kick up the rear..... it's tiring waiting for something paid in full for months

I was going to start with "I don't whine much" till a looked a few posts down ... maybe i do.

Sadly this is a brick at one of the forum sponsors, I'm over it.

Back on Oct 21 I ordered a Wixey WR700 for the table saw from Professional Woodworking Supplies, planning to use it on the old saw first then move to a new saw.

At the time the system said they had stock when the order was placed.
BUT get this, because I paid via PAYPAL as per there website checkout process the payment was delayed apparently for 24hrs and the ONE unit they had in stock was sold the following day to someone else.

This was confirmed in a phone call with Marita on the 22nd Oct after getting a revised back order email. This was likely when i should have said give me a refund but it was and still is troubled time.

The back order said (suggested) that it would ship by November 10 with maybe delays.

Let's skip forward to a week or so after that and a follow up phone call with Graeme said that they were having delays getting stuff from the US and should be Dec ...... at the time the Wixey store was quoting in stock and 3 weeks to land at my door so it sounded fair and i let it go

I got the same sad story leading into xmas and that Graeme would be talking to Wixey that day and would get back to me. Hello......... not even an echo.

Silence may be golden when the kids are noisy but in the Amazon age communications is king.. waiting so long i was happy to keep the money in the australian business (the little it is) but seriously the only contact is when i call....

Even in the event i do my money i hope this improves the service provided overall or if service improvement is not on the cards then this should be a warning.

Amazon says it will deliver by the 15th Feb and for $50 LESS including postage. Wixey WR700 Saw Fence Digital Readout: Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

I would much prefer that PWS actually deliver but it's getting harder to wait.

TLDR: PWS actually sold the one stock unit they had out from under me and despite multiple promises and delivery dates nearly 3 months later i'm still waiting....

Well, I wouldn't accept that - I sometimes think that the 'buy local' cry can be an excuse to give poor service. I'm very much in favour of supporting local, but if they mess me around, I never go back.

The mark of a good business is what they do when things go wrong.

I suspect that in this case, Amazon would be cheaper, quicker, and if there was a problem, they'd replace/refund with no questions asked. There's a reason Bezos can afford a rocket.

I bought my wixey gear from this company. Good prices and quick delivery - not sure of delivery times now?

1500mm/ 60" Digital Saw Fence Readout | machine-dro.co.uk

Machine-dro U.K.are really good to deal with. I waited 3 months for a reply from PWS on a part for my Wixey thicknesser dro. Ordered from U.K. and got it in no time. 2 years later still haven't heard back from PWS

Cancel the payment and go elsewhere

Yeah I don't know how not buying local saves you from anything, we've all been royally shafted by non-locals all the same.
Friggin USPS took 3 months the last time, the package went from Tennessee to Miami to New York to Hawaii to Perth where it stayed for a month to clear customs and then finally Melbourne

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spyro

Yeah I don't know how not buying local saves you from anything, we've all been royally shafted by non-locals all the same.
Friggin USPS took 3 months the last time, the package went from Tennessee to Miami to New York to Hawaii to Perth where it stayed for a month to clear customs and then finally Melbourne

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And despite the order being stuck in customs you at least knew via the tracking EXACTLY where the package was. It does seem that some firms here have not learnt to communicate, very happy to buy local or as local as I can get but that honestly comes with a level of service expectation these days. I understand delays, especially shipping delays but that is no excuse for poor communications.

This post would likely have NOT been made if I'd just been told of delays and communicated with.

Cheers
Phil

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aussiephil

And despite the order being stuck in customs you at least knew via the tracking EXACTLY where the package was. It does seem that some firms here have not learnt to communicate, very happy to buy local or as local as I can get but that honestly comes with a level of service expectation these days. I understand delays, especially shipping delays but that is no excuse for poor communications.

This post would likely have NOT been made if I'd just been told of delays and communicated with.

Cheers
Phil

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I knew jack s*** Phil, I thought they'd lost it and some monkey was punching stuff randomly in the system. 3 months in transit? come on.
I called the seller he said yeah it's gone, he sent me another one, and when the first one showed up I had to return it.

Anyway that was just an example, no point scrutinising it, I have many others. There's nothing particularly egregious about Australian businesses, there's good and bad like everywhere else.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spyro

I knew jack s*** Phil, I thought they'd lost it and some monkey was punching stuff randomly in the system. 3 months in transit? come on.
I called the seller he said yeah it's gone, he sent me another one, and when the first one showed up I had to return it.

Anyway that was just an example, no point scrutinising it, I have many others. There's nothing particularly egregious about Australian businesses, there's good and bad like everywhere else.

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I can give you any number as well both locally and international, however it seems in this case i have had smoke blown directly up an oriface. Is the business in trouble, do the owners have there own personal issues at the moment.. who knows. Either or anyway people should be aware there is something troubling happening.

Having been a small business owner I will generally lean towards the local/regional before going to the national/international route.

Your example you choose to use said
Friggin USPS took 3 months the last time, the package went from Tennessee to Miami to New York to Hawaii to Perth where it stayed for a month to clear customs and then finally Melbourne

That line indicated you knew where the parcel was at any one time, if you got this info retrospectively then i do apologise. It doesn't however make it the fault of the international seller and quite honestly the path to Aus looks quite normal for anything in the last 9 months. USPS would have used their own planes into Hawaii then relied as they often had on available space on a commercial flight into AU, a month to clear customs sucks but is on local customs team.

---------------------

As an aside I do have some additional information that doesn't change anything above so I will leave it unsaid till it is confirmed or debunked but there is likely more to come on this story.

Cheers
Phil

I found the same level of non service as Aussiephil.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Spyro

I knew jack s*** Phil, I thought they'd lost it and some monkey was punching stuff randomly in the system. 3 months in transit? come on.
I called the seller he said yeah it's gone, he sent me another one, and when the first one showed up I had to return it.

Anyway that was just an example, no point scrutinising it, I have many others. There's nothing particularly egregious about Australian businesses, there's good and bad like everywhere else.

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Earlier last year a lot of transport companies lost the plot and three months was not uncommon, I had a consignment out further than three months and a mate of mine had a UPS consignment from the US that they simply gave up on because no one could find it. I recently had a consignment from a local supplier via Toll take over a month to arrive and they too had lost track of it and sent another in the meantime. OT but just clarifying that I don't think three months was unusual though it is frustrating to us when we order something. On the other hand I received an order from China in about five days, that is unusual.

I've been getting some woodwork gear from Aliexpress. Certainly not an option if you are in a hurry, but the prices...So far the quality has ranged from bargain to OK for the price. I did order 4 soldering iron stands described as solid metal base that turned out to be pressed metal and therefore unsafe. Lodged a complaint and three days later money back in the account. I bought a 300mm aluminium speed square with engraved and painted numerals landed for $11.00, and 4 lookalike Kreg corner clamps for $9 each landed. Looking at the quality and comparing I THINK they are from the same factory. They even have the exact same colour handles.. I too try to support local, but geez they make it hard sometimes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

On the other hand I received an order from China in about five days, that is unusual.

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:) Five to Eight days used to be my normal from China a few years back when my christmas lighting suppliers nearly exclusively used Fedex or DHL and the variance came from the internal shipping in China. I'm sure you have seen it Chris but for the general benefit of people it was and seems to be still the case a lot of sellers on Aliexpress will ship internally in China to a larger freight handler as it is super cheap inside the country then the freight handler does the international shipping.
I remember one larger order that got encased in 3 layers of shipping cardboard. Factory to seller -> seller to freight (in hongkong) -> freight to me via fedex :) and it still arrived in a week :)

May be off topic but yeah 3 month freight shipments is not unusual during 2020, getting smoke blown up my ..... for months is just poor service.

Sigh.....
On the 22nd Jan i raised this as a Paypal dispute asking for a full refund and in just over an hour got this

Quote
Our apologies for the delay, getting stock from the US is slow due to limited flights etc. we expect your readout early Feb '21 Once it arrives we will Express ship it to you.

End Quote

Now the reply seems quite reasonable as a stand alone statement but based on other information I have that the likelihood of it being true is pretty damn low and if it happens it will be due to Mr Wixey doing the right thing.

Consider this.... My better half won a prize from a music facebook group at the beginning of Jan.... The prize turned up 2 days ago normal mail from the USA (Maine)

All i want now is a full refund and i'll take my business elsewhere.

They speak with forked tongue.

Ordered a few bits from the US on Jan 19th. One turned up yesterday, the other today. That’s 7-8 working days

Well i suppose it is actually early Feb.....

Got an email from Marika saying the order was filled... basic templated email with no hint of customisation or circumstance.

Then about 4 hours later got 2 emails from a courier company, doing what they were asked i'd say, with details of the shipment and image of the tracking details. I was surprised my very active/aggressive spam filtering didn't get them as I was hesitant to even view them at first.

Upshot is though that the following is happening.
If we are going via SYD i'm guessing that transit time might be above 1-2 days :)


<label class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 control-label" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 5px; position: relative; min- padding- 15px; padding-right: 15px; float: left; 188.656px;">To</label>FLYNN,ACT, 2615


<label class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 control-label" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 5px; position: relative; min- padding- 15px; padding-right: 15px; float: left; 188.656px;">Transit Time</label>1 - 2 Days


<label class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 control-label" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 5px; position: relative; min- padding- 15px; padding-right: 15px; float: left; 188.656px;">Number of pieces/items</label>1




Detailed Tracking History

Scanned	Item	Status/Reason	PoD

02/02/2021 19:08:00

On-Forwarded / DEPART MELBOURNE FOR SYDNEY

This surprised us...
one Saturday evening I came across a foiling machine demo on YT by the maker.
The wife contacted them for a cost. Suffice to say the delivery was actually more than the machine. However we figured it was worth a try and so ordered it on the Sunday. US$98.00 delivery, not really surprised, but not delighted either. BUT when the machine turned up the following Friday, all was forgiven...we actually decided that that was quite good value.
As it turned out we managed to do about 8-10 hours production in 6ish using the machine. A bargain.

Let's wrap this up.

On Sat 6th Feb I took delivery of a brand new Wixey Wr700.

I am saddened that it took a Paypal escalation to make this happen as I am convinced that without that I would still be waiting.

I have had it confirmed by an individual not directly connected that no communications had occurred with Wixey in the US to source the product prior to this being escalated to Paypal that I had ordered in good faith.

As mentioned in another thread Graeme is now ill and I wish him all the best and may the road to recovery be not to rocky.

What I am impressed in is the DRO, so impressed that i have now ordered a WR510 for the thickness planner ...... from Machine DRO in the UK.

I ordered parts for building a backsaw from a The Wood Works Book and Tool Co (Sydney) in October last year. There was no indication that the parts were not in stock, and payment was accepted. I have used them successfully before.

Then it was backordered, and the next email stated that it would be a few weeks longer. Weeks went. I emailed, and the owner stated that they had been struggling to get contact for months (yet took my order earlier). A few more emails from me, and I am being ghosted now. I ask for a refund. No replies to the two emails I send.

So what should I do, threaten to go to the forums more publicly? Contact my bank? Payment was via credit card 4 months ago. Wait?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Derek

I think he is overloaded with emails. I found a phone call was the best way to resolve an issue I had (wrong product sent). An email had no response but a phone call meant the issue was resolved fairly promptly.

Ring them Derek, that’s what I’ve done previously, actioned straight away.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by derekcohen

I ordered parts for building a backsaw from a The Wood Works Book and Tool Co (Sydney) in October last year. There was no indication that the parts were not in stock, and payment was accepted. I have used them successfully before.

Then it was backordered, and the next email stated that it would be a few weeks longer. Weeks went. I emailed, and the owner stated that they had been struggling to get contact for months (yet took my order earlier). A few more emails from me, and I am being ghosted now. I ask for a refund. No replies to the two emails I send.

So what should I do, threaten to go to the forums more publicly? Contact my bank? Payment was via credit card 4 months ago. Wait?

Regards from Perth

Derek

---

Hi Derek,

I'm sure you have guessed my reply but here goes anyway.

1. You have already no made it public on a forum, hardly a threat but something the vendor may respond to if they care.
2. Contact the bank.... well considering you have asked for a refund and been ignore that becomes a simple "hell yeah"
3. Stop waiting, it's not going to happen.

Quote:

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• riverbuilderRing them Derek, that’s what I’ve done previously, actioned straight away.
  
• 9th Feb 2021, 06:37 AM
  PFHHi Derek
  
  I think he is overloaded with emails. I found a phone call was the best way to resolve an issue I had (wrong product sent). An email had no response but a phone call meant the issue was resolved fairly promptly.

---

Generally solid advice, and I personally spoke with Graeme a number of times but why is it up to the customer to chase, Derek has already asked for a refund that hasn't been actioned and he is being ignored.

Seriously I am sure it's not limited to Australian woodworking businesses but when are we as a community going to stop making excuses for poor, crappy customer service.

----------------
Just to clarify one thing... this post was made on this forum as the business concerned is a forum sponsor. I didn't create a sensational title like "business lies to customer, avoid at all costs" . I have posted updates all the way through to getting the product and closed the loop at the other end, no one has been left wondering and can make their own mind up if they continue to deal with or not the vendor.

If I had got any customer service apart from a parcel on my doorstep then I would be singing their praises about dealing with the situation and if you have made it this far I have had 27+ years in customer service in both my own business and working for others so i have respect for the small business person all the time.

I ordered a plane blade from The Wood Works in August. After a couple of months I called and was promised he’d follow it up. Nothing happened. Another phone call, same thing. In January I sent an email asking them to cancel the order and refund my payment. No response. Another call and I was told they’d had problems with internet orders and he took the details over the phone.

I still don’t have a plane blade, but on a positive note he told me they don’t debit the credit card until they ship the item. I checked my old statements and sure enough there wasn’t any debit there for the plane blade. You may want to check that Derek - it might not be quite as bad as you think.