Customer Service Rant!

[Forrest Price]

:mad: Boy oh boy! So we've got a new Woodcraft open in Spokane, WA now. 2 hrs away. Can't get up there so I call in an order for a Wolverine jig part and specifically ask if they can ship it out that day, Tuesday. "Sure no problem, we'll get it out."

So Wednesday rolls by, no package from the guys in brown. OK, says I, no problem, maybe a UPS goof. Thursday (Today) still no package. OK, I'm getting ticked off here. Several spinny things and alotted time waiting for this darn jig!

Call Woodcraft up, get the almost helpful lady in shipping to tell me " Oh, yeah, that's going out today I'm pretty sure." WHAT?! I say. That was supposed to ship out Tuesday! She says "Well that's when we got started on it, but it had to be boxed up and gotten ready to ship and it takes time. Go have a good meal somewhere it'll be there by Saturday"

Folks, I spent a lot of time in an industry not dissimilar to a Woodcraft type of business, and I KNOW how long it takes to process a simple order, box an item and ship it out. This was ridiculous, and not to mention they charged my card on Tuesday!! 2 days before shipping and I can't even be sure they'll get it out today!!

Geez, I know I shouldn't let the little things get to me, but lousy customer service is a huge pet peeve of mine. I've got a lot of things to replace in my shop, and I thought it sure will be nice to have a Woodcraft store to run up to, but these guys have me so ticked, I don't think I'll ever go up there!

Sorry, end Rant....for now!

[Scott Loven]

Doesn't seem like an outrageous amount of time to me. They should have gotten it out that day if they promised though. Was this from the store or from the catalog center in WV?

[Frank Howell]

No need to feel sorry Forrest, I'd be PO'd too. Most places I order from, if they say they'll ship it out today, it goes out that day. But for them to tell you it's going out on Tuesday, and 2 day's later it still has not left, is just incompitence above and beyond the call of poor customer service. It's really sad that their phone order people aren't as service oriented as their people in the store are.

Hope the shop is coming together well.

[Forrest Price]

Scott, I called the local store.

Frank, really not too sure about their instore folks either. The salesperson on the floor that helped me wasn't even familiar with the Wolverine items or jigs. He kept me on the line though while he walked around the floor and pulled the item off the shelf. So I know they had it there. In fact, he said they had 6 or so of them.

I know, it's a fairly new store, but after the several months they've been there, they should have a much better idea of what's going on. Most outfits won't charge your card until the item ships either.


THIS JUST IN. OK, I just now received a call from Woodcraft stating that my package will be here tomorrow. Gotta admit, that was a nice touch, and kudo's to them for going that extra step. Still doesn't excuse the original problem, but was a nice touch.

[Chris McKimson]

I find the Woodcraft store great for when I want to drive there and "get it now". But if needed something shipped immediately, I'd have to order on the internet. There are too many places that are available on the internet that are very good at getting something shipped quickly to my door. I wouldn't think to include my local Woodcraft on that list.

Chris

[Fred Woodward]

Things do slip through the cracks sometimes, but if she actually told you "Go have a good meal somewhere it'll be there by Saturday". :eek:

I'd be talking to the store manager, pronto.

That's terrible Customer Service skills for sure and I doubt that the store manager would have the same attitude.

We have a local Woodcraft here and the customer service (my experiences at least) is excellent from all of the employees and the management.

[Cecil Arnold]

Forrest, you should have asked Ken to pick it up for you. He is on his way there to pick up an airshield. Check his post Triton ot Trend.

[Steve Clardy]

Must have been a shift in the Moon orbit or something this last week or two.:eek: :confused:

Rants, bad service all over the place:)

[Lee Schierer]

On a clock I made recently, I ordered the works and pendulum late on Friday from Klockit with teh help of a customer service representative. On Saturday, I was looking at the drawing and the parts I had ordered and discovered that I had the wrong pendulum (their person said it was the one in their kit for the same style clock). I called back on Sunday, naturally, I was told to call back during normal work hours. So....first thing Monday morning I called (8 A.M. eastern). The order department says it is too late the order has already gone to shipping and can't be changed.

When the order shows up at my house on Friday, it says it was processed on Tuesday! Not a big deal, but I did have to pay for the return shipping.

[Lee DeRaud]

I like supporting the "local" store as much as possible, but it would never occur to me to phone-order something from a Woodcraft store 100+ miles away rather than from the Woodcraft corporate store/website which is actually set up to handle transactions like that.

[Chuck Wintle]

I have had merchandise shipped that has arrived almost overnight and other stuff that took forever. But as Lee said in his post; why not order it through the website setup for that!?:)

[Forrest Price]

Expedition was the reason for the call to the local store, as well as trying to support the local guys. Figured I'd be doing business there, so may as well establish a relationship with them. If they had of told me " No, we're not set up for that kind of thing, please call the service center", then Hey, no problem. Call the SC, UPS red and be done with it.

I ASKED them if they could get it out that day. Their response "Sure no problem" Where in that should I have decided to call the Service center then?

And yes, she really did say, Go have a good meal, it'll be there by Saturday..

As I said before, it was a nice touch that she called me back and confirmed shipping. So hopefully it'll be here. I'll know in the future to handle things differently if speed is of essence.

[Bruce Page]

<<Geez, I know I shouldn't let the little things get to me...>>

Life's too short.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Forrest, not to worry, once you have that set up and going, you will be happy with it, so do move on.

You are right though, they should have done what they said they would do.

Remember, pics, or it did not happen :D

[Bryan Somers]

I like supporting the "local" store as much as possible, but it would never occur to me to phone-order something from a Woodcraft store 100+ miles away rather than from the Woodcraft corporate store/website which is actually set up to handle transactions like that.

Lee may be on to something here.

[Don Baer]

Arn't Woodcraft stores franchise stores ? If so I'd call the store manager and let him know about the slip up/broken promise. I know that if I called the manager of the Chandler store hi wouldn't be a happy camper.

[Joe Mioux]

Lately, there has been a lot of business bashing going on here at SMC.

Speaking from as a small business owner, this is distrubing. It makes me feel very uneasy. Most businesses whether small or large will do their best to serve the customer.

Couple questions that pop up in my mind Forrest.

First, did you need this particularly item to meet a deadline for a business transaction?

If not, then (I most respectfully submit) relax a bit.

You haven't told us why, the package was not shipped on the promised day, just that it wasn't shipped.

Things happen in small business, especially given that you were dealing with a local franchise, rather than a Central Order Desk at Headquarters.

Second, What time did you call your local Woodcraft with your order on Tuesday? If it is to be picked up by UPS, said co. has certain pick-up deadlines to meet UPS's required deadlines.

(I realize that in your case, this was not the issue, but I just mention this in order to make others aware that UPS pick-up deadlines may not be met on a particular day and that the next pick-up maybe a day or two later)

Third, remember you were probably talking to new a employee and that employee may not have known everything involved with shipping. If a store doesn't regularly ship items out, there are a whole host of issues to deal with such as, finding a box that will fit the item, packaging, address labels, finding a phone number for the FED EX, UPS etc office for local pick-up or in some cases after the product is packaged actually taking the package to the local drop of center for FEDEX or UPS. I hope I am painting the correct picture here. Remember, your item was probably packaged, labelled, addressed, etc by a floor salesperson, not a shipping clerk.

Fourth, you never know how busy the store got with local business after your order.

Fifth, things happen. Please, please, please. give the store personnell the benefit of the doubt.

Respectfully
Joe

[Andy Hoyt]

I echo Joe's sentiment; although I have been on Forrest's side of the event all too often.

But here's one that counters it. And it's "local", too.

When I ordered the lathe with which we bombed Ken Fitzgerald last winter I decided that I wanted to order it from someone as proximal to him as possible so as to provide him with a local built in relationship with the tool seller. Got on line; saw that the Spokane store was due to open in a couple of weeks but didn't want to wait.

So I called the Boise, Idaho WC; plead my case for the best deal possible - and got it; and firmed up the purchase. This was at 10 AM Boise time. By 1PM Boise time, the same guy I'd spoken with called me back and reported that he'd just dropped the box off at the FedEx place. Three days later the credit card receipt arrives in my mailbox. Six days later the lathe finally arrives in Lewiston, ID (200 miles north of Boise) after a trip that took it to Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, back to Portland, up to Spokane, and finally to Lewiston.

If it isn't one thing, it's always something.

Oh! And a month later, the sales guy calls me to ask how everything went, we spoke briefly, and I gave him Ken's number.

I have no trouble with WC.

[Forrest Price]

Lately, there has been a lot of business bashing going on here at SMC.

This was not business bashing, just customer service bashing.

You haven't told us why, the package was not shipped on the promised day, just that it wasn't shipped.

Actually I did. Read paragraph 3 line 2.

Respectfully
Joe
OK folks, just remember I had the word "rant" in the title on this. That right there should have let some of you in on the mood at the time. We all need a little rant now and then.

I told you I had a pet peeve with poor customer service. Go back, some of you, and carefully read what I was told originally by the person that answered, that also told me she was in charge of the shipping.

Work ethics should mean the world to any business, big or small. Without good work ethics, your business can never fully prosper.

This was not labled "Woodcraft sucks" so it should not have been taken as business bashing as suggested here. It had everything to do with poor customer service received from my nearest/local branch of a particular business.

Any business, big or small, if they promise their customer something, and can't deliver, should contact that customer to let them know there has been a delay. That would be considered good work ethics. Sure, things happen. No problem, do what you can, keep the customer in the loop and take care of business.

Shoot, when I was in the industry, I was on call 24hrs a day to my entire customer base. I've made runs 200 miles one way in the middle of the night to pick up and deliver supplies to get my cutomer going ASAP.

If I EVER told one of my customers to "go have a good meal, it'll be there by Saturday" I'd have been looking for a new customer, and most likely a new job!

Work ethics folks, some have `em, some don't. ;)

Now, I'd be happy to drop this right here, but if some of you want to continue to tell me I've got my head screwed on wrong, and what was told and done to me should be considered normal-everyday-made-in-America-business-as-normal, then I'll stay right here and defend my right to proper customer service and work ethics to the bitter end. :D

PS, I really do like Woodcraft, have bought from them in the past, and will continue to buy from them in the future. Nothing against the company as a whole, just the cutomer service I received from the local branch as originally stated. :)

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I'm in TOTAL agreement with you Forrest. That is UNACCEPTABLE service. And I work for a Woodcraft location!

Bruce

[Joe Mioux]

Forrest.

I still don't know why your package wasn't shipped on Tuesday.

The answer given you by the lady wasn't an answer to your inquiry.

You could have asked for more specifics.

Joe

[David Rose]

I never thought of ordering from my "local" Woodcraft either. After they had been in business for about 3 years, I asked them about shipping something one day. The manager was hesitant, then said "of course we can". I suspect the local stores don't do a lot of shipping.

Our (personal business) store ships things every so often. When we do, since we have no shipping department, it means that it has to fit in with the rest of the activities of the day. If we have a couple of busy days in a row where we stay open late an hour or two, it won't likely happen on those days. We do try to let people know ahead of time that things may not ship immediately. Then we try to get them out ASAP. But a "one shot" UPS takes another day...

David

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Forrest...........I'm sorry to hear about your dilemna! I wished I'd have known you needed something! I was in that Woodcraft Store today....Sharon spent a lot of money there today. The next time you are in Spokane....stop there........ask for Nick! Nick...his wife...I can't remember her name and his son Denny own the store. Tell Nick about the problem you had. I'm betting he'll make it right for you. I told Nick in February about me being bombed. A couple of weeks ago I told him about the upcoming doubleheader bombing and about Woodcraft Corporates very generous donations. I let him and his son know I could buy stuff cheaper on the internet than I could at this local store but I wanted to support the local store (I like to fondle tools before I buy....) and therefore was willing to drive 4.5 hours roundtrip. He immediately offered me a discount whenever I drive to Spokane and shop there. He told me to make sure that he or his son waited on me and mention the amount of the discount. Today his son Denny gave Sharon that discount on a bill of over $700.

Talk with Nick. I'll bet you'll find this is a one time mistake!

[Forrest Price]

I never thought of ordering from my "local" Woodcraft either. After they had been in business for about 3 years, I asked them about shipping something one day. The manager was hesitant, then said "of course we can". I suspect the local stores don't do a lot of shipping.

I figure, that must be the case here as well.

Our (personal business) store ships things every so often. When we do, since we have no shipping department, it means that it has to fit in with the rest of the activities of the day. If we have a couple of busy days in a row where we stay open late an hour or two, it won't likely happen on those days. We do try to let people know ahead of time that things may not ship immediately. Then we try to get them out ASAP. But a "one shot" UPS takes another day...

David

An excellent example of good work ethics!

Good on ya Dave!:D

[Forrest Price]

Forrest...........I'm sorry to hear about your dilemna! I wished I'd have known you needed something! I was in that Woodcraft Store today....Sharon spent a lot of money there today. The next time you are in Spokane....stop there........ask for Nick! Nick...his wife...I can't remember her name and his son Denny own the store. Tell Nick about the problem you had. I'm betting he'll make it right for you. I told Nick in February about me being bombed. A couple of weeks ago I told him about the upcoming doubleheader bombing and about Woodcraft Corporates very generous donations. I let him and his son know I could buy stuff cheaper on the internet than I could at this local store but I wanted to support the local store (I like to fondle tools before I buy....) and therefore was willing to drive 4.5 hours roundtrip. He immediately offered me a discount whenever I drive to Spokane and shop there. He told me to make sure that he or his son waited on me and mention the amount of the discount. Today his son Denny gave Sharon that discount on a bill of over $700.

Talk with Nick. I'll bet you'll find this is a one time mistake!

Ken, glad to hear it!! I will make a trip up there. I talked with 3 people on that order, and I'll bet it was the 3 you mentioned.

Perhaps, she was making a joke of it, and I just didn't "get it" at the time. ;)

[Joe Jensen]

When I learned that you can't get a discount on Festool, I went to my local Woodcraft to check out their 1/2 sheet sander. The woodcraft didn't have on in stock, but they ordered one for me to try. This was in early April. I called 2 weeks later and no sander yet, guy said they had an order going in the next week. Finally in early May the sander arrived (I had to call to see even though they said they would call). I decided to buy the sander, as well as a vacuum hose, and a $300 assortment of sandpaper. I had the Woodcraft hold the sander until the rest came in. I've called once every 3 weeks or so, and they still don't have the hose, sander, and paper all in for me to pick up. On the last call, the guy said he thought maybe they forgot to send the order in for the sandpaper. I haven't paid yet, and still don't have the sander or paper. I may just let it sit there once it's all in stock, as this has now taken 4 month. Here here for supporting your local brick and mortar stores.

[David Rose]

Joe, my "local" store manager (100 miles away actually) told me that they had a minimum order on Fein when they ran out of the vacuum model that I wanted. I was not in a "bind" for it so I waited. But it did take the small store a couple of months to get the order together. Then, it took the manufacturer a bit to get a wholesale order together. This was one of the few items that I didn't "have to have tomorrow". I waited and got it from them. And I appreciated the fact that they told me up front that it might/would take some time to get the order together. Timing of special orders can be a struggle for small businesses. And we are so use to fairly instant gratification, that it is easy to not hear the seller mention the possible delay. Also, with competition, it is easy to forget to SAY the possible delay. :( Of course, this is NOT good business nor good business ethics!

David


When I learned that you can't get a discount on Festool, I went to my local Woodcraft to check out their 1/2 sheet sander. The woodcraft didn't have on in stock, but they ordered one for me to try. This was in early April. I called 2 weeks later and no sander yet, guy said they had an order going in the next week. Finally in early May the sander arrived (I had to call to see even though they said they would call). I decided to buy the sander, as well as a vacuum hose, and a $300 assortment of sandpaper. I had the Woodcraft hold the sander until the rest came in. I've called once every 3 weeks or so, and they still don't have the hose, sander, and paper all in for me to pick up. On the last call, the guy said he thought maybe they forgot to send the order in for the sandpaper. I haven't paid yet, and still don't have the sander or paper. I may just let it sit there once it's all in stock, as this has now taken 4 month. Here here for supporting your local brick and mortar stores.

[Bill Fields]

Forrest-

Like Lee said--order from the HQ place in West Virginia that is set up to take orders and ship them.

I've had good luck w/ Woodcraft--the best luck w/ Rockler.

BILL FIELDS

[Joe Mioux]

Forrest:

I see you changed the title of this thread to Customer Service Rant, from Woodcraft Rant or was it Woodcraft Service Rant.

Joe

[Forrest Price]

Forrest:

I see you changed the title of this thread to Customer Service Rant, from Woodcraft Rant or was it Woodcraft Service Rant.

Joe
Yes Joe, it was Woodcraft SERVICE Rant.

Thought this might clarify the reason for the original post some.

Way to be on the ball!:D

[Andy Fox]

I have ordered from Woodcraft online and received the merchandise on my doorstep via UPS in less than 24 hours. Sometimes it takes 2 days. Of course, I'm less than 200 mi from their headquarters.

[Don Dean]

Should we be blaming Woodcraft for one store which is own by a franchiser most likely. Have you contacted Woodcraft itself? Our Woodcraft store here in OKC is super outstanding. Never had a order or shipping problem! Don't blame you for being upset but sometimes we need to investigate and contact the right people to have problems fixed or corrected. Yes, this takes more time but then if you still want to broadcast your dissatisfaction you can pinpoint the right person or company for your dissatisfaction. Just my .02

[Forrest Price]

Should we be blaming Woodcraft ...

No Don, I'm not. Like I said in the original post, it was the Customer Service REP I spoke with that I had the problem with. They happened to work at a Woodcraft store that I was dealing with.

I've said it before, I have no problem with Woodcraft the COMPANY.

I figured I'd order from the local store instead of the main HQ's because if I order everything from HQ, then the local store won't have the help of the $$ for their daily sales quota. Was trying to support the local guy, but ran into someone that treated me in a less than professional manner.