Woodwind and Brasswind Shipping

[jspeek]

I recently ordered a bundle of recording equipment from Woodwind and Brasswind to use for festival auditions and other recordings. I was planning on making my recordings this weekend, so I paid the extra $34.99 for next day shipping. I ordered this at 11:15 a.m. central on Wed., January 28th. I did not receive the equipment Thursday, so I looked at the track info. which said "item not shipped". I call the customer service line and she promises me it will be here Friday, January 29. She also promised to dismiss the $34.99 shipping charge. It is now Friday, January 29th, and yet it still hasn't left the warehouse. So, I call customer service again. This time she argues that upon receiving my order I have to account for up to 24 hours for processing, and then it will be shipped next day. Even if it took 24 hours, it still should have been here by today. She promises me now that it will be here by Monday Feb. 2. What I'm wondering is how to handle this situation. I obviously needed the equipment in a timely fashion...hints the next day shipping. And, well, the equipment doesn't do me much good if I don't have it. Should I ask for them to knock my purchase price down? What are some of your thoughts?

[Dan Schultz]

I don't know where you are, but... you might be at the mercy of the weather. I haven't even had a mail delivery or a newspaper since Tuesday. Indiana got hit pretty hard. My area... Evansville... in the southwestern corner of the state still has 60,000 without power. Even though the lady on the phone mentioned 'the warehouse'... it probably wasn't in the same location where she is. They'll probably offer you a refund but you shouldn't be too quick to chastise them publicly.

[GaryBB]

I ordered an amount so I could qualify for a 10% discount. The order was split and I did not get the discount. I emailed and was assured it would be corrected however it was not. Is this a pattern or an isolated instance?

[tubashaman2]

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[Plugo]

i order a few items from then, and never had a problem. i ordered a tuba back in the day also. so i am sorry to hear that you guys had problems with them.

[MartyNeilan]

I was planning on making my recordings this weekend, so I paid the extra $34.99 for next day shipping. I ordered this at 11:15 a.m. central on Wed., January 28th.

Time to put on my "anal father" hat:
You probably had reasonable notice of this upcoming event.
"Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on their part"
Keep in mind that most companies do not normally deliver on Saturdays.
So...
You ordered something around noon on Wednesday and expected it on Friday???
(During the middle of snow and ice storms???)

Sorry I had to put my jerk pants on today, but I think your expectations were unreasonable given the timeframe.

[tofu]

[tubashaman2]

.

[MartyNeilan]

And Marty it is not unreasonable to expect an order with expidited shipping to arrive in the time frame of a couple days that the OP expected.

I stand by my original assertion that something needed on a Friday should not be ordered midday on a Wednesday. WWBW is not to blame (at least this time.)

[tofu]

[tubashaman2]

.

[Nick Pierce]

I was planning on making my recordings this weekend, so I paid the extra $34.99 for next day shipping. I ordered this at 11:15 a.m. central on Wed., January 28th.

Time to put on my "anal father" hat:
You probably had reasonable notice of this upcoming event.
"Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on their part"
Keep in mind that most companies do not normally deliver on Saturdays.
So...
You ordered something around noon on Wednesday and expected it on Friday???
(During the middle of snow and ice storms???)

Sorry I had to put my jerk pants on today, but I think your expectations were unreasonable given the timeframe.

The OP has yet to say anything about any ice and snow storms. In fact, the OP has yet to say anything at all since his original post. Let's wait and see what he has to say first.

[Rick Denney]

And Marty it is not unreasonable to expect an order with expidited shipping to arrive in the time frame of a couple days that the OP expected.

I stand by my original assertion that something needed on a Friday should not be ordered midday on a Wednesday. WWBW is not to blame (at least this time.)

If they (whoever "they" are) can't ship in an expedited fashion, then they should not offer it as an option. The shipping and the product are two different transactions, each with their own warranties (both explicit and implied). A "next-day" shipping option that costs extra comes with an implied warranty that they will make every effort to get it there the next day. Stuff happens, and the shipper might have been delayed or the weather might have prevented the item being picked up. In those cases, I believe that it is then their responsibility to immediately notify the buyer who has paid extra for expedited shipping. They should provide that notification by the same means used to make the order: Email for online orders, telephone for phone orders, etc.

I routinely order from companies that set a high standard for mailorder operations, such as McMaster-Carr, and usually receive my item the next day without having to pay extra for shipping. In fact, I have ordered online at 10 PM and received it the next morning using normal shipping. I have also ordered stuff that was out of stock and backordered, and these companies properly notify me that the product is backordered, and give me the choice to wait or to cancel the item. Many also give the choice of sending the rest of the order now rather than waiting until it can be shipping together, etc.

That said, complaining here on Tubenet is not likely to rectify the situation. Tubenet readers can draw wrong and unfair conclusions from such complaints, and are unlikely to know the whose story even if the original poster does (which seems unlikely in this case). And since Roger was at the Army conference during the time this was an issue, I doubt that he was reading here or able to address the problem with direct intervention. There are better methods. Polite persistance, moving up the supervisory chain until it is resolved is the only solution. If that doesn't work, cancel the order, refuse payment with the credit card company, return any shipped items that DO arrive, and buy from someone else.

Sound equipment is one of those categories of items that frequently must be sent out with expedited shipping, because its use is tied to specific events for which it is critically necessary, the equipment is sometimes hard to test as a system far in advance and gaps or incompatibilities may go unnoticed even with the best planning, and unexpected failures of both primary and backup systems can't always be corrected locally. Just ask any radio broadcast engineer. Or, someone who manages, say, a traffic signal shop for a city.

Rick "who has managed a traffic signal shop for a city, and who has helped build sound systems for broadcast engineers" Denney

[jspeek]

Thanks to all who posted. My original intention of posting here was to get advice on how to rectify the situation. To answer a few questions: I did have reasonable notice of the audition, however, I didn't have the money to pay for descent equipment. I didn't get the money until pretty late in the game. I did know, going into this situation that I would have equipment to record with, just pretty crappy equipment. As far as weather goes, it says it shipped from Kansas City, which is about 3 hours from me. It's Monday and I'm expecting it today, so it took 3 more shipping days than I had originally expected. A few of the people who posted on here were able to capture my true feelings. The fact that a company can call it next day shipping, if that really isn't what happens. I do understand that it was a little anal for me to expect them to care as much as I do, but hey, I'm a college student, I guess I'll earn. I am very glad that WWBW did refund my shipping money, I will continue to shop with them, but maybe be a little more careful next time. Thanks Tubenetters!