ComplaintsforBronco Western Supply Company, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Today, Monday, June 20, 2022, I received an email advertisement from Bronco Western Supply Co., a company I have been happy with in the past. They offered 25% off of their clearance items, so I spent quite a bit of time browsing and adding items to my cart. I then completed the purchase through ******. But a short time later, I was advised by email that I received a refund for the entire amount of my purchase. I called, and the woman who answered was very dismissive, saying that they could not afford to sell for the price at which I purchased. I was quite taken aback, as other retailers have offered the items at a similar discount. And it was their advertising that drew me in! Markup in the horse industry is often 1000 percent, so selling for a large percentage off is not unusual. The woman was rather belittling indicating I should not expect a discount on these items despite their advertising. If she had merely said that her company had made a mistake, and immediately sent out a retraction email, I would have been more understanding. But she had time to reject my order summarily, and no further emails posting a correction regarding this sale have come from the company. This could be a problem for other shoppers as well. As for me, what a waste of my time!

  

  Business response

  06/20/2022

  We sent out the above advertisement, that the customer attached as well, stating what was on sale, but also that "exclusions apply" and that the sale "excluded horse tack".  The items that the customer bought were accidentally included in the sale on our site, even though the original advertisement said they were not.  Once we realized that the customer had purchased the items, we immediately cancelled and refunded her order.  We also immediately corrected the website so that another customer would not encounter the mistake.  She messaged us, which we promptly responded to.  She also called and talked with myself, the owner of the store.  I tried to explain to her the situation in which we had to refund, but she was very irritable and kept speaking over me, so it was difficult to relay the reason why she was refunded.  Apologies were given, but the customer was not amenable to hearing them.  

  Customer response

  06/21/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 2 reasons. 1) She is being less than truthful. She kept interrupting me and talking over me, not the other way around. She would not let me even finish a sentence before jumping in. You would think that a customer service line would be designed and staffed to LISTEN to a customer!  2) Also, her statement that my order fell into the category of "tack" which was a noted exception to the 25% off sale, horse blankets, horse boots and grooming tools are not generally considered to be "tack". Please see evidence of the typical classification on the screenshots attached. The first screenshot is from Rods, a competitor of this company. You will note that horse wear (blankets) and horse boots are SEPARATE categories from Tack. In the 2nd screenshot, yet another competitor, SSTack.com shows separate categories as well for horse blankets and sheets, and tack. And Horse Boots fall under the category Horse Care. (If you look closely at the 3rd screenshot, you will note that I have chosen the category of horse care, and the items under it included horse boots). So-- it is FAR from clear to a customer that ANY of the items making up my order would fall into an exception for "tack."  I can see numerous shoppers falling into the same trap!  The explanation given by Bronco Western Supply only CONFIRMS their deception.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ********

  

  Business response

  06/21/2022

  Regardless of whether the blankets fall under tack or not, it was still noted that "Exclusions Apply" on our general ad.  This denotes that the discount does not apply to all items.  Some are "excluded".  So, this inclusion should cover this situation.  

   

  It was a mistake that our system included the items in the sale.  We cancelled and refunded the order and offered our apologies.  We also immediately corrected our website to remove the items from the sale.  As a business-owner, I feel as if we've correctly dealt with this customer's issue.  

  Customer response

  06/21/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I thought that including screenshots of what is typically considered "tack" by other equine websites and their buyers would cause this unreasonable seller to have the grace to admit her mistake. But no...she had to blame me, the customer, on two counts. First, she attempted to turn things around by stating that I was the irritable one! and second, that I somehow construed what tack is incorrectly and failed to note an exception to her sale. But, apparently she is defining tack DIFFERENTLY for this sale than SHE USUALLY DOES.  So along with the screenshots I submitted yesterday, I took a few of her own site, one of which I am attaching now. By her OWN CLASSIFICATIONS on the Bronco Western Supply website, "Tack" does NOT include Horse Blankets (a separate category), horse boots, or a hoof dressing brush. Those items represent my whole order, and even by her own (changeable!) standards, should NOT have been excluded from the sale. It is easy to see how a customer could be deceived by this, and such deception borders dangerously on FALSE ADVERTISING. Please view the screenshots and reply.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  ******** ********

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩