Ron Dunn
25th October 2007, 05:22 PM
Have you ever noticed the difference in quoted delivery times for items ordered from reputable Australian dealers, compared with those from reputable US / Canadian dealers?
Here are some good examples:
Example: I bought something from Lee Valley (I'll name this one, because *everyone* already knows they are great). They quoted me 6-10 days delivery, it arrived in five days.
Example: I bought some clothes from a US store. They quoted 8-12 days delivery, parcel arrived in 8 days.
Example: I often buy from Amazon, ordering at least one item every month. Only when goods are out of stock do they vary outside the quoted order times, and then I'm advised by eMail and given the option to change my order, part-ship the order, or just wait to get everything together.
Here are some reasons why I'm more grumpy than usual:
Example: I ordered a table saw from a vendor. Quoted delivery time 3-5 days into their store for me to collect. Wait six days then call ... "Naaaah, not here yet mate, might follow it up later".
Example: A workbench ordered on 6-8 weeks lead time. Six weeks later I happened to be in the shop on another matter, mentioned the order, and get told ... "They're still maybe 3-4 weeks away from landing."
Grrrrrr.
The lesson (if any vendor is interested):
GOOD vendors quote a realistic delivery time.
GOOD vendors try to deliver on or before the earliest quoted date.
GOOD vendors notify the customer as soon as a delay is known.
Here are some good examples:
Example: I bought something from Lee Valley (I'll name this one, because *everyone* already knows they are great). They quoted me 6-10 days delivery, it arrived in five days.
Example: I bought some clothes from a US store. They quoted 8-12 days delivery, parcel arrived in 8 days.
Example: I often buy from Amazon, ordering at least one item every month. Only when goods are out of stock do they vary outside the quoted order times, and then I'm advised by eMail and given the option to change my order, part-ship the order, or just wait to get everything together.
Here are some reasons why I'm more grumpy than usual:
Example: I ordered a table saw from a vendor. Quoted delivery time 3-5 days into their store for me to collect. Wait six days then call ... "Naaaah, not here yet mate, might follow it up later".
Example: A workbench ordered on 6-8 weeks lead time. Six weeks later I happened to be in the shop on another matter, mentioned the order, and get told ... "They're still maybe 3-4 weeks away from landing."
Grrrrrr.
The lesson (if any vendor is interested):
GOOD vendors quote a realistic delivery time.
GOOD vendors try to deliver on or before the earliest quoted date.
GOOD vendors notify the customer as soon as a delay is known.