Woodpeckers shipping delays?

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

HI,
I wonder what others have experienced when placing an order for an in-stock item at Woodpeckers?

I placed an order seven days ago. The item was not listed as back-ordered. My order status says "ready to ship," but nothing is happening.

I phoned to see if I could clarify anything on my end, and I was told everything was ready to ship and would probably ship soon.

I am trying to determine whether I can expect my new tool to arrive in time for my next project build, which I would have already started if I was not waiting, or if I need to make alternate plans.

I have been waiting patiently, but I do not want to be foolishly optimistic.

Do you have any idea what's going on in Strongville Ohio?

Thank you.

 

[Packard]

They remind me of the shuttle bus from the airport.  The bus would not leave the depot until it was full.  When they were busy, the bus filled quickly and you got a bargain transport home.  But late at night, when air traffic was slow, you could wait 2 or more hours for the bus to fill.

Undoubtedly, they have minimums to meet with their vendors for extrusions, anodizing, laser etching, etc.  It is likely that they won’t place their orders until they have enough orders to cover the minimums. 

That was my experience when I was naive and ordered one of their “One-time” products (It is still new and in the box).

If you cancel your order now, it just means a longer wait for others on the queue. 

Good luck.

 

[squall_line]

They remind me of the shuttle bus from the airport.  The bus would not leave the depot until it was full.  When they were busy, the bus filled quickly and you got a bargain transport home.  But late at night, when air traffic was slow, you could wait 2 or more hours for the bus to fill.

Undoubtedly, they have minimums to meet with their vendors for extrusions, anodizing, laser etching, etc.  It is likely that they won’t place their orders until they have enough orders to cover the minimums. 

That was my experience when I was naive and ordered one of their “One-time” products (It is still new and in the box).

If you cancel your order now, it just means a longer wait for others on the queue. 

Good luck.

This may have been true in the past for "One-Time Tools", but there are hundreds of production-run items that Woodpeckers keeps stocked in their warehouse to sell as orders come in.

To wit, they have recently expanded to sell their products through WoodCraft and other retailers, which means they have enough production capacity to be able to stock wholesale distribution channels.

Please don't spread misinformation about companies in this way.

 

[alltracman78]

Call and ask them.

Their tools are a bit on the expensive side. But they are generally very good quality. And their customer service has always been absolutely excellent. Which is one of the reasons I'll continue to support them.

I've had multiple problems over the years (a reflection of the number of tools I've bought), every single time I've called they've promptly addressed the issue and taken care of it.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

Call and ask them... every single time I've called they've promptly addressed the issue and taken care of it.

Yes,
I placed the order on Sunday. Late Wednesday afternoon I phoned and asked if there was any issue I could help with, such as address, billing info, etcetera. I also asked if the item was indeed in stock and was assured there was adequate stock to fulfill my order. I was told, everything was ok and it would ship that day.

On Friday afternoon I phoned and asked if the item was going to ship. I asked again if the item was actually in stock and was assured there was adequate stock to fulfill my order.  I was told, everything was ok and it would ship that day.

I like their tools. I want the tool. I just hope I can trust that it will ship in a timely manner. I would not have placed the order if it had been listed as back-ordered. I know better.

I can live without it for the current project, but it's an ideal time to use it, so I'd be willing to wait a few more days before proceeding with my DIY hobbyist project.

Thank you.

 

[Jason.L.Hagen]

You never mentioned what tool it was you ordered.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

My question is not about the tool but rather about handling times on items described as in stock and ready to ship.

It is a Woodpeckers-manufactured tool that has received mixed reviews and elicited emotive opinions at this forum. I did not want to invite a distracting discussion about the tool's merits, price, or value.

Nevertheless, I am eager to give it a try.

Thank you.

.

 

[Cheese]

I'll usually give them 7-10 days before I start to fret. They can be a little slow to ship but they make up for that with their customer service. The quality of the tools is definitely worth the wait.  [smile]

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

Having run a business primarily dependent on customer satisfaction, it seems crazy to me that this company has such an extended window for "in-stock" and "ready-to-ship" fulfillment.

In the past week, I have received and redirected 42 promotional emails from Woodpeckers and their subsidiaries to my trash folder. Somebody is working tirelessly to author and schedule the automated mailings, but no one has been tasked with putting my tool in a box and sending it out.

If they said, "Sorry, everyone has the flu this week," I could empathize, but if this is just business as usual, I can't be enthused.

I am not the kind of consumer who collects tools for future use, I generally buy what I need when I want to use it.

In the future, I feel I will owe it to myself to seek out any and all alternatives for tooling solutions before concluding that ordering from Woodpeckers is necessary or worthwhile.

 

[Packard]

I like shopping on Amazon.  With other vendors, it sometimes feels like an adversarial relationship.

However, if a product costs more than $100.00, I will shop around.

I recently purchased a pocket size voice recorder (the size of a packet of stick chewing gum).  It was $130.00 on Amazon, and $100.00 on Walmart’s site.

Walmart’s offering was a 3rd party vendor offering.  I placed the order.  Promised delivery date was the following day (Wednesday via US Postal Service).

But the Post Office did not receive the package until 4:15 p.m. on Thursday.  The package arrived on Friday.

The entire fault was with the vendor.  They took 2-1/2 days to drop the package off at the post office.  Very annoying.

Would I buy again?  Probably.  A 30% discount is his hard to overlook.  The product was as advertised and I am happy with the purchase.

Returns are easy.  I just walk up to the Customer Service counter in the local Walmart and they take the product and issue a refund. 

As I recall, If I ordered something by phone, it was quite common for the vendor to ship “within a week”.  Amazon changed our expectations of what acceptable shipping times should be.

 

[squall_line]

I can't say that I would ever buy anything from an online retailer that I absolutely needed to continue a project moving forward.  If that was the case, I would buy local, assuming I hadn't put all of my local retailers out of business by shopping exclusively online.

Woodcraft sells Woodpeckers now, and I'm fortunate enough to have recently received a Woodcraft within a 35 minute drive from my home within the last couple of years.  For Festool, my only option until then was Acme Tools, which is in my town, but also has employees who don't consider Festool to be worth their time learning about or understanding.  Their stock isn't always that great, either.

Woodpeckers' shipping has been completely hit and miss for me.  I pre-ordered a new tool and, 4 weeks after the initial ship date and people posting about receiving theirs, I sent in emails and called until it "magically" arrived at my door without much warning.

Another time, I ordered something that had a 4-6 week lead time for shipping.  I was actually counting on that shipping delay, because I didn't have space yet to store it.  It shipped within 3 days of my order, which was "above and beyond" but also a bit annoying, because of the circumstances.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

I live in a tiny town in the rural southeast Utah desert.

I am five to six hours one way travel from the nearest Woodcraft or Rockler brick and mortar store.

I am 120 miles from the nearest Walmart, although I can choose from three nearly equal-distance ones depending on whether I want to drive south, east, or north.

I am 120 miles from the nearest Home Depot or Lowes, and the next closest of each are another 100 miles.

We have a small local lumber yard, but they primarily sell warped sticks of Douglas fir at frontier town prices.

My "free" 2-day Prime shipping from Amazon takes five days minimum.

Thankfully, I am 1 mile from a wonderfully old-fashioned general store where I can get small bits of self-serve hardware at a moment's notice.

I am used to the long wait times, but I always hope the handling portion of the shipping process will proceed in a businesslike manner.

Thank you!

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

Day 10: Status continues to say In stock and Ready to ship.

I would phone again, but I do not want to cause the customer representative to continue telling me something that is not true.

My experience has soured.

 

[Cheese]

Day 10: Status continues to say In stock and Ready to ship.

I would phone again, but I do not want to cause the customer representative to continue telling me something that is not true.

My experience has soured.

I'd drop them an email...they respond to those rather quickly and it may be a different person that acts in a different manner.  I've found that it's the person that answers the phone or responds to the email that makes the difference.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

You are probably correct.

Having said that the two phone representatives I spoke with were polite, kind, and caring.

I am inclined to conclude that the management has put them in a position where they are being used to provide assurances and promises that the management feels no need to deliver upon.

 

[squall_line]

You are probably correct.

Having said that the two phone representatives I spoke with were polite, kind, and caring.

I am inclined to conclude that the management has put them in a position where they are being used to provide assurances and promises that the management feels no need to deliver upon.

Or they just don't have the answers and there's a legitimate misunderstanding somewhere.

I have not encountered the management at Woodpeckers to be deceitful nor as conniving as is being portrayed or assumed here.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

Both representatives took some time to check inventory, and provide assurances the item would ship that day.

If you are a manager and have not figured out how to stay aware that orders placed have not shipped in a timely manner you are not managing.

If you have a system that fools the staff into thinking stuff is in stock when it is not, then I would question your competency.

Something is wrong.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Woody,

Did you see my PM? Half an hour before your last post I offered to look into what's going on with your order.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

Hi,
Thank you very much for asking. No I did not see the message you sent this morning until checking my email this evening and seeing a notification.

I will send the personal message now, and hope to learn what you can find out tomorrow.

Thank you!

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

Hi,
Thank you, Jeff @Woodpeckers, for taking an interest in my order and making the effort to have it shipped.

FedEx picked up and scanned my package last night, so it should be here soon.

I look forward to using a thoughtfully designed and well-made tool.

Thank you!