Kestovaippakauppa - A Review

I was on the hunt for a KAM-branded plastic snap fastener.  My Prym brand one doesn't fasten plastic snaps - only metal ones and eyelets.  Darn.
I immediately looked online at Etsy and other sites that sold craft supplies and equipment- but the shipping was almost double the cost of the pliers themselves!
I asked a Finnish friend to help me look in Finland for reasonably priced (including shipping) KAM pliers and she actually found me a shop IN Jyv�skyl� called "Kestovaippakauppa".
There was the option to order online and shipping would be 3,50� - not bad!  But then my friend and I were able to hang out and catch up.
They weren't quite easy to find in terms of being able to hop on a bus and go on my own - but she thankfully took me there by car and we had quite the experience.
For me -it was a mostly positive one.  For my friend - well, she wasn't overly thrilled by the service, speed or anything but the products she purchased.

It turned out that I have been to this shop before - last year and at night, so I didn't recall how to get there - but recognized the building (it's in the basement floor of a house) once we arrived.
Anyways, what I was looking for was this:

It came with the screw driver, awl, metal rod and other press-dies - just not shown in my photo!

That was easy and my friend translated - then I had to choose button colours....I just asked for a mix.  For 50 pairs of mixed colours - "I'm not picky" I told the store rep helping me.  She was great to work with and very helpful and quick - considering each "set" of snaps consist of 4 pieces.

While my buttons were being chosen and packaged - my friend and I cruised through the single-room shop and looked through all the different fabric types.

I decided I wanted to venture into "cloth-pad land" - hence why I wanted the KAM snaps fastener and snaps to begin with....but of course there were so many fabrics available that weren't sold downtown.
I found a couple pieces of fabric on sale and then my friend pointed out a PUL-type of printed fabric.

PUL is the water proof stuff on one side and usually printed (or a solid colour) on the other side.  Traditionally used for lots of things like cloth diapers, diaper covers, wet bags (for pads or diapers or soiled clothing) or even lunch bags!

I thought it would be wise to buy a piece and asked my friend how much it was - she was told 5� a piece by a different store rep.  These pieces were colourful, modern, fun, great quality and pretty big!

GREAT!  I picked up one and the buttons were ready and the store rep I had began to tally up my sale.

I asked/confirmed with her that the PUL fabric was 5� and she looked at me like I was insane.

After searching on the internet - it turned out it was over 11� a piece.

By this point - my friend finally got her fabrics cut and her sale being processed.  She was already charged with the 5�/PUL sheet and the rep had no idea what to do.

It took forever to get a couple pieces of fabric cut and to sort out the billing.

She was first charged X� with the PUL sheets being 5� each.  Then they calculated the difference - and she was charged the difference - but the lady punched in 0,13� (13 CENTS) instead of 13,00�.

Then the 3rd time....she got charged the difference of 12,87�.

Crappy customer service: We each got a 10 cents discount for the "confusion" of the older store's rep mistake.

Excellent customer service would be:  Take the hit and sell it to us for the price we were told.  Or even 50% off would have been nice.

We could have been in and out within 20-30 minutes tops.  We didn't leave until an hour later.

I'm sorry to say that I won't be shopping there again - not even online (they offer shipping on their site).  Not only is it difficult for me to get to by bus, but the service was really disappointing for my friend and I.

Another Reason To NOT Go With Sampo!

"Dear Sampo Bank (Jyv�skyl� downtown branch):

Please put someone at the front desk who knows how to do their job.
By doing their job - I don't mean a pretty face who just sits there and directs people here and there without a care.

Today I walked into the bank at 10:15am with a baby (thankfully asleep) and advised you I needed to deposit a cheque.
Your staff looked at me as if I was wasting his time by asking him this and directed me to the teller line up.
I in turn, gave him a weird look because I have never deposited a cheque with the teller before but always with a personal banking officer (PBO) because there is always some lengthy sort of process required.
I thought maybe there is a new procedure, as it has been awhile since I've made a bank deposit (cheque-wise) and patiently waited 15 minutes.
I got to the teller and handed him my Finnish ID card, my phone which has my bank account number written in it and the cheque.
The teller tells me immediately, "I'm sorry you have to go over there (gesturing to the PBO area) to deposit this."
(I knew this was going to happen....a part of me just knew it.)
I informed him, "Well, your staff at the front desk told me to come wait here.  It is in Euros and from the Nordea bank in Helsinki..." I point at the bottom of the cheque.
He rushed over to his colleague at the front desk who confirmed that yes, I should be waiting for a PBO - please note he didn't even look in my direction because he knows he f'd up.
But because it was written up in Canada - it was deemed an "international" cheque and I had to get a number and wait.
So I waited another 20 minutes to see a PBO and may I point out that had I been directed to go to the PBO area to begin with - I would have been out almost right away.  Because numbers 002-005 weren't present. They were probably tired of waiting for the 1 PBO who happened to be actively working with customers - since the others were doing paperwork of some type.

The main point of this complaint?  Aside from your staff giving me poor directions and wasting over 45 minutes of my time - he seems quite under-educated.
Why would I suggest this?
A) I spoke in English and I look like a foreigner and was mentioning the word "CHEQUE".
Why should it have been SUPER obvious that I am depositing an "International" cheque?

B) Because Finland hasn't used cheques in over 20 years.  So it's obviously not from Finland...

I sincerely hope someone in your organization reads this and perhaps you can give a crash course to whoever sits at the front greeting desk.

Sincerely yours,
A Pissed Off Customer"


______________________________________________________________________________

If you are making a deposit to your own account - yes, you do need identification.  Seems silly I suppose but I believe it's for the safety of the bank and your account.
Just make sure you bring your ID - either a passport, driving license or a Finnish ID card to make your banking transactions in person.
Do NOT bring your Finnish Residence Permit Card as it may not be accepted as proper identification.

Oh Mama Mia...!

I ordered pizza tonight because it's Friday night and because my friends have been awesome at helping me watch the kids and even putting them to bed for me while I'm out with the dogs...and because I wanted a break from cooking.
I went through pizzaonline.fi (blog post is in progress!) and found Mama Mia's and submitted our order at about 6:40pm.
It can take up to an hour to be received, made and delivered - so my goal was to get the food within an hour or so.  (No cars to pick it up).
That didn't happen.

Mama Mia's internet banking portion was not working so I was not able to make a payment.  I then clicked Cash, Card or Meal Ticket (all in one click) and submitted my order anyway and decided I would email them afterwards that I have both bank card available or cash if necessary.  I wrote this in English and Finnish (thanks to a friend who translated) and never got a response.
I figured all was good and my starving self would get fed SOON.
So by 8:17pm with no sign of pizza showing up, I put on my big kid pants and called them.
They confirmed they spoke English and I asked calmly about "Order 86" and that we have not received it, we ordered it awhile ago...I got an email telling me to "ship the payment to their address or the food will not be delivered" and that I have cash or card to pay.
"Oh it's fine - it doesn't matter if you pay either one with delivery!" the man says nervously to me.
Then where is the pizza I ordered over an hour and a half ago? was my instant thought.
He managed to rattle off my address super fast and I confirmed it and he tells me that it will be delivered in 15-20 minutes and he was sorry for the wait.
No offer of a discount - delivery was free anyway, since it was over 12�...gee thanks.

Please note that Mama Mia's is about a 20 minutes QUICK-paced walk from my door...so if they're delivering by car - it should take about 5-7 minutes including red lights.

The clock continues to digitally go forward and my friends and I begin to get restless...and hungry.
8:50pm my door bell rings and a nervous looking teen (?) has my pizzas and thanks me after I pay.  No coupons, no offer of a discount, no apology for being late on top of being already ridiculously slow/late with delivering my pizza since I ordered it at 6:40pm.

We quickly dig into our pizzas once he's gone and they're hot and fresh.

So, CLEARLY this means they did not even have our pizzas made when I called them and they never called me to ask me about directions or payment methods or anything.  No emails or text messages.  Thanks for losing my order...and I'm super glad I wasn't hosting a party with YOUR food - because it probably wouldn't have came if I didn't call you.

Mama Mia's - please fix your system so that the automatic email message doesn't threaten me with "we're not going to deliver your pizza until payment is received.  Please send money payable to this address" and also your internet banking system too.
And I'm sure I'm not the only one that has to deal with your crappy service and I hope this blog post reaches you - because I think 2+ hours to wait is a heck of a long time considering it only took you 30 minutes to get my order confirmed, make it and deliver it once I called.

"Please make your check or money order payable to:

Mammamia

Mail your payment to:
Voionmaankatu 34, 40700 Jyv�skyl�

Your order will not ship until we receive payment." 

Copied from my E-Mail... nothing like CONFUSING THE CUSTOMER!

Think twice before ordering from Mama Mia's online..although I must say 29 and 30 are really tasty.

Finally - a complaint letter to UPS.

This was sent April 17th, 2012 from me to UPS....regarding my lack of a Kindle.


"Hello: 


I was advised as of Friday morning by one of your UPS representatives (via telephone) that my package would arrive yesterday (Monday April 16th). This was not the case, nor has the tracking information been updated on your website. Technically, my package is still in Helsinki from the looks of things. 
I have also requested a text message when my package was being delivered and have yet to receive one, so I think it's safe to say - it may not have reached Jyv�skyl� yet. 


I also wish to have this e-mail forwarded to a supervisor or manager as I find the services from UPS very disappointing. The e-mail representative I have dealt with (____name removed from this blog post for privacy purposes___) was very helpful, however - I am not impressed with the lack of communication between UPS and myself, as a customer. I had received 1 phone call on April 4th, that I did not answer and it turned out to be a pre-paid and un-listed number. I assume it was UPS because after a response from _________, I received a phone call - over a week later - from a UPS representative requesting my Finnish Social Security number. The number was also un-listed and pre-paid when I tracked it. Why it could not be requested via e-mail also baffles me. I find it very odd that I had to initiate contact and wonder why your staff did not attempt to call me again, either later on in the day time or on another day. I deem this extremely poor customer service and I would not be recommending your services to anyone in the future. 
Sincerely, D. Riggs"


The person has since emailed me advising me they have forwarded my email to a supervisor and that they will try and find my package soon and contact me soon.  And that they were very sorry for all the trouble I was going through to get my package.  


Here's hoping I get it before Christmas. 


**UPDATE:

Here's the response I got from a supervisor:

"Hello

I got  your message regarding to your shipment.

We called you on 4^th April and after that request from social securityn number  was sent to you by email. Based on your message you haven�t got my previous email.

I�m sorry about this bad service you have received from us."

How to Get Your Kindle Faster...

Remember a couple days ago I wrote a post about how my husband got his Kindle in 2 days and I was still waiting?
Well, yes, I am STILL waiting - but I have results!

It turns out, on April 4th, when it checked into Helsinki and completed most of their customs - they called me.  I didn't answer because I didn't hear my phone and I was dead asleep...they called after 9am but hubby was watching the kids so I opted for a nap.
When I woke up, I noticed that some weird number called but I disregarded it as a telemarketer.  I figured if it was UPS - they'd call back - RIGHT?!
Nope.  They never once called back...great customer service guys.  I really appreciate it.

I finally decided to check out who called that day - and it turns out it was not listed and pre-paid.  Was it UPS or not?!
I then decided it's been long enough - time to send an email!  I emailed UPS who guaranteed a response within 1 business day and yes, they did email me back.  The rep was vague and just said we'll see what's going on.
I emailed him back advising him my husband got his Kindle in 2 days and I'm still waiting.
I then get a phone call this morning from a similar phone number and decided to answer...yep.  It was UPS.
"Oh we found out you contacted us and the reason why your package from Amazon.com is being held here is because we need your Social Security number."
I gave it to her and she told me I'll get it on Monday.  Great!

Still it doesn't explain the poor customer service from last Wednesday - not calling a customer back...why the heck not?!  If not later in the day, the next day - until you get the customer to pick up!
And they couldn't take it out of Helsinki until they had my Social Security number - so they didn't bother trying to deliver it in person.

I just looked at the 2 numbers from today and last week and they are NOT the same...so perhaps UPS has several numbers?
Oh and I did use 16400 to find the 2nd number and yes, it's also un-listed and pre-paid too.


This is the not the first time I've had issues with UPS and missing packages...so be warned - if you go the International Shipping route for anything going through UPS - this is what you may go through!