ARGG!!!! Rockler Vent

[Justin Rapp]

I placed a order with Rockler for 3 items that totaled about $100 (Freud Router Bits and Titebond II) I always liked Rockler and didn't mind paying a bit more for the same products I can get elsewhere for a little less. I also didn't mind the $13.99 shipping charge for a 5.8 pound package, knowing if my package was 25 pounds the cost would have been the same.

On the web site I selected 'Best Way - Standard Ground' for shipping which states 'Unites Parcel Service'. I get the tracking info and it was sent UPS My Choice, which is definitely not my choice. It's is UPS's cheapest delivery method where they hand off the package to the US Postal Service for final delivery. Every time I get a package shipped this way it takes between 20 to 29 days to arrive at my home, and I don't live in the sticks but a heavily populated area in New Jersey!

I called Rockler's customer service to see if there is anything they could/would do to expedite me getting the order. I basically got a 'we will give you a refund for the products if you send the package back or refuse it during delivery' No offer to refund the shipping cost. Very poor customer service, and with all the competition out there, it's pretty easy to find a much better company to give my money to!

Just as an example of good customer service, Performance Bike (I am also a cyclist) shipped me a package using UPS My Choice a few months back. In the past, they always shipped UPS Ground and it took 2 days, so I ordered on Sunday, they shipped Monday and I assumed the package would be at my house Wednesday with the gear I needed for a ride on Saturday. On Monday when I received the tracking info that it was shipped UPS My Choice and told them the typical delivery time in my area for this type of shipping, without question, the customer service rep said, we are sorry for the inconvenience, I am reshipping your order with 2 day shipping for no charge and requested I return-to-sender the original when it shows up. The original package showed up 19 days later! I returned it and my account was credited without any issues.

I am going to order what I need from another source and send the Rockler order back when it finally shows up - any recommendations?

[glenn bradley]

Sounds like the recommendation is to shop where they will take care of you. Rockler seems to run hot and cold on customer service as does Woodcraft. I'm not sure why the quality cannot be maintained but, this is certainly a management issue and not an employee issue. That is; if employees are doing this and management isn't aware or correcting it . . . its a management issue.

Another question might be "what is going on with your local post office?" or "is UPS aware that there is a cold dark corner where packages wait for no reason somewhere along the delivery chain?". Something ain't right somewhere ;-) I do know from multiple experiences that "free shipping" from everyone I use except Amazon takes much longer than paid shipping (including Lee Valley who are retail gods in my eyes). But, that is a delay in the "your order has shipped" stage, not the delivery chain.

[Ralph Boumenot]

I had a problem with Rockler a few years back. I had bought a drill press table but never installed it. When it came time to do I couldn't find the plans. I emailed Rockler and the rep wanted to sell me a new one. Once he realized I wasn't buying one and that all I wanted was to buy the plans, he never replied to any more emails I sent him. I haven't bought anything from Rockler since then. What I was buying from them I now exclusively get from Lee Valley. I have never had an unsatisfactory CS experience with them.

[Earl McLain]

+1 on Glenn's question--that sounds like a postal problem. FedEx uses them on small packages also, and whether FedEx or UPS it seems to add 2 or 3 days to delivery here when USPS does the final drop. I don't like it, but now i'm thankful it's not an extra 3 weeks!!

earl

[Kim Gibbens]

I'll throw in my two cents worth here. Last year I retired from the US Postal Service after 36 years of service, 32 of those years were at a delivery unit Post Office. The packages that the USPS delivers for Fed Ex and USPS comes directly from their sorting facilities. That means that they are sorted by zip code to one zip code only. Once they reach the delivery post office they are sorted for delivery the next delivery day. They do not sit there for days. The reason they go out the next delivery day is because USPS and Fed EX don't deliver them to the Post Office until later in the day AFTER the carriers are already out delivering on their routes.
I agree that 20 to 29 days is unacceptable and I definitely would spend my money elsewhere. And I would make Rockler aware of my decision.

[Tom Ewell]

Not from Rockler but I had a shipment via USPS go from Atlanta GA to Spokane WA to finally be delivered to my residence in southern MD.

A lot of these 'best way' shipments use the local post offices to disperse packages on the final leg, makes sense but can take more time to get it.

[Jerome Stanek]

I've had a few of them and they always take about 1 extra day.

[Mike Henderson]

I haven't had any problems with UPS handoff to USPS but if you have an account with UPS you can upgrade the package for about $3.50 so that it stays in the UPS system instead of getting handed off. You have to do it before it gets handed off, of course (do it as soon as you get notification of the shipment).

It doesn't cost anything to have an account with UPS and there are no minimums to maintain the account. It's called UPS My Choice or My UPS, I don't remember which. One nice feature of it is that you register your address and whenever you have a package sent to you, they will notify you of the status. They do it by matching to your address.

Mike

[Earl McLain]

To Kim--i've sat on our local PO's citizen advisory council (not many of those in the country), and have an appreciation for the diligence of our postal workers. At least here.

That said, and this may a complete coincidence or maybe it's weather, but on 1-16-2014 i bought a few combo square blades from a guy in New York City. Seller sent them USPS Priority, and e-mailed me the tracking number. Brooklyn PO shows package received/departed on 1-17-2014. Jersey City, NJ shows it arriving there on 1-17 and departing 1-21-2014. The tracking still estimates delivery today (1-22-2014), but didn't come--not a surprise, i'd guess more like Friday now. Priority Mail sitting still for 4 days doesn't seem like it should happen. Could it be a regional issue that is bottlenecked??

Also in possible defense--at times there may be a security concern that slows USPS service tremendously for a period in an area, and we may not be aware of that.

ealr

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

More and more I find these on line stores shipping by UPS or Fed-X and then handing off to the USPS & I really don't want anything to do with the USPS :mad:. They cannot seem to do anything right. The USPS is getting so desperate for business they must be making a good deal to UPS & Fed-X. :mad:

[fred lifton]

I have had a similar problem with UPS/USPS My Choice. Generally seems to slow down delivery by a week or more to my home in Portland, OR. I have no idea where the delay comes. If I look at the tracking info, it seems the package always stalls at some warehouse in IL. Otherwise, UPS, USPS, FedEX all show up at about the same rate. Don't know what to do about it other than complain to the shipper.

[Justin Rapp]

Kim -

In the tracking on the past packages sent to my home this way, they sit at some USPS sorting facility in south jersey where UPS does the hand-off, about 60 miles south of me, usually for about 7 to 9 days according to the tracking. It just sits there, time and time again! Then it finally moves to a regional usps distribution center, I believe up in the Linden, NJ area, about 25 - 30 miles north of me. It sits there for a few days then gets dropped at my local post office and shows up the next day (usually).

Ironically, my local post delivery guy is fantastic and ensures his mail is sorted correctly before putting it in my box. Since this new US postal worker started delivering the past few weeks I have not had other peoples mail, which used to happen a few times a week with the last person.

Not that UPS is all that great either but if I had my choice, Fed-ex Ground (without a USPS handoff) and then USPS Priority service (100% perfect for me every time).

in this case, Rockler wanted 23 bucks to go Priority - when in fact they could easily have sent my stuff for $10 via Priority...

Anyway - Rockler lost my business.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

I am waiting on a package of jig parts (pkg is less than 3 lbs) now from Rockler, and they wanted to send it "ground," which doesn't mean anything since all the carriers have a ground shipping option if not more than one. So I asked whats the estimated arrival? They said 7-10 business days!!!! Are you kidding me!!?? I grimace but spent the $8 on shipping USPS priority mail.

This is Rockler's fault. They can choose to ship with any carrier they want and if customer service were a priority for them they'd work it out. I almost always get purchases from Tools For Working Wood in NYC in less than three days via standard shipping. Ever buy shoes from Zappos? I do and they show up in crazy fast time. I MEAN CRAZY FAST! I have on more than one occasion placed an order at 5 pm and had the boots show up the next day by noon. And Zappos pays for any return shipping if for ANY REASON you decide you don't like the item. And if you register on their site most of the time shipping is free. Amazon is a close second, but sometimes depends on who/where is the strategic partner.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

These things are all over the place. I order stuff from LL Bean and its shipped to my PO box via UPS and doesn't take but one extra day. Other company's do the same and it takes an extra week. I've ordered motorcycle tires from a company in LA on a Monday night and gotten them Wednesday via UPS and had UPS take seven days to ship from somewhere closer. I don't understand it and most explanations don't make a lot of sense to me. FedEx does seem quicker.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I've had excellent service from Woodcraft--way above and beyond. In March, 2013, I ordered 12 drawers for a closet organizer for the house we were building. They were delivered in April. Mortgage rates started creeping up so we ditched a lot of the optional stuff and just finished the house as quick as we could. After moving in we started installing the stuff we put off. In December, I finally opened the boxes of drawers and found 9 instead of 12. I called Woodcraft and they tracked everything down and said it was their fault. They contacted their subcontractor, had the drawers built and got them to me in six days. It was my fault for not doing a QC check when I received them in April and they certainly could have told me it was too late to fix, but they did the stand up thing and took care of it. Hats off to Woodcraft.

[Ronald Blue]

If you order much online then you will find that this is getting to be common practice. I have even had it happen with Amazon and this is for a prime membership with free 2 day shipping. I received on time but wasn't comfortable with it. When you choose the cheapest option and I know $13.99 doesn't seem cheap they will go with the option that works best for them.

[Art Mann]

I receive packages from UPS or FedEx fairly frequently that were handed off to the post office and the delay in delivery is usually one day at most. It sounds to me like you are blaming Rockler for a problem that exists either at the UPS office or the post office or both. Rockler can't possibly know the conditions at every post office and UPS terminal that they ship to. I expect the overwhelming majority of Rockler shipments that go this way arrive as promised.

[David Weaver]

It's their choice to use that kind of shipping service, and they do it because it's cheap. When I ship something UPS, it doesn't get handed off to the post office. It costs more to do it that way.

I'll second the sentiments on here that when I order something, I don't expect it to basically be sent lowest priority unless I'm notified. I've had a few shipments from very local sent ground early on in this hand-off only to see them going nowhere for almost a week, despite starting about 3 hours from me. If I'd have known they would take that long, I wouldn't have made the order.

[Brad Adams]

It's not just Rockler. Every order I have placed, that has been handed over to the post office has taken at least a week longer than if they just shipped it UPS ground.

[David Weaver]

Me, too. Which means that the vendors know it's going to take much much longer when they choose that option. So they really don't have a legitimate complaint then when people order from amazon instead.