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Approximately 6 months ago, I placed an order with a friend of a friend for laser engraved dog tags to distribute at as a keepsake at an event I attend. We agreed on a price, I provided art, and they let me know that they would send me a sample before filling the order. They also let me know that they would follow up with payment details.

After this initial conversation, I had no further contact with this individual. I never recieved the sample or the payment information, and they did not respond to my follow up emails as the date of the event approached. A few days prior to the event, to my extreme surprise, I received my complete order in the mail with no accompanying documentation. Additionally, they appeared to be screen printed rather than laser engraved. I sent another message to coordinate payment at this stage, and received no response. I did end up handing out the tags at the event, and was very pleased with how they were received by the other attendees.

After a month of no additional contact, I assumed the order had been written off as a loss, and that I would not hear from this individual or their business at any point. I was surprised today to recieve both an email, and an invoice from them asking for payment in full.

I am going to pay the invoice, as I did accept delivery of the order, and use it as intended. That said, I feel like I should say something to them about their poor business practices and my dissatisfaction with the transaction.

How should I respond to this message after I have paid the invoice?

Skoddie
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    What do you hope to gain from this communication? What is your end goal? – baldPrussian Mar 23 '18 at 18:16
  • I think that's what I'm trying to figure out. I want to express my dissatisfaction, but I don't know to what end. I don't plan on doing further business or even communicating with this individual ever again. Maybe I feel like not saying anything further enables their poor conduct? – Skoddie Mar 23 '18 at 18:26
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    So this is about giving feedback effectively? Do you have any positive points you could point out as well? – Tinkeringbell Mar 23 '18 at 18:29
  • This is most likely going to wind up closed because it strikes me as a "what should I do" question. I'd suggest editing the question to more reflect what you want to tell the individual. Also, this might be a good post on The Workplace - I know how I'd deal with this from a business setting, which is very different from the interpersonal skill question you ask here. – baldPrussian Mar 23 '18 at 18:31
  • I would send a note with your payment, or before, outlining your dissatisfaction, as the product was not as described, and your surprise at the slowness of their invoicing process. But this is not an IPS question. – Rory Alsop Mar 23 '18 at 18:40
  • Oh and is it safe to assume you're not going to tell this in person? If you're going to use some form of messaging, is there a character limit it take into account? What form of messaging are you using? – Tinkeringbell Mar 23 '18 at 18:44
  • We can make this about IPS :) but I agree that as it's now, it isn't a very IPS-y question. Since this is a friend of a friend, do we have to take into account future contact or your relationship with the mutual friend? – Tinkeringbell Mar 23 '18 at 18:46
  • "Off-topic" close voters, please consider using a custom close reason next time to explain why. – Em C Mar 23 '18 at 18:51
  • This will be sent via email. Also, I am no longer friends with the mutual friend. My apologies if this isn't IPS, I hadn't thought it would qualify for The Workplace since this was a private transaction and it was not handled the way that I generally conduct business. – Skoddie Mar 23 '18 at 18:52
  • Would it be possible for somebody to explain why this is not an IPS question? While I have been reading IPS SE for over a year now, this is my first question, and don't think I understand why this doesn't qualify. – Skoddie Mar 23 '18 at 18:55
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    IPS is more about relationships to each other. It's about interaction. IPS SE is about "I want to embark on this course of action; what is the best way to do it". Personally I don't read in this question about achieving a desired goal. It's a good question; it just doesn't seem to be a good fit for improving interpersonal skills. – baldPrussian Mar 23 '18 at 19:10

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