A tale of two window cleaning suppliers

Residential
1

i recently placed two separate orders around the same time, through two major east-coast based suppliers.

when i received both orders, each was incomplete.

[B]Supplier A[/B]
the order from supplier A was missing an item. i immediately sent an email to the support email account. within a couple of hours, i got a response from the OWNER of the company, and then a second response from the OTHER OWNER of the company. There were apologies for the oversight and promises to get the missing item out promptly.

Later that day I got an email with a tracking number for the shipment of the missing item. Two days later, I got the item as promised.

[B]Supplier B[/B]
I received my order from supplier B, and it was also missing an item. I called the customer service number, and after several minutes of fumbling around on the computer (during which time I was mistaken for at least two other companies/order numbers), I was informed that the missing item wasn’t shipped because it was backordered.

The CSR was very nice, and offered to provide a workaround, wherein the item would be shipped from the west coast warehouse (where it was in stock). I said “thanks” and proceeded to wait… for over a week.

On Monday i called again to find out the status of my order (the original order was now over a week old). The CSR couldn’t find any record of my interaction with the CSR from the previous week. The item still hadn’t been shipped, from either the east- or west-coast warehouse.

The CSR apologized for the confusion, and offered to ship the missing item “free of charge” that same day from the west coast location (which happened to be the location she was working from). To her credit, she personally supervised the item’s pulling from stock/shipment that day.

I received the item today, 14 days after i placed the order.

Conclusion:
-Suppler A is WCR

-I’ll let you speculate on who supplier B is…

2

I [COLOR=#ff0000]C [/COLOR]​your point.

3

nice try, dan.

Just Remember the loCation…

4

Oh, west coast. That isn’t Denver or somewhere in CO, is it?

5

Not a J fan anymore?

I like WCR myself. Just placed my first order today. They communicate your orders better AND the tracking.

6

Supplier A is a 45 minute drive from me.

Supplier B is 15 minutes away.

I have never been to supplier B. I am at supplier A 1-2 times a month.

Not that I have a beef with B, I just know exactly the kind of 5 star service I am going to get with A.

If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it, right?

7

Are you suggesting that one of these suppliers bring their [COLOR=#ff0000]A[/COLOR] game where customer service is concerned? :wink:

8

There are other suppliers out there?!

9

Man that place in carson, I only bought from them once, I was new and I can say looking back I kinda or pretty much got ripped off

10

suppliers in the UK always get moody when something goes wrong with an order. IF they try to resolve it ,its done slowly and incompetently ,as if its never happened before and you are a rogue buyer - and you always end up paying extra one way or another .

im not sure why this is !

11

I like supporting local businesses over buying elsewhere. BUT it has to make sense. Spending 10-20% more is OK in my book, so long as there is EXCELLENT customer service to go with it. Unfortunately, my ONLY local disty for supplies carries very little in the way of supplies I need. What they do carry is nearly double what I can get it for elsewhere AND the service there sucks. They keep telling me I should use Dawn or Joy for window soap. (tried it and was not impressed by the film I saw left behind)

So my only choice really, is to buy elsewhere. I have tried the J. They carry a lot of stuff, but in reality, way more than anyone really needs. WCR carries about anything I need now, or likely in the future. Stuff at WCR is priced reasonable, and when I can get the free shipping, that is titties. With the J I was getting wacked 15-18 bucks for FedEx and that adds up. That money could have been spent buying MORE stuff.

12

I shop where there is Great Customer Service and Quality tools and where they “always” have your back!!

My Loyalty runs deep and true…WCR is the place for ME!

Thanks WCR!

13

Now, now boys. Before the lynching starts let’s have a little respect for justice now.
To be fair, I have to say I have had both good and bad experiences with BOTH suppliers and have nothing but respect for BOTH!
Nobody is perfect all the time. When it comes to the nitty gritty, I think personal preference comes into play.

WCR and WCRA of course is AWSOME and there is no contest in that regard. That being said, I’m on the West Coast and it takes a while to get an order delivered.

With J in Carson, I get orders delivered in 1 day. I like that a lot!

Hands down though, with the WCRA there is no contest in who delivers the most bang for the buck!

That being said, I order from BOTH!
Depending on needs.
Both have slipped up on orders, and BOTH have resolved issues promptly.

Personally, I like BOTH for different reasons.

J on two occasions saved by business by owning up to a VERY expensive piece of equip that failed to work properly. I appreciate that they took responsibility for the products they sell. I will always appreciate that.

WCRA though has been the fundamental positive influence for the knowledge base & growth of our WC biz.

The value of being a WCRA member is priceless.

So, as one of the Jury, I say:
"Not Guilty"
I love both!!
IMHO
(For what it’s worth, FYI ordered something-something this weekend to take advantage of the AWSOME special this weekend!)
Thanks [MENTION=1]Chris[/MENTION] & [MENTION=4]Alex[/MENTION] for all that you do for our industry!

14

Don’t take what I said as a means of hanging one company. It wasn’t.

I just prefer at this point, to deal with WCR. I dig the fact that the guys that run and own this store, also interact with the people here.

Look at all the great vids put out by WCR. It isn’t just about getting your dollars in their pockets. Like anything else we spend money on, it’s really about the VALUE we perceive we are getting for the money. I see more value here, then over there.

The J makes it a PITA to view their vids. All the money I have spent with them, what bit of “extra” have they given in return? Nothing that I can see. WCR appears to go the extra mile for us. I like that.

15

spent over $2000 in tools from J this year so far, I dont shop at wcr because they have an exclusive members only club (wcra) which i cant get into unless i pay a yearly fee. open that club up for free, or atleast free to businesses that have an established work history (3yrs in service) and I would spend all my money at wcr store.

16

It only cost $99.00 to join and it been worth it so far…

17

at wcr they sell their sectional ladder pieces $30 higher then J and then make you feel special by saying “this item ships free(in USA only)”, so you are basically paying for your own free shipping.

so if someone like my self that does not live in contenential US, I have to pay that extra $30 and the free shipping does not apply to me.

5 piece sectional ladder at J = 860

5 piece sectional ladder at wcr = 1050

18

What?
What are you babbling about? I am not a member of WCRA so far, and I just ordered from WCR…

If you think 99 bucks is too much for what WRCA offers, I think you are nuts. From all I can tell, you get marketing, training, and may other things from the LOW price of 99 bucks. IWCA costs 250 a YEAR. I don’t know WHAT they offer members other than a discussion board and the privilege of saying they are members, for that 250.

Do you know what it costs to have a pro design marketing materials for you? :confused:

19

I thought the $99 wcra offers included the private message board, my initial complain was about having to pay to get into the private board, if it costs 250 a yr then that sucks.

20

IWCA costs 250 a year. … not the WCRA

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