Poor Customer Service

[Almanac]

Quite disappointed with the level of service from StillDragon Europe on recent orders we placed.

In general I don't favour having this type of equipment sent by post or courier from outside this jurisdiction. C&E are everywhere and have sweeping powers to seize and search. However, after some research on their site and contacting a few people I know who've bought from them I decided to take a chance.

They told me 3-4 working days for elivery to Ireland - not so

I initially ordered a 2X4X2 Torpedo on 17 Nov and the tracking link went like this;
Ordered Monday 17 Nov
In Transit/Shipped Monday 17 Nov
Distributed Tuesday 18 Nov
Sent Abroad 15.42 on Wednesday 19 Nov (this is where it got interesting)
Arrived Ireland 09.10 on Sunday 23 Nov
Delivered to me 10.49 on Tuesday 25 Nov

In Ireland we don't have great expectations of our postal service but they generally get letters delivered the next day after posting and parcels next day if posted in the morning and 2days if posted in the afternoon.

That this order was despatched on the day it was ordered is efficient, so far so good, but for the order to then take 7 days to cover a distance that is, in effect, a sub 2 hour flight, is unacceptable unless shipping is free, in which case I'm happy to wait.

When I pay for shipping I expect the goods to arrive promptly and within the stated times or at least close to.

Of course this could be just a one off, except that it wasn't.

Unknown to me, one of my sons, who is returning to the U.S. tomorrow, ordered some additional equipment as an early present that he wanted to give me before he flies back. On 21 Nov he ordered 2 X 4" Bubble Tees which I had told him I intended to buy in the New Year.

Once again SD and the Austrian Post have failed to meet their promise. The order arrived in Ireland at 10.49 on 28 Nov, too late to make delivery before the weekend when he flies back to the U.S. So I won't receive them until at least 01 Dec but, more importantly, he won't get to give them to me himself which he wanted to do as he can't get home for Christmas this year

I don't care what the excuses are, if you promise delivery in a particular timeframe them make sure you keep your promise.

In an email to my son SD Customer Service said, "For Austrian Post the responsibility ended on 25th November when the parcel has left Austria." But my (reasonable) question is, where was the first parcel between 19 Nov and 23 Nov? and as is hadn't arrived in Ireland until 23 Nov, similarly the second order disappeared for 4 days who was responsible for them if not SD and Austria Post jointly.

Very unhappy customers here - not a very good start for SD

AM

[Anavrin]

My guess is that parcels sit in a customs warehouse for a while before and/or after international flights, seems the postal services on both sides do their bit fairly efficiently, can't think of any other reason.

[Easydrinker]

My reasonable response to this is that SDe,"does what it says on the tin".A phrase that I suspect Michael does not know.
An email at every stage of the process,Gazillions of them.Great.
Pay with Paypal = protection.
I have placed two orders so far,and it went as clockwork.
I don't think that the merchant can be blamed for the shippers inadequacies or logistical problems.
Just my twopenceworth.

[Almanac]

My guess is that parcels sit in a customs warehouse for a while before and/or after international flights, seems the postal services on both sides do their bit fairly efficiently, can't think of any other reason.

European Union - No Borders and No Customs barriers.

Checked with an old mate in Customs Clearance - this is not where the problems lie.

AM

[YHB]

Sorry Aidan,

I have to disagree.

From what I can see, SDE processed, packaged and posted your order on the day it was received, I think that they should be applauded for that.

After that, the schedule was dictated by two international mail agencies and the whims of Irish baggage handlers who appear to have taken 4 days to transfer the parcel from One postal company to another. This is SD's fault? I do not think so.

Yes SDE could have selected a different postal service and you could have guaranteed next day delivery but at what cost? It must be a difficult balancing act for SDE to choose between a guaranteed delivery service and a cost that customers will accept.

Sorry but I think you are being a bit unfair

[Almanac]

Wow! Great solidarity guys! I would definitely have expected better from you Brian.

If a company promises 3-4 days delivery, and charges for that service, but it takes 9-10 days to actually deliver, that company is responsible to it's customers for the failing of their chosen carrier. It would only be otherwise if the customer chose the carrier.

As I said, the orders being shipped on the day they were ordered was efficient on the part of SD. It's what happened after that that I have a problem with up to the time it arrived in Ireland four(4) days in transit????

I used to think we Irish were complacent about customer service, apparently we're not as bad as I thought.

If a company promises a level of service and charges for it then they must deliver that level of service, i.e. dependable shipping/delivery schedule. The carrier they chose is an extension of their business, delivering their promises as well as their goods.

SD's chosen carrier's tracking website said the parcels had left Austria on a particular day but those same parcels didn't arrive in Ireland until four(4) days later, which begs the very reasonable question, where the hell were they?

In my particular case, I live out in the countryside. Nearest neighbour 1.5Km, nearest town 10Km, so I want to know, within a reasonable margin of error, when a delivery may arrive so I can ensure there is someone at home, on that day, to receive and sign for it.

If it is shown on a tracking system as 'sent abroad', I think it's reasonable to expect that, allowing an abundance of time to get the job done, it will arrive in the destination country, just a few miles away, the following day. As their is no Customs involvement in internal EU shipments to delay things, it should be delivered the first or second day after that, depending on the time it arrived in country - which is what happened once it entered the Irish postal system.

How dare I expect good service, and even worse if I tell anybody about it when I don't get the service I expect and demand - even though I'm the one paying for it! What a terrible person I am!

I've asked SD to introduce a special delivery category for orders going to Ireland. Air Freight with guaranteed delivery at present rates and a second option of Standard Delivery (as in "it'll get there sometime") as Free Shipping.

Bottom line here for any business is, if you can't do it, don't promise it, just to get orders!

AM

[Myles]

You may be unlucky. I have had a few deliveries from them and mine have all arived in good time. That said I have no problem with the idea of paying for a courier service, if I think it might be of value.

I recently ordered something from the UK and it arrived at my hotel in the UAE on the 3rd day.The courier was an extra cost but worth it in my view.

[Almanac]

UK to UAE 5500Km - +Customs Clearance, = 3 days
Austria to Ireland 2100Km - No Customs Clearance, = 9 days

Nothing wrong there, right

AM

[Admiral Toad]

Keep calm lads it's only a courier >:D

Seriously it sounds the couriers the problem in fact the bit I ordered from china got here quicker than Aidens gear

We've used several couriers at work and none are pefect they've damaged or lost goods on their way to customers or the local delivery courier in a delivery area is unreliableand as for compensation....forget it

I'll give you the heads up on my delivery and I hope AM's was just a glitch

[YHB]

Wow! Great solidarity guys! I would definitely have expected better from you Brian
AM

Sorry Aidan I did not realise I had to agree with everything you say.

I did write as long reply but deleted it, life's too short.

[Almanac]

I never expect anyone to just blindly agree with me on anything. My problem was that, as a member of this forum, I posted a complaint about a supplier who expects to make money from our members among others. As such I had no expectation that anyone would simply agree with me, in fact I expected that SD might post a reply that they would look into why deliveries to Ireland were taking so long, but I didn't expect to be contradicted or slated by fellow members for posting my particular complaint.

Suppliers are absolutely responsible for the success or failure of the carrier and/or delivery method they use and if they're not held to account they will continue providing shoddy service.

When poor service is encountered it should be posted publicly to put pressure on the supplier to do better and in this case to push SD into putting pressure on their carrier to improve the delivery service to Ireland.

I'm genuinely happy for those of you in the UK who will get good service because your orders travel direct from Austria, in this case, to UK, whereas Irish orders are being sent by the cheapest route through another country unnecessarily delaying the delivery.

But when you posted, "... the whims of Irish baggage handlers who appear to have taken 4 days to transfer the parcel from One postal company to another.", you added insult to injury because I had already researched and posted that the parcel did not arrive into Ireland for four(4) days after it was recorded as having been sent abroad. It turns out it was sitting in a warehouse in England where they don't bother too much about Irish mail.

As an aside, StillDragon have now amended their earlier claim of delivery within 3-4 working days to say that deliveries to Ireland all be completed "within 7 working days", that's a double up!

BTW Brian, I thought the old 'blame the Paddies for everything' attitude was long gone and particularly sorry to hear it from you.

AM

[YHB]

I am glad that SDE have been proactive and used this experience to revise their estimated delivery times to Ireland so that prospective customers will have a more realistic delivery date.

[SDeurope]

Dear aidanmac,

We take customer feedback very seriously, and I've already apologized to you and your son for the circumstances of your son's present to you not having arrived in time, and though I completely understand your disappointment, there was nothing we could do about it.

As already written to you and your son by e-mail, it really is not our fault, as we can not do any better than shipping the same day an order comes in, which was the case with both yours and your son's orders.

We can not guarantee shipping times and we have never stated that we do. There must have been a misunderstanding, we did not change any claim of delivery, because the message about the estimated delivery time in our shop check-out has always been "Usually within 7 working days" right from the beginning, which is not specific to a certain country but a carrier statement for all destinations within the European Union. Austrian Post tells a usual delivery time of 3-4 working days after pick-up to Ireland, which is a none-binding value from practical experience. If it takes longer as in your case, there may be an unusual problem during delivery (which could happen to any shipping service), or it may be due to your specific location, if the delay is induced by local circumstances.

We have already taken a look, but can not offer any other shipping service that does better or faster at reasonable costs. Shipping from Austria is indeed quite expensive, and considering that we are mostly dealing with heavy parcels, well known express services are pretty much out of question due to really high costs involved. Austrian Post is generally very reliable, has standard transport insurance included without surcharge, offers reasonable shipping times, and although considered expensive they are the best we can get here in our country.

All we can promise is to strive for the very best customer service possible. As a sign to propitiate you and your son I have issued free shipping vouchers for both of you for your next orders, if you decide to give us another chance.

Greetings,

Michael

[paul]

that seems fare to me,nice one michael, my order took 3-4 working days so was ok .i ordered an element from the usa on tuesday lunchtime and received it thursday afternoon how about that

[Easydrinker]

Seems very fair to me too.

Robert.