ShopSmith Order filling Shortcoming.. Again!

[doug45601]

As hard as I can, I try to hold my tongue and try not to say anything bad but comes a time when just about enough is enough!

I sincerely hope the shipping department and or the order filling folks are reading this forum cause with 4 orders nows the marked as shipped items have had some missing!

Yes 4 different orders within a 6 week period have come up short... Customer Service is great to fix the problem.... but always after the fact and at a cost to Shopsmith for additional shipping on their behalf.

Big items like tools and accessores, covers caster sets etc. are coming in just fine but, service order parts have always come up short.. No I'm not talking back order parts (yes there are plenty of them too)..

First Order.. Ordered a bunch of stuff including a Bandsaw rip fence kit to include the ext table and circle cutter.. What I got was 2 rip fences, table ext.. NO Circle Cutter and no instructions for the rip fence

Second Order.. Again ordered a bunch of stuff including a Conical disk kit to include the Paper... Got the conical disk but the wrong paper was sent. Also the manual ordered for the Strip sander wasn't there!

Third Order... Again ordered a bunch of stuff including a planer cover, What I got was a Strip Sander Cover! and I'm missing a couple small curled nuts.

Now I realize that Shopsmith being bombarded with orders and trying to get them filled as quickly as possible but this is getting bothersome to have to call them on a routine basis for correcting a problem!

Very nice people to deal with over the phone and quickly fixes the problems but time is being lost and money is being lost by Shopsmith..

Some of you will be quick to pound me for my post and say I am being "Harsh" towards Shopsmith... Shopsmith is not up to standards as a whole! Oh I know they will make the fixes however there are plenty scars on their reputation in the order filling department.

Still like the tools they market and sell but can't tolerate there order filling practices!

Nuff said... I feel better..

[baysidebob]

Okay, so on one of your earlier posts I was one of the ones that may have thought you were being a bit harsh. But in reality we all have the option to our own opinions and I for one like to see what other people are thinking or saying. If I were rude to you with my reply back I do apologize for that. If we are unhappy with what they are doing then they need to know this. If they don't know there is a problem, they can't fix it. They don't seem very quick to fix this problem, but if enough complaints are seen maybe they will. I agree with you to the fact that I hope someone in Admin. is looking at these forums.
Anyway sorry about my earlier comments, and I hope they get it straightened out soon for everyone.

Bayside Bob, Ca.

[judaspre1982]

Doug I understand your frustration. I say always call the situation as you see it. I do not know how, who or where these orders are being filled but it almost seems as tho it is not the same caliber of people filling/shipping orders as the tech supp/order people. I understand SS may be short handed at the moment and the work load may be demanding for the small amount of staff, but as you said this is a problem that needs to be addressed ASAP for all involved. No matter how good the tech and sales support is, if you are reluctant to place an order due to past experiences with the wrong items shipped then that creates a hurdle for some to get past. I have been happy with all my purchases to date but I hope SS can get it all together no matter what the reason is for wrong items being shipped.----Dave

[reible]

Hi,

As luck would have it I've been out of shop funds for months now so I can only think back to better times. Even back then I was shipped wrong parts or things I wasn't happy with. However as has been mentioned they were nice enough to fix the problems.

As far as thinking that this forum is going to be viewed by the people in charge at shopsmith I wouldn't hold your breath. You can vent all you like but what you really need to do is address the problem with the proper people at shopsmith. That should take the form of a letter or maybe a phone call to some one higher up the food chain then the customer service people.

I wish you well on attempting to resolve this but your posts here are not the solution, trust me on this.

Ed

[john]

Doug:

I was one of those that felt some of your comments were out of line, however, the frequency of errors on your orders is way beyond acceptable and I think Ed is right in that ShopSmith needs to hear your (and others')complaints directly. If this is now SS's norm, I fear we will not be enjoying this forum a year from now.

Good luck

John

[doug45601]

First order of buisness Monday is to contact the nice people in customer service and correct the recent shortage problem and discuss what they actually show as backorders compared to what invoices they have proveded me against what I actually have received. The of course ask them why they think I need 2 rip fences for my bandsaw and no circle cutter.

I've wrote them and emailed them in the past regarding problems.. Never got a reply. Didn't really ask for one.. Just wanted to point out some areas of concern for their behalf.

I never have and never will take out my ill feelings on the customer service or tech services. They are our true friends at Shopsmith and show true concern.

[fjimp]

Doug,

I don't care who the Vendor is, email or letters seldom are responded to. A pleasant phone call always gets results. On top of which I always feel closer to the company I have called. Customer service folks at Shopsmith work harder at solutions than any vendor I deal with.

Mistakes and backorders are the order of the day. I don't care who the company is, inventories are bleak. Manufactures all seem to be convinced each order will be their last and seldom have sufficient production runs to meet demand. Importing of goods is the same. Our world economy is in a state of melt down. If you think it's tough now wait a few months. The two food banks that serve folks in my community are out of food. There are more homeless and hungry people right now than anytime in recent history. I have been doing without tools and suplies to work with in some instances hoping that my small gifts might provide a few meals for faceless neighbors. This way I don't have to fret over the unfilled orders I have outstanding. Thank God I have a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I even have electricity to run my tools. Holiday blessings fjimp

[a1gutterman]

Hi Doug,

You know, it can be very frustrating being in your position. Let me tell you a funny story. It is an on-going story concerning my dad. Like most of us, he goes out for breakfast, lunch or dinner occasionally. Since I was a small boy with early memories this has happened to him. Nine out of ten times, his order is brought to him wrong. What they bring is knot what he ordered. We are always laughing about it. Sometimes, we say something about it, to the wait staff, before he orders. It does knot seem to make a difference. He takes it well. He is a good natured man and I am glad that he is still with us. The point I am trying to make is, and do knot ask me to explain it, some things happen more frequently to some then others. I just received an SS order three days ago. It was perfect. I got what I ordered, nothing was back-ordered, it got here when they said it wood and it was packaged well. The only complaint that I can offer, was with the delivery company. They left the package at the street end of my 200' long driveway. Earlier that same day, I received a pkg from Carolina Boot (USA made work boots), delivered UPS. UPS took the package to my door. But the FedUp problem belongs to another thread...oh yes, I already started one...

Anyway, I can knot recall the last time I had a SS (non FedUp) problem with any order from them. Yes, I have had items placed on back order, and they have been filled, but no mistakes.

But, with that said, I have tons of problems with FedUp. For me it is FedUp; with my dad it is ordering food; with you, it is your SS orders.

Maybe you should knot have to, but maybe the only thing you can do is grin and bear it.