We have a "favorite sellers" list. I thought maybe there was a way to build a "blocked sellers" list, so I can dispense with all these non-sequiters.
So I e-mail customer support. What follows are the messages that went back and forth.
Message #1, from me to EBay:
Dear EBay,
I would like to be able to block specific SELLERS when I'm browsing listings. Certain items pop up again and again, and it's often junk that's in the wrong category or only incidentally related to the items I'm looking for. One example: search for "Mixer", and you get more listings for CASES than for the actual mixers. Thrown in there, you get people with auctions for FREE software, and some guy who wants $150 to ship something that should only cost $10 or so to ship.
If I could just filter out these annoying sellers, it would be much easier to find the specific items I'm looking for, rather than having to wade through a bunch of stuff that's irrelevant to my search.
Dear <member>, [yes, it shows up like that in my inbox]
Thank you for writing eBay in regard to <issue>.
Tom, you are referring to spoof and spam emails. Those are junk email that want your personal information. If you want you can contact you Internet provider and ask them if they can block those emails. You can also use the Advance Search to look for the items in a specific way.
[Here I cut out the advanced search tutorial]
Advanced Search offers a variety of ways to narrow your search and get more specific results.
Sincerely,
Luis M.
eBay Customer Support
Dear Ebay,
Thanks, Luis, but I am NOT writing about spoof e-mails. I'm talking about the number of irrelevent listings when I search for items in EBay.
PLEASE TRY THIS: go to EBay and search for "Mixer". Look at how many items are NOT mixers: mixer cases, "mixer" software, and even totally off the wall stuff like "ear training" software. I want to be able to filter out those sellers so that I don't see their listings.
Dear Tom,
Thank you for writing eBay in regard to searching for a specific item.
I really apologize for the delay in receiving a response and any inconvenience caused to you because of this.
I understand that you are looking for a "mixer". I will surely assist you with that.
Type "mixer" and under All Categories select "Home & Garden" and then click "Search". You will find all type's of mixer's. [Excuse me? I'm not looking for kitchen appliances.]
However, also use our "Advanced Search".
[cut out the exact same text as the first message]
It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.
Sincerely,
Ray R.
eBay Customer Support
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All I want to know is this. Is anyone there actually listening? Are these messages being read by English speakers? The first rule of customer support is that you have to be able to communicate with the customer. The best customer support experience I've ever had was with a company based in Singapore. They hire Americans, working in the US, to handle customer support. But when I try to talk to a US company, I get someone who doesn't even read English at a 4'th grade level?
That's what's wrong with business in America today.
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