Am I getting used to over the top customer service?

[Groove]

I have this "friend" who ordered something that everyone seems to rave about. They are made by the owner of the store and not mass produced by a major corporation. When my "friend" was placing the order he never inquired about delivery time. When the money was sent on a Monday, late at night, it was advised that the product should ship that week. He was hoping for the next day but what can you do... Friday came and went and the promised tracking number had not been received. On Saturday he emailed and got a reply that it would ship on Monday. Monday turned to Tuesday, then Wed, and Thurs and still no tracking number. He emailed again and got a reply that a part had been out of stock and that it would now ship that day.

He now had a tracking number and the parts came in on the following Tuesday. He unpacked the item to inspect to obvious damage and didn't see any. The part looked great. On Thursday my "friend" blocked off that night to install this new part and now found that one of the pieces was missing. Still having all of the packaging he went through the peanuts over and over with no luck. He emailed Friday morning to bring this to there attention and got a reply "We must have left it out... I will send a new one out next week. Thanks and sorry!"

It's now the following Tuesday and there is still no tracking number.

Am I getting to used to over the top customer service or is this lacking?

[bdr127]

No, this is definitely lacking..... It wouldn't happen to be computer-related, would it? I've seen this exact same thing happen maaaaany times with online companies that sell computer parts....

[Groove]

Nope, reef parts. I think I might be just getting used to hearing all the good customer support stories.

[etszoo]

I have seen a lot of parts business such as this. It's what happens when you deal with things not people. There is no sense
of urgency due to lack of control ("I can't do anything about..it's
not my fault..there is nothing I can do". Not to lessen your situation but I once waited 3.5 weeks for a part for my water
treatment system (iron filter) that's no water for 3.5 weeks in my
house. No laundry,no dishes no coffee! I could flush the toilets though.
Sorry about that rant. I empathize your situation. We live in a
society now that when something breaks, replace it. The parts
business is a huge headache. We are at the manufacturer or
distributors' or carriers mercy..it s#@$s!

[ducker]

I'm not sure if reef-related stores are covered... but for many other items I check out resellerratings.com for other customers opinions on different shops... Horrible service like what you're going through isn't worth saving a few bucks vs. another vender that has exceptional service.

(my experience is mostly with purchasing PC related equipment)

[Groove]

I wasn't even trying to save a buck. I have been trying to gather some choice pieces of reef equipment. When I spend a couple hundred dollars I guess I expect to get a non custom piece of equipment within a week. If it can't be delivered, I expect them to let me know that. If it arrives incomplete by their mistake, I would have hoped they would send the missing part ASAP. I did my research and couldn't find a bad post about the vendor. I will see what they reply with to my latest email... [End Rant]

[etszoo]

For the most part it not the money you are right. It's the courtesy.