Pet peeve: shipping time

Not to sound rude, but if they clearly state the time allowed for shipping, then that is what should be expected. They know their business and their needs and have clearly stated that on their web page. It doesn't matter if it is 20 yards of fabric being cut from individual bolts or if it is a pack of needles. Now if it were taking longer, then I would begin to be frustrated with the length of time, but if they have the order out the door in the time frame they set - then there is nothing to be complaining about.

Just my two cents.

Dannielle

There are all kinds of factors that could enter it. One is the size of the business. If it's a very small operation with only one or two (or maybe zero) employees, it's possible that they were really swamped with orders or there were other things going on in their personal lives that kept them from filling the order as promptly as you would have liked. In that case, it would have been nice if you had received a better answer to your e-mail, but again if they're really busy, they may not want to take the time to reply in more detail. And if they are really busy, they may be prioritizing order filling according to how long they anticipate shipping to take rather than the order in which the order was received. In any case, you don't have to do business with them again.

Julia > I got a snippy email today from an online retailer when I complained

To add to what others have said, if you were in a rush to get oil and needles, why didn't you go to the LQS and purchase them?

Because I don't have one? Not even a WalMart. Everything is a minimum

25 miles away - Wally world is 20, the LQS is 45 (which makes it not so "L"). TWSLTH, 75. My sewing machine dealer, about 60. You should see my total when I actually do make it to the LQS!

Normally, when I order something online, it gets here LONG before I could have made it to any of the above. I bought crazy things like plumbing fixtures and light fixtures when we were building our house, I buy almost all of my fabric online, I am an insanely frequent shopper at Drugstore.com, so it's not like I am not aware of how these things usually happen. I just think a week between order and shipment is kinda lengthy.

I did get another snippy response from the shop. Hopefully they have already actually shipped the order.

I am wondering if you plan to continue to do business with these people? How long it takes them to ship your order would seem to send a message about the importance of your business to them. I tend to order again and again from retailers that treat me as if I am important to them. And once I am unhappy with one I usually don't go back for more punishment.

Judie

Well, I see why you didn't go out to get them.

I dunno, Tina. This just me, but unless it's a large company or Christmas season, I kind of expect the item to at least be shipped out sooner than a week. I hate waiting weeks for an online order to appear (instant gratification society member?) I've had items appear in the mailbox amazingly fast from online sites. In fact, I usually *receive* them within a week. I don't think I'd do biz with that outfit again....particularly because of the snippy reply.

Sherry

Name that store!! I for one would nt shop there. I order frequently from US and usually get a shipped to you email the same day or next!

Well, I won't name the store, but I will name a couple which ship wicked fast - CreateForLess.com and Fabric.com. NAYY.

CreateForLess is on the other side of the country from me, and I get orders in 4-5 days. Last time I ordered, I even got a personal email from the owner asking how satisfied I was, and why. AND they ship via USPS, which makes the wicked fast part all the more impressive.

I probably won't buy anything from the slow-poke place again - who knows, they may refuse to take my order!

Anyone else want to heap flowers on an e-tailer you find to be particularly praiseworthy?

Tina quoted the vendor's reply as The answer was, "it says on our website that shipping will be 7-10 days, depending on how far you are from Florida, and you placed your order 5 business days ago". I don't consider that to be terribly unprofessional -- a bit curt, maybe, but not really unprofessional. Her other quote was her interpretation of the reply. As others have said, if you don't like it, don't buy from them again. There must be lots of other online dealers of needles and sewing machine oil; use one of them or make sure you stock up when you do get to a bricks-and-mortar store where you can buy them.

Julia > I think you should allow what their website says. But I do agree with

fatquartershop.com is fast! Ordered on Wednesday got my fabric on Friday. My all time favorite online fabric supplier.

Karen > Well, I won't name the store, but I will name a couple which ship

Well, but there's always more than one way to read a sentence.

When I read that shipping takes 7-10 days that means from the time it's dropped off with the shipper until it reaches my house it's 7-10 days. Any time between when I place my order until the company packages it up and ships it is processing time.

That company apparently uses the word shipping as processing. Not exactly a standard usage.

I found their answer to be quite curt and feel that curt for a simple question is unprofessional. That's just me. Too many years in jobs working for customers; too much training that nice and polite is the standard unless things get way out of hand and then you can resort to curt and firm.

marcella

Remember the customer used to always be right? Not happening much any more. What purpose would there be in ticking off her customers? She won't be around long at that rate. TAria

Marcella Peek wrote:

I do have to say that I interpret "shipping time" the same way you do, Marcella. And what happened to courtesy towards the customer? :S

Oh, I love Create for Less. Those guys rock!! And they have

*everthing*!! I also get very good service from equilter, usually 2-3 days, and from The Fabric Depot.

TerriLee in WA (state)

On Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:59:42 -0500, Marcella Peek wrote (in article ):

I tend to interpret "shipping time" the way you do. If it takes 7-10 days to get the item to the shipper, I'd say 7-10 days to 'fill the order" or 7-10 days to "process" the order. if you don't say how long it will take to get the items to the shipper, I'd assume you'll fill and process my order in a day or two unless the item is backordered.

Maureen

Well Tina, I ordered 14 1/4 yd cuts from Fabric Depot a few weeks back. I assume they had to cut each one off the bolt, and they got it ready in 3-4 business days (I'm a little confused of the exact time because a weekend was involved.) So I think 10 days to throw a couple of items in a box is a bit on the long side.

Best regards, Michelle in NV

I concur. To me, shipping time is the time it takes after they've put in the hands of the shipper.

Best regards, Michelle in NV