Dear Prudence,
I live in an artsy, liberal, East Coast city where the motto is always “community,” “make art not war,” and “acceptance.” I recently bought an item from a local small, woman- and artist-owned business. The item was not completed within the time frame they provided, so I very politely asked for a refund, and did not receive a reply. I then went online to see reviews of the business—they were pretty much all “buyer beware,” one-star, negative reviews within the past two years. The reviews all warned of horrible communication, the business making excuses as to why the orders weren’t being fulfilled, and customers asking for refunds. The email exchange that followed with the seller was also lackluster in terms of customer service and accountability.
After a few days of silence on their end, I disputed the (less than $25, but that’s not the point) charge with my credit card company. One week later, I received an email from the business, where they made even more excuses. This is a very tricky situation for me. Even if I do receive the refund, I want to go on platforms where the store has shops and write up horrible reviews about them. I want to reach out to community organizations and investigate why this local and “supportive/ally” person is doing this really horrible thing to paying customers, not only in our city but all over the country, it seems. My mind won’t let me get past this concept of trying to ruin this person and the shop’s reputation. I’m not usually like this! I know I should just move on and probably forget the $25. My sense of justice and making things even wants to see her fail. Should I help have her taken down along with the other negative reviewers, or should I let her business ultimately meet its demise on its own?