Do I expect too much?

I ordered about $300 worth of stuff from an online company I have dealt with before. I ordered on 11/23 and was notified immediately that one item would not be available until 12/2 and all items would ship then. I was ok with that even though the items were listed as in stock when I placed them in my cart. I received my order, minus one item, on 12/7 with no explanation other than an invoice with " Not In Stock - On Order" marked in place of the missing item. I went to their website to inquire as to a delivery date and there was an add for one of the other items I just received at a $10 off price. I sent the following email:

My question is about: Other

Additional Info:

When I placed my order I received a confirmation that all items were estimated to ship 12/2/13. I now receive the order with no rack Part# XXXXXXXX. When I look at the rack on the website it now says estimated ship date is 12/24/13. My second issue is that I ordered a cover as well and between the time I ordered it and received it the price dropped $10.00. I would have expected to be charged the lower price. The cover is Part# XXX. As a returning customer I expect better from XXXXXXXXXX. I am disappointed.

I received the following:

Good day,

The estimated ship out date for the rack part number XXXXXXXXX is 12/24/2013. As far as the cover is concerned, I would be unable to do anything about the price as the item was placed on clearance after you had placed your order. With that being said we have no way of knowing when or which items will go on clearance. If you have any other questions feel free to contact us back by email or call us directly at XXXXXXXXX.

I replied:

Hello,

I would address you by name but the email is not signed. I am disappointed. I understand about the rack, although an email to inform me of the delay would have been appreciated. As for the cover, had it shipped when ordered I would understand your position. But it did not ship when ordered and I do not agree with your decision. I will however stand behind my commitment to purchase these items as I feel it is a case of "buyer beware" and I will certainly be "aware" when I shop online in the future.

Regards, Tim Thomas

Am I being petty or am I out of line here? I feel I got very poor customer service and a very disinterested reply. I am not that concerned about the $10 price change but as a returning customer I expected better. Ok, rant over now.

:225:

Well I do have to side with them as far as the price. That being said, they are quite capable of having you return the part and reordering it on paper only as to do the real thing would end up costing the $10 in shipping and restocking fees. One would think with a $300 order if they are concerned with repeat business they would oblige you. Is there a customer service phone line you can call and discuss this with them??

I've been down that same road before. I think in this day and age of electronic gizmos, if an item isn't in stock they should be able to tell you before you punch that "Place Order" button. If an item is to be backordered then they should give you notice with the option to cancel order within a few hours. If your credit card can be charged almost instantaneously, then why can't they keep up with the number of items in stock?

Through ranting now, going back to my corner.

I agree with you. If the item wasn't being shipped till well after the original ship date and then it goes on sale. I probably wouldn't do business with them again, but that's just me.

Margaret

A good company would have just given you the $10 credit without you even asking. There would have been a price reduced note in your shipping carton.

Mike

On several occasions in the past I ordered items on-line. If there is a price drop between the time I place the order and the ship date, I have always received the lower price.

For me, it is just very poor customer service.

who did you order from?

Yes, who did you order from so we know enough not to buy from them...

Like I said before, the $10 isn't a big deal but it is the principal of customer service and respect for a customer that I feel is missing here. When your website states "in stock" and it isn't, you owe that customer a notice. I did receive another email that apologized for the lack of a signature on their reply as well as a lack of communication on the back-ordered part.

Both were blamed on failure of automated systems. matters not to me if it was automation or not, they as the vendor are responsible for the actions, or lack thereof, of their systems. I would rather not reveal the vendors name as my experience may not be the norm. I am not about destroying someones reputation over something like this. I see it as a learning experience, and I learned this particular vendor does not meet my personal requirements. I will be more diligent with all my online purchases from now on and will try to seek out face to face transactions whenever possible. I won't stop buying online, I will just question more and take less for granted.

I won't go into a lot of detail but if it was J&P cycles forget it. I ordered a part after talking to there tech dept. long story short it wasn't what the tech stated and because the conversation was not recorded the only way they would make it good was for me to pay the shipping twice which would have driven the cost up of the part past what the correct part would have cost.

If the price had went up by $10 between the time you ordered and it shipped would you have been OK with them charging you the extra $10? :confused:

No I wouldn't.

No I wouldn't.

Sort of answered the question then