Amazingly poor customer service

[Coppersmith]

I faxed a request for price quotation (five easy to look up items) to three supply houses Sunday night. Nobody responded. It's almost two days later so I decided to call and ask for an ETA.

Supply house 1 - Confirmed received Monday 7:13am by receptionist, no one in quote department answers phone, left message.

Supply house 2 - "Fax? What fax? We don't see no stinkin' fax anywhere." Confirmed fax number. Fax resent. Called to confirm receipt.

Supply house 3 - "Oh, our fax machine is broken." She gives me her email to send a copy. (Not sure how many people use fax any more, but a cheap fax machine is like $100.)

eta: And why don't they unplug the fax machine so it doesn't receive and fool people into thinking it's also printing them out.

Anyone who has read my previous posts on supply houses knows I'm not a fan. Let's add this to the pile.

 

[Besoeker]

I faxed a request for price quotation (five easy to look up items) to three supply houses Sunday night. Nobody responded. It's almost two days later so I decided to call and ask for an ETA.

Supply house 1 - Confirmed received Monday 7:13am by receptionist, no one in quote department answers phone, left message.

Supply house 2 - "Fax? What fax? We don't see no stinkin' fax anywhere." Confirmed fax number. Fax resent. Called to confirm receipt.

Supply house 3 - "Oh, our fax machine is broken." She gives me her email to send a copy. (Not sure how many people use fax any more, but a cheap fax machine is like $100.)

eta: And why don't they unplug the fax machine so it doesn't receive and fool people into thinking it's also printing them out.

Anyone who has read my previous posts on supply houses knows I'm not a fan. Let's add this to the pile.

Yes, very poor.
Can't you just buy the parts on line?

 

[Coppersmith]

Yes, very poor.
Can't you just buy the parts on line?

Yes, but I wanted to see if I could get better prices.

 

[gadfly56]

Yes, but I wanted to see if I could get better prices.

The soul of competition. If you want my business, let me see your prices.

 

[Coppersmith]

The soul of competition. If you want my business, let me see your prices.

Or provide something of value besides commodities. If somebody had responded yesterday and they were not vastly more than the online prices they would have had my business because I prefer to deal with companies in-person.

 

[Mark A.]

Although it could be better, this seems like annoyingly status quo. Amazingly poor might be an overstatement given the state of customer service in the world. You may be having a bad day.

 

[Besoeker]

Yes, but I wanted to see if I could get better prices.

Don't those supply houses have on line catalogues?
I can't think of any we dealt with that didn't unless you are after something built and, from your description, it doesn't seem like you are.

 

[gadfly56]

Don't those supply houses have on line catalogues?
I can't think of any we dealt with that didn't unless you are after something built and, from your description, it doesn't seem like you are.

If you're going to someone like Graybar, sure, you can look it up on line. More local houses may not have that capacity. In any event, I would prefer to simply list the quantities and model numbers and let someone else do the legwork. I've got stuff to design, I don't need to be a stock clerk too.

 

[K8MHZ]

We have three supply houses in our county. Only one lists a FAX number.

Today, it's always best to call ahead and let someone know you are sending a FAX. Even if you had to leave a voice mail that you were. FAX is dying. It's a slow death though. Many people thought FAX would be gone years ago, with the advent of the .pdf.

 

[K8MHZ]

I am becoming less and less of a fan of supply houses. Most recently, all I was looking for was 16 AWG solid single conductor wire. I had to order it off the Internet.

 

[Coppersmith]

We have three supply houses in our county. Only one lists a FAX number.

Today, it's always best to call ahead and let someone know you are sending a FAX. Even if you had to leave a voice mail that you were. FAX is dying. It's a slow death though. Many people thought FAX would be gone years ago, with the advent of the .pdf.

Old technology yes, but if you are going to set one up, I believe you have a responsibility to check it at least once a day. Respectfully, IMO calling people to tell them you sent a fax defeats the purpose. Maybe I should call people and tell them I sent an email also. I did call one of the supply houses that didn't advertise their fax number to ask them what it was. That should have been a clue that one was coming.

 

[Besoeker]

I am becoming less and less of a fan of supply houses. Most recently, all I was looking for was 16 AWG solid single conductor wire. I had to order it off the Internet.

We had one on the way to work for me. All the ordering was done on line but I would drop in to collect the larger items. Mailing a few boxes of 10A fuses is one thing. A 630A or 780A contactor is a different matter. We got wire/cable from another but they had their own delivery service.

But to some extent, I agree with the OP. There are some things you'd like to get your grubby mitts on before agreeing to a purchase.

 

[gadfly56]

I am becoming less and less of a fan of supply houses. Most recently, all I was looking for was 16 AWG solid single conductor wire. I had to order it off the Internet.

Did you need it in puce, or some strange listing?

 

[K8MHZ]

Old technology yes, but if you are going to set one up, I believe you have a responsibility to check it at least once a day. Respectfully, IMO calling people to tell them you sent a fax defeats the purpose. Maybe I should call people and tell them I sent an email also. I did call one of the supply houses that didn't advertise their fax number to ask them what it was. That should have been a clue that one was coming.

I don't know how to respond to that as I have had doctor's offices tell me they only check FAX messages once a week.

This is just another time where technology didn't necessarily make things better.

 

[K8MHZ]

Did you need it in puce, or some strange listing?

No. Nothing special. It was for 12VDC application, so I didn't even care if it was an NEC approved item. They just didn't have any, nor did any of the big box stores.

 

[gadfly56]

No. Nothing special. It was for 12VDC application, so I didn't even care if it was an NEC approved item. They just didn't have any, nor did any of the big box stores.

*sigh* Makes you wish Radio Shack was still around.

 

[Coppersmith]

I have had doctor's offices tell me they only check FAX messages once a week.

Wow. The definition of poor customer service. Granted nobody is going to send an emergency message by fax, but come on. What if they only answered email once a week.

 

[Coppersmith]

*sigh* Makes you wish Radio Shack was still around.

:thumbsup: I 'lived' at the local Radio Shack when I was little, worked there while in college, got offered a store manager job (which I turned down to do bigger and better things), and reminisced about that stuff with the staff each time I shopped at one thereafter. (And went to the going out of business sale sadly.)

ETA: I visited headquarters in Texas while visiting a relative in Dallas.

 

[Besoeker]

Wow. The definition of poor customer service. Granted nobody is going to send an emergency message by fax, but come on. What if they only answered email once a week.

I agree, that is appalling. And having to call somebody that you are going to send a FAX is...........
And I've had some customers, suppliers and even people within my own organisation phone to ask "did you get my email this morning?"

 

[gadfly56]

I agree, that is appalling. And having to call somebody that you are going to send a FAX is...........
And I've had some customers, suppliers and even people within my own organisation phone to ask "did you get my email this morning?"

At my last employer the president took the time at a monthly meeting to lay down some guidelines. If you needed an answer "right now!" use the phone, and leave a message if someone's not available. Likewise, phone calls/messages were to be returned on the same business day, even if it was just to say "I got your message and I'm working on it". E-mails were NOT to be used for urgent matters. They were for routine requests for information and non-critical follow-ups. He didn't want to hear people walking by, or worse coming up to him, saying "Did you get my e-mail?"