Acceptable Customer Service... or not?

[C10_ustacould]

I have recently ordered parts from a couple sources. In each case I have been met with what I believe to be a lack of customer service. One company for instance is very well respected by the individuals that populate this forum and seems to stand head and shoulders above the rest. My customer service experience with this company has not been satisfactory to date, although the majority of the products I have received are very nice. I bought an item (about $100) and after installation I was not happy with the alignment of the associated parts. I emailed the tech dept with pictures and detailed questions but received no response. I needed a few more parts and wanted to keep all of the parts from one manufacturer so I called and placed an order. After processing my order ($770) the gentleman asked if I needed anything else, so I told him about the issue with the previous part and that I had emailed the tech line. He seemed surprised and asked me to send it to him. I did. That was Saturday and still no response. The next issue I have is the timeliness of the shipment. I ordered my stuff last Saturday to give them enough time (west coast to Northwest Florida) to be here by this Friday so I can work on my truck this weekend. Well, I just received the shipping notification from UPS that the label was created, so they won't leave the west coast until tomorrow or even Friday! Is this an efficiency problem? Are they under staffed? In the big scope of things I don't really care, I just want quality parts in a timely manner. It is highly likely that it will be TWO weeks from the day my order was placed until the parts are received! It is inconceivable to me that, with the resources available, a company can't get a shipment out the door in less than 4 working days! Am I out of line? Are my expectations too lofty? What say you, wise C10 gurus?

[71swb4x4]

When I have a problem with a product I find the best way to get a response it to call. Emails seem to get lost in the shuffle. The email isn't sitting there at that moment waiting for a response, it's more sitting in line. The person on the telephone is on the phone at that moment, and usually would dictate a faster reply. Keep calling, the squeaky wheel gets the greasing.

As far as shipping four days doesn't seem great but it doesn't seem horrible. If you told them you wanted it on Friday, and they agreed, then four days does seem bad. Did you tell them you wanted it by Friday?

I learned long ago that I have to be very specific when ordering things. I make sure several times on the phone that the order is correct, I ask when the products will be delivered, and I get the price. If i have concrete answers from them, then I have no doubt whether their service is good or not. If they told you it would be there by Friday, and it isn't, then there is no question there is a problem.

[jtp67-72]

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

When I have a problem with a product I find the best way to get a response it to call. Emails seem to get lost in the shuffle. The email isn't sitting there at that moment waiting for a response, it's more sitting in line. The person on the telephone is on the phone at that moment, and usually would dictate a faster reply. Keep calling, the squeaky wheel gets the greasing.

As far as shipping four days doesn't seem great but it doesn't seem horrible. If you told them you wanted it on Friday, and they agreed, then four days does seem bad. Did you tell them you wanted it by Friday?

I learned long ago that I have to be very specific when ordering things. I make sure several times on the phone that the order is correct, I ask when the products will be delivered, and I get the price. If i have concrete answers from them, then I have no doubt whether their service is good or not. If they told you it would be there by Friday, and it isn't, then there is no question there is a problem.

I think he's saying they didn't print label and ship till nearly a week later and now will be another 4-5 days........happens alot nowadays.......feel your pain Buck............jim

[lil hoodlum]

I ordered some parts from a well known parts place in Kansas. Placed my order online Saturday the 3rd and received my parts today, Wednesday the 7th. Of course I only order 3 parts. Your order at $770 sounds much bigger.

Sorry I can't help you with the quality aspect of your parts. I have only had 2 experience where a part did not or could not work as intended. I have literally ordered hundreds of parts so only two bum steers isn't too bad for me. Still sucks when it happens to you though.

I agree about the squeeky wheel. If it bothers you enough I would get on the phone and see what they can do for you! Sounds like you have allready dropped some good coin in their purse so I am sure they would like to keep you as a satisfied customer. It doesn't hurt to try.

Good luck!

Keith

[Already Gone]

I may be wrong here but I know sometimes they do not have all the parts in stock and won't volunteer that info as the might jeopardize the whole order so I always ask if they have what I'm ordering in the building and get the order takers name. You said you ordered 770.00 worth of parts and I'm suspecting they didn't have everything in stock and that could have been part of the delay.

[Spoof]

I personally feel two weeks ain't bad. Sure it could be better, but given the way things work it's understandable. We're all running behind it seems.
Not returning emails, complete and utter BS...a slap in the face to customers. I had this happen with one highly regarded company on a $1000 dollar item inquiry, Three emails over three weeks, no response finally had the part fabricated elsewhere.

[edhtrd71]

I may offend some folks here but if you want good parts, service and timely shipping dont order anything from california. There are a few exceptions but most of the people on the phones and in shipping depts. are tweakers just along for the ride. There are a couple of people in the state that are awesome and a million that are trying to rob everyone. So much stuff comes from there but I could write a book of all the bad experiences my friends and I have gone through.

[AustinScott]

I know the feeling.
I just ordered (2/27/2012) $2300 worth of parts from a company and they have yet to even ship them.
They told me they where a bit behind, but I figured 1-2 days.... not 9-10 days behind....
Even if they ship the stuff tomorrow, it is coming "truck freight" from Cali to Texas so I still wont see these parts for another week at least....

Theory:
Company's had to cut back staffing during the eco slump.
Things are staring to picking back up & company's have yet to recover enough lost costs to re-staffed their business to keep up with demand.
This goes for all sectors, manufacturing companies trickle down this problem to all small business that need parts.
Just a theory... it keeps me from getting upset about my deal

-=Scott=-

[jocko]

I agree with spoof and already gone - I don't think your situation is too dire yet as far as shipping timing goes - annoying? yes, but not out of the ballpark, yet. However, the one MASSIVE pet peeve I have is when you place your order - the person on the other end will not tell you something is back ordered. So - i have had a couple instances wherein I ordered 6 or 7 parts at once, 1 or 2 came in - then the others took months. Unfortunately, all 6 or 7 were needed to do what I was doing on the truck.

Here's my beef - the parts were available elsewhere, and I'd have ordered them elsewhere if I knew it would be a several month wait. To me, that's pretty weasely to not tell someone that when they order parts - and the only way I did find out is when the 1 part came and the other 6 showed "back ordered" on the shipping receipt. Pretty frustrating.

If a company tells me stuff honestly, I always come back to them. But when they jerk me around - I never go back unless it's an absolute last resort.

And regarding California - I'm not a native, but have lived here a long time. The state really has nothing to do with it - the reality is that customer service has declined EVERYwhere over the years, however, California has a disproportionate amount of the vendors, so it just appears we're overloaded with wackos. But we're not.

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by AustinScott

I know the feeling.
I just ordered (2/27/2012) $2300 worth of parts from a company and they have yet to even ship them.
They told me they where a bit behind, but I figured 1-2 days.... not 9-10 days behind....
Even if they ship the stuff tomorrow, it is coming "truck freight" from Cali to Texas so I still wont see these parts for another week at least....

Theory:
Company's had to cut back staffing during the eco slump.
Things are staring to picking back up & company's have yet to recover enough lost costs to re-staffed their business to keep up with demand.
This goes for all sectors, manufacturing companies trickle down this problem to all small business that need parts.
Just a theory... it keeps me from getting upset about my deal

-=Scott=-

Your theory is spot on. I see it with manufacturing for cabinetry as well. They are understaffed for any small bumps in demand. Still takes as long to get cabinets as it did when they were in high demand because there are fewer workers and they keep less supplies in stock on a daily basis...

[PAWS 72]

BucksSS,call thecompany that you ordered from and ask them which freight company they use.Then call the freight co. and ask them if they have a truck on the west coast.If they do, ask them why they don't pay them enough to ships the parts to this side of the U.S.

With that being said, I,m a member of a expedited truckers board and the trucks refuse to go to the west coast because their not paid enough to get back to the trucking lanes.With the way fuel costs are no body wants to go west of texas to deliver any thing. I know where florida is but you have to understand how the freight com. is paying rite now.

I've hauled some expedited freight alot thats the reason I got out also. Because of low pay when the com. charges top dollar and dont pay the little guy anything.

[C10_ustacould]

Very good points have been made here, and I realize I own some of the responsibility for my frustration. First, I am extremely impatient when it come to waiting for new toys, I mean parts. I am like a kid (a 41 y/o kid) waiting to open presents on Christmas. Second, I should have been more inquisitive during the ordering process. On the other hand, and this is my main point, companies should be more forthright with information regarding an order. Businesses have a responsibility of providing "due care" and if you are backed up, or simply so slow that an order will ship more than 2-3 business days after submission "due care" says you inform the customer. I hope my experience with this company is not an indicator of how my future orders will go, as I still need a LOT of parts. This maybe the last order I place with this company, mainly because the other parts I need are available from more staunch board supporting vendors. I hope they try to improve our situation by providing the customer support I need for the one part that I have questions about. I am going to call today, we'll see how it goes...

[Liz]

There are tons of vendors out there.. Please use the review forums. Not only would it help you in choosing whom to purchase from; but it will help others as well.


I just have one thing to say in response to the email part . My average reply time turn around with emails for this site is 2 weeks. I try very hard to scan them and answer high priority at least within a day or two. The rest get answered in order received.

There are times I can not answer an email myself. Then it would go through another member of the Admin staff and or Josh. That adds time to the response as well. I am not defending the company at all, as I have no clue whom it is . (if it was in review, I would and could give a better educated reply ) What I am trying to say is, it may be that the guy you emailed is waiting on someone to get back with him in order to get back with you. He may have to go through several folks just to track your old order (whom handled it etc) and speak to higher ups before replying.

[Clyde65]

I always call the vendor and ask what is in stock, then if I can live with that, I order from the web to make sure I order what i need and they dont make a mistake keying in something. The thing you experienced drives me nuts too, you order on Saturday, then the order is sat on until Thursday, shipping info sent on Friday, shipped on Monday and then 4-10 days to get to you, that stinks.

Like said here, I would rather order from a board vendor here than anywhere, because there are steps you can take if your not satisfied. Most board vendors here will bend over backward to help you in anyway they can, I say most because I haven't ordered from all of them and haven't read reviews from all of them either. I wish you good luck my friend

[Shyguy]

We have had less then satisfactory service from a California place. They will not let you know when things are back ordered, so we no longer order from them. I have nothing against most of the California suppliers, but since we live in the midwest it is better to order from closer places.

My son and I need a lot of parts for these old trucks, so first we try locally to get all the parts we can. We have found that ATP can get a lot of stuff, well O'Rielly's also. It seems that ATP has better quality parts with better customer service.

Rock Auto is another place that has quite a few parts at reasonable prices and shipments so far have been real fast.

We like to order from board vendors when they have the parts because they are so knowledgeable.

Some of the parts places does not have lot of inventory and are at the mercy of their suppliers.

[1970 Bowtie]

Originally Posted by AustinScott

I know the feeling.
I just ordered (2/27/2012) $2300 worth of parts from a company and they have yet to even ship them.
They told me they where a bit behind, but I figured 1-2 days.... not 9-10 days behind....
Even if they ship the stuff tomorrow, it is coming "truck freight" from Cali to Texas so I still wont see these parts for another week at least....

Theory:
Company's had to cut back staffing during the eco slump.
Things are staring to picking back up & company's have yet to recover enough lost costs to re-staffed their business to keep up with demand.
This goes for all sectors, manufacturing companies trickle down this problem to all small business that need parts.
Just a theory... it keeps me from getting upset about my deal

-=Scott=-

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Your theory is spot on. I see it with manufacturing for cabinetry as well. They are understaffed for any small bumps in demand. Still takes as long to get cabinets as it did when they were in high demand because there are fewer workers and they keep less supplies in stock on a daily basis...

I have to agree with both the above post.Many company's are under staffed at the at the current time,even though the economy seems to be improving they are afraid to hire more staff.I work for an LTL(less than truckload)company and we are understaffed 4 out of 5 days a week,but they are afraid of hiring more staff to turn around and have to lay them off in 2 months.That being said a lot of parts supply company's(among others)have a trailer dropped on their property and picked up 1 or 2 times a week or whenever the trailer is full.This helps keep the company's shipping cost down. The company will not disclose this info to you ,but thats how it works.That is one reason 1-2 day expedited shipping cost 2-3 times as much.

[lil hoodlum]

I know alot of the people on the forum seem to look down on LMC, but I use them the most. As I stated before, I ordered some parts online and received them 5 days later. I didn't pay for any express shipping either. When I was placing my order their web site will tell if the part is in stock or on back order.

Good luck and I hope you can find some resolution for your situation.

Keith

[long69]

shipping in a timely fashion is paramount to me so i don't think that you are out of line being even slightly pi$$ed. if a vendor does not ship same day or next and i realize it, i wont use them anymore unless i have no other choice.

[C10_ustacould]

The company I am dealing with makes and sells their own brand of parts. I guess it is a moot point now, as the parts are on their way and are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. I am going to give them a call to try and rectify my fitment question, I'll let you all know how it goes.

[rkn463]

I have mixed feelings on this, on the one hand when I was growing up and we ordered from catalogs dang near every one of them stated "allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery" and I assure you that was a conservative estimate! However, I order now from internet places like amazon and my stuff gets to me so quick it makes me dizzy. As for truck parts I have bought a lot from LMC over the years and with standard shipping I almost always get it in 4 business days. Order on Sunday evening, arrive on Thursday in time to procrastinate and not install it one the weekend

I recently ordered some stuff from a company in CA that I had read really good things about on this site. It was hands down the most frustrating business transaction I have ever had. The main problem (and the reason that I will not be shopping with them again) is that they will only ship to the billing address on the credit card. I always have my stuff shipped to my work addresss because the shipping companies just throw it on the front porch and leave. I live in a bad neighborhood and am away from the house for 12 to 14 hours a day and really prefer to be the one that gets my parts rather than some random passer-by. While I appreciate the fact that a theif wouldn't be able to use my card with them this doesn't line up with ANY other vendor that I order from on the internet and I have ordered from a lot of vendors: LMC, Amazon, Crutchfiled, Target, Lowes, 4 wheel parts, Summit, Jegs, New Egg, etc., etc., etc. I ended up using some gift cards and had to call them repeatedly to work through all of the crap, got hung up on once and EVERY time I called them they were too busy to talk to me right then and had to have someone call me back. Once it took over two hours to get a call back! Anyway, when I finally got it all ordered it took them longer to get around to shipping it than it would have to recieve it from LMC. Needless to say I'll stick with LMC from here on out.

-Richard

[C10_ustacould]

Update, I have spoken to a rep from the company over the last two days and we are making progress on my fitment issue, I happy about that. I have not asked about the delay (in my opinion) in shipping as I am still chewing on it. The real benefit to the company is that I know when the shipment arrives I will be happy with the parts. Maybe so happy that I will just accept the shipping time for what it is, and get on with the fun stuff... Building cool old Chevy truck!