Woodpeckers Rule Delay

Drich said:
Well I have been waiting for the pocket ruler for 4 months now. this morning I get a email telling me they won't ship for almost 2 more months. What a joke. Don't put dates down if you can't keep them. Be honest about it. Say we are taking orders and have no idea when you will get you item but we will hold on to your money for months. Just a rant here as if I had known this I might have went a different route. I did order the larger farming square also. Maybe next year for that it what it is looking like.

If you want to buy out of it I will gladly take it from you now.
 
[member=42176]Drich[/member]
Here's a way to make 3 people happy.
Take them700project up on his above offer and then purchase my original Paolini rule that has been used 2 maybe 3 times for ?

From the WP website:
Paolini Pocket Rule 6" /150MM
$29.99
PPR-COMBO
SIDE 1: 1mm & 1/32 VERTICAL SCALE: 1mm
SIDE 2: 1/16 & 1mm VERTICAL SCALE: 1/32

I also have the bench rule that I've never used.
Woodpeckers Bench Rule – Combination Inch/Metric
$69.99
WBR-COMBO
SIDE 1: 1mm & 1/32 VERTICAL SCALE: 1mm
SIDE 2: 1/16 & 1mm VERTICAL SCALE: 1/32

PM me if interested.
 
I think you are frustrated mainly because you pre-paid your order via Paypal and it takes months and months to get it. I have three one-time orders pending with Woodpeckers, one of them is delayed. I "paid" for them with a credit card (directly through their web site), and they did not charge my credit card yet for any of these orders. Apparently, they will charge it only when the order ships. They don't take your money ahead of time unless you willingly chose the third party payment system which requires immediate payment.

Since this is not a stock order from the inventory, it may be subject to production issues related delays. We all would like to have accurate estimates for the delivery time, but things happen.
 
I certainly understand everyone's frustration with the delays, we're not happy about them either. Try as I might, my delivery date estimates are usually wrong. The reason why is quite simple. When we offer up a OneTIME Tool, we have no idea whether we're going to have to machine 1 or 10,000. Most of these tools start their 3 month trip through the manufacturing process the day after the sale ends. If nothing goes wrong and I guessed close to right, we're able to at least get it out the month that was originally estimated. More often than not, estimates are off the mark and things go wrong. Five years ago when we started this program we estimated 30 days. Now I routinely estimate 90 which is often still not enough.

Although we're a small business, my wife and I have re-invested heavily over the last 27 years. In just the last few we've nearly doubled our capacity including machining, fabricating, engraving, design and engineering, assembly, customer service and physical facilities.

Not that I expect those facts make it any less frustrating that our delivery projections leave a lot to be desired. I wish I could tell you all that we've discovered a magic formula for forecasting what folks might want but we haven't. Combine that with the fact that we make virtually everything we ship and out source very little, all I can say is we're doing the best we can and constantly work hard to improve while we're growing.

As for payment, if you order from us directly and use a credit or debit card, you aren't charged for anything until we're ready to ship. Keep in mind that although we're spending very early in the process to manufacture these tools, we don't get paid until everything's done. We have every incentive to get done as soon as possible. We don't get any points for upsetting our customers.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the delays and inconvenience.

Richard Hummel / Woodpeckers Inc.
 
[member=4284]rmh[/member]
Thanks for weighing in Richard and giving us a little insight on your order/manufacturing process. Never thought about it until you mentioned it, but the approximate ship date is estimated before you even have 1 order on the books. Pretty unlikely that you'll ever be able to hit a bullseye on that note.

Consider, upon announcement of a new OTT, establishing a rough shipping window (say July - Aug), and then after the final tally comes in, you could update the shipping window on your website. I'm sure you have a good handle on how long the manufacturing process takes because you've already manufactured prototypes. The unknown factor is how many items are going to be ordered at one time.

The updated shipdate could lessen a lot of aggravation on both sides.  [scratch chin]
 
[member=4284]rmh[/member] Might I suggest that you copy your excellent post here and place it on your own website also.

There are a huge number of users here, but I suspect that there are also others elsewhere who would love to hear the same message directly from you elsewhere.

Just a suggestion.

Peter

Disclaimer:  I did my job as someone who deals with lots of personalities on the internet.  I gave honest advice that I thought would serve the poster well.  When you come to companies the advice may not come across the same way as if you were giving it to an individual.

I have several products made by Woodpeckers.  They are quality products and I had no issue spending my money purchasing them.

I find the "One Time Product" label to be misleading whereas history has proven that if the demand for the products is great enough there will be a further edition.

Peter Halle
 
I'm a BIG fan of Woodpecker products.....I have a wall filled with Woodpecker measuring tools. 

I have grown to HATE the "One Time Tool" gimmick.  Yes, I think it's a gimmick.  If you make a tool available one time, why the heck is it available a year or so from the original release date, or released more then once?  It is NOT a one time tool. 

Have I purchased OTT's?  Yes.  With no remorse.    The latest OTT order I'm waiting for is for the large 660mm framing square that I ordered back in January 2015.

Once I receive the 660mm square THEN I'M DONE  with Woodpecker !!!!  Some of the latest offerings from Woodpecker as well as the one time tool crap has turned me off from Woodpecker. 

Okay, my little rant is over.  [tongue]

Feels good to vent !

Eric

 
Try explaining to a customer why their kitchen sink that was supposed to be here 5 weeks ago won't be here until the end of June---maybe.

I just print the emails and hand them to her now. Good thing I put a temp sink in.

Tom
 
[member=4284]rmh[/member] as long as the quality continues to be excellent you'll have my business.
 
Thanks for the offer cheese but I'm wanting the steel ruler. As I read the posts on this I don't disagree that their products are great as I have a few others. It's the whole process like Erock said. This will be my last one time tool purchase. Most people act like it's not a big deal. Well it is to me. I feel that they misrepresented the deal.
I know this is not the same thing but lets say its a part for your car that you use every day or closing on a house that they date gets changed for 2 more months. I would suspect most of you would have a different tune on the matter. Just my option on the matter and nothing personal to anyone person.
 
Paul G said:
With my previous OTT orders they didn't bill my CC until it shipped. Have they changed their policy?

I had sent an email to WP earlier this week (unbeknownst to this thread) asking if they were going to meet their estimated time to ship. I received a reply indicating the month of May was the new target date (to me, that really means it will be sometime in June). This is the first time I ordered an OTT or any WP product so I will hold judgement.

And for the record, Woodcraft did charged my cc the day I ordered it.
 
Drich said:
Thanks for the offer cheese but I'm wanting the steel ruler. As read the posts on this I don't disagree that their products are great as I have a few others. It's the whole process like Erock said. This will be my last one time tool purchase. Most people act like it's not a big deal. Well it is to me. I feel that they misrepresented the deal.
I know this is not the same thing but lets say its a part for your car that you use every day or closing on a house that they date gets changed for 2 more months. I would suspect most of you would have a different tune on the matter. Just my option on the matter and nothing personal to anyone person.

It's not a big deal to me because I've come to assume a OTT will be late. If my payment were collected at order time then I'd likely be more anxious about it but I use a CC directly with Woodpecker so I'm not out anything till it ships. I agree a better job could be done communicating/estimating delivery times, maybe not even estimating delivery until all the orders are in.
 
Woodpecker should change the name of the program to Limited Availability Tool Event.  [tongue]

In their defense, I have had two major issues with their products. In one case a refund was given and after consideration, I kept the product and returned the refund. In the second case, I exchanged a tool for a one with better quality finish. (The bevel scale for which finish made a difference in legibility).

 
Lots of companies, even small ones, don't have nearly the problems that Woodpeckers has in delivering products on time.  They even seem to have problems with "stocked" items that have long waits until shipped. 

I've bought (well ordered would be more accurate) 2 items directly from them.  A OTT that looks like it'll get pushed back by as much as 2 months and a weekly special.  The weekly special still shows as order received and was paid for on Monday, it's now Friday.  Sorry but that's unacceptable.  That might have flown back in the catalog mail order days but it's well below today's standards.

erock said:
I have grown to HATE the "One Time Tool" gimmick.  Yes, I think it's a gimmick.  If you make a tool available one time, why the heck is it available a year or so from the original release date, or released more then once?  It is NOT a one time tool. 

OTT is a marketing gimmick.  Make people think that you have to order this tool NOW or you may never see it again and then you have to wait for Woodpeckers to "get to it" because of their backlog of oversold promises.  They can't even keep "in stock" items in stock.  How in the world can they expect to deliver OTTs on time?  BTW, "on time" should be less than the 4 month timeframe that they give you when you order a OTT.

Woodpeckers has "the" top of the line products, no one has better.  The logistics side needs fixing.  Hire the right people and you won't have to wait until the last order comes in before you begin the process of fulfilling those orders.  There are people that can accurately project orders, supplies needed, and time so that you don't even have to wait until a prototype is finished to begin the production process, it should be started even before orders begin.  To say that you don't know if there will be 1 order or 10,000 is bull.  You'd never bring a tool as far as that without an idea of what the demand will be.

 
jimbo51 said:
Woodpecker should change the name of the program to Limited Availability Tool Event.  [tongue]

That's funny!

jimbo51 said:
In their defense, I have had two major issues with their products. In one case a refund was given and after consideration, I kept the product and returned the refund. In the second case, I exchanged a tool for a one with better quality finish. (The bevel scale for which finish made a difference in legibility).

Quality and service after delivery is fantastic.
 
Runhard said:
I understand the frustration about waiting for tools. I waited 1-1/2yrs (18 months) for a small square from Bridge City Tool Works, now that was a long wait  [eek]

Neither company, Woodpeckers or Bridge City is for everybody. If you have a hard time waiting, don't order from them.

I've been dealing with both for years, and after ordering something I just forget about it. It arrives when it arrives. It always been worth the wait to me.
 
Cheese said:
...I just received a note from Woodpecker's stating the DF 500 Offset Base that was to ship by 2/1/2015 will now ship by 4/24/2015 ...

I got my Offset Base last week. Very nice. Late, but again worth the extra wait.
 
Maybe I'm in the minority but I don't have a problem with the OTT program in general. I can understand it is impossible to accurately predict demand ahead of time, but after the orders are in they can probably get a better handle on it than has been happening. I've got a lot of background in commercial printing and it is impossible to predict our orders even with contracts, juggling jobs trying to stay efficient, meet ship dates and keep staff busy without maxing OT is the norm, and a few screw ups, a sick employee, supply delays or a broken machine can torpedo the best laid plan. Better customer comunication could help and perhaps their retail network could stop billing CCs until product ships.
 
joraft said:
Runhard said:
I understand the frustration about waiting for tools. I waited 1-1/2yrs (18 months) for a small square from Bridge City Tool Works, now that was a long wait  [eek]

Neither company, Woodpeckers or Bridge City is for everybody. If you have a hard time waiting, don't order from them.

I've been dealing with both for years, and after ordering something I just forget about it. It arrives when it arrives. It always been worth the wait to me.

+1
 
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