Christopher B.

You don't want to hire JB & Associates if you're considering an estate liquidation sale. Judy Brockman and her staff hate the general public and they are the most unhappy, unprofessional and rude people I've come across. I recently came across an estate liquidation at Shelter Lane, Murphys on May 13,2017 and set aside quite a few big pieces of furniture I wanted to buy. I was incredibly enthusiastic about the possible transaction, but didn't have enough cash on me, nor my checkbook or a big enough, let alone, enough vehicles to move everything. I asked if they took credit cards through a smart phone or if I can transfer funds via PayPal, and the one older woman who worked with Judy, said she's been pushing her boss to go in that direction, but they could take cash and checks only. Note to JB & Associates, it's 2017. Get with the program and update your abilities to transact sales via internet. I asked to put the items aside, so I could come back with my checkbook and another large vehicle. I left a small cash deposit. I returned with my girlfriend and my mother. We went through the remains of the sale and picked out several other items for purchase. We were all laughing and having a good time and deciding what was needed for all of our homes. Over the course of the time we were there, Judy's other staff members, two other women and an older man, were just miserable to deal with. They never smiled, they were put-out, the guy sat around doing nothing, they sighed constantly when you asked questions and were constantaly acting like they wanted to be elsewhere... in other words, when estate and garages sales are supposed to fun, these people were a friggin' drag, unprofessional, demeaning and just ugly inside and out and hideous to deal with. In one instance, we were going to buy a clearly defective chair and asked if she could come off of $25 price because it was defective. Judy's cryptkeeper assistant simply and condescendingly said, "Well, don't buy it." I let that one go, but after a while of being treated like were were pariahs because we wanted to buy A LOT of stuff at the end of the day, things went from bad to worse. Judy Brockman, the JB in JB & Associates, is just about the most ornery and disagreeable person I have ever met in the real estate business. She's miserable. If you don't like your job, Judy, resign. I have had my interactions with estate liquidators and find them all to be very grochy and unhappy people and Judy Brockman is the personification of that stereotype. When I finally had a pile of large funiture, lamps and other items totalled out, I asked what was the best deal we could strike, and Judy was just having none of it. She said the total price was what it was and that was that. If I didn't like it, I could leave. Keep in mind, we were now TWO HOURS into this transactions, plus I had to go home, get a checkbook, other people who wanted to buy stuff and bring another car... this is supposed to be a professional and seasoned estate liquidator who is hired to interact with the public and help you sell your possessions with a smile on her face. What was shocking was, Judy's lousy and immature attitude is constant throughout her employees. I had a few heated exchanges with the older cryptkeeper woman on her staff, when simply asking questions about prices. She never smiled, was not personable and over time, her demeanor just kept getting worse. This cryptkeeper assistant to Judy would quote one price and then say she never said that a few minutes later. When I was ready to give in and just pay the totalled price for all I wanted to buy, I was one dollar below what Judy totaled. When I pointed out the difference, she said, "We're done." She reached into the till, threw my $15 deposit on the table and said, "Here, go buy your two women lunch." The three of us were in complete shock for a minute and stared at Judy in disbelief thinking it was a joke. I looked at my girlfriend and said, 'there is just too much bad karma associated with this transaction.' I don't want any of this stuff. Judy got into more of a huff and said something along the lines of 'fine, leave, take your karma.' I've never seen anyone cut off their nose to spite their face like that. 'That one dollar difference just cost you hundreds,' I replied. And we left without purchasing anything. A wasted two hours. But, I am glad I didn't buy anything from Judy's sale at this address, because it would have aggravated me to own anything I decided to purchase from Judy. Judy is a miserable person. She is about 25-years older now than her headshot on her website and has a permanent scowl on her face. She is not the professional, considerate or friendly marketer she advertises herself to be. If you own a home and wish to liquidate your belongings, do not hire JB & Associates, as Judy Brockman is a tired, worn out junk dealer who hates the public and does more to undermine her own ability to succeed unlike anyone I have every met.

So, this is what it's like dealing with Groupon.
Keep in mind, there are no savings when purchasing tangible products from Groupon due to how frustratingly long it takes for items to ship and arrive and the maddening customer service once has to deal with - should you have to engage with their toll free support.
I order a $136 item on July 21. Item listing states it cannot ship to a PO Box. I live in an area that does not have home USPS Service, but FEDEX, UPS and DHL deliver to the home, but I have a PO BOX for mail service.
I order the product and send a very specific email to Groupon Customer Service, right after ordering it, stating the item must ship via UPS in order for the item to arrive. I receive a reply from Muthukumar V, July 23, stating, "We have a lot of partners in carrier like UPS, FedEx, DHL etc. Most of the time, if the location is unreachable, the package will be transferred to USPS and they will be the one who's going to delivery the package to the recipient. This order cannot be shipped to PO boxes/AK/HI/Canada/Puerto Rico."
The item doesn't ship until July 28,7 full days after I order it, which that fact alone frustrates me to no end. Amazon is shipping products to arrive the same day and Groupon is shipping via pony express to arrive in 10 to 13+ days… Like I said, ‘no savings' based upon how long one has to wait on delivery.
But, at least, the item has shipped via UPS. Or so I am lead to believe.
I receive UPS notification on July 29, that the item has been transferred to the United States Postal Service at the request of the Shipper, Groupon. Yea, WTF? Keep in mind, USPS does not have service to my physical address, therefore it cannot be delivered. But I do have a PO BOX that Groupon will not ship this item to. I know… Go figure… Catch 22.
I call Groupon Customer Service (which averages 20 to 40 minute hold times. Yes, really), and speak to Lucas, who states that ALL GROUPON UPS shipments are transferred to USPS from UPS for final delivery. He states this is the case with all Groupon product shipments. Keep in mind, I instructed Groupon ON JULY 21 to NOT SHIP THIS ITEM VIA USPS, AS IT WILL NOT BE DELIVERED.
He cannot do either an intercept with either UPS or USPS, as the item is now in the process of being returned to Groupon because USPS does not deliver to my address and has no means, ability or willingness to reach out to the shipper, Groupon, and ask for a revised delivery address… which would be my PO BOX.
So, I order a 4 pound item that cannot ship to my PO BOX, I instruct Groupon to ship it via FEDEX GROUND or UPS because the USPS does not deliver to my area, Groupon confirms to ship via UPS, it ships via UPS, I get tracking info from UPS that UPS has the package, Groupon's Muthukumar V fails to inform me in our initial correspondence that all final and FORMAL INSTRUCTIONS from Groupon to UPS is to transfer all packages to USPS for final delivery, USPS does not deliver to my home address, I speak to Lucas at toll free support who informs me all final deliveries are by USPS only, except for exceptionally large items, like televisions, Lucas can't intercept the item and now 9 days are wasted when I should have ordered this from Amazon where I could have been enjoying it for 8 days as of the date of this correspondence.
I tell Lucas issue a full credit. He says it "may take up to 10 business days to be reflected on your statement," so Groupon is now earning interest on my money for 19 days. FFS!
Groupon is, without a doubt, literally the worst online retailer I have ever dealt with on tangible product sales.
I have had nothing but good experiences using Groupon for transactions on services, like restaurants and car washers, where I can print out a form and present it to the local merchant. But in every case in trying to buy tangible products from Groupon, and get them delivered promptly, without frustration, it's impossible.
What makes matters worse is how painfully incompetent, slow, lazy, unprofessional, and out–of-touch Groupon remains, from the executive level on down, by clearly displaying an unwillingness to enter the 21st century with it's competitors to provide a quality and professional retail experience and service I would be more than happy to support. But after this aborted and botched encounter, I can insure you, Groupon will never get another dime of my money, ever again, until they can insure me they will handle all transactions as efficiently and professionally as Amazon or any other online merchant.
I implore you, if you're about to make a product purchase with Groupon, don't. Pay a few bucks more to get the same thing elsewhere. Spending a few dollars more to avoid $1,000 in aggravation is a worthwhile investment in your sanity. https://www.facebook.com/Groupon.US