140 replies to this topic

[royster13]

I heard a news article about the cost of customer service....Depending on the industry and level of service it costs between 3% and 15% of sales....If a supplier is having a hard time being competitive with prices (every client seems to want cheaper) where do you want them to cut?....Certainly not the quality of the product or imprint....Customer service costs money so do not scream for cheap and good customer service in the same breath.....RCS...

[DonsPromo]

Royce, I never scream for cheap prices. There are plenty of choices out there for promo items - if you want to spend more money, less money, etc. But , it is amazing how some supplier companies have such excellent customer service and some companies have such terrible customer service. Id rather pay a bit more on the items, and then have confirmations, have proofs on time, get calls returned, get confirmation of artwork, etc., get tracking info, etc.
I would bet that MOST of our fellow distributors would agree with me...................

[royster13]

Some would say companies like Norwood make distributors unhappy frequently but the are always high up the ASI Top Supplier rankings......Go figure.....And since when did what we want matter?.....Last time I checked we do what we do at the pleasure of the clients who spend money.....Without their cash we are nothing....RCS...

[sdmillar]

royster13 said:

Some would say companies like Norwood make distributors unhappy frequently but the are always high up the ASI Top Supplier rankings

Royce,
That is curious isn't it? I am sure that it has nothing to do wtih the amount of money that Norwood spends on ASI's marketing and advertising throughout a year. ;)

[biggerfish]

Every order I write is shipped directly to my customer, never to me.

I just got tagged by Apollo for Drop Shipping on 2 orders going to the same place. $6 out the window, on each order, going to the same place.

OK Debaca, you can have my 12 bucks. But you won't be getting another order.

[sdmillar]

Sounds like an error Rich, did you ask them if this was done in error or do they really normally charge to drop ship to one location?

biggerfish said:

Every order I write is shipped directly to my customer, never to me.

I just got tagged by Apollo for Drop Shipping on 2 orders going to the same place. $6 out the window, on each order, going to the same place.

OK Debaca, you can have my 12 bucks. But you won't be getting another order.

[biggerfish]

Jason at Apollo told me that this is normal policy, and is standard across the industry. Any shipping address besides my default ship to address gets a drop ship charge. I could understand if I had a couple of different addresses to ship to.

I got tagged on this by Sport Collector's Guild the same way back in April. I'd not to use them anymore either, but they have more specialized products, and are more difficult to replace than an contract embroidery house.

[steveb]

This is sort of silly, isn't it? Why should there be a charge to ship to your customer and not to you? Note this is not a split ship deal, where they have to make a different label, pack in a separate box, etc. EVERY drop ship not to the "default" address carries a charge. I think de fault is ours if we go for this. This, by the way, is NOT standard across the industry.

[royster13]

My billing address is in Canada.....My typical shipping address is in WA....I have never seen a "drop ship" charge......Not standard in my opinion....RCS...

[Allan]

Hey Rich,

Did you talk to Glenn or even PM him? If it is a industry standard then you have no complaint. However, I know that Glenn is very responsive to members of DT(much more than some of the other people that you may use).

I hate when a complaint is lodged at someone without having given the person that is being complained about a chance to rectify it. Don't say that you did because you talked with "Jason", you pointedly named Glenn in your posting without talking to him.

Don't blast fellow members without giving them a chance. We all have dealt with hourly know-nothing CSers that couldn't care any les about whether you take your business elsewhere.

The advice I have seen repeatedly on this site is to move up the food chain.

biggerfish said:

Jason at Apollo told me that this is normal policy, and is standard across the industry. Any shipping address besides my default ship to address gets a drop ship charge. I could understand if I had a couple of different addresses to ship to.

I got tagged on this by Sport Collector's Guild the same way back in April. I'd not to use them anymore either, but they have more specialized products, and are more difficult to replace than an contract embroidery house.

[apolloemb]

Rich....... WOW......

I am shocked that you did not not come to me first......

THANKS for putting us on blast. What can I say? We do not charge for e proofs like most of the other companies but we charge a drop ship charge and that is wrong? There is more paperwork involved etc. But all you care about is YOUR 40% plus margin...... On the other hand we take sometime less then 20% in order to help you get your foot in the door plus we help you in freight offering you 3 locations to ship from......

We are not the ONLY company charging a drop ship charge......

If you are any one else would like to ask me..... 310- 413-3487

[apolloemb]

Rich..... After checking out what happened I noticed you did not mention ALL the details of the order.....

There were 2 separate PO..... 1 for a flat good (polos) 1 for a cap (visors) the POLO order should have had a LTM of $ 90.00 total for the polos and Jason gave you a discount and charged you only $ 45.00 LTM..... He should have charged you a drop shipment on each PO but he charged you only one $ 6.00 charge.......

I have no clue what you talking about so in all fairness you should give me us the benefit of the doubt

[neoadman]

[quote name='Allan']
Don't say that you did because you talked with "Jason", you pointedly named Glenn in your posting without talking to him. [quote]

Allan,
I understand what your meaning is but when I read the same thing - I took the reference of Glenn to mean Apollo. Interchangable in my mind.

But then again if Glenn was "The Great" manager" he is :D Jason would of had the correct answer up front. I have spoke to Jason in the past and happen to know he is been with the company a short time. Just that CS needs to be on top of IT ALL the time.
I believe that CS should be given the chance to use their brain, not just state policy. my 2 ¢

Steve

[apolloemb]

Steve..... Thank you for the email..... As far as Great I am far from that.;)

[rcasner]

Glenn, Thanks for the clarification. As always, more to the story.

However, I am not sure I understand the logic of a drop ship charge if I ship it to my client instead of my office. Where is the added labor in this? You still have to input my address in your UPS address book, so what is the difference in adding my clients?

[apolloemb]

Allan.... maybe you neven noticed it is built into the freight but we do not hide anything from our customers......

[biggerfish]

Glenn - I asked your man Jason to talk to you and you were "unavailable". He told me that the $6 drop ship charge is your policy, and that it's an "industry standard". If it's not your policy, please let me know, and more importantly, adjust my invoice.

Don't even get me started about your less than minimum charge. I'm doing 66 pieces @ $3. Your minimum is 72. You're charging me $45 for a less than minimum. If you were in fact doing 72 pieces I'd be charged $18 more - that should be your less than minimum.

Now you get to do even less work for more money. And you're crying about low profits. As far as your profits go, I have very little time to worry if anybody else is making money except me.

Allan said:

Don't say that you did because you talked with "Jason", you pointedly named Glenn in your posting without talking to him.

I attempted to talk to Glenn, and he was not available. But should I have to talk to Glenn? A drop ship charge is a Stupid Policy. No matter who I talk to. Glenn, as neoadman pointed out, is the face/voice of Apollo here.


This thread is about Supplier's Stupid Policies - Apollo's policies are not only stupid, they're very expensive.

apolloemb said:

I have no clue what you talking about so in all fairness you should give me us the benefit of the doubt

That is obvious that you have no clue, because there is no doubt here. The numbers are correct, and I'm having to pay them because my back is against the wall. So "in all fairness," (as if me calling you out to others is not fair) you should speak up and answer these questions directly and honestly:

1) Do you have a drop ship charge to any address that is not the distributor's office?

2) Is your less that minimum charge more money than you would make if I actually did the minumum?

[Schlep]

Rich if the less than minimum charge is more than if you did the full amount why would you not do the full amount and then just trash or what ever the extras? Just curious.

[biggerfish]

Schlep, when this was discussed with Jason last week, that's exactly the point I made. I even asked Jason to go and dig 6 pieces of fabric out of the trash and embroider them, and ship them to me overnight. We both had a good chuckle at the time, because he would have had to add another Drop Ship charge.

I had no idea it was a $45 fact until I got the list of charges today. Items are to be shipped tomorrow for delivery on Wednesday.