Lost order :(

[ADP]

My first bad experience with a supplier, I ordered a few coloured iphone cases along with other phone and ipad bits for a order last tuesday so should of received friday, saturday at latest so i could deliver on sunday as i was meeting said person to drop of, friday came and went along with saturday and nothing, had customer on phone asking if all ready for sunday to which i replied "no", they wernt very happy at the sound of that so i asked if i could get to them monday if i got the stuff in the morning and they went for 1.00 at the latest, Great ive still got the order i thought, monday still nothing so phoned company to see whats going on, reply was one of the items was out of stock so never sent out but its dispatched now along with a free gift as compensation and will receive today (a email saying this would of been great to let me know), Great as ive lost the order now and to late to cancel, so today comes and im up bright and early ready for parcel to arrive cancelled a appointment to wait and.........still no delivery, on phone to get details of parcel and see where it is and was told it could be up to 6.00-6.30pm before i get it, not happy by now so email supplier and got ref numbers and tracking info only to be told that theres no chance of me getting it today as the driver finished just gone 5.00.....so much for anything up to 6.30pm, day wasted again waiting and going to get bits what i dont really need now as i lost the order so over all quite pis*ed of to be honest.

[WorthDoingRight]

Infuriating isn't it. The bane of many a small business is when we place an order we kind of expect it to arrive asap and all be there. I think of all the orders I have placed a couple of suppliers only shipped what they had and cancelled what they did not have without telling me. Good old BMS shipped what they had and then sent the missing item when they got it at no extra postage charge. Some claimed to have sent me items on the packing note that were clearly not in the package. One supplier tried to charge me carriage twice to ship in two stages as they were out of stock of an item. All in all my experiences with suppliers (other than BMS) has not been to the level I would have liked or expected.

[socialgiraffe]

It is frustrating as a small business and all I can say is don't use them again. Like WDR I use BMS, when you place an order you get tracking info the same day, unless its a pallet, and the items always arrive on time. What is also handy is the the delivery driver told me never to book a pre12 as he always does my area first :-)

The Magic touch are exactly the same and use DPD which send you an email in the morning telling you the time they will arrive which again is very handy if I am walking my daughter to school.

I am sure other reputable companies such as Listawoods do the same and though the likes of BMS, TMT, Listawoods etc maybe a few pennies more (although more often they are cheaper), my experience says it is worth absolutely every penny. A reliable supplier means I can concentrate on selling the stuff and not chasing them.

Really sorry to hear you lost the order that is gutting for everyone, if I were you I would refuse to sign for the goods and tell them to send them back to the supplier and ask for your money back.

One other thing to try next time is post on here if you are stuck. As an example I have about 20+ iphone 4 cases sitting here which in all honesty I doubt I will ever use and suspect they will dwindle down to zero over time if Craig pops over for coffee. Had I known you needed them you could have had them, yes you may have lost money on the job because of fuel costs but a happy customers is always key to a successful business. If you post on here that you are desperate and explain the details there maybe someone who could have helped you out by supplying the blanks for you to either buy or replace. This is a really great forum with members really willing to help each other out, even though we may all be considered competitors.

[ADP]

My normal port of call for the vast majority of things i want is BMS as ive had 100% satisfaction from every order but this time i wanted some colored iphone cases and other bits so used my 2nd on list of suppliers as up until now had a good turn around from when ordered. I might be to fussy at times but sometimes its the little things like a quick email to say if somethings out of stock or just to let me know whats going on that way i can sort it all out and keep people happy.

I use TMT for my vinyl and really happy with them, not used any thing else from them as yet.

I will accept the order when and if it arrives but will also phone and tell supplier i wont be using them again due to lost order and cancelling my day to wait for something that never came.

Good idea about posting on here first in future when im stuck as im sure someone can point me in the right direction for help or i might have a quick look on ebay as a last resort option.

Its just a pain in the ass as im just starting out in this business to let people down so early on who could potentially get me on going work but i suppose its all part of the learning curve and ive still got lots to lean.

Ive got a big tile mural to hopefully do if the ladies happy with what ive designed and a couple of other projects for now so going to give them 100% of my time and get them right, then im having a few weeks of from sub work to concentrate on crimbo with the kids :)

Thank you both for your words of wisdom. :)

[socialgiraffe]

Hi ADP

Good luck with the mural, that has to be better than thinking about crimbo :-_. Not sure if you read or not but there was a thread on here very recently about mural's and a useful piece of free software. If you haven't already read it then its probably worth a search.

Totally understand about using other suppliers when the item you specifically want is only available from the likes of them, I have never understaood why they can't improve their customer service. I use several couriers and they all offer online tracking and email notification. It doesn;t take much to put the customer's email address in the online booking form so god only knows why they can't.

Simon

[Earl Smith]

Sorry to hear that. Very frustrating at loosing a good order and probably good customer just when you are starting out.
Ive learnt over the years to only use suppliers that have a web site with the amount they have in stock showing as you order? And they email , withing a few hours, an advice note showing you that its been ordered and in stock. And of coarse, the tracking number of the delivery firm.
If they dont, and I need stuff in a hurry I never use them.

[WorthDoingRight]

Ive learnt over the years to only use suppliers that have a web site with the amount they have in stock showing as you order

Well this sounds great in practice but everytime I have ordered from Coralgraph (who is showing stock at the time I place my order) the item is out of stock!

Other than Coralgraph, I do not know which other suppliers show stock levels. I know that MDP supplies and BMS both do not have realtime stock figures.

[Earl Smith]

Must be a German thing for efficiency then.. Every supplier I order clothing and vinyl from shows stock levels. Even which week the supply will be in again if its not in stock. That is even down to how many meters they have in stock of each vinyl colour.
There are two vinyl suppliers that dont have this system and you have to order by phone. But the girls on the phone will immediatly tell me if its available and usually offer another vinyl if not. The sublimation supplier only says if its in stock or not. If there is an error they will telephone to let me know within a few hours. Great for peace of mind.

Time for England to pull its socks up and get its websites and customer service in order then....

PS, yes I am English and proud to be English as well. England has plenty of things that are way ahead of Germany in quality and service. But the German supply system is second to none.
PPS, I used to live near Birmingham as well......

[socialgiraffe]

Most of the clothing suppliers here have real time stock levels on their website as well. Amazes me that you can order upto 8pm at night and you receive the goods pre12 the following day with one of them.

[WorthDoingRight]

I agree the clothing suppliers I use have real time stock levels and my main one has a 9pm cut off for pre-12 delivery and then it is only £5.99 for orders below £150 and free above that!

Some of the computer components people have 10pm or some even 11pm deadlines for next day - this is amazing by any standards.