Customer Service

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Let me first say that I don’t want any vendors names mentioned or implied. I don’t want this to turn ugly. With that being said;

What is acceptable turn around time for receiving an order from an aftermarket vendor, excluding shipping of course?

 I personally think that two months without any contact is too long. 
I realize that for many this is a part time business. But it is still a business.
There is a popular vendor that has great products. Parts usually arrive in two weeks or less. The vendor sends shipping confirmation when shipped. Great service.

There have been a few vendors, (some of who aren’t in business anymore) who shipped in a day or two. Excellent service!

There are a few seemingly popular vendors that I seem to have bad luck with. One particular vendor’s product is only usable about 50% of the time and doesn’t respond to messages. I’m not on Facebook by the way. Others seem to rave about this one so I have tried a few times with similar results. 
Another vendor has great products but every order has taken longer and longer. I understand being busy. But, with no communication, and no shipping info, it could have been shipped a month ago and be lost in the mail. Again, I’m not on Facebook.

I like old school, I am old school, and I have used vendors that don’t accept paypal and have to wait for my check to clear, but do ship as soon as my check clears. I consider this excellent service as well.

 I personally think that if an order can’t be gotten out in 4 weeks, then orders need to stop being taken until the vendor can catch up.

This is not a rant, please don’t turn it into one.

What do you consider acceptable customer service?

[iamsuperdan]

Well personally, it doesn't matter how long a product takes. 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, whatever.

However, the vendor needs to be accurate when quoting shipping estimates. And if a situation changes and it will take longer, the vendor should be emailing clients and advising them of the changes.

 

My recent experience had a vendor quoting 8-10 weeks to cast a resin part and ship to Canada from the US. The part arrived in 18 weeks. At no point did the vendor initiate email contact. At 10 weeks I emailed the vendor asking for an update. Took 5 days, but they finally responded saying it would ship soon. I emailed back at 15 weeks, and received a response the next day saying they were done and being shipped right away. And they were. 

Now, I'm happy with the product, and would use the vendor again. These resin parts are by no means critical or important, so a delay is not the end of the world. I just wish vendors would just give accurate estimates on time frames.  And I wish vendors were better at updating clients. Had this been a time sensitive item, or something important, the delays and lack of communication could have caused issues.

 

By way of comparison:

I ordered a resin kits and parts from Europe on Jan 20, and it arrived here today. The product shipped before the shipping estimate they provided when I placed the order.

I ordered some resin wheels from the US on Jan 19, they arrived Feb 17. 

 

Again, I'm not upset or unhappy. I get that resin casting takes time, especially with small businesses that may be a part time endeavour. Just quote accurate timelines, and keep the client in the loop. THAT is good customer service. 

 

[vincen47]

Again, communication is paramount.

Most people, including myself, don’t mind waiting a couple months, if the expectation has been set. I’ve patiently waited much longer than that. It’s perfectly understandable, especially if the castings, photo etch, etc. are being shipped overseas, for a two to three month turnaround. Sellers should put the expected timeline/shipping information on the website. 

Above all else, if there is an unexpected delay, sellers should send the customer an update. Life gets in the way sometimes, especially when they are balancing their real job, family, health needs, etc. It’s usually a side job getting the scraps of leftover time, so interruptions are understandable. But again, let the customer know, and within a reasonable amount of time - ideally, within a week or two of the delay.

In general, I would say the expectation would be 8-10 weeks, at most, for items that are made-to-order. 4 weeks, give or take, for in-stock items. Like you said, If a caster needs more time than that, then they should pause taking new orders until they can catch up. That’s good service and common sense.

[mikemodeler]

I think you are correct that having some communication from vendor to customer goes a long way towards good service. With the pandemic hitting the one year mark and a resurgence in the hobby, it is safe to say many online businesses have been overwhelmed with interest and orders from around the world.

I know I have spoken personally to two different resin casters who have been working much longer hours trying to keep up with the increase in size and number of orders. For one of them, they retired, started up the resin business as a means to share what they developed and it has mushroomed into a full time job, much more than they planned on. While they haven't given up, they have scaled back what they are offering and it's hampered their ability to create new stuff and lengthened the time it takes them to process and ship orders.  Unlike a model kit, a resin mold has a limited life and many times they are rebuilding molds while casting simultaneously, so that contributes to the amount of time to get orders done.

I remember back when I placed my first order with The Modelhaus. They stated upfront that there was a 6-8 week lead time on your order and it was processed in the order it was received, even if the parts were in stock. This allowed them to get orders done without getting behind and assured customers of consistent service. The resin caster I spoke with recently was lamenting the fact that his turnaround time on orders had grown to three weeks. I reminded him of The Modelhaus and he said he didn't want to do that to his customers as he felt that it shouldn't take as long. I hope it doesn't burn him out because his product is very nice and he has filled a niche in our hobby. 

Speaking for myself, I have spent more money online shopping in the last 12 months than I have in the last 5 years combined. Much of it has to do with being home all day and access to the internet, the rest of it has to do with stockpiling stuff for when I have time. 

I would hope that all businesses did a great job at updating customers on orders but the reality is they don't. Some are overwhelmed and trying to do so much with limited help, others just don't view it as important as the next guy. My point is that if you are ordering from someone for the first time, maybe ask the questions upfront before placing the order so you have an idea of how long before you see the order. And remember that even if this is a full time business, things happen that are unforeseen.