to provide coaching services at an additional cost, suggesting that even though I didn’t yet think I needed them, I probably would later.

And then, later, sure enough…the only way I know of to get a meaningful response to my question about something that should really very simple to answer, would be to hire one of their affiliated experts – which they promised would not be necessary for anyone having a reasonable degree of computer savvy, which I most certainly do! To repeat the summary I opened with, StoresOnline.Com’s product is deficient simply because they did not live up to the promises they made before we signed a contract with them regarding the quality of their product. Examples are provided herein. Thank you! We appreciate all the help possible in getting our just refund in this matter.

Comment On This

I Have a site with storesonline. I am very satisfied. You get what you put in to it I think. They answer all my question when i call.

Comment On This

I would like to know if there is any way to get a refund for the cost of this program. My wife and I went to two of their seminars and ended up purchasing 6 of the sights. In talking with the sales person, they agreed to set up our first sight for free. It is now 4 months later and I have no sight. My wife has gone through the books to create our own sight, but got confused and contact the online service for help. During the orientation I let them know that we would not be able to attend the upcoming bootcamp and requested the CD which they said they would send. I have not received it yet. There are other things that make me just not trust the company. If all possible, I would be happy just to get my investment back from them and I really don't want to invest any more into their program. If you can help me or give me a number of somebody to contact.

Thank you

Comment On This

I hate to notice the obvious but here it goes, Indeed It could be legally and technically stated that These complaints aren't lodged by customers because Storesonline doesn't have customers. It is a Business to Business sales organization that treats everyone as a "Business". I don't know the nature or validity of these complaints but both parties might be being truthful....in their own way.