Customer service....

[Jamisjockey]

Had some boat issues and needed a thirty dollar part that was being a female dog to be found.  Located at Bass Pro Shops online.  Web said low stock, so I called the 800 number.  Sure, Mister Dunaway, its in stock.....
Paid for overnight shipping 'cause I wanted it asap.  Girl goes through her spiel about current specials and I tack some chintzy $10 item onto the order.
Next morning I get the dreaded 'backordered' email.  Call BPS and go through it with another girl.  Voice my irritation at paynig overnight shipping on some holisitic sea-sickness-drops that I probably woulnd't have bought to begin with before her spiel.  Girl agrees and sends note to supervisor.  Cancelled the order on the part, because I needed it and subsequently found it elsewhere.  Seasickness drops had already been sent (ovenight).
Friday I noted that my account had not only been refunded for the cancelled part, but also the difference in shipping for the overnight shipping.  I thought that was a stand up thing for the evil big corporation to do in the name of capatilisitc customer service and all.... 

[norinco982lover]

I'm glad that worked out for you.

I HATE backorders and I really appreciate companies that have live stock status online...do I think they need to say "we have 12 on hand" ? No. Do I think they need to remove the product ENTIRELY from their webstore (companies like Kalinka do that it drives me NUTS) NO.

But I really really appreciate them just saying--yes, we have it. No, we do not. Backorder is such a bad word... it could mean anything!

I'm glad they took care of you with the refund.

~Norinco

[S. Williamson]

I'm glad that worked out for you.

I HATE backorders and I really appreciate companies that have live stock status online...do I think they need to say "we have 12 on hand" ? No. Do I think they need to remove the product ENTIRELY from their webstore (companies like Kalinka do that it drives me NUTS) NO.

But I really really appreciate them just saying--yes, we have it. No, we do not. Backorder is such a bad word... it could mean anything!

I'm glad they took care of you with the refund.

~Norinco

Proof that in the realm of customer service, you can't make everyone happy: I wish that more stores would take out-of-stock items off their site.  Especially if it's been over a month since they've actually had them *cough*budsgunshop*cough*impactguns*cough*. 

[MechAg94]

Yes, backorder is a bad word.  It is especially bad as for some companies, that means it will ship next week and for others, that means they might have one in 6 months, but maybe not.

[HankB]

Be especially wary of backorders if your order is being sent in two or more shipments - even at otherwise stand-up companies like MidwayUSA, they tack on some pretty hefty additional shipping charges.

[PTK]

Be especially wary of backorders if your order is being sent in two or more shipments - even at otherwise stand-up companies like MidwayUSA, they tack on some pretty hefty additional shipping charges.

If they have to pay for shipping twice... 


Anyway, with orders that contain backordered items, I have MidwayUSA hold the entire order until it's all together and ship at once. They will pull in-stock items and package them up to wait in a staging area for the backordered items, so it's not a game of "X is in, but now Y is backordered."

[Nick1911]

Be especially wary of backorders if your order is being sent in two or more shipments - even at otherwise stand-up companies like MidwayUSA, they tack on some pretty hefty additional shipping charges.

I got nailed by an electronics supplier recently for this.

Got my main order, but a stupid little knob for a rheostat was back-ordered.

A few weeks later, it came in.  $1.17 for the knob, and like $9 for shipping.   

[AZRedhawk44]

Maybe I am just hurting myself...(or I'm the savior of my checkbook, one of the two), but I won't click "buy" unless I can put my entire order in one shipment.

I've cancelled SO MANY Midway orders because they don't have something in stock that I need, it ain't even funny.  I end up comparison shopping CTD, Graf's, Brownells, Numrich and other places not necessarily for the best price, but just to have everything I want in stock.

Sometimes it takes 3-4 months of checking to get an order I need.

I dunno... for me, "customer service" means first and foremost having something to sell me that I actually want.  Shipping is an interaction between me and UPS/Fedex/USPS more than the vendor, and any other CS element is mostly just some impersonal web form.

Just sell me what I want.

I'm glad the SS-Hoochymama is back out plying the coastal waters, protecting us from pirates, though.

[Jamisjockey]

Interestingly enough, I ordered a few things from midway recently.  Couple magazines for my 1911, speed strips for my revolver, and a cheap IWB holster for the 1911.  It was on backorder, and shipped yesterday.  Got tht other stuff a week and a half ago.

[drewtam]

Company I work for has a policy, if a customer is down and needs a part and we don't have it in stock somewhere in the world; we'll pull it off the production line (scrapping the build) to ship the part to them. If its available somewhere in the world I think we have some kind of 48hr to the dealership guarantee, plus no special fee.

I work in engineering, I remember a case like this came up for a whole engine though.
I ended up helping the logistics team find a similar engine part number (identical except for different pulleys) in storage in Singapore and air shipping it to the US.

[zahc]

Last year I bought a Cabelas brand telescoping travel rod from Cabelas for $50 or so. I didn't get around to using until recently when I realized it was a POS and broke it partly out of rage. I took it back to Cabelas (in a different state) without the receipt, and they offered to give me a new one, but it was discontinued. They looked it up in the catalog and gave me a Cabelas card for the value....and they even gave me the catalog price from last year when I bought it and not the cheaper, more recent price. So I walked over and spent the card on ammo.

A few weeks later, it came in.  $1.17 for the knob, and like $9 for shipping

When I order photography supplies from Freestyle photo, they will backorder things if they are out of stock, but they will never add shipping charges to your original order...even when it costs them, which is kind of fair considering they were the ones who let it go out of stock. I would be really mad if the above happened to me.

[InfidelSerf]

Years back when I worked at a small mom and pop computer shop.  When I put a computer together if I was missing a part, due to a back order from our primary wholesaler. I would often go grab some cash from the drawer run up to Microcenter and buy the equivalent part and get the computer assembled on time.
The few dollars more per build that we paid far outweighed the potential loss of business if a buyer thought you were jerking them around.  Them dang computer people get serious about having their over glorified solitaire gaming machine ready when they expected it.

[Fly320s]

glorified solitaire gaming machine

Freecell for the win!

--

I received an email yesterday from a vendor that said they were cancelling my order and refunding my money because the part was out of stock.