How would you handle this situation?

[Duncan Allan]

We have had an order for 3 of the same item however we only have 2 in stock (it would take another week to get more) and the customer has opted for next working day delivery.

The customer has given us their email and mobile number but hasn't replied to the emails throughout the weekend or returned the calls to the mobile we have left on the voice mail.

The questions is do we;

a, despatch the order and run the risk of it not being required and have it sent back and we have to foot the return?

b, cancel the order outright and say we cannot supply within the time frame?

c, just wait and see what happens?

Appreciate your views, oh for a real time stock control!!!

Duncan

[george]

c

You've done your bit by trying to contact the customer. Ball's now in their court, etc.

[Buzby]

A or C

If you don't want the order cancelled opt for A with an enclosed comps slip saying as per our e-mail........2 now 1 next week etc.

If you want to buy time then option C

We use both A and C but never option B unless the item is discontinued etc

[Duncan Rounding]

Depending on delivery costs I'd probably part ship. It seems by the time you may have spoken to the customer your stock will be in and you can ship the balance. You don't want to loose the order - the customer is much more leikely to accept 2 delivered than 2 or 3 in your stock - if they really wanted next day delivery they would've probably questioned where the goods are by now.

[simonwar]

Duncan,

Not sure if you can get something from this but for what its worth....

Do you have two different problems as such ?

#1 Part Deliveries and Customer Satisfaction
a. Something is better than nothing!
b. You'll never please everyone all of the time!
c. Who knows what the Customer really thinks, (as a BB in six sigma, trust me you can spend all your life trying to work it out, however i always avoid "are you happy" questions and go for "was that the best". oooops get off my soap box.... read that in a book, honest)!
d. Can the customer cancel if you fail on your promise, even after shipment?

However on a practical note, I order jewellery from Pilgrim, via e-mail, and if I order 50 items and 42 turn up;

a) I am happy pretty much happy, 84% happy to be exact.
b) I am commited and wont look else where, coz Pilgrim include a Backorder statement in their Delivery Note, saying the rest is on the way, "Apologies, very sorry, we value your custom....." more Customer Service kiss assing.
c) By the time I've sorted my 84% out the rest turn up, a bit like you suggested earlier.

#2 Lack of Contact
a. I assume the payment has cleared before you ship, if so stick by your process.
b. If the process says ship on receipt of order...... ship!
c. If the process says make contact with the customer before shipping... don't ship.
d. If you haven't strictly got a process, balance the gain over the loss, I'd go for your choice 'A', at worst you'll learn not to do it again, (may cost you £50), else you'll always wonder were you better shipping and finding a new client who could be testing you to order another 1000 off ... yeah wishful thinking I know but hey .... ?

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

You just want to hope the customer doesn't have triplets and its their birthday presents, else there'll be tears in the morning and it'll be your fault....ha!

Good luck, S.

[Duncan Allan]

Thank you all for your feedback. It was most valuable to hear how yourselves in similar positions respond. You just can't ask the staff as they have a different perspective!

My view was that if I hadn't heard by 16:30 I would despatch however around lunch time they lamely called and after a series of questions decided to cancel.

I'm happy with that as, quite frankly, it would have been one of those orders you wish you never had!

It was an item that is discontinued from my list although available and was part of the 80% I stock to keep the 20% that does sell selling. Just typical that on this occasion I couldn't clear the item and remove it from the shelf and put something else there.

Duncan

[buspassjohn]

The other way would be to search for another site with the product in stock and order the additional item from them for overnight delivery direct to the customer!!
You wouldn't make money on the third, but your customer would be satisfied and you would get rid of a dead line!
Of course if they then decided to return all 3 under the remote selling crap, you wouldn't be very happy.

We have had sites buying stuff from us in just this way because they didn't have stock (possibly never did)

[Duncan Allan]

It had crossed my mind John to go out and buy one but it would have meant a round trip of about 20 Km and hour (at least) of my time and in the wrong direction to anything else I wanted to do.
But there was something about the order that didn't feel right at the start that made me think otherwise.

I've noticed how I get strange enquiries about stock and the questions were a bit all too knowing what they were asking. Perhaps they were fishing for a stock item that they couldn't supply and wanted one from me.

I really get stroppy when I get asked where it all comes from. The questions that are from people who want to do the same thing or trying to source the same item.
Well they could find it in the UK and the distributors as well but then I go to China and Korea and buy direct. Although in saying that when an item has been around for a short time the price from the distributor is less cost in terms of quantity needed to be ordered, money out and goods en route. For the odd £ or so it isn't worth my time and effort getting direct.

Duncan

[pinbrook]

suppliers is a thorny subject, alot of shops will not divulge their supplier (for obvious reasons) as it has taken months of research to find them

We never tell people where our products come from for this same reason, why help the competition?

[Duncan Allan]

Quite right too Jo.

It was an issue with the shops too where customers would just front up with a question like, "So where do you buy xyz from?". To which I would simply reply, "Directly import.".

Suppliers and sources are a key asset to any business and I regard it as a dismiss-able offence for any staff to divulge my 'trade secrets'. I have had one person work for me use suppliers to set up their own competitive business.

Now I won't go into this thorny and moral issue about suppliers who supply anyone who asks but when they continue to supply them and just ignore me I go elsewhere. They have lost my business for good. It shocked the reps who came in touting for business with, "You haven't ordered from us for a while.". So I put them straight and tell them that the business is lost and not to bother coming back in again and please report what I said to their MD.

The cost of calls and frustration sourcing stock is mind boggling. Especially when you are dealing with non English speakers! And it isn't just stock. Suppliers for envelopes for example and all sorts of sundries that aren't a saleable item just to keep costs pinned down and the bottom line safer.

I have in the past sussed customers phising for suppliers and have seen them writing down addresses from stock items from the boxes on the shelves. Even using a camera phone to record what it was!
And I do enjoy giving out red herrings just to make their journey along the path a little more difficult

I'll visit shops to see how they style themselves and look for presentation ideas but not outright stealing stock suppliers. But then I've been doing this for a long time and so I know pretty well where I can get what I want and whom to avoid.

As you may see it is a soap box of mine so I'll leave it at that - for now. Unless this thread develops further and I'll comment again.

Duncan

[simonwar]

Jo,

You said

suppliers is a thorny subject, alot of shops will not divulge their supplier (for obvious reasons) as it has taken months of research to find them

We never tell people where our products come from for this same reason, why help the competition?

Or you could lie and tell people you use the suppliers you definately would not deal with.... (ha)!

S.

[completerookie]

just tell them "Arthur Daley" "Mr Trotter" or "Fell off the back of a lorry that Rodney was driving - what a plonker"

[buspassjohn]

When people ask for supplier details, I take the view that if they are in the business, they should already know; if they're not in the business, they can go Scxxw!
It's taken me 26 years to get our sourcing, anyone wanting to come into this trade should get up off their arxx and do the legwork.

[Duncan Allan]

To right John it takes a lot of leg and brain work to get where we are today knowing where it comes from; even several sources for the same item. Although my accountants never seem to want to class it as a business asset!

My favourite course of actions always remains red herrings sending them off in the wrong directions

Duncan