

Reasons Not to Use 99Designs - Refund Policy and Poor Customer Support - andrewljohnson
http://www.gaiagps.com/news/article/Reasons%20Not%20to%20Use%2099Designs

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azylman
If you read the chat log he posted, it actually makes him look bad more than
anyone else. Yes, it's bad, shady practice to require someone to call you to
get a refund you promise, especially if you don't list that they have to call
you anywhere.

But again, looking at the chat log, the 99 Designs guy is very apologetic and
helpful and Andrew immediately says "OK, I think I'll blog about this and post
it to Hacker News and see what everyone else thinks." (This is in response to
"Justin" from 99 Designs apologizing for the inconvenience of requiring a
phone call).

Hacker News is not your personal soapbox.

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Rudism
I don't even see a big deal about requiring a call, as long as the call itself
goes smoothly and they don't give you the runaround or use bullying tactics to
talk you out of it. They offer refunds if you contact them... that on its own
doesn't sound shady or like a bad practice in any way. I'm not sure why the
author feels entitled to an automated refund process--the biggest impression I
get from the post and chat log are that he just really doesn't like talking to
people on the phone.

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moepstar
While i haven't read the chat transcript all i can say in response to the
don't-want-to-call thing is:

Not everyone is as good in spoken english as he is in written, most probably
for everyone with english not being their mother-tongue as me.

As i can only speak for myself: I wouldn't be comfortable taking a call as
much as i would be writing a response...

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JohnTHaller
So, the company asks you to place a phone call to get your refund. A phone
call they pay for courtesy of a toll-free number. When you refuse because...
of whatever made-up reason in your head... they are apologetic in the online
chat and give you your refund anyway. And then you make a whiny blog post
about it.

Good companies listen to their customers when they have a legitimate
complaint. But the best companies know that when a customer is being too whiny
and entitled, it's best to fire that customer.

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emarutian
Not my experience with 99 Designs. I used them to come up with a design for
our site, and contacted the customer service several times - to extend it a
few times, or to just find out my options. They were always helpful.

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DanBlake
I think the best use case for 99designs is to browse around, find
logos/designs from other contests you like and then contact those designers
directly. They will likely work harder because they know they are getting paid
and you will get a longer term relationship.

That said, I know the 99Designs process does work for many people, so the
above might not be good advice for most people.

