I purchased a pair of trekking poles from L. L. Be...

I purchased a pair of trekking poles from L. L. Bean for a friend who needed them for a trek in Patagonia. I paid for express delivery and was assured they would arrive in time. They did not arrive before my friend had to fly out. L. L. Bean customer service rep offered to express ship a pair to Chile at no cost, but could not guarantee they would arrive in time. I suggested and the service rep agreed to $100 gift card in lieu of the expense of international express shipping a pair of poles and as reasonable compensation for my friend having to rent poles in Chile. I repeated the agreement and the rep said she had written it up in the record. Subsequently, I received a $20 gift card. When I enquired, the rep claimed we had not agreed on a $100. She may have misunderstood, but I am a very careful consumer and know for certain this was what we agreed to, based on the rationale I explained above. Net is that L. L. Bean saved $80 and lost: a) a lifetime customer, and b) the great story I had been sharing with friends about how good their customer service was. Now I am sharing the exact opposite story -- very simple: You can't trust L. L. Bean to stand by their word.