I’ve had a pair of Birkenstock London shoes on order since the beginning of March. Yesterday while we were in the city, I went to the B Store where I placed the order to find out what the status of my order was. According to the shop assistant, who agreed that it was rather a long time to be waiting for one’s shoes, “the warehouse in Melbourne” does not prioritise single orders – instead their focus is on filling stock orders for the various Birkenstock shops around the country. And because it has been weeks and weeks, I should give the shop another call next Wednesday (after their regular orders are received on Tuesday), and if my order isn’t in, she will refund the $50 deposit I paid when I ordered my shoes. Because I’m not going to get them.
I’m very peeved. Can someone please explain why a “single”order, that is, an order placed by a customer, should be a lower priority than an order placed by a shop? Surely, if a shop is receiving new stock all the time, it’s just a matter of making sure the customer’s single order is sent over along with the other stock. All that would need to be done would be to ensure that the order is added to the regular stock delivery – it wouldn’t even have to cost extra to send. And it’s not as if I just ordered something on a whim – I did pay a deposit, which I presumably would lose if I change my mind or don’t collect the shoes for whatever reason. And isn’t a customer’s special, single order an indication that there is a definite demand for the item? If you don’t meet that demand because it’s merely a lower priority, you’ll be… umm… not meeting the demand? If some marketing/sales boffin cares to explain the logic behind this to me, feel free. I doubt I’ll be convinced, though. NOT HAPPY, JAN!
4 Comments
Large (and even some small) companies seem to be getting more and more obsessed with their processes and policies than with actually selling products to customers. Over the last two years I have had many failed and frustrating shopping attempts, to the point that I now consider ebay as having far better service than most shops and almost all large companies (huge range, items delivered to my door, fast, and a good price). *sigh*
that’s just plain bad customer service!
Want me to check out the Birkenstock Shop in Freo for you?
Yes, Steve, if I’d known my order was a lower priority I wouldn’t have bothered – I would have looked online!
Kathryn, thanks but no – when I enquired about the shoes they rang around and none of the shops around the place have them in stock (smaller size than they normally stock apparently).