We had orders to produce and finish up to the very last minute on
Christmas Eve. We were working 7 days/ week from Thanksgiving thru
Christmas to get everything done. Our suppliers were all fantastic!
Stuller, Rio, Herco, Quality Gold, Adwar Castings… all got our
orders to us on time or even early. Some called us when items shown
instock on line were really not available, and worked with us to find
alternatives. Based upon when the castings were delivered, the folks
at Adwar must have produced a miracle!
Thanks, guys, without you we could not have made our customers happy
this year. And business being as tough as it is right now, we need
every happy customer we can get, whether it is a complex custom order
or a single sterling charm.
So hats off to our suppliers! We can’t do it without you!
Many opinions have been given. I can understand the dissatisfaction,
certain policies that business have, etc., but it appears that this
may be evolving into something other than a simple complaint or a
heads up about a supplier - it is probably best to stop before it
escalates into legal action taken by someone. It is obvious that the
shipping charges will not be refunded. There are several choices: 1)
keep the items and clean them up. 2) Pay the return shipping costs &
get a refund for the product cost. 3) If the supplier is still
willing (which I doubt), accept the offer of returning the product &
have him fill the order when the product that you wanted is
available.
As my Dad always said, “there is no sense in beating a dead horse.”
A question… it was said this was a ‘considerable order.’ Obviously
this is an online company that caters wholesale and retail. Was the
original order made online? A simple, semi-anonymous click? If
that’s the case, the customer took a chance that the 'considerable’
amount of goods was in stock. Ditto with the followup emails. Seems
lazy to me, given the time sensitive nature of the order. Pardon my
bluntness, but the real problem may lie in not being able to take
responsibility for a less than efficient procurement procedure.
All I know is that if I ‘need’ something on a deadline, I make it my
business (no pun intended) to get it. If there’s a supply problem I
don’t really think that blasting my supplier is in my own best
interest. After all, he wants to sell as much as I want to buy,
right?
This used to be a gentlemen’s business. I still try to act that way
but maybe some others don’t.
If it was a phone order I’ll sit down and shut up now.
I have tried to stop this thread with my last posting, however it
seems to be escalating further. This thread is not either libel or
slander. This is merely some about how one supplier
treats his customer. In this thread I read both good and bad things.
I am sorry to hear that this how business is done in America, that
customer has to be scared of their supplier, and be happy with what
they are given. May be that’s why most European goods are of so much
better quality than most of American, because European consumers
will not stand for faulty goods and they will be returned to the
supplier followed by a full refund. The strongest company survives -
the company with best prices, with great customer service and best
quality.
I have come to an agreement with my supplier to have the goods
exchanged in three months, which is not the best option for me, but
I, basically, have no choice - either lose money or wait three
months.
In my last reply to one of the mailings:
The order was an internet order, which was delayed by nearly 2 weeks
without any communication from the supplier, despite several emails
sent. After I telephoned them, they said they were out of stock, but
would send it as soon as they are in, which was the time by the end
of the second week of the delay. No notion that the goods may be of
lesser quality was given. Close to Christmas was not a strict
deadline (as I said in one of the previous postings), but more of a
favourable date, however I would have been more than happy to
receive them sometime after Christmas if they had been out of stock.
When I received the goods, I found that they were practically
unusable. I emailed supplier about the return and refund, and they
said they would refund without the shipping. I suppose that’s where
it started escalating into this big argument. I am not a very
argumentative person and normally get on fine with my suppliers (and
believe me I have many of them all over the world), but this
particular case seemed very wrong to me, this is not how any of my
other suppliers act should goods arrive faulty. Lesson leant to
choose you suppliers carefully.
It’s so easy to say things on the internet. I type difficult emails,
save them, and re-read them the next day. Often I end up not sending
them.
I would not have made the post that Lilia did, but it concerns me
equally that now there are a bunch of people telling Lilia that she
could be sued for slander.
For the benefit of Sivercharmsinc: I read reviews online and take
them with a grain of salt. I have had the best of experiences with
online sellers who have received utterly scathing reviews.
Meaning that he shipped her the wrong merchandise. Being out of
stock of the items ordered is not a reason to ship something else.
Well, many business DO substitute items when they are out of stock.
It is a very common practice.
However, what I was referring to, is that Mr. Overbee never
said…“I’ll have the GOOD merchandise in later, like some of you
keep saying here.” He said, he would have more merchandise in after
it was made in 3 months.
And, what I replied to was Lilia’s 1st message, in which, she never
said the WRONG items were sent. She said, when her items arrived
they were horrible quality.
The reason it would be libel is because it can harm the reputation
of another.
No. You said it yourself - “speaking falsely.” Truth is an absolute
defense to charges of either libel or slander. In this case, even
the supplier involved doesn’t claim the complaint is untrue. There’s
no point in complaining about a supplier if they aren’t named.
I agree with Debbie. I belong to alot of orginizations and find that
its better to stress the positive instead of the negative in a
group. If I had this experience I would choose to reccommend this
supplier rather than to voice my negative opinion. This is a public
forum. I feel it would be okay to mention this incident to a friend
of mine that I might want to warn; but this forum is public, read
almost like a newspaper and I would like to keep my personal opinions
about a supplier or another member personal.
Just as I wouldn’t say something negative about someone in the group
I took a class from, or someone’s artwork. Everyone has different
experiences with people and while I might not reccomend this
supplier I don’t think this is a forum to critize him either.
Its just my opinion! I live by the saying “If you can’t say
something nice, don’t say anything”
Well, many business DO substitute items when they are out of
stock. It is a very common practice.
Not without asking me first. If it ever happened, it would be only
once with that supplier. And yes, I would be inclined to warn others
about it. Very common practice? I don’t think so.
