Hello.
I traveled to Bali, for the 1st time, in March and had a great time. I have encountered a major problem with a small clothing order I placed with a small, family-run, factory in Denpasar. They had promised to finish the order prior to my leaving, and when the son-in-law (Made', who is the only one who speaks a bit of English) met me at the airport as I was leaving, he informed me that the order was not finished, but would be shipped, ASAP. It took about 2 months until I received an e-mail asking me to wire more money to his bank account, since the money I left him, apparently was only for "production costs" (which I did-- minus 1/2 the wiring fee which was $50 USD in total, which I felt was fair). I had called him on 4-5 occassions after that, and he continually tels me that its not up to him, but up to Katut (the owner) since she needs more money in order to send the shippment. The whole order consists of some lightweight tops and pants, in addition to 3-4 of my OWN cotton tops, which were to be copied. Made' keeps telling me that he will e-mail me after he speaks with Katut, but I have not received any e-mails from him. The clothing was intended as gifts for my family and friends, and for selling what was remaining. Since it has been over THREE MONTHS, the clothes are quickly going out of style. At this point, I would be fine with just getting my money back-- but I don't think that's an option.
I am feeling extremely frustrated by the whole ordeal, and I suppose my question is... has anyone ever encountered something similar, and do people have any suggestions regarding what I should do? I feel like my hands are totally tied, and I have been taken for a ride. This really saddens me since I spent a substantial amount of time with this family (given that I was only in Bali for a week), invited them out to dinner, had them back in my hotel room, etc. I was hoping to start a small import business out of Bali since I really wanted to do whatever I could to help the Balinese people, and really loved traveling there. I had heard rumors from friends regarding questionable Balinese work ethics, but really didn't want to believe them.
It would be so wonderful if someone would be willing to bring the clothing back to the U.S for me. Is there anyone from the Los Angeles, California area traveling to Bali in the near future? I guess it could be anyone from the U.S., and I would be happy to pay any and all the expenses. Feel free to e-mail me at: KSchw777@aol.com
Please let me know.
Thank you :-)