Online order rant

[bentoncity]

I ordered 20 Berry's 405 cases from a refutable vendor I've purchased a couple of thousands dollars worth of goods from on May 28/2022. They said possible delayed shipping for 13~23 days. I checked the order status today, since I haven't received it, and now it's 'possible' to get it on the 29th. 32 days from the order date and the cases were in stock? I cancelled the order.
Checked another vendor that has a LOT of retail stores and they refused to send to a PO Box. Another vendor wanted to ship ONLY via FedEx. (read $$ to ship) I even lowered myself to check on amazon, they had 2 boxes, Wow..

What the he!! is up with vendors? Anyone?

Dan

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[Alexx1401]

Sadly supply and demand. A LOT of stuff is in short supply right now. Its SLOWLY coming back but very frustrating. This is the result of years of incompetence on display.

 

[Moeca]

Its everywhere right now shipping cost, slow shipping, saying its in stock but isn't and just plain lack of good customer service. Several places I have dealt with both online and locally for sometime are slowly working on losing my business or have lost it.
May not be a big fish for them but ohh well.

 

[arakboss]

I ordered some powder from Midsouth last month and finally received it last Saturday (UPS). I would not order from them again, if I am in any kind of hurry for product.

 

[TTSX]

First world problems

 

[Yarome]

First world problems

Well put.

It's more rampant these days though with trans-shipping and such all bottlenecked up and raw materials in short supply. I think some vendors though use it as an excuse to take the piss on customer service, though.

I have a backorder in with a reputable company and they charged me for it as soon as I placed the order, They were up front about the fact they charge immediately, but when asking about a ballpark ETA on the item (asked, "are we talking days, weeks, months?") they wouldn't even begin to give me any idea. Basically, "it's rough out there these days, we appreciate your patience during these difficult times".

I say B.S.! NO company places orders with a supplier without some kind of expected time frame for that order to be fulfilled. Dates can get pushed back, but it's just common business practice to have some kind of idea if and when they'll have product to sell again. At the least they could check in with their suppliers and push for an updated ballpark ETA, but not doing so is all on their lack of C.S.... as much as they may "want" to place the blame elsewhere.

 

[arakboss]

First world problems

If I move to Ethiopia I will find a fourth world problem to gripe about

 

[Member 3687]

You for got one other factor and that is no one wants to work. I see help wanted signs every where but nobody applies or they are so under qualified and want to play on their cell phone all day they are worthless.

We are so short staffed most days its hard to meet customer demands so I see it from both sides of the counter and then you add trying to get orders and on time shipments are just the topping on the cake.

It is not going to get better for a while so hang on folks and relax and remember as said above, its a first world problem!

 

[Hueco]

You for got one other factor and that is no one wants to work. I see help wanted signs every where but nobody applies or they are so under qualified and want to play on their cell phone all day they are worthless.

We are so short staffed most days its hard to meet customer demands so I see it from both sides of the counter and then you add trying to get orders and on time shipments are just the topping on the cake.

It is not going to get better for a while so hang on folks and relax and remember as said above, its a first world problem!

When products dry up and prices climb, it's supply and demand - simple economics.

When labor is short and nothing else changes, it's people are lazy.

Or…it's also simple economics. Labor is in high demand, inflation is going up month and month…what have businesses done to attract people? As far as I've seen…the answer to that is nothing.

Prove me wrong. Link me the job ad your company has put out that can't get filled and tell me how the perks of the role have changed (or stayed the same) from pre-covid times.

 

[Hueco]

I ordered 20 Berry's 405 cases from a refutable vendor I've purchased a couple of thousands dollars worth of goods from on May 28/2022. They said possible delayed shipping for 13~23 days. I checked the order status today, since I haven't received it, and now it's 'possible' to get it on the 29th. 32 days from the order date and the cases were in stock? I cancelled the order.
Checked another vendor that has a LOT of retail stores and they refused to send to a PO Box. Another vendor wanted to ship ONLY via FedEx. (read $$ to ship) I even lowered myself to check on amazon, they had 2 boxes, Wow..

What the he!! is up with vendors? Anyone?

Dan

If you were running a company well and had control over your inventory system and had integrated that inventory system into your commerce platforms...then you'd be able to place orders with your manufacturers, know when those orders are inbound, allocate those orders to consumers, and then repackage and ship to your consumer.

If you'd integrated your marketing platform with your inventory system, then your consumers would be notified every step of the way without you having to do anything besides run your business.

Your website would show "backorder available" instead of "in stock" and consumers would be notified when their back order was allocated to a manufacturer order and get updated ETAs through the process.

Sounds cool, right?

Yea...most small businesses still haven't figured out why their mass market emails on behalf of their gmail account suffer deliverability failures (hint: Google made business use of personal accounts against their TOS years ago).

Most small businesses don't have an inventory system, let alone an integrated one. They have an e-commerce web site where they manually punch in the inventory amount on a product or set to infinite. The businesses that are cash strapped have made the decision to continue to sell orders without inventory on hand nor ability to allocate to inbound supply.

They do this so that they don't die out waiting for their suppliers. This is also why they're not flipping the switch from "in stock" to "backorder available." They need the cash to pay the rent, now - customer service be damned.

As a consumer, I see all of this as a reason to avoid your business.
- If you're so cash strapped that you are willing to lie about "in stock" vs "back order" - what guarantee do I have that you won't go under after I've given you my cash?
- If you're so technically illiterate to be unable to manage your sales and inventory platforms - I wonder what other parts of the business you're dropping the ball at? Again, why would I choose you?

I've been done supporting vendors who don't have their stuff together for a bit now. Vote with your wallet - it's a powerful vote.

 

[Mikej]

I feel your pain. I thought it was stoopid I had to wait over ten days to get 250 Berry's .30-30 bullets. One thing we ought to be glad for? How many times have any of us gone to the grocery store and they haven't had the food wanted wanted? Considering the mess this country has been plunged into in the last two years? Considering everything else, that's pretty good I think. better hold your breath too, because there's three more years for the new pseudo-captain of this ship. Anything could happen.

Prove me wrong. Link me the job ad your company has put out that can't get filled and tell me how the perks of the role have changed (or stayed the same) from pre-covid times.

Well, I can't get you link, but I can verify, that a new hire at the lowly job of Grocery Clerk at a major chain grocery is getting very near $18.00 effing dollars an hour to show up when they feel like it. No-show/no call, and/or do a half-arsed job when they do grace the business with their presence! That's close to a $6.00/hour raise since two years ago.
Don't forget them being PAID for NOT working for a year or so of that time. All they had to do was call "Med-Corp" and say they had a sore throat and a temperature. Now that THAT program has been discontinued those lazy, inconsiderate punks just seem to not need the money.

 

[Hueco]

Well, I can't get you link, but I can verify, that a new hire at the lowly job of Grocery Clerk at a major chain grocery is getting very near $18.00 effing dollars an hour to show up when they feel like it. No-show/no call, and/or do a half-arsed job when they do grace the business with their presence! That's close to a $6.00/hour raise since two years ago.
Don't forget them being PAID for NOT working for a year or so of that time. All they had to do was call "Med-Corp" and say they had a soar throat and a temperature. Now that THAT program has been discontinued those lazy, inconsiderate punks just seem to not need the money.

FedEx is currently hiring delivery drivers for 36k to 65k with starting bonus and the medical benefits of a large company. Roto Rooter will pay for your training then give you 40-60k. A painting company is 17-30/hour. Tons of warehouse jobs all up over 20/hr and heading up to 40.

I don't think you quite understand the point I made. Okay, so your wife's employer upped the starting salary. Wahoo. It's a labor shortage. That $18/hr is still scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Attracting workers is like dating...and a LOT of companies are just now learning that they've been the fat neckbeard in his mom's basement the whole time.

 

[Mikej]

FedEx is currently hiring delivery drivers for 36k to 65k with starting bonus and the medical benefits of a large company. Roto Rooter will pay for your training then give you 40-60k. A painting company is 17-30/hour. Tons of warehouse jobs all up over 20/hr and heading up to 40.

I don't think you quite understand the point I made. Okay, so your wife's employer upped the starting salary. Wahoo. It's a labor shortage. That $18/hr is still scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Attracting workers is like dating...and a LOT of companies are just now learning that they've been the fat neckbeard in his mom's basement the whole time.

Your missing my point. Workers have to start somewhere. A 16 YO isn't going to jump into a job doing the above. Your not supposed to get paid a living wage for doing something that doesn't require special skills. There is a starting wage, always has been always...Well maybe not any more. The point is, parents really effed their kids up in this last generation or two. People are supposed to work. Show up every day, and work their way up. I don't understand how people can not work, and expect to have the things that "Work" has brought to people throughout time?

 

[Member 34319]

Amazon world.

Back in the day you had to go to a store and chance something being there that you want.

If you wanted 20 of something, it needed to be special ordered and come from the manufacturer, usually with a decent delay.

Covid put huge strains on the "Amazon" way of life we have come to love.

 

[Alexx1401]

Your missing my point. Workers have to start somewhere. A 16 YO isn't going to jump into a job doing the above. Your not supposed to get paid a living wage for doing something that doesn't require special skills. There is a starting wage, always has been always...Well maybe not any more. The point is, parents really effed their kids up in this last generation or two. People are supposed to work. Show up every day, and work their way up. I don't understand how people can not work, and expect to have the things that "Work" has brought to people throughout time?

THIS!!!

Young people starting out when I was there? We would have given anything to have the kind of job opportunities there is now. So many of the young now? They will not get off their butt because they have never had to work for anything so they do not care.

 

[Member 3687]

Or…it's also simple economics. Labor is in high demand, inflation is going up month and month…what have businesses done to attract people? As far as I've seen…the answer to that is nothing.

Let me ask you why is labor so high in demand from 2 years ago did the demand grow that much or did folks get used to not working and collecting a pandemic check. Why work when you can stay home and do nothing and, in many cases, make more money.

The other thing that has changed or at least in our area and Spokane was many folks where two family incomes now they are one as the mandates forced folks to stay home with the kids as they where not allowed to go to school. Home schooling required someone to be home cutting the work force by at least a fifth or more in some places or cut them down to only working part time. Not everyone had a job to be able to work from home.

I recently retired and currently work retail and in the last 2 years starting pay went from 12 per hour and we had no problems getting folks to 15 and for this area that is a large jump for an entry level job. Pay would go up after 90 days and for a long time, our staff was college kids working part time and now it's becoming mostly simi retired or retired folks looking for something to do and play money.

You can say it poor pay or benefits all you want but if we paid 20 or even 30 an hour to start it would mean our prices would have to go up to cover it and you would not shop here be cause of high prices, we lose either way. You can't produce cheap parts or provide cheap services and pay high wages.

A lot of companies are in the same boat as folks would rather shop at Walmart for the cheap prices then demand top pay so no one can afford their products or services.

I did early retirement in October of last year because of all the mandates the company and Washington State put in place and so did many others now they are hurting. Starting pay for kids fresh out of machining school went from 19 to 24 per hour with a 5000 sign on bonus for both the employee who put their name in and the new hire. They still can not get folks to apply or they have no skills to do the job.

One of the schools recently shut down the machining program because they could not get enough student to apply for the program. When the students at the school were surveyed the response was it required to much work.

So, if the population did not decrease by a large scale where did all the folks go that were working 2 years ago. Many of these jobs are the same jobs that were here before the pandemic but now they cannot be filled.

The other question I have is how did the pandemic make you or any one else more valuable to warrant more money or benefits when most folks skill sets have not changed just their attitude.

By the way both FedEx and the new Amazon in Spokane cant get people to work either I know folks that work at both and they are having problems getting folks to apply even at the higher pay.

 

[Mikej]

Covid put huge strains on the "Amazon" way of life we have come to love.

This is true. I feel lucky as I/we are fairly simple people and don't get into the huge technological thing. I/we have done a lot more amazon than we did three years ago though. I big part of that is because of a huge price difference. But most times I'd rather go buy something in person. Some of the problems store front retailers are having is their own fault. And I think a large part of it is government, with all the taxes and fees and licensing and permits that they make store fronts pay to do business. It's shameful. I believe our own government is putting store fronts out of business.

 

[Hueco]

Your missing my point. Workers have to start somewhere. A 16 YO isn't going to jump into a job doing the above. Your not supposed to get paid a living wage for doing something that doesn't require special skills. There is a starting wage, always has been always...Well maybe not any more. The point is, parents really effed their kids up in this last generation or two. People are supposed to work. Show up every day, and work their way up. I don't understand how people can not work, and expect to have the things that "Work" has brought to people throughout time?

Still on this "blame the youth" horse. From https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/youth.pdf

In July 2021, 54.4 percent of young people (persons ages 16 to 24) were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

This was up from 46.7 percent in July 2020—when youth employment was unusually low due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic—

but down from 56.2 percent in July 2019, before the pandemic.

The unemployment rate for youth was 10.0 percent in July 2021, down considerably from the rate in July 2020 (18.5 percent) but up from July 2019 (9.1 percent).

(Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur each spring and summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.)

The employment numbers are just about where they were pre-covid. But wait, if that's true, where are these youth working if not all these low paying temp jobs? They must be employed elsewhere further up the corporate ladder.

You are right - workers do have to start somewhere. What you fail to realize is that that somewhere just got a whole lot better than flipping burgers because labor shortage. Both your grocer and a Warehouse need manual, low skilled labor. The warehouse is paying twice what your grocer is and offering benefits. If you were 16 today, where would you apply?

Do you really expect someone not to maximize their own worth simply because they're young? Talk about entitled.

COVID caused nearly 3 Million people to go into early retirement. That's a huge loss of talent at the top of the corporate ladder. Who do you think replaced them? Obviously, the next gen. Lots of promotions handed out, I'm sure.

Who replaced those people? Yep. No one.

You're complaining about kids lacking a work ethic when you should really be looking at early retirees and saying: Get back to work.

Oh, but I forgot..."they earned it".

Famous last words of a dying economy.

 

[arrowshooter]

An even bigger peeve for me is crappy delivery service on top of it. I ordered a new slide for my 10mm in April 2021 knowing it would be a few months wait. I was not in a big hurry for it so no big deal. A few months turned in to finally shipping this past April 11th (1 year), great right? USPS tracking still shows it at their local USPS office "pending approval" (6 days now). What really sucks now is that they sent it Signature Required so I have no way of planning on when it will show up. Chain officially jerked!

 

[Mikej]

Let me ask you why is labor so high in demand from 2 years ago did the demand grow that much or did folks get used to not working and collecting a pandemic check. Why work when you can stay home and do nothing and, in many cases, make more money.

The other thing that has changed or at least in our area and Spokane was many folks where two family incomes now they are one as the mandates forced folks to stay home with the kids as they where not allowed to go to school. Home schooling required someone to be home cutting the work force by at least a fifth or more in some places or cut them down to only working part time. Not everyone had a job to be able to work from home.

I recently retired and currently work retail and in the last 2 years starting pay went from 12 per hour and we had no problems getting folks to 15 and for this area that is a large jump for an entry level job. Pay would go up after 90 days and for a long time, our staff was college kids working part time and now it's becoming mostly simi retired or retired folks looking for something to do and play money.

You can say it poor pay or benefits all you want but if we paid 20 or even 30 an hour to start it would mean our prices would have to go up to cover it and you would not shop here be cause of high prices, we lose either way. You can't produce cheap parts or provide cheap services and pay high wages.

A lot of companies are in the same boat as folks would rather shop at Walmart for the cheap prices then demand top pay so no one can afford their products or services.

I did early retirement in October of last year because of all the mandates the company and Washington State put in place and so did many others now they are hurting. Starting pay for kids fresh out of machining school went from 19 to 24 per hour with a 5000 sign on bonus for both the employee who put their name in and the new hire. They still can not get folks to apply or they have no skills to do the job.

One of the schools recently shut down the machining program because they could not get enough student to apply for the program. When the students at the school were surveyed the response was it required to much work.

So, if the population did not decrease by a large scale where did all the folks go that were working 2 years ago. Many of these jobs are the same jobs that were here before the pandemic but now they cannot be filled.

The other question I have is how did the pandemic make you or any one else more valuable to warrant more money or benefits when most folks skill sets have not changed just their attitude.

By the way both FedEx and the new Amazon in Spokane cant get people to work either I know folks that work at both and they are having problems getting folks to apply even at the higher pay.

Isn't this ^^^ sad. I'm with you here.