suggestion on drop shipped item customer service.

[seapug]

I would like to suggest that Marine Depot establish a better system for dealing with missing parts on items that are drop shipped from manufacturers (i.e. light fixtures).

Based on what I experienced with my last order, it seems that if a part is missing on an item drop shipped from another company, the order to have the part replaced is put last in line in the order queue with that manufacturer. In my case, it was missing part that could have been shipped to me in a small padded envelope in 3 days for about $1.50 if someone could have taken an extra 5 minutes to correct their mistake.

I waited a week before giving up and spending another $30 at a local store on a hanging kit that was supposed to be included with the item I purchased. I had to because my tank had already gone 7 days with no light and I had a brand new light fixture sitting in my living room with no way to use it.

There were no tracking number or order status update on my Marine Depot account and no reply to my inquiries. When I finally received a reply to my inquiries 12 days after the drop ship order was placed, I was told that there was trouble with correspondence with the manufacturer and order had been canceled since I said I went and purchased the item on my own. Uh...thanks(?).

I would suggest Marine Depot establishes a system for expediting/prioritizing fulfillment in cases where an item is missing from a drop-shipped order. I'm a patient, reasonable person and I understand mistakes happen, but sending them to the back of the line and dropping communication on it is not a good way to correct them, especially on high dollar items like light fixtures.

 

[grigsy]

It sucks that you had to wait for an item that should have been in the box with your order. But, the problem really falls at the feet of the manufacturer, not Marine Depot.

You should get the manufacturer's phone number from MD then call the manufacturer direct and they should sent it to you right away.

MD though should have told you sooner about any trouble from correspondence with manufacturer.

 

[seapug]

I understand that the missing part is the fault of the manufacturer, not Marine Depot, but I purchased the item from Marine Depot, not the manufacturer. Manufacturers do this so they don't have to deal with retail customer service. Consequently, customer service issues are handled by the retailer so ultimately, it's Marine Depot's responsibility to make good on the retail sale. In the case of my order, both companies dropped the ball to a degree.

If I was a retailer that based its reputation on top level customer service and sold products drop shipped from a manufacturer, I would come up with a system to ensure the same level of customer service with drop shipped items as I provide with items shipped from my warehouse. I would tell them I want a direct line to the fulfillment department so these kind of issues can be dealt with promptly when they occur (which is inevitable). If the manufacturer would not agree to expedite issues of missing parts and pieces in items my business sold for them, I would not carry their products.

I work in a service related business. When someone pays for something and it's not correct, I don't send them to the back of the line and tell them I'll get to it eventually, I fix it right away. When lines of communication get crossed and mistakes are made again (which does happen), I make an attempt to make up for it. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the same from people I do business with.

I want to emphasize I'm not trying to trash talk Marine Depot and scare off customers because I had a single bad experience, merely making a suggestion to avoid putting future customers through the same frustration.