Is Chris a nice person?

[Kavaoid]

So I recently ordered my first bag of kava from GHK. I didn't notice the sample pack when I first made my order, so I emailed him through the website while my order still said 'processing' or 'on hold' or something to ask to switch to the sample pack. He did not answer, and I 1-2 days later I got an email that my order was shipped.

I emailed him directly thinking the website email system must be broken or something. I told him again that I was trying to get the sample pack, not the mahakea. He just said that the order had already shipped, aloha. Text communication can be tough but he came off as quite, well not nice. If nothing else he was very short with me.

I'd already explained that I asked to change my order while it was still marked 'On Hold' so I emailed him back politely asking why he has a contact system on the website if he only answers direct email. I wasn't sarcastic or rude, I was just genuinely perplexed. You probably guessed it, crickets. Not even a quick note back. It makes me think he got the first email afterall, just didn't feel like spending 5 minutes changing my order. Of course I have no way of knowing.

Then this was my first experience with kava and the whole bag of mahakea didn't even do anything for me. Too bad I wasn't able to try other varieties...

So the point is despite everything I've read to the contrary this was a genuinely bad customer service experience, and even though I love quality and everyone says this is the best, I have no choice but to doubt what kind of person he is. I'm not upset about the $40 I spent on something I didn't want, it's the lack of respect that gets to me and even makes me doubt the integrity of the product.

I didn't need even a discount or anything, just a "Man, sorry it worked out this way" would have been enough. Should I assume he was just having a bad day and order from GHK again, or move on to someone who respects their customers enough to at least answer an email?

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Chris is both very nice and very helpful (just browse through the forums to see numerous examples of his generosity and kindness). Sometimes he might be a bit busy and might not be able to instantly reply to all the e-mails/msgs he gets, but he most definitely does care about his customers.

I guess your order might have already been packed and transported to their local post office (but not scanned - sometimes it takes ages for the USPS to update their tracking info) when you e-mailed him. These things happen and the fact that someone might be unable to change your order because it's already packed and/or shipped doesn't mean that their customer service is "genuinely bad".

 

[NAMBATU]

Chris, Judd etc. have a lot going on and want a trouble-free kava-selling experience. I remember Chris is PayPal-only and won't accept anything else and Judd won't ship to my country no matter what.

They're both nice guys, but neither is in a position where they have to work hard for sales.

 

[Kavaoid]

Yes, he is extremely nice and helpful (just browse through the forums to see numerous examples of his generosity and kindness). Sometimes he might be very busy and might not be able to instantly reply to all the e-mails/msgs he gets, but he definitely does care about his customers.
I guess your order had already been packed and transported to their local post office (but not scanned - sometimes it takes ages for the USPS to update their tracking info) when you e-mailed him. These things happen and the fact that someone might be unable to change your order because it's already packed and/or shipped doesn't mean that their customer service is "genuinely bad".

It looks like you failed to read my post. I am not mad about the product at all, it's being ignored that bothered me. It would have just taken a quick second to reply. And I didn't say their customer service was genuinely bad, I said my experience was, which it was.

Chris, Judd etc. have a lot going on and want a trouble-free kava-selling experience. I remember Chris is PayPal-only and won't accept anything else and Judd won't ship to my country no matter what.

They're both nice guys, but neither is in a position where they have to work hard for sales.

I think you nailed it.

 

[Groggy]

I guess your order might have already been packed and transported to their local post office (but not scanned - sometimes it takes ages for the USPS to update their tracking info) .

This is incorrect. Many times people print a label but do not submit it to their local post office hence a message of "label has been created". When ANY package arrives to the PO it is scanned immediately, this is how the system is setup and believe me when I tell you, the PO takes scanning packages accurately very seriously.

As for Chris's character or if he is a nice person, it would be unfair for me to judge because I do not know the man in person. At the end of the day, he is a business man as are other vendors, I think people get busy and the occasional email slips through the cracks, I doubt his intent was to ignore you.

 

[Vladimir Lemon]

I have to agree with @Deleted User01 here. These suppliers are often one-person operations, so it doesn't surprise me when stuff slips through the cracks. Hopefully at some point he gets back to you, but even if not I wouldn't not order from him because of this.

Also, if you didn't feel anything from the kava your prep may need to be modified. What steps and proportions did you follow for your kava?

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

So I recently ordered my first bag of kava from GHK. I didn't notice the sample pack when I first made my order, so I emailed him through the website while my order still said 'processing' or 'on hold' or something to ask to switch to the sample pack. He did not answer, and I 1-2 days later I got an email that my order was shipped.

I emailed him directly thinking the website email system must be broken or something. I told him again that I was trying to get the sample pack, not the mahakea. He just said that the order had already shipped, aloha. Text communication can be tough but he came off as quite, well not nice. If nothing else he was very short with me.

I'd already explained that I asked to change my order while it was still marked 'On Hold' so I emailed him back politely asking why he has a contact system on the website if he only answers direct email. I wasn't sarcastic or rude, I was just genuinely perplexed. You probably guessed it, crickets. Not even a quick note back. It makes me think he got the first email afterall, just didn't feel like spending 5 minutes changing my order. Of course I have no way of knowing.

Then this was my first experience with kava and the whole bag of mahakea didn't even do anything for me. Too bad I wasn't able to try other varieties...

So the point is despite everything I've read to the contrary this was a genuinely bad customer service experience, and even though I love quality and everyone says this is the best, I have no choice but to doubt what kind of person he is. I'm not upset about the $40 I spent on something I didn't want, it's the lack of respect that gets to me and even makes me doubt the integrity of the product.

I didn't need even a discount or anything, just a "Man, sorry it worked out this way" would have been enough. Should I assume he was just having a bad day and order from GHK again, or move on to someone who respects their customers enough to at least answer an email?

Hi Kavavoid, I am very sorry that you feel that I ignored you but it is not that way. I get tons of emails and I answer them in the order they were received. I am sorry that I seemed short but as I said I have a lot of emails so I try to get to the point.
My website system says every order is on hold until I get into my system to change the status and sometimes I do not get time to do that for a few days, this is a small family run business and we try as hard as we can to satisfy all of our customers, and another factor is that sometimes I have to take my mom or my mother in law to the doctor because I take care of both of them, they live here with me, this could delay my responding to emails too. When you look at my record I think your the 1st or 2nd person that has made a post saying they were not happy with my service and you look at the thousands of people that are super happy and many of them email me telling me so (thank you to all of you who do that, it means a lot) I think I am doing good as a company with those kinds of figures but I strive for 100% customer satisfaction, that is why I offer you a full refund if you want it.
As for the lack of respect as I said I am sorry you felt that way from my short email, I am sorry that you feel like you know me enough from those few short words to make this assumption, I was merely stating the facts. I have to tell you that you are wrong because I never ever disrespect any of my customers intentionally. As for the quality of my kava, it is very high quality and there is no doubt about that.
Your prep method might be at fault, if you had any food in your stomach then that might have been a contributing factor. You said this was your first time with kava, your user name seems like you want to forget about kava. I suggest trying kava again, try from Kalm with Kava or another company, my kava is great and so is theirs. To make this experience a bit better I will offer you a full refund if that is what you want.
Thanks for making this post and you have a wonderful day, aloha nui loa.

Chris

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

This is incorrect. Many times people print a label but do not submit it to their local post office hence a message of "label has been created". When ANY package arrives to the PO it is scanned immediately, this is how the system is setup and believe me when I tell you, the PO takes scanning packages accurately very seriously.

You are mistaken in this statement, I deliver hundreds of packages so I get to see all the facets of the USPS, it is true that most of the time they will scan all the items but even the humans that work there can make mistakes and they have, they have forgotten to scan items that I ordered and also items that I send, it is a fact, look at all the mail that gets lost. This lost mail bit is another way to show my great customer service, because I have had a lot of customers that have there kava lost or even stolen by the mail man or a neighbor and when they tell me about it, I send them more for free, I take the loss instead of the customer. Aloha nui loa.

Chris

 

[The Kap'n]

The Kurtistown PO may be on Island Time. I used to think that was just a saying.

Just a little reassurance for both Chris, and the original poster. Chris is a good kava vendor. If he didn't get something right, he'll make it right.

 

[Summer]

GHK is literally the only place I will buy my kava from anymore.

 

[Groggy]

You are mistaken in this statement, I deliver hundreds of packages so I get to see all the facets of the USPS, it is true that most of the time they will scan all the items but even the humans that work there can make mistakes and they have, they have forgotten to scan items that I ordered and also items that I send, it is a fact, look at all the mail that gets lost. This lost mail bit is another way to show my great customer service, because I have had a lot of customers that have there kava lost or even stolen by the mail man or a neighbor and when they tell me about it, I send them more for free, I take the loss instead of the customer. Aloha nui loa.

Chris

Fair enough, it's a big organization, much like your operation. I know because I work there. There will always be bad apples that makes us both look bad. As a whole it's a great and caring place and you can always use FedEx

 

[BULABUCK]

I have to say Chris is probably one of the nicest people left on the planet. I have emailed him for years and the response comes when he has time . Hes a very busy man . This man shows respect even when people are disrespectful. I have always had perfect customer service even beyond that. Hes not a the owner who sits inside all day and checks emails and sits on his pc . Hes a farmer, a packer , customer service, advertising, hes human if ive ever asked him for something he's always said yes. I had ordered loads of times with some mistakes or confusing orders he goes above and beyond. Giving me way more. He truly wants his customers to be happy and wants there feedback but unhappy customers he wants to fix it which is rare he really cares . Iam sorry u had this experience i bet if u contact him one on one and talk to him he will fix it . ... these are my opinions only from my experience.

 

[BULABUCK]

As far as the usps i gotta say there overworked and overwhelmed understaffed and paid. I order alot of things online. From my experience I know they don't always scan ive contacted companies asking were my stuff was . Ive done this with Chris many times, and many other companies. After days of no movement the boom its in my mailbox, or they send it sometimes the long way !! ....I don't know how they keep up its so much mail nowadays practically everyone orders online now. I feel lucky when they scan the whole way. Ive even had post office loose my mail . Chris drive way across the island and get to the bottom of it making them find it . Talking to the postmaster. And even taking care of me for there mistakes.

 

[Kavaoid]

Hi Kavavoid, I am very sorry that you feel that I ignored you but it is not that way. I get tons of emails and I answer them in the order they were received. I am sorry that I seemed short but as I said I have a lot of emails so I try to get to the point.
My website system says every order is on hold until I get into my system to change the status and sometimes I do not get time to do that for a few days, this is a small family run business and we try as hard as we can to satisfy all of our customers, and another factor is that sometimes I have to take my mom or my mother in law to the doctor because I take care of both of them, they live here with me, this could delay my responding to emails too. When you look at my record I think your the 1st or 2nd person that has made a post saying they were not happy with my service and you look at the thousands of people that are super happy and many of them email me telling me so (thank you to all of you who do that, it means a lot) I think I am doing good as a company with those kinds of figures but I strive for 100% customer satisfaction, that is why I offer you a full refund if you want it.
As for the lack of respect as I said I am sorry you felt that way from my short email, I am sorry that you feel like you know me enough from those few short words to make this assumption, I was merely stating the facts. I have to tell you that you are wrong because I never ever disrespect any of my customers intentionally. As for the quality of my kava, it is very high quality and there is no doubt about that.
Your prep method might be at fault, if you had any food in your stomach then that might have been a contributing factor. You said this was your first time with kava, your user name seems like you want to forget about kava. I suggest trying kava again, try from Kalm with Kava or another company, my kava is great and so is theirs. To make this experience a bit better I will offer you a full refund if that is what you want.
Thanks for making this post and you have a wonderful day, aloha nui loa and eelamu puka to you.

Chris

Thanks Chris. No, I don't want a refund, but thanks for offering. Honestly it just feels bad being ignored, and I just wanted to know if you cared. I will order more kava from you.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Thanks Chris. No, I don't want a refund, but thanks for offering. Honestly it just feels bad being ignored, and I just wanted to know if you cared. I will order more kava from you.

Again I am sorry if it sounded like I was ignoring you, as you can see all of my customers are important to me and customer happiness is my priority. You mentioned that the Mahakea did not work for you. Please email me when you place your next order and I will add some samples of the Micronized and Instant kava, I think it will be easier for you to prepare and get a good kava experience. Please let me know if you have any questions. Aloha nui loa.

Chris

 

[HeadHodge]

So I recently ordered my first bag of kava from GHK. I didn't notice the sample pack when I first made my order, so I emailed him through the website while my order still said 'processing' or 'on hold' or something to ask to switch to the sample pack. He did not answer, and I 1-2 days later I got an email that my order was shipped.

I emailed him directly thinking the website email system must be broken or something. I told him again that I was trying to get the sample pack, not the mahakea. He just said that the order had already shipped, aloha. Text communication can be tough but he came off as quite, well not nice. If nothing else he was very short with me.

I'd already explained that I asked to change my order while it was still marked 'On Hold' so I emailed him back politely asking why he has a contact system on the website if he only answers direct email. I wasn't sarcastic or rude, I was just genuinely perplexed. You probably guessed it, crickets. Not even a quick note back. It makes me think he got the first email afterall, just didn't feel like spending 5 minutes changing my order. Of course I have no way of knowing.

Then this was my first experience with kava and the whole bag of mahakea didn't even do anything for me. Too bad I wasn't able to try other varieties...

So the point is despite everything I've read to the contrary this was a genuinely bad customer service experience, and even though I love quality and everyone says this is the best, I have no choice but to doubt what kind of person he is. I'm not upset about the $40 I spent on something I didn't want, it's the lack of respect that gets to me and even makes me doubt the integrity of the product.

I didn't need even a discount or anything, just a "Man, sorry it worked out this way" would have been enough. Should I assume he was just having a bad day and order from GHK again, or move on to someone who respects their customers enough to at least answer an email?

I highly recommend you submit a Supplier Review to let the rest of us know your experience and how you would rate the supplier experience.
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads...pe=SmartTagArticle&TagName=SupplierProfileTag
Just click on Submit Review to create a new review.
Thanks!!!

 

[Crunked]

In my experience Chris @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava is an outstanding vendor who supplies top quality kava and honest, friendly service. He doesn't pretend to be the amazon.com of online kava suppliers. I doubt you would find another vendor on this forum who is more highly regarded. In fact, he was voted vendor of the year: http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/vendor-awards-2016.10285/#post-121663 and the award was fully deserved imho.

 

[nickbroken]

Biggest jerk ever.

 

[nickbroken]

Seriously though he is a really good guy, he just is busy I'm guessing and can't always get back to people right away. I'm guessing he does hundreds of sales of month, plus farms, plus gives me free kava *wink* so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[Ricardo Piquant]

I've had nothing but superb experiences with GHK and I see Chris all over this forum making sure people are enjoying his kava, fixing any shipping problems, keeping everyone up to date on the freshest harvests, promptly shipping, etc.

Thank you Chris