Fighting Montgomery Ward
From James Donahue’s Diary
South Haven had a Montgomery Ward catalog store at the time we were refurbishing the house on Superior Street. I established a charge card with the store and began using it to buy light fixtures and various items for finishing the house.
Among the final jobs before leaving South Haven was the installation of a folding door at a small broom closet constructed in one corner of the kitchen. I found just what I wanted in the Wards catalog. It came at exactly the correct size and cost about $300. I ordered the door. We waited and waited but the door did not arrive. I called to find out what happened and was assured that the order would be filled. After another long wait, and time was running out before we had to move out of the house, I made yet a third call, only to be assured that I would receive my order.
The door arrived at last. And it arrived again. And it arrived a third time. Three doors were shipped to the downtown store. I accepted one of them and had the others returned.
After moving to Kalamazoo, I received my Wards bill and found a $900 charge for three doors. There were some other items on the bill. I paid for these items and included with my check a letter explaining the error in charging me three times for one door.
The following month I received another bill for $900 for three doors. This time I sent a stern letter, without a check, demanding that this problem be taken care of before I sent them any more money. I received a stern warning letter that my payment was overdue. I called the headquarters of Montgomery Ward in Chicago and attempted to get the issue resolved over the telephone. I talked to someone who said he or she would take care of it.
The next month I received another bill for $900 with another stern warning that my payment was overdue. I made another call to Chicago, telling them that no payment would be made until the account was corrected. About a week after that I started receiving telephone calls from Ward’s demanding payment. That was when I got mad. I called the Chicago office yet again, this time demanding to talk to the company president. I remember the response of the operator who took my call sounded as if she was shocked . . . as if I was daring to want to talk to God. “The president?” she asked. I told her yes, the president of the company. She said she would see what she could do.
I didn’t get through to the president, but I reached a high official, probably a vice-president. I remember that his name was Green. I explained what had been happening and expressed my displeasure with the company for the way it had been treating me. I demanded that my account be corrected and that I receive payment for the time I spent attempting to correct errors by people in the company’s bookkeeping department. Mr. Green apologized and told me to send all of this in a letter directly addressed to him. He said he would personally take care of the matter.
I wrote my letter and included a detailed bill deducting charges for time spent and the personal long distance telephone calls made to Chicago. My envelope included a check for the balance due for one $300 door, minus my estimated charges for the time spent fixing the problem. I also included my Ward’s credit card, torn into little pieces.
That apparently settled my account with Montgomery Wards. I never received another bill and I never did business with Wards again. I was not surprised when that business eventually closed its doors.
From James Donahue’s Diary
South Haven had a Montgomery Ward catalog store at the time we were refurbishing the house on Superior Street. I established a charge card with the store and began using it to buy light fixtures and various items for finishing the house.
Among the final jobs before leaving South Haven was the installation of a folding door at a small broom closet constructed in one corner of the kitchen. I found just what I wanted in the Wards catalog. It came at exactly the correct size and cost about $300. I ordered the door. We waited and waited but the door did not arrive. I called to find out what happened and was assured that the order would be filled. After another long wait, and time was running out before we had to move out of the house, I made yet a third call, only to be assured that I would receive my order.
The door arrived at last. And it arrived again. And it arrived a third time. Three doors were shipped to the downtown store. I accepted one of them and had the others returned.
After moving to Kalamazoo, I received my Wards bill and found a $900 charge for three doors. There were some other items on the bill. I paid for these items and included with my check a letter explaining the error in charging me three times for one door.
The following month I received another bill for $900 for three doors. This time I sent a stern letter, without a check, demanding that this problem be taken care of before I sent them any more money. I received a stern warning letter that my payment was overdue. I called the headquarters of Montgomery Ward in Chicago and attempted to get the issue resolved over the telephone. I talked to someone who said he or she would take care of it.
The next month I received another bill for $900 with another stern warning that my payment was overdue. I made another call to Chicago, telling them that no payment would be made until the account was corrected. About a week after that I started receiving telephone calls from Ward’s demanding payment. That was when I got mad. I called the Chicago office yet again, this time demanding to talk to the company president. I remember the response of the operator who took my call sounded as if she was shocked . . . as if I was daring to want to talk to God. “The president?” she asked. I told her yes, the president of the company. She said she would see what she could do.
I didn’t get through to the president, but I reached a high official, probably a vice-president. I remember that his name was Green. I explained what had been happening and expressed my displeasure with the company for the way it had been treating me. I demanded that my account be corrected and that I receive payment for the time I spent attempting to correct errors by people in the company’s bookkeeping department. Mr. Green apologized and told me to send all of this in a letter directly addressed to him. He said he would personally take care of the matter.
I wrote my letter and included a detailed bill deducting charges for time spent and the personal long distance telephone calls made to Chicago. My envelope included a check for the balance due for one $300 door, minus my estimated charges for the time spent fixing the problem. I also included my Ward’s credit card, torn into little pieces.
That apparently settled my account with Montgomery Wards. I never received another bill and I never did business with Wards again. I was not surprised when that business eventually closed its doors.