Customer Called Me at Home!

SunnyDays
New Contributor III

Just had a nice older gentlemen call me at home regarding one of my products he had ordered. How in the world he found my phone number I don't know. Point is, he was on hold with Zazzle customer service for 15 minutes and then they hung up on him. This should not happen. I tried walking him through the site to find what he needed, but it was difficult. I sell a lot of birthday products to older people, who are often more comfortable with a phone call than an email or chat. I would like Zazzle to be aware that their customer service let this poor guy down.

14 REPLIES 14

idraw
Honored Contributor


@SunnyDays 
I sent you a message in chat, info not appropriate for general forum. Your answer as to how is there in my message.

idraw
Honored Contributor

@SunnyDays The reason I sent you a chat message  instead of just posting here was to give you time to change the information, telling you the where and how,  instead of posting on the GENERAL DISCUSSION forum (not a private forum), which makes finding your details available to anyone reading here. I was trying to give you time to change your shop info. Please everyone, when you post replies in the general forum,don’t give  those few  readers/spammers more ideas as to how to find and use information in an unethical way.

 

PacifierCity
Valued Contributor II

This is the danger of having your full name and town / state in your profile.  A quick web search of ones name with town and state can reveal a lot.  It could be possible for a disgruntled customer to show up at ones home. 

To all that share this info, please be aware that something like this can happen.  In this case, it was just a phone call and things seemed to have worked out OK.  Thank goodness.

PC

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-Thoughts from Pacifier City a JB Designs brand. Follow/join us on Pinterest. Visit Pacifier City Cards for Amazing Kids Birthday & Holiday Cards. It's Elementary is for K-5 kids, parents & programs. Please promote and share our goods. Thanks! #pacifiercity

Barbara
Esteemed Contributor

I found you and your phone number easily, and just in case @idraw  found a different method, I'll send you a chat message on how (easily) it was done.

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Mark
Moderator
Moderator

Hey @SunnyDays,

I'm sorry to hear that this happened but we would be more than happy to assist the customer. Would you be able to pass on the 169 number from your sale and we can take a look please? Thank you.

- Mark

SunnyDays
New Contributor III

169-69900943-9284964. His problem was that he accidentally used a different email from his account email on the order and then couldn't access his order. It was a bit confusing.

 

Barbara
Esteemed Contributor

We should all remember that anything we put out there on the internet stays on the internet. Yes, the phone call was innocent enough, but the truth is that the fellow shouldn't have called in the first place.

Back in the now defunct forum, there were some designers who were upset about pictures and names showing up because they'd had problems with stalkers. That's the extreme end of things, but it does happen. I've a good friend who had an awful time getting rid of an online stalker. It scared the heck out of her.

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Malissa
Valued Contributor II

It is scary. I do share my face, but I don't share my real city.  Hopefully that is enough to keep me from getting found.  I have had a handful of "men" (spammers trying to lure me in) that have messaged me here on Zazzle and on other social media laying it on thick and saying they would like to get to know me. 🙄 One here on Zazzle went so far as to give me an actual phone number to call.  I block and delete real fast because I am always a little nervous about stalker behaviors.  There are a lot of crazies out there, unfortunately.  It is so hard when everywhere it is encouraged to show your face and be present in order to be authentic and make a connection with your audience and hope to catch a sale.

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Barbara
Esteemed Contributor

That stalked woman, a writer and somewhat public figure who was easy to find in her very small town, came home from shopping one day and walked into her house to find two strangers sitting in her living room waiting for her. Luckily, they were stupid people who thought she'd be pleased they'd come to visit her, and thus she was unharmed. She kicked them out, of course, but from then on, small town or not, she locked up her house whenever she left.

You're so right about there being a lot of crazies out there. Either there are more than used to be or it's just that the 24-hour news cycle makes it seem this way. We shouldn't be paranoid, but we also shouldn't be foolish.

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Malissa
Valued Contributor II

That is scary!  

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Barbara
Esteemed Contributor

I've a vivid imagination, and it terrified me to hear about it, but I can't imagine how she didn't have a heart attack on the spot.

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PacifierCity
Valued Contributor II

And I also want people to think about using there image on this site and all other sites.  Soon, if it does not exist now, there will be a way for people to point a "program" to your image, then through facial recognition,  acquire... at the very least other sites that have the same person displayed.  It could be your socials, which would give people your name... and you can glean what info they can figure out after that.  It all seems so innocent (your picture, your name, your state and town)... and for the most part it can be... but with all the division and "strong" feelings that are being put out there about politics, race, gender identification, etc... if may be worth giving things a second thought if you design around things that are perceived as divisive...  While some sites tell you that you may make more sales by providing these things because customers feel they are buying from real people, is making a few extra bucks worth getting called or visited at home?

I don't mean to "scare" anyone, but a healthy dose of reality is important as we make decisions about what is best for ourselves and our families... here at Z and beyond...

Do take care all.  Best wishes...

PC

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-Thoughts from Pacifier City a JB Designs brand. Follow/join us on Pinterest. Visit Pacifier City Cards for Amazing Kids Birthday & Holiday Cards. It's Elementary is for K-5 kids, parents & programs. Please promote and share our goods. Thanks! #pacifiercity

idraw
Honored Contributor

This is posted for everyone to read, not as a reply to any particular contributor: Took me forever to find the post to edit it, I definitely put it in general discussion as a separate topic, but it decided to put itself here. It's been a strange day....at least it showed up somewhere.

Did some research on various sites and found---
A few Ways To Protect your info on the internet

If someone else has posted sensitive information about you on their website or blog, then you can contact the webmaster of the site and ask them to remove the information. If a website refuses to remove your info, then you can send a legal request to Google* and ask to have it removed.
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You can limit the data Google associates with you by removing your name from Google search results with a removal request. This will disable anyone online from getting any results if they search your name. (Note that this will not remove your information from the original sites and sources where it’s posted.) Moreover, Google collects all your browsing data continuously. You have the option to turn on “Auto Delete” in your privacy settings to ensure that the data is deleted regularly and help limit the amount of time your sensitive data stays vulnerable.  
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You can also occasionally delete your cookies or use your browser in incognito  mode to prevent websites from being tracked back to you. Go to your Google  Chrome  settings to clear your browser and cookie history. 
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Delete old  social media accounts and make the ones you keep private 
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How do I remove my public information from Google?
If you come across a page in search results containing personally identifiable information, you can tap on the three-dot menu icon and bring up the “About this result” panel. Click “Remove result,” and Google will take you to the removal request form.
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Remove  personal info from other websites and blogs 
If you’ve ever published articles, written blogs, or created any content online, it might be a good time to consider taking it down if it is no longer serving a purpose. Depending on what you’ve posted, you may have shared personal details about your life. Additionally, you might be mentioned by other people in various social media posts, articles, or blogs. It is worth reaching out to these people to request them to take down posts with sensitive information.  
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Delete or deactivate your shopping, social media and web service accounts
To get rid of these accounts, go to your account settings and look for an option to either deactivate, remove or close your account. Depending on the account, you may find it under Privacy or Security, or something similar.
If for some reason there are any undeletable accounts, change the info in the account to something other than your actual info. Something fake or completely random.
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If you want to remove an old forum post or an old embarrassing blog you wrote back in the day, you'll have to contact the webmaster of those sites individually. You can either look at the About us or Contacts section of the site to find the right person to contact or go to whois.com and search for the domain name you wish to contact. There you should find information on who exactly to reach out to
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Remove outdated search results
Submit the URL to Google in hopes it'll update its servers, deleting the cached search result so you're no longer associated with the page.

Barbara
Esteemed Contributor

Everything you've said pertains to Google, but I use DuckDuckGo. However,I have my rarely used Android and though I don't use social media, these forums are public, which means Google is gathering tidbits. It's difficult to escape such sticky tentacles.

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