Retailer bad experience

[Country]

I have ordered almost exclusively from a certain retailer in Kent, Ohio for two years. Had to call customer service for the first time last week and whoa what a nightmare it has been. Three calls, three promises and 10 days later still no shipment on items that I was told were in stock. I calmly explained the obvious- that I needed to follow a fairly tight timeline when making wine. And customer service told me that I shouldn’t order from them if I want timely service. Unreal. First bad experience with them, they have been really good at sending kits out but I think it’s time to start paying a little extra at my local shop.
Sorry for the rant, shoppers beware.

 

[Doug’s wines]

Wow. If this is the one I believe it is, I am very disappointed. I believe they just moved and that might be causing the delays / issues however that is a very inappropriate response. They have lately been my preferrred kit vendor lately as their prices are usually much better than others and I’ve never experience a delay (even while they were moving).

 

[Country]

Yes, it’s who you’re thinking of.
This is really disappointing because the delay is effecting three separate wines I have underway. It all started when I got a bad pack of kiesesol in an Eclipse kit. WE said they could not ship that to the States due to customs rules so I should contact Label Peelers. I did and they agreed to send the kiesesol right out. While on the phone I asked if they had MLF cultures because I was starting juice buckets. He said they were in stock and would also be sent right out. I adjusted the PH of my juice buckets in anticipation of the MLF. Problem started because it really wasn't in stock so my order is on hold while they wait for it. Did they go ahead and send the kiesesol to me? No. An Eclipse kit on hold because of a $2 pack of chemicals and two juice buckets past prime to MLF because customer service makes excuses instead of, well, service.

I had a case where Midwest forgot to include part of my order once so I called and they sent it out that very same day, next day air.

 

[heatherd]

I have had nothing but good experience so hope you'll give them another chance!

 

[Country]

Still waiting to see how this works out. Not looking good so far.

 

[wrongway]

Wow Country, Sorry to hear that! I am very new to wine making and bought most of my stuff from them. I have only ordered twice but good luck so far!

 

[balatonwine]

And customer service told me that I shouldn’t order from them if I want timely service. .

Running a business, and thus having been on both sides or the customer service experience I know that "stuff happens" (that is the family friendly version ). So I am pretty tolerant with retailer promises, even with time lines that are missed. But a comment like that is blaming you. That is not acceptable. A business really shows its colors when it has to deal with such issues. And that was handled very badly. Right there, I would have canceled my order and gone elsewhere.

 

[Scooter68]

Based on the experience described, it would appear to be an example of "Low Bidder" behavior. Some business think that because they give you a great price you should be more tolerant. Doesn't work that way. Such behavior is no longer accepted these days, there is too much competition, and folks usually know that lowest price is not always the best deal. Perhaps this business will wake up while they still have a business. Really hard to win back customers once you mistreat them.

 

[wrongway]

Agreed! they may as well have just said" Get out of here, We dont want you!" Wonder if that person was management or just some kid they hired?

 

[Johnd]

Sorry dudes, but somebody here needs to be an adult. You’re feeding off of the story of one member, from his point of view, convicting Label Peelers without anyone even talking to Matt? @Country you need to pick up the phone and share your experience with the owner, not start a bashathon on WMT.

This company has always been stellar in pricing, support, and service, and I, for one, don’t believe that they’ve suddenly gone bad. Is it possible that you’ve had a bad experience? Certainly. Every company is made up of people who have bad days, bad moods, or even just a bad employee, and the business owners want to know!!

It takes a lot more character(really wanted to say balls, but didn’t want to get in trouble) to share a problem with a business owner than to smash them with your keyboard.

 

[balatonwine]

Every company is made up of people who have bad days, bad moods, or even just a bad employee, and the business owners want to know!!

Agreed.

However.... The company hired this service rep. Which shows an internal problem with proper training of service reps. As already said, there are lots of alternatives. If the company wants to keep a customer they should spend more time with proper customer support training to avoid this from the get go. And now would need to prove to me this would not happen in the future to get my business back. I have already stated the importance of tolerance for reasonable issues. But being insulted is not reasonable. And money talks when money walks.

As a busy adult, I have no tolerance to be insulted by customer support. Any time. Any place. But, of course, that is just me.

By the way... To the OP - yes, do consider paying the "extra cost" of buying from a local business. Basically, I always try to support my local businesses. For one thing, if you have a problem, you are talking face to face with someone, rather than being a faceless customer on a network connection. And that can matter.

 

[Johnd]

Agreed.

However.... The company hired this service rep. Which shows an internal problem with proper training of service reps. As already said, there are lots of alternatives. If the company wants to keep a customer they should spend more time with proper customer support training to avoid this from the get go. And now would need to prove to me this would not happen in the future to get my business back. Money talks when money walks.

As a busy adult, I have no tolerance to be insulted by customer support. Any time. Any place. But, of course, that is just me.

By the way... To the OP - yes, do consider paying the "extra cost" of buying from a local business. Basically, I always try to support my local businesses. For one thing, if you have a problem, you are talking face to face with someone, rather than being a faceless customer on a network connection. And that can matter.

Didn't really have much of a problem with your comment. In fact, your comment is pretty much on point, though one event is not necessarily representative of the culture of the company, particularly when it's history is one of stellar performance and service.

As an owner of a company with over 50 employees, I can tell you first hand that it's easy to make a bad hire, despite all of the checks and balances, if that happens to be the case here. Feedback from our clients weighs heavily in our decisions about the performance of our employees and their ability to continue to be employees.

It's only fair to share your dissatisfaction with someone in authority, and it's also only fair to recognize the fact that there are loads of positive comments on this board about LabelPeelers and their historically good performance.

 

[balatonwine]

It's only fair to share your dissatisfaction with someone in authority

Agree.

However, more and more, especially with network remote purchases, it is increasing difficult to get hold of someone in authority.

As the OP already said, several phones calls have failed to resolve his issue. If you know a direct line to contact with someone in authority with this company, then I am sure the OP would be most appreciative.

Else, often, today, the only way to get the attention of authority is to take more drastic measures. Like walking and/or making a grievance public. So I have no problem with the OP making his issue public. In fact, given the scenario reported, I think it is reasonable.

 

[Country]

Just callceled the order. Product still not in stock with no real way of knowing when they might receive it. I’m fine with the truth, I can work with that. Certainly feel like I was mislead for a couple of weeks leading up to this point. Anyway, moving on.

 

[Scooter68]

Think the point is this was not a single event but an ongoing story. One bad phone call is one thing, and alone could be reason to quit a seller. But, from the OPs comments it seems to be more. Point is that in business nowadays, bad phone support on top of an order mis-handled is cause for concern. Companies change, standards change and a person is justified in expressing concern. What the rest of us do is our choice - there are other choices. Some us have been on both ends of this. One mistake is one thing, but IF that mistake is compounded by slow responses, and/or a bad person--to-person phone call, that pretty much all the chance most customers will give a business.

 

[Country]

Exactly. My take away from this is to trust your gut feeling. If you feel like you are not getting satisfactory service, move on. Don’t let someone hold your hobby, the thing you love, hostage over a few bucks. There are other options out there. In fact after I cancelled my order, I placed it with a competitor. It will be on my doorstep tomorrow. I wish I had made that call sooner. I make wine for the pleasure the experience brings me. Calling people out for misleading me is not my idea of fun, and trying to reach out to their boss over a $13 order isn’t my style. But sharing the information with like minded people on this forum is important to me. I appreciate reviews, good and otherwise, from all of the members here.

 

[GaDawg]

Sorry you had a bad experience with Label Peelers, but I have had nothing but good experiences from Label Peelers for years. I have had bad experience with that Florida place that can not be named and I think they have new owners, but I still wouldn’t order from them unless I know it’s a stock item. I will continue to use Label Peelers as long as they give me excellent service for a fair price.