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CB Clothing and Accessories Review of Armed Forces International MCSS - Jamaica, NY
Armed Forces International MCSS - Jamaica, NY

Armed Forces International MCSS - Jamaica, NY review: Deceptive business practices 217

M
Author of the review
12:00 am EST
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This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

This company located in Jamaica NY, 16210 Jamaica Ave Jamaica, NY 11432 uses deceptive business practices and tries to look like a official Military Clothing and sales Store when they are actually not related at all to the military. They only sell surplus military items.

There should be laws against commercial businesses that use the practice of pretending to be a Military store when they are not. Our soldiers who are deceived should not be the victims of this fraud.

The first question they ask is are you military or law enforcement. They are not in any way related to the military. Check this out on the bbb website. It states they pose as a military business.

Update by Mark Fellows
Mar 16, 2007 7:57 pm EDT

Well apparently there are many more disturbed people out there then. Go to WWW.BBB.ORG and check all the complaints against them. In case you do not want to go to the BBB Site here are their comments:

Type of Business: Army & Navy Goods

Membership Status: This company is not a member.

The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.

Nature of Business
Complaints to the BBB indicate that Armed Forces Military Clothing Sales Store claims to be an Authorized Military Clothing dealer when in fact it is not. In addition, consumers claim that orders placed with the company are often late and incomplete. Consumers also report that the store does not offer refunds.

Customer Experience

Based on BBB files, this business has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau because it failed to respond to one or more complaints.

The company's size, volume of business, and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The number of complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company handled them.

Also to get a listing of authorized Military MCSS Stores go to WWW.AAFES.COM. Armed Forces MCSS in Jamaica is not an Authorized Military MCSS Store. Official MCSS Stores are located on Military Bases.

If you want you can even e-mail the Commander for AAFES and they will also tell you that there has been problems with this business.

As for only allowing Military there, ask them how anyone can call them to order something over the phone and you can place a order without a military ID Card. That sounds really secure.

Their History speaks for themselves. G

217 comments
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jose
,
Jun 04, 2008 5:02 pm EDT

I just got a letter from the BBB, apparently Armed Forces MCSS representative L. Fields claims my ABU parka did ship already. I am soooooooo glad I got this in writing, because their own people have sent me emails to confirm the opposite. Now I think I will sue. You can run, but you cant hide a** clowns!

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jose
,
Jun 03, 2008 10:37 am EDT

http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Armed.Forces.MCSS..718-291-0150

If you go to the above link you can see that AFMCSS claims that it is a government contractor, and OH guess what? The ABU is apparently in stock! We should all be expecting our products then, right? NOT! I am going to continue to report this company to anyone who will listen, until we are righted and this company (and the convicts that run it) go down. Why no response from AFMCSS in this blog, they did after all hire a person to address the customer service issues. More of a smokescreen from Col Booker, the Captain, and of course our buddy Mr Zapata. Douchbag would be a compliment for these ###!

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jim
,
Jun 01, 2008 8:52 pm EDT

These clowns are going down, they should be locked up for screwing fellow servicemembers as we head off to Iraq. Using the military to scam the military, why is there no UCMJ action against them. Col Booker, why dont you respond to the whiners in the Air Force, is your assistant busy getting information to punish us (as you indicated in your earlier post)? FRAUDS!Army Strong, eh?

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BURNED ONCE NEVER AGAIN
,
May 31, 2008 9:46 am EDT

May 31st and their site is still up and running.. the post noting the maintenance notice on MCSS website was obviously and probably for more law breaking and scamming tactics to be added. They are still up and running unfortunately. Wishful thinking though...

This company keeps defrauding and impersonating me when they call FedEx. They are not only scamming, but impersonating. The dumb ### don't realize FedEx has a call log of the number where the call originated from and "who" supposedly the caller is.

FBI has been contacted and other efforts to put these ###s down. I'm amazed at how they can still even run this company!

This company has not paid their taxes, vendors, or customers... action needs to be taken NOW. It doesn't take a scientist to see what is clearly going on here!

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H
Hiring
,
May 31, 2008 9:34 am EDT

Where are the CEO and Owner of this company? If they are so ethical and run such a tight ship. Where are their comments in all this?

What a bunch of douchbags.

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Hiring
,
May 31, 2008 9:32 am EDT

Looks like the Armed Forces MCSS might be hiring and looking for a liason to answer the BBB and resolve any and all customer issues. From a article in the Marine Times. read near the bottom of the article. (Part 2 of SGT Shopper) The link to the story is

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/money/financial_advice/military_sgtshopper_060208w/

As for Armed Forces Military Clothing Sales Store, the subject of last week’s column, Leslie Fields, chief finance officer, said in an e-mail that the company has “initiated a customer awareness program” and has “appointed a liaison to resolve any and all customer problems and dissatisfactions.”

The liaison also will work with the New York BBB to answer all complaints on file about Armed Forces MCSS, Fields said.

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Ybab Yrc
,
May 30, 2008 2:32 pm EDT

Today, 30MAY08, I checked in on Armed Forces MCSS website and received this message:

The Shop Is Closed - The store is temporarily closed for maintenance. Please check back soon.

Hopefully this is permanent.

I want to thank all of the support from the defrauded customers of Armed Forces MCSS that took action.

D
D
DLA
,
May 30, 2008 12:32 pm EDT

Armed forces mcss is still claiming they are a DLA vendor on this URL when it was removed from their main website:

http://armedforcesmcss.blogspot.com/

They can be reported for claiming this to the DLA using this online complaint.

https://www.dla.mil/dcia/complaint/complaint.asp

Just some additional Information to hopefully put this business where they should be.

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JD
,
May 28, 2008 5:02 am EDT

I did a charge back, I got my money back. I stuck it to the man. Keith, how come you don't call me...anymore

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Mystery
,
May 24, 2008 8:52 am EDT

Well looks like Keith and Armed Forces MCSS is also breaking the New York Law for selling realistic fake guns by stores in New York.

Look at the Advertisment on ou Tube Video at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKibPxUciQ

This also can be reported to the New York Consumer Protection Agency via this online Complaint Form

http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/contact/contact_toy.shtm

Have Fun and please report them.

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jim
,
May 23, 2008 9:53 pm EDT

I like how this clown from MCSS tried to cover up their scam with the excuse of low supply. If it were really that simple they would have listed the items as out of stock and/or not billed our credit card immediately. They almost further the case for what criminals they are, what kind of company does this and refuses to refund the order within two months, citing a 90 day policy that does not exist. Not to mention the fact that they are using the Army to advertize and promote their fraudulent ways. Hope they like Fort L !

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jim
,
May 23, 2008 9:49 pm EDT

What happened to "spec ops" Zapata?

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C
comment
,
May 21, 2008 11:15 am EDT

Lets see...Fields, Frank, Carmine and Maria most of this years complaints were from the airforce because of the ABU uniform, last year it was the Army who complained the most because of the new ACU Uniform. And I suppose the next branch of service that will complain is the next one that comes out with a new uniform. Seems like a trend to me and the main trend is scamming the military.

What is wrong here when the owner and CEO (Carmine and Maria) cannot make a comment or explain their actions of their company?

Fields stated he quit working with the BBB. The better business bureau is a mediator between the customer and business. So what he is really trying to say as everyone knows is that AFMCSS does not work with the customer.

The only way to keep Soldiers from being scammed is to report problems as people have and put the scammers whomever they may be in court filing bankrupcy and if illegal goings on, put them in jail.

Keep spreading the work and reporting.

R
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Ric Flair
,
May 21, 2008 4:34 am EDT

Here's the article...

Sgt. Shopper

Troops blast online uniform retailer
-
Posted : December,

Sometimes the online store that seems to have just what you’re looking for isn’t what it seems.

Several otherwise savvy service members — among them a major and a master sergeant — say they learned that lesson recently after trying to purchase uniform items from the private company Armed Forces Military Clothing Sales Store of Jamaica, N.Y.

Many say the company simply does not respond to complaints about late or undelivered orders.

Despite its official-sounding name, the company, also known as Armed Forces MCSS, is not part of the government.

Air Force Maj. Dwight Minnick is among the dissatisfied customers. He said he ordered $457 in uniform items in early March and was told they were in stock and could be delivered by April 1.

When he hadn’t received his order by April 9, he called to cancel and, he said, was told that could only be done online. However, when he tried, the system failed to cancel the order. So he canceled the charge with his credit card company instead.

The uniforms eventually arrived, he said — the week of May 5, more than a month late, while Minnick was on temporary duty. Shortly after he called FedEx on May 14 to find out how to return them, however, he received a call from Armed Forces MCSS.

“He threatened to call 911 and have me arrested, ” Minnick said, adding that the employee would not give his name. “He told me there was a $10, 000 fine. He said he had done this to two other people, but he wouldn’t give me any other information.”

Minnick said he complained to his base inspector general, who has since briefed other airmen at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., about the company.

“I’m concerned about the young airman or soldier who gives in to these bullying tactics, ” he said.

Leslie Fields, chief financial officer at Armed Forces MCSS, acknowledged problems.

“We do have some dissatisfied customers, ” he said. “I send out our sincerest apologies to these people.”

He acknowledged “bad attitudes” in customer service, and promised: “I intend to fix the problems.”

He said anyone with complaints should e-mail him directly at leslie.fields@armedforcesmcss.us, or call him at [protected].

He also said he had thousands of satisfied customers and that his company is pursuing legal action against nine people whom he says accepted orders and then canceled payment through their credit card companies.

Comments from interviews with service members and postings on the consumer bulletin board http://www.complaintsboard.com allege the company threatened to file IG complaints and take legal action against service members who tried to cancel orders.

Most complaints are from airmen because of the Air Force’s new airman battle uniform, which has been in short supply everywhere. Fields said the company has been working closely with vendors to try to get the uniforms they need in stock.

Missouri Air National Guard Master Sgt. Miles Spainhower said he used his credit card to place a $275 order with Armed Forces MCSS. He said he never received it and got only $225 back when he canceled the order.

He filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which forwarded it to the company for response. Spainhower said Armed Forces MCSS mailed him back a copy of his complaint, with no response — but addressed the envelope to “Miles ‘Crybaby’ Spainhower.” Fields said he is looking into that.

The New York Better Business Bureau has rated Armed Forces MCSS as “unsatisfactory” for its complaint response record, said Tony Barbera, manager of the New York BBB’s information and investigations department.

According to the BBB’s online report at http://www.cbbb.org, 26 complaints were filed against the company in the past year; it failed to respond to 21.

Fields said his company ceased working with the New York BBB after it refused to remove what Fields called “erroneous” information from its Web site. He said his company has filed a complaint about the BBB with the New York attorney general.

Here are some things to consider when buying online:

• Check out the company through the Better Business Bureau, http://www.cbbb.org.

• Buy with a credit card; you have more protections.

• Check the terms and conditions before buying. Unless you agree to a longer time frame, the company must ship within 30 days, or you have the right to cancel, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

• If you have concerns about a company, contact your base legal assistance office.

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Frustrated_shopper
,
May 20, 2008 8:20 pm EDT

If anyone has the link to the story posted in the air force times or army times please post it!

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Tamara
,
May 20, 2008 8:15 pm EDT

Also forgot, I am contacting the FTC regarding the e-mail correspondence, phone calls, and deceptive advertising employed by AFMCSS.

I don't yet know if Newyork's Governor's office of regulatory reform (link to permits division) is a good resource but here is their contact info:

General Information/Regulatory Comments
Business Permit Assistance

Call Us
Main Phone Number: [protected]
Business Permit Assistance: [protected] or [protected]
Fax: [protected]

Our Mailing Address:
Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform
P.O. Box 2107
Albany, NY [protected]

Jamaica, NY may also have a permits/business licensing division that is worth exploring.

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Tamara
,
May 20, 2008 8:03 pm EDT

I am also filing fraud alerts with the major credit bureaus. If any adverse action occurs, the alert will be out there.

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Tamara
,
May 20, 2008 7:45 pm EDT

Last week I contacted New York state licensing department to see if this company is licensed to operate a store front and internet accessible business. I have spam blocker on one of my e-mail accounts used to contact the licensing division. Inadvertantly I deleted a response from the NY permit verification system. If anyone from that department is aware of this particular situation, I would be most grateful for a resend response.

I am also filing a complaint with the New York Department of Consumer Affairs because, in addition to the potentially unlawful nature of the e-mail correspondence and content of phone calls, my family has not received the item charged to our credit account December 4, 2007. If AFMCSS attempts to mail anything to our residence at this late juncture it will be returned at their expense.

I am not e-mailing anything to AFMCSS due to the fear of reprisal, intimidiation, and coercive tactics this company has taken great liberty of using as evidenced by the array of posts that speak to the same "MO" my spouse was exposed to via e-mail and phone calls.

I seriously worried that our good credit could potentially be impacted by this company. Thefore, I took the precautionary measure of closing out the credit card account used for the 12-04-07 purchase.

AFMCSS took advantage of customers who risk everything for this great nation, knowing we were the "perfect" victims. No military member wants to be embroiled in a legal battle. However, I am not a military member. I am a concerned citizen who will exhaust every measure to make my family whole.

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mee
,
May 20, 2008 2:10 pm EDT

If you have a legit complaint with armed forces mcss, report them to the New York Consumer affairs. If they have enough legit complaints they will initiate a class action lawsuit.

Information is on previous posts to get in comtact with them. They can't hide forever, especially with the military.

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Marc
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May 20, 2008 8:37 am EDT

Story was in AF and ARmy Times...not sure about the other two.

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JD
,
May 20, 2008 4:54 am EDT

maria.garcia@armedforcesmcss.us

carmine.annunziata@armedforcesmcss.org

Please e-mail these people in charge and let them know how you feel about their service

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JD
,
May 20, 2008 4:34 am EDT

I e-mailed Mr Minton at NBC, I hope others do as well. Does anyone know if the story ran in Military Times?

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Ybab Yrc
,
May 19, 2008 3:10 pm EDT

I STRONGLY urge everyone that has been defrauded by this company report it to the NYDCA.

212-NEW-YORK

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/forms.shtml

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Marc
,
May 19, 2008 7:47 am EDT

Folks,

Wish I would have seen this site before I ordered anything from these guys. Ordered a set of ABUs back in Nov and received 2 ACU tops with holes in them. I contacted Tim Minton at WNBC Channel 4 in NYC. He works consumer complaint issues. I explained my situation to him and that there were countless others. If you feel like Armed Forces MCSS has cheated you, I encourage you to email Mr. Minton and explain. If enough folks complain, hopefully he will invistigate himslef and blast them on TV. Certainly couldn't hurt. Mr. Minton's email is tim.minton@nbc.com.

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JD
,
May 19, 2008 5:18 am EDT

I e-mailed them to cancel my order since my product didn't ship within two months of ordering. I contacted my bank and was issued a charge back/refund. I also e-mailed Armed Forces MCSS and told them I cancelled my order and not to send me anything. If they did mail me anything I would not accept it and it would be returned at their expense. Needless to say I never heard anything back from MCSS. No threatening e-mails or phone calls. Thanks to everyone for contributing to this site.

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reggie
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May 18, 2008 10:51 pm EDT

good tips! interesting how mcss has quieted down.

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jim
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May 18, 2008 10:47 pm EDT

thanks for the info, I will be calling. I am glad to see that someone picked up on the potential disclosure of personal information, to be honest I think it is libel, more smoke, mirrors, and deceit.

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NY Consumer Affairs Contacts
,
May 18, 2008 9:27 am EDT

ANOTHER RESOURSE THAT YOU CAN USE

New York City Department of Consumer Affairs

WHO WE ARE
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) receives thousands of complaint calls each year. When a complaint falls within DCA's legal jurisdiction, DCA will mediate between the consumer and the store owner or merchant. In some cases, if the issue can't be resolved, DCA's administrative law judges will hear the case. When appropriate, the Legal Division pursues litigation against businesses that defraud consumers.

HOW TO GET HELP
To contact this group, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS below:
To file a complaint with the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs:

(1) Call 212-NEW-YORK, or

(2) Call 3-1-1, or

(3) Go to http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/forms.shtml

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Ybab Yrc
,
May 18, 2008 9:17 am EDT

HIPAA - Protected Health Information:

"The Privacy Rule protects...the individual’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition..."

Criminal Penalties:

A person who knowingly obtains or discloses individually identifiable health information in violation of HIPAA faces...$250, 000 and up to ten years imprisonment if the wrongful conduct involves the...individually identifiable health information for...malicious harm.

Criminal sanctions will be enforced by the Department of Justice.

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.pdf

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Keith Zapata
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May 18, 2008 8:06 am EDT

My name is Keith Zapata and I'm one mean mexican. Please leave your messages at MySpace.com

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=9762150

Now you better quit messing with the MCSS! Be my Friend.

HAHAHAHAHA!

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Ybab Yrc
,
May 16, 2008 1:53 pm EDT

Friend of Frank...there really is a Col BooGer?

I wonder who the ex-employee could be...

And so it begins.

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friend1
, US
May 16, 2008 1:47 pm EDT

Laura,

Armed Forces MCSS are a bunch of cowards. Don't let them intimidate you. Report them to the authorities and they will get what is coming to them.

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friend1
, US
May 16, 2008 1:42 pm EDT

Armed Forces MCSS' tight ship seems to have sprung quite a few leaks and seems to be sinking. Hey Frank by the way one of your Ex-Employees stated a reason that you are so behind in your orders to customers is that you order your equipment from R _ _ _ _ _ . You state the item is in stock, charge their credit card and pray the items come in a timely manner to ship them out to the customer. Please give my regards to COL Booker and let him know I said hello.

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jim
,
May 16, 2008 12:33 pm EDT

Laurie W,

You are definately not alone in this. I too commend you for posting your experience. I hope all the people who are posting are also following up with both their civilian and military leaders (eg JAG, AG, Legislators, FTC)> If enough of us address this issue we can flood these rats out. We owe this to all of the men and women in harm's way. Heck ya, Reggie, I think it is time for a class action law suit. If CPT Garcia runs a tight ship, why not address these issues directly. Your company is obviously in this blog. I agree too, "an officer will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." Hey MCSS, I find it interesting you can only pick on the one woman in our blog. Email me, Id love to hear from you!

"Always with honor."

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jim
,
May 16, 2008 12:20 pm EDT

Laurie W. I would personally like to commend you on your courage. Please AF MCSS, go ahead and e-mail me. I will definitely follow up on this. Anyone like to pursue a class action law suit? The troops are rallying.

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jim
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May 16, 2008 11:08 am EDT

Just to clarify, the second post by "Reggie" is MCSS' stereotypical tactics of impersonation and projection of their own criminal thinking. What ever happened with the Army creed by Douglas McCarthur: An office will not lie cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.

My family and business associates will pursue this issue further while I am deployed.

L
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Lauri Williams/Government Cont
,
May 16, 2008 8:37 am EDT

Forewarning everyone: I just received this via email the complaints board and obviously from MCSS. They've been very busy since my last post as you can see all the latest and greatest fake positive comments posted.
Email JUST received:

E-Mail from "### YOUR MOTHER" to "Lauri Williams/Government Cont" (www.complaintsboard.com)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu, 15 May 2008 21:53:06 -0700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
### YOUR MOTHER ###

I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE AND WORK OUT OF YOUR HOUSE

### YOU - YOU BACKWARDS ### HILLBILLY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you think you received this email by mistake, please report to editor.complaintsboard@gmail.com

Y
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Ybab Yrc
,
May 16, 2008 5:39 am EDT

Col BooGer:

I think I have uncovered the mystery to ...SOMETHING!
Actually I have taken quite a few business classes. However none of them were Business 101. Had you pursued a degree in business administration; you too would know there is no such class called "Business 101".

Furthermore, had you ANY legitimate business experience, you would know the customer is your source of profit. That is the fundamentals of Marketing 101 (which by the way is a class). Had you taken Strategic Marketing you would know the importance of nurturing customer relationships. You would know the profitability of long-term customers. You would know that the “customer is always right.”

Obviously AFMCSS has chosen a different approach; a broken approach. An approach that is less broken and more illegal.

Remember to read the 19MAY08 edition of the Military Times. AFMCSS

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JD
,
May 16, 2008 5:15 am EDT

Hi my name is Keith, Brian and even sometimes Sgt Zapata; I would like to personally apologize for the suckiness of my company. I realize some of you who order products on the internet actually expect us to ship them to you; even after we have graciously and expediently charged your credit cards. I'm a bad, bad man. I know, it's true...our company sucks the big one. Ahhh, in the words of the great philosopher Bart Simpson "ah, what are you gonna do"?

You have to remember though I'm under a lot of stress. As most of you know from calling Armed Forces MCSS I'm the only person answering the phone and I'm also the only in the store because everyone else is out to lunch or down on the shipping floor trying find your products. Take it from me, we're a f***** up company, stay away from us.

Y
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Ybab Yrc
,
May 16, 2008 4:51 am EDT

it's time we stop,
hey what's that sound
everybody look what's goin down

there are lawyer strikes deep
into your life it will creep
it starts when your always afraid
step out of line the man come and take you away

you better stop
hey what's that sound
everybody look what's going

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