Dadant order on 5/5, not shipped yet (5/14)

[arthur]

You all that said they have poor service, in terms of shipping, were right.

I will not attempt to order again from dadant when at all possible.

My order from Walter Kelley (also in the spring, not long ago) came promptly.

And it's not like I ordered very much. 5 AJ Beetle Eaters.

AJ, I would try to sell from a different company.

[xC0000005]

I had the same experience with my order (a zipper veil and some thin surplus). I actually got a letter though, saying "We are heavily back ordered. Your order will ship as soon as we can. We are working extra hours." And it did ship, just took a while.

[arthur]

Oh, I should mention that they were perfectly happy to charge my credit card immediately. Even knowing they might not ship for a long time.

[Brenda]

I ordered a beginner's set up in March, which was promptly delivered. I recently ordered a veil jacket and got an email saying they were behind and it would be awhile. I received it about a week after ordering, which was a pleasant surprise.

[EngineeringBeek]

I ordered a jacket/veil, an alexander veil, and hive tool on 5/3 and received it on 5/12. Just have patience, it will come.

[EKW]

FWIW, I placed orders with three different suppliers last week. All three told me to expect a delay as they are backed up. Hey, it's spring, everyone wants bee equipment. I have always had great service from Dadant, from three different branches which I have used.

Sorry to hear that your order has been delayed, hope your stuff shows up soon.

[Ross]

Have you checked with Dadant office in Paris. They will ship locally if they have it in stock.

[Hambone]

If you order off of their website their shipping is very slow. If you call the location nearest you shipping very fast. Thats how its been for me. I agree w/ Ross you may want to call their Paris store. The have done me right everytime.

[Dan Williamson]

You all that said they have poor service, in terms of shipping, were right.

I will not attempt to order again from dadant when at all possible.

My order from Walter Kelley (also in the spring, not long ago) came promptly.

And it's not like I ordered very much. 5 AJ Beetle Eaters.

AJ, I would try to sell from a different company.

I don't understand the impatience some people have....

Here is a hint....Try ordering at times that aren't the busiest times of the season. You'll have better luck.

[Angi_H]

I have never had any troubles with them with all of the stuff I have ordered from them this year. About 2500.00 worth so far and more to come. But it is there busiest time of the year and they are very very swamped with orders and lots of stuff are back ordered. I have learned to not order off there web site. Especially since I have found out ther eis one only 30 min away from me. I call in the order and if it is in stock they pull it for me. If it is not they put that part of the order in for me and place it on hold then call me when it is ready and will either ship it to me at no cost or I will go and pick up and buy more when I am there. Every one who works there is very nice. I would if I were you call which ever branch is closer to you and give them your order number and see what they say. You might be able to have it shipped now if they have it all in stock and you will save on shipping. If you use the online order you will have it shipped from there Hamilton Il office shipping will cost more and it will take longer to get to you. Although if you know what you need ahead of time you should order in Dec. I am not getting some things I need but I can wait. You have not been waiting to long really. I have waited for 2 months some times for stuff if you order during the busiest time of the year you have to have loads of patients and wait.


angi

[Keith Jarrett]

I would agree with Dan, I have a order that is slow in coming but I don't need it till summer months, And Dadant frames are worth waiting for.

[arthur]

I don't understand the impatience some people have....

Here is a hint....Try ordering at times that aren't the busiest times of the season. You'll have better luck.

Ummm, that's a nice business plan you like.

I made an order on 5/5. I called today on 5/19. They said they will ship today. I said if I do not receive an email indicating that it is shipped today, I will cancel my order.

Never planning to order from them again. Somehow WTK can ship promptly during crunch time, but dadant can't.

Have you ever been to the grocery store and there are tons of people and only three checkers? Your suggestion is the equivalent of telling me to shop at 3am, because there are fewer customers. Well guess what, maybe I CAN'T shop at 3am, and maybe I DON'T WANT TO shop at 3am. And I will go the store that has enough checkers to allow me to check out in a reasonable fashion.

Maybe if people COMPLAIN enough, they will improve their service. I didn't know about avoiding the website, and calling one of their local stores. Maybe they could put that up on the site ("we recommend you do not use this website to order, as your shipment will be delayed. Call one of our stores. It's a peculiarity of our business.")

Definitely a bad place to order from if you are a newbie hobbyist like me who doesn't plan orders 4 months in advance.

[Dan Williamson]

I once ordered from Dadant online. 2 weeks later I called and no one had even noticed the online order. I ordered during the busy time and because it was during a busy time I cut them some slack. They apologized etc... Things happen. I'm not saying they are right....

Dealing with customers you find all kinds of people. Some of them think the world revolves around them. While I do my absolute best to provide quality service, for some folks its never enough. Those are the customers I'm happy to refer to another beekeeper.

Just understand that if ordering during the busy time there might be delays. If you find a supplier you like better. Then use them.

Personally, I felt you only gave them 9 days with your first post. Seemed a rush to judgment to me. But that is just my 2 cents.

[alpha6]

I placed a good sized order from man lake. They send me an email saying I should get it in 5 to 7 days later. Today is the 6th and I asked for a tracking number...they said they will send it to me when they ship...so they haven't even processed the order yet...and its going on a week. Last time baby...last frigging time.

For all you suppliers out there....if you don't want to lose business, staff up during your busy time. A little service goes a long way in this business. I would rather pay a buck or two more for something and get good service then sit with my bees up my ..... waiting for equipment from you.

You better believe I am taking my business elsewhere.

[Jeffzhear]

Actually, I like Mann Lake and Dadant both...having ordered and/or picked up thousands from them over the past year or so...Order early, receive early and avoid the rush!

I will absolutely continue to buy from those folks, they are two of the best in the industry, and I like Betterbee and Kelly too. Just my two cents, and I do feel for you having to wait...no one likes that.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Personally, I felt you only gave them 9 days with your first post. Seemed a rush to judgment to me. But that is just my 2 cents.

Dan, I feel the same way you do on this except for one thing that bothers me, they tagged his credit card without shipping the product. I don't understand why a reputable business would do such a thing.

[Angi_H]

Online orders will usually place a hold for that ammount to make sure that person has enough on the credit card to cover the cost of the ammount bought. Other wise they would decline it at order time if there was not enough. Hold fall off of credit cards if they have not been made perm with in 4 days. But that does not mean that that same charge wont come back later once they start processing the order. This is how online sales work.

Angi

[Dan Williamson]

Dan, I feel the same way you do on this except for one thing that bothers me, they tagged his credit card without shipping the product. I don't understand why a reputable business would do such a thing.

Could have simply been an oversight. Mistakes happen. I'm not defending the suppliers here... I don't know all the facts. I just have a problem when people get on public forums and starts name calling, bashing a supplier, etc... without allowing the process to unfold. Give the supplier time to make things right if an error happened. It could be that it was just a one time mistake. Doesn't make a company bad or not worthy of doing business with again. Too many people are quick to rush to judgement and start trashing people.

There are legitimate gripes out that and I don't have a problem with that. For example your branding iron issue... that was a real issue... and the issue with the bee supplier down south taking money and months later people still don't have their items... they won't answer the phone etc.... Those are real issues that I would like to hear about...

Let the processes play out, have a little understanding sometimes, recognize that mistakes happen, allow them to make it up to you, sometimes all it takes is... "We apologize".

[arthur]

I believe that everything I have asserted about my order with Dadant has been factual.

I know what good customer service is. This is not good customer service.

Maybe you old-hands are used to this kind of service. I'm not.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I called Dadant and talked to Gina who explained that when placing orders on the Internet the computer does not know whether items are out of stock so the card is automatically ran. There is an explanation posted on the site.

When placing an order on the phone the representative can tell you right away if an item is back ordered, how long the expected wait is, and the card will not be run until the day of shipping.

Now I understand, and as usual communication is key.