I support the Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. For years, the Revs were infamous for being the worst club in the league as far as providing replica jerseys for sale to their fans. Only a handful were available in the stadium's pro shop, even though the pro shop sold NFL Patriots replica jerseys for the backuip punter and the third string waterboy. When I went to the stadium in 2004, they didn't even have replicas available in adult size. For years, they were the only team in the league for whom you couldn't buy a jersey online. This was probably related to the fact that the Revs seemed to have a different company providing its jerseys every year. And to the fact that they are a soccer afterthought grafted uncomfortably on to an NFL football organization. This is why MLS continues to lose money: you have fans like myself who are begging to give them $80 of my hard earned cash and they refuse to make that possible.
Before this season, the league signed a deal with Adidas, who would become the sole provider for jerseys for all of the league's teams. I was happy because I thought that hell would freeze over and I might be able to buy a Revs' jersey.
Silly me.
For much of the season, only the blue home jersey was available and only up to size XL (I require one larger).
Finally during the summer, the away white jersey became available and you could buy one in XXL.
And there was much rejoicing.
[Yay!]
I should've known better. Here's the sequence of events that followed.
Sept 3: I place an order on the MLS merchandise website MLSGear.com for a plain white XXL Revolution jersey. Cost: $80.
Sept 18: I notice the order hasn't arrived so I checked the My Account feature on MLSGear.com. It says my order hasn't shipped because it is 'awaiting customization.' I am baffled by this because I didn't order any customization, just a plain white jersey. I try calling the 800 number but am put on hold ad infinitum. So I dash off an email to MLSGear.com explaining the situation and asking what's up.
Oct 3: Exactly one month after I placed the order, nothing. Two weeks after my initial inquiry, nothing. So I dash off another email to MLSGear.com, this time more annoyed. I also send one to the MLS league office instructing them to tell the MLSGear people to either send me the dang shirt or cancel the bloody order. I am annoyed by this because though my debit card has not been billed, there is still a potential $80 debit hanging over my account. I have to make sure there is at least $81 in my account in case they decide to finally send me the shirt.
Nov 18: I FINALLY get a response, if you can call it that, to my Oct 3 email (from MLS league office, not MLSGear). It doesn't explain what the problem was. It doesn't promise to send me my shirt or to cancel my order. It reads:
Brain:
They didn't even spell my name right.
Thank you for your note and interest in MLS. We are sorry you were disappointed with your experience at MLSgear.com. Constructive criticism from fans such as you helps ensure that we continue to improve our overall product...
Six weeks for a response from MLS league regarding the ten weeks of non-response from MLSGear... and after all that, it was a non-response!
My constructive criticism: if someone orders a product, SEND THE DARN THING!
Does that qualify me for a masters in business administration?
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