Partial Shipments

[EleanorR]

Jayvap is a devout Blooger whose post appears to be not only factually incorrect but darn-near impossible, based on the live-inventory system.

Thankfully, all it really did was highlight what fantastic, up-front and non-shady service and CS V4L has, what with super-fast shipping, immediate account credits and/or super-generous substitutes etc.

Thanks, Jayvap! Now, can we stop with the childish games?

EDIT: I see that as of now, one day later, the OP has been edited to be less inflammatory and accusatory. Good.

 

[keelalagirl55]

I have had one time an item out of stock that I promptly got a credit for.....hey it's the risk I take by constantly having a cart full of stuff and not checking again before I submit the order....lol. I'd much rather have the credit than a substitution of something that I may not even like.....Kudos to V4L!!! I absolutely love the fast turn around of my orders!

 

[jayvap33]

This is not standard policy. However, sometimes I have the fulfillment people do this if they determine that a suitable substitute is not available. I tested the idea of having my Cs team try to call every order that there was a problem with. THIS WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER!! We ended up playing phone tag for days, and orders were delayed. So instead of delaying an order, I have them credit the item that is out of stock. In my personal opinion, I would rather receive my order QUICKLY and be credited for the product next time. I hope this clears things up

Jayvap is a devout Blooger whose post appears to be not only factually incorrect but darn-near impossible, based on the live-inventory system.

Thankfully, all it really did was highlight what fantastic, up-front and non-shady service and CS V4L has, what with super-fast shipping, immediate account credits and/or super-generous substitutes etc.

Thanks, Jayvap! ...

I'm the OP, lemme wrap this up.

Chadley:
• Great response thanks, it's what I expected basically but I'd like to add that when your live inventory DOES fail, and a customer DOES get a partial shipment, you should refund his/her shipping charges since there is a good chance he/she will have to order when the item is replenished.
• AND, you should reflect this in the order status and email the customer immediately. If you can't get this process automated through your software system, do it through your customer service dept. It is RARE right? So this should not be a problem.

Elenor:
• This thread is quite valid. I rep Bloog and V4L and was given this information by more than one customer of mine. I also rep Blu Cigs and Green Smoke. I vape them all, as well as Great lakes Vapor, though they as of yet have no rep program...

 

[Mark Marshall]

I'm the OP, lemme wrap this up.

Chadley:
• Great response thanks, it's what I expected basically but I'd like to add that when your live inventory DOES fail, and a customer DOES get a partial shipment, you should refund his/her shipping charges since there is a good chance he/she will have to order when the item is replenished.
• AND, you should reflect this in the order status and email the customer immediately. If you can't get this process automated through your software system, do it through your customer service dept. It is RARE right? So this should not be a problem.

Elenor:
• This thread is quite valid. I rep Bloog and V4L and was given this information by more than one customer of mine. I also rep Blu Cigs and Green Smoke. I vape them all, as well as Great lakes Vapor, though they as of yet have no rep program...

I have to concur... his initial post is not incorrect or misleading, and if there is a live inventory system, it ain't working so hot.

1:22 p.m. Friday - I placed an order. Order completed confirmation mail same day.
Monday 9:52 a.m. Got notification that my order had shipped. Great!
Tuesday 9:51 a.m. I get an e-mail saying that I've received a $25.00 gift certificate from V4L! Message on the gift cert: wowboy out of stock

I go back and look at my order at V4L - order has been changed - Wowboy has been changed to "store credit".

It's cool - I understand now what V4L is going through with getting the juices fulfilled on their end - and can't WAIT for the high-nic Wowboy to return. But I wouldn't slam Jayvap here - the initial post was correct.

 

[jayvap33]

Thanks Mark:

I wonder now after reading everything if the culprit here is shopping carts that have been filled but not purchased. This would mess with inventory for sure. I love keeping items in my cart but maybe this should time-out, or update at the moment of checkout...

 

[Rappel_Welch]

When I received my order after ordering from the big sale, I had a note on the back that they were giving me a store credit for items that were not shipped because they were out of inventory. They were in stock when I ordered them, so the live inventory system in this case didn't mean much. As was stated in my note, the sale was crazy.
I don't have a problem with this, because I did get everything else I ordered, and I was given a store credit. And yes, I did receive the rest of my order very quickly. That said, I do understand where the poster is coming from with regard to paying shipping costs. Personally, I learned quickly that I need to stay stocked up and order often (like this is a problem lol).

 

[Katalyst]

Same thing happened to me and I simply spoke with Chad and he was kind enough to credit me for the shipping expense, which was all I was really concerned about. V4L does it again with great service!

 

[Sayvil]

When that happened to me, I just waited for the next time I ordered. Then applied the gift certificate to the order I would have payed shipping cost for any way. Besides, I ordered with a big discount and the gift certificate was for the price of the item without the discount. I win any way I look at it. LOL

 

[Morandir835]

This is where filling your cart the day before screws things up... It's first come first serve with inventory... Not V4L's fault that certain flavors are exceptionally popular......

 

[keelalagirl55]

When that happened to me, I just waited for the next time I ordered. Then applied the gift certificate to the order I would have payed shipping cost for any way. Besides, I ordered with a big discount and the gift certificate was for the price of the item without the discount. I win any way I look at it. LOL

+1..............

 

[EleanorR]

I'm glad to see the OP decided to edit his OP, to be less accusatory and inflammatory.

 

[keelalagirl55]

Ahhh...you noticed too.....

 

[jayvap33]

It has been brought to my attention that we are shipping partial shipments if an item has been ordered and is out of stock. Is there a provision being implemented to allow the customer to choose an alternate product to avoid a second order and therefore more shipping costs?

This was never edited!

 

[SnowDragon]

I'm a little confused on this entire post...please bare with me. So if I were to order 5 items and I only received 3 items plus a store credit for the 2 missing items V4L should not charge me for shipping is that correct?

And...the driving rationale for this would be, because I placed my order under the impression that I paid for and expected to receive 5 items, not 3 items and a store credit is that correct?

And you learned about this happening from one of your clients?

Now as a representative of V4L are you concerns based on a disclaimer issue or a service issue? Allow me to clarify is your issue over the absence of a stated disclaimer noting that if an item is out of stock at time of processing, the customer will receive a store credit for the missing item, but shipping charges will still apply for the partially shipped orders. And would such a stated policy be enough to suffice any caveat emptor (buyer beware) requirements and assist you as a representative when such incidents arise?

As opposed to say, simply rejecting the order because policy states that orders maybe rejected at time of processing if they cannot be completely fulfilled and a refund will be issued back to the cardholder. Of course this might result in your client going without any product even if they were to order 20 items, due to a single item being unfulfilled at time of processing.

I'm sure your concerns are what is best for your clients, so which of these 2 scenarios best serve your clients and what exactly does your position as a Representative entail? As well, why should the shipping charges be waived on a partial if the partial order was indeed shipped....after all a service was rendered?

Just curious....

 

[Gardner808]

I think the concern in general regards the necessity of a subsequent order and the associated shipping charge. So, to obtain those items that the customer wanted he must place two orders and pay two shipping charges. It is possible that the individual placing an order only placed the order at that time because of the belief that they could receive all they wanted at the same time and avoid placing two orders and the added charge.

The question then is, does the burden for the second shipping charge lie with the customer or the originating company? It can easily be argued either way. But as has been reported in this thread V4L has and does refund the shipping cost when requested to do so.

That is excellent customer service that cannot be argued with and, I think, answered JayVap's concern regarding that rare occurrence.

As a side note, I don't see, when looking at the Original Post where it indicates that it was edited as I do the post above. Is this functionality removable by the originator of the post?

 

[jayvap33]

Shopping carts must expire, this solves the issue. The quicker they auto-clear, the less inventory problems we will have. Also, you can't edit the edited blurb, the OP was not edited!

 

[SnowDragon]

Shopping carts must expire, this solves the issue. The quicker they auto-clear, the less inventory problems we will have. Also, you can't edit the edited blurb, the OP was not edited!

Are you responding to my inquiry or something different? I was just hoping you could address my questions, as Chadley addressed yours.

 

[Joyce]

God will bless you, SnowDragon.

 

[keelalagirl55]

I like having the saved shopping cart....when it disappears I have to go back through and try and remember what it was that I wanted....taking even more of my time. I believe the general consensus here is that the majority of us don't mind the credit we are givin for out of stock items......you go with what the majority wishes. If someone wants to reorder only that item that was out of stock they are more than welcome to contact V4L and see if anything can be done regarding the shipping charges....as has been stated earlier, they are more than cooperative on that issue.

 

[SnowDragon]

Well....I guess this post got derailed and although Jaybo feels entitled to answers which he received, apparently he doesn't feel obliged to provide answers. I have no bones to grind with him, I'm just asking a few straight forward questions from a person that states they are a Representative of 4 major e-cigarette companies.

I know Bloog has some sort 20% deal for referring customers or something to that effect...does that mean the recipient of that 20% is an official company Rep. I admit I don't know about Blue or Green Smoke or how one becomes an official Rep. of those companies. How does a person become an official Rep. of V4L? I'm aware of their Affiliates Program, but I've never heard of becoming a Rep. without being an employee....perhaps being a reseller...would that be it?

Or is being a Rep. some self-appointed title for simply being a user or a person that unprofessionally refers other people?