Customer service problems at Boatfix.com

[steve940]

At the suggestion of a friend I placed an order from Boatfix.com for Epifanes and some other stuff as their prices seem to be fair. However, HOF members should note they don't advise you if a product is out of stock!

I now have a prepped area around my helm ready for varnish and a week after the order was placed - no varnish!

Below is the text of a response I sent when Boatfix.com decided my called-in "customer service problem" should be responded to "in writing". Although willing to help, it is clear that customers who place orders for critical items cannot assume that a confirmation of an order means that a product will actually arrive in a timely fashion. I will advise further on whether or not they actually send the product expeditiously as promised.

Text of the email interchange is between me and their customer service representative below:

Me -"Dear Mike, I was expecting your response by phone as you agreed yesterday afternoon and I’m just now, at noon on Wednesday, having a chance to check my email. I have tried to call you this morning by phone but all I get from customer service is a recording. It makes it difficult to “advise at your earliest convenience.” As well, it is more time consuming to write this note.

Thank you, though, for trying to help. I know you are doing your best within the parameters offered by Boatfix.com. As I’ve said before, the additional labor costs I have incurred would have been avoided if your company would have simply advised me, without delay, that the product I ordered on 1/6/09 – with a confirmation on that same day at 1p.m. from Boatdix.com – was unavailable. I still find it unreasonable for me to have to call Boatfix.com on 1/13/09 only to find out you don’t even have the product, let alone have shipped it. That is neither within the bounds of common courtesy nor the standard practice of online stores.

Please address the package to xxx, etc.

I have posted your email, and my response to it, on the Hatteras Owners web site. I think Boatfix.com’s difficulties in making this order painless speak for themselves.

Thank you again for your offer, to try and make it right. Please confirm, by phone at 570-656-6656, that this address has been received and that the products will be left outside the door Thursday, January 15, 2009.

Best,

Steve




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Customer Service [mailto:Mikedesk@Boatfix.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 5:24 PM
To: steve940@epix.net
Subject: [24F-10FF7CB7-6C3B] BoatFix Order 104266



Steven,

I have been requested to put this into writing at this point since things appear to be escalating a bit higher than is necessary. To recap the possible solutions:

Option 1) BoatFix will arrange to have the varnish delivered to your marina under your name to arrive by Thursday

Option 2) Boatfix will arrange to have the varnish delivered to your home address to arrive by Friday

While we fully understand you feel inconvenienced, there is no way for us to guarantee that 80,000 parts are going to be in stock at all times, and, we are trying in all respects, and in good faith, to rectify this particular outage.

Please advise at your earliest convenience.


Mike
BoatFix Staff

 

[nyrussell]

wow, there inventory program crashed?

 

[steve940]

Hi Noel...

No, it seems it is not their policy to advise customers if an item is out of stock at the time of the order or there will be a delay in shipping. They feel their system works well and that customers are ok with having to pursue why an order that was acknowledged - yet wasn't shipped.

I've never heard of this practice before and never experienced this with any online marketer. Have you or anyone else?

Will let you know how it turns out. I'm a little concerned as they haven't yet even confirmed the email and it was sent about an hour ago...

 

[sgharford]

Sears is probably more f'd up then this. I ordered new tools about 4 weeks ago. They automatically generate the shipping label that night online order is placed, even when it's not in stock and email you that it shipped with tracking number. When I didn't get tool storage about 1 week later I checked tracking again and noticed tracking info still read "shipping info transmitted" but nothing about being ups scanning, etc. I called Sears who said it would be shipping 'shorthly'. Asked what was up with sending email saying it shipped with tracking number and all - he told me system automatically does that. It was shipped on that same tracking number about two weeks later.

 

[steve940]

Many years ago I read a book called "A Passion for Excellence" by Tom Peters. His essential point is that if you run a business with integrity and treat your customers well, you can be assured of ongoing loyalty and business traffic.

It is apparent that neither the management of Boatfix.com or Sears has read any of his work...

 

[Passages]

Try Defender or Jamestown Distributors next time. Both have been good to work with.

 

[GJH]

I stopped doing business with them last year over a similar issue, in my case a backorder that I was having shipped to a marina we would be a transient at on our way down the coast. They have made a lot of progress since then,( your situation being handled infinitely better than mine) and Mike Sibley is a good guy who was brought in to clean things up. Looks like back orders are still their weakness.

They are very low priced, that's their big edge. However, like most internet providers, that price is achieved because they actually don't stock anything. They channel the orders through a distributor who then fulfills the order. If they don't have a real time look into the distributor's inventory system, a rarity, they will lag several days until they know there is a backorder situation; either because they get a notice from the distributor or hear from the customer. Not having to invest in inventory and the management thereof allows them to charge very low prices. My former company had a wholesale distribution division (mobile electronics and cell phone stuff), and in cases where the manufacturer allowed it, we provided fulfillment for a number of interet sites.

I mostly use Defender. Their prices are good, usually not the very lowest, but they actually stock quite a bit of what they sell and will tell you the status of the products you want, They will advise you if an item is coming from their stock or from the vendor. They have live people you can readily talk to if you have questions. Just a great place to do business with.

I'm willing to pay up a little for good service and a smooth shopping experience. If price is your sole purchasing factor, it is hard to beat BoatFix. Since they use distributors from around the country, when the item is in stock they get it to you very fast. Every now and then they get some great deals on refurbished or closeout electronics.

 

[SeaEric]

Try Defender or Jamestown Distributors next time. Both have been good to work with.

I second that.

 

[Capt K]

I second that.

Yep, Jamestown Distributors have great prices on many items and they ship FAST.
Their Interlux prices are great compared to any of the boat stores and you have it almost as fast as if you went and picked it up during the week then waited to use it on the weekend.

I've never heard of a completely satisfied customer from Boatfix.com.

Capt K

 

[Pascal]

never had any issues with them... orders usually shipped the same day, no overcharge on shipping... i've actually received orders in under 24hours without paying any extra.
Can't comment on customer service since i've never had to deal with that except once when a 4' anchor light pole came in bent in shipping. they replaced it the next day, no charge, didn't even ask me to return the damaged one...

 

[Pete]

I too have had good success with Boatfix.com. Have been buying from them for 8 years or so and no complaints.

Pete

 

[steve940]

Thanks for the feedback...

I was displeased with:

1) their failure to notify of a delay in availability more than seven days after the order...

2) the relative unavailability by phone of customer service personnel during business hours in more than half-a-dozen attempts...

3) Boatfix.com's management's attitude toward customer satisfaction. Although Mike tried hard to be helpful, he told me that management had directed him not to call me back directly - even though they knew I was awaiting his promised call - and to communicate with me only in writing - thus adding additional delay and undoing his original plan to resolve the matter.

It bodes poorly for customers when customer service personnel are not fully supported in their effort to resolve matters quickly. All together, I spent approximately 1 1/2 hours of time (that I did not have) lobbying to get delivery an order that had been accepted and confirmed. The savings were not worth the headache or the time. I would be hard pressed to order from them again.

 

[Les Hall]

Rest assured that BoatFix takes Customer Satisfaction very seriously. In this case, Dr. Weisblatt ordered three items on 1/6. We shipped what we had in stock on 1/7 and placed the balance of the order with a distributor that showed the items in stock. However, the 4 quarts of varnish were not in stock and didn't ship. Dr. Weisblatt contacted us on the 13th and we immediately offered to ship the varnish from another distributor directly to the marina so he would have the product today. He refused that offer and wanted us to overnight the varnish to his home, threatening us with a negative post here if we didn't comply. Aside from the ever changing hazmat requirements for liquids on airplanes, we just couldn't afford to overnight the varnish when one day shipping was available by ground directly to the boat's location.

At this point, I told Mike to put all communications in writing to avoid any future "he said, she said" problems. Currently, 97% of all our orders ship within one or two days from date of order. And we do notify customers if there is a backorder situation that goes beyond a few days or if expedited shipping is requested.

As it stands, the four quarts of varnish have shipped and are scheduled to be delivered to his friend's house today.

Pascal knows us very well and can attest to our integrity, having been a customer for years as well as a frequent contributor to our boating safety forum at BoaterEd.com.

Les Hall, BoatFix.com

 

[steve940]

Wow! I did not imagine this thread as a recruiting tool for HOF...sorry if I'm boring my fellow HOF members, but this last post deserves a response...

If Boatfix.com had truly prioritized my satisfaction as a customer rather than creating a legal record this thread would have had a different color.

Actually, Mike offered Tuesday (a week after Boatfix.com acknowledged acceptance and receipt of the order with NO notification of ANY delay) to have the products arrive at my marina in NY (a location which I repeatedly explained was not secure) Thursday, or to my home in PA on Friday (which I had explained that I was leaving en route to NY on Thursday and the varnish would then have to wait until the next PA to NY trip). Mike indicated that "management" (presumably Mr. Hall) would determine his further course of action. I told Mike to tell "management" that I was available 24/7 by cell phone to discuss this and that, good or bad, I would note on the HOF how things were handled.

The response of "management" was to then slow the speed of communication (they could have avoided he said / she said by sending emails to confirm telecons) and the product is now promised for Friday - not today. If delivery occurs at that time, it will be eleven days after the order was placed and after much wasted time and energy on everyone's part.

Mr. Hall's post of Boatfix.com's policy does not negate that:

1) no notification of delay in shipping was made by Boatfix.com. Again, interestingly, Mike told me (see earlier post) that Boatfix.com can't keep track of what's in stock and it often takes a customer calling asking why they haven't received product for Boatfix.com to find out a product is not in stock. This is in contradiction to the previous post's promise to advise of delays...

2) customer service was very hard to reach during business hours despite multiple calls (even before Mike was directed to use email!)

3) "management" did not permit their own employee to handle things expeditiously by phone (Mike told me!) causing further delay

And to think Mr. Hall could have picked up the phone at any time and avoided all this...

In sum, if customers are ok spinning the dice as to when they will receive a product and ok with a company whose management is more concerned in covering their behinds than customer service, I can give Boatfix.com no higher recommendation.

 

[Bugsy]

Ever made an appointment to see a doctor in his office at 9:00 am; arrive early and then wait two hours or more for the privilege of waiting some more in a smaller examining room in the back?

My time is valuable (or at least used to be). Who is responsible for my "lost time"? Poor planning by the doctor? An emergency at the hospital?
S**t happens despite the best of intentions.

The real question is....should the HOF be used as a "club" and should private disputes be battled out on a public forum?

 

[Bill Allen]

Well I've ordered off them as well, sometimes it takes a little bit of time to get it, but isn't that the cost (sometimes) when you shop price vs. delivery? Pay peanuts, get monkeys. I'd buy off them again good prices . I just don't order delivery sensitive items off the cheapest company. When it's a sensitive delivery item I call and if it's available and in stock then I order it. Like he said man it's varnish, pick it up at west or any other place that has it sitting on the shelf. Bill

 

[Capt K]

And the worst part is that poor Mike has probably been fired or put in a dark back room counting "widgets" because Mr Hall has access to this site.

Just kidding....lightening the mood.

The point made, though, that the cheapest price does not always bring the best delivery service is not entirely untrue, but communication goes a long way.

I'm done, now.

K

 

[Boatsb]

Buy local from a store that cares about your business and this will not happen.

If you saved $5 on the varnish was it worth the BS? If we do not support Sams and local mom and pop business it will be internet or warpedfart for us all.

 

[GJH]

Lookit, Mike and Les are both good guys at heart. And Les went out of his way to recruit Mike to make improvements. But there's no free lunch. They are trying to provide the lowest price, and the best service affordable for that price. Not vice versa. Me, I like a little more service and am willing to pay up for it a lot of the time. I don't expect to have it both ways.

 

[Pete]

Wow, all this over a few cans of varnish. Even I could solve this problem on my own!

Pete