German Supply?

[poptop tom]

joneym - did you ever call Scott about the order? I'm curious if you got ahold of him, and what his response was.

Hope your Colin visit is still a productive one.

[jonyem]

I didn't call, I was worried that I passed the point where it would get my parts here. I wish I had thought of it soon enough to get them rushed here. I take the blame for that.

I do still need those parts, so i'm just gonna suck it up and deal. And in the future i'll be more pro-active.

[airkooledchris]

not that it should make any difference. running a business that takes web based sales doesn't mean you can just let your web orders sit unanswered and only deal with the ones that people call about.

otherwise at the point of placing the order it should just list a phone number and leave it at that.

[jonyem]

I agree aircooledchris.

I did get a nice email today (after my wife called) saying they will ship my order FedEx.
Sadly, the order is still in their warehouse, so Canada Post is off the hook in my book.

[poptop tom]

I agree aircooledchris.

I did get a nice email today (after my wife called) saying they will ship my order FedEx.
Sadly, the order is still in their warehouse, so Canada Post is off the hook in my book.

Agree with you and Chris. You shouldn't have to do a followup call. Under certain circumstances though, it's necessary to let the vendor know you are still out there waiting.......and waiting.

Hopefully they now get you squared away on your order. Waiting as long as you have should get you some kind of a small consolation gift - 10% off next order.....free shipping.....sumthin'.

[hercdriver]

I've been buying parts from Scott for the past couple of years and have been very happy with the parts he's selling. I have had to wait longer for some parts than I would have from a larger supplier, but he's always been helpful and friendly when asked about the delay. For example, I ordered a stainless gas cap for my bus that had been on back order. When I asked him (calling seems to be the best method), he explained that the supplier was in the process of making more and gave me the option to wait or get a refund. No drama, he just gave me the option to do what I wanted. The conversation went on about a steering coupling that I needed for the bus. I asked about the two that he had listed. One was cheaper and I asked about it's quality. He said, "I'm not sure, they just came in. Let me look at them." A few moments later, he said "I can't sell you the cheap ones, their quality is too poor." Since then I've been a loyal customer.

My take on German Supply is that it's a family business trying to take the high road in a business where margins are thin and competition is stiff.

[jonyem]

I can see myself as a future loyal customer, especially after how easy it was to work with them after my wife called (we don't have long distance at home, and she could call from work).

I'm not one of those types that likes to shoot the shit with people when shopping in person, just ring up my stuff, ask for payment, and have a nice day. So I don't like to go through more than I need to when ordering online. Problem with ordering online is that to you, from your computer, everyone looks the same. Amazon is the same size as German Supply, and so on. So it's easy to forget the reality of the organization and be upset when it doesn't go smoothly. I certainly appreciate that now, and will always keep that in mind. I admit I was harsh in my earlier posts, but I was really put in a bind by a deadline so that exaserbated the need.

In the future, when there's something I really need, and German Supply is the best bet, I'll likely order from them. Provided I can live without it for a length of time.

[hiwaycallin]

One thing I learned a while ago is that when ordering online, always send a follow-up email requesting a tracking number. Some stores do this automatically but many do not. Then just this spring, I made 2 orders from GoWesty, about a month apart, and neglected to ask for the tracking number for the second order. You guessed it ... 3 weeks went by and no order shows up so I emailed to check. Yep, it was never shipped. They were very nice about it and shipped it right away, but had I simply asked for the # earlier it would have saved me a long wait. I bet orders fall through the cracks all the time for one reason or another.

[jonyem]

So, after an email on July 15 saying they'd ship it express, my order finally arrived today.

[airkooledchris]

if they are having issues with running their business due to personal matters, wouldn't it make more sense to temporarily take the store offline than just trash their reputation in the community?

[jonyem]

if they are having issues with running their business due to personal matters, wouldn't it make more sense to temporarily take the store offline than just trash their reputation in the community?

Probably.