In search of relief from neck pain, Dr Norm Sanders was caught in a pillow scam orchestrated in another continent. We apologize that the customer became confused while placing the order and purchased 4 units of pillows. We are a startup founded a few years ago, seeking the best strategy for creating value for both the business and the client. Therefore, we listen to our customers, respond to their comments, and improve the company's operational processes. MY NECK was stiff and I blamed my ancient pillow. I searched 'orthopaedic pillows' and came across a catchy website, populated with lovely, happy women. Derila pillows. Glowing reviews, 70 per cent discount. There were also logos from NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News and others with the caption: 'ergonomic pillow benefits'. How could anything go wrong? On 4 February, I placed an order for a pillow. Cost $61, plus shipping. A message immediately popped up in my inbox from Derila confirming my order. This was obviously an efficient outfit.
I scrolled down to the bottom and was dumbfounded. There was a charge of $165 for four pillows! Outrageous. I sent an email to Derila demanding that it cancel my order and refund my money immediately. Team Trump's collusion with the Russians in the U.S. Pauline Hanson, Best Pillow for Neck Pain Cory Bernardi and Australia's alt-right. Thank you for contacting the Derila customer support team. We value your business and want to ensure that you have a clear understanding of what you have ordered. Upon checking, you have ordered a total of four Derila Pillow pillows. To ensure a smooth transaction, we have attached the invoice for your reference. I tried again and Mary offered me a bunch of gifts, including a Huusk Cookbook (limited edition) and a Nuubu Detox Guide. Not to be bought off, I sent another email demanding a refund. Mary said that nothing could be done because the order had already gone through. I soon found out that they had extracted my money just as quickly.
PayPal sent me a notice that I had paid $165 to someone named Ausica UAB. Not Derila. I looked up Ausica UAB and discovered that it was located in Lithuania and had one employee, presumably the hardworking Mary. The whole thing was sounding fishy. I decided to check the web: 'Derila scam'. Social media sites are buzzing with complaints about Derila. Mostly about being charged for four pillows. Some complained they were billed up to $400 for additional unordered items. One unfortunate soul was charged for six pillows. Then there were the few lucky Derila customers who managed to convince Mary to give them a refund, but only after the pillows were returned to Lithuania - at a cost of over $100. On 5 February, I instructed PayPal to dispute the Ausica UAB claim. This triggered an avalanche of emails. I started to notice the language often seemed slightly odd.
I fired up my search engine, which introduced me to chatbots. I learned that chatbots mimic human conversation using artificial intelligence: 'conversational AI'. Businesses commonly use chatbots to help customers with customer service, inquiries and sales. Chatbots can be programmed to respond to certain keywords in a specific way and machine learning can be used to train chatbots to respond organically. So Mary and her successors, Jennifer, Linda, Daphne, Patricia, Priscilla and Elizabeth, weren't real people after all. What about the Lithuanian connection? Lithuania is a small country on the Baltic, sandwiched between the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Latvia. Once an independent nation, it was annexed by Russia in 1940. It remained in the Soviet Union until 1990, when it gained independence. Putin would like to get it back, but it is now a member of NATO. While Lithuania was in the Soviet Union, Russians were encouraged to migrate to the country.