#-o

Bethlehem, PA, United States 05/21/2013 9:38 P.M. Departure Scan

05/21/2013 7:00 P.M. Origin Scan

United States 05/21/2013 5:42 P.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

closed thursday. shipped today. same exact scenario last week.

Same scenario for me (16th purchased, 21st shipped) EXCEPT my order shipped through the post office (haven't seen that years) and has an estimated arrival date of May 28th...huh?

But like Numi, I'll hang and play 🌫

That'll get ya banned for sure Wheel....

I don't mean for this to sound rude, but rather than threaten a ban wouldn't it be best for business to maybe use that post to shed some light on the situation? Especially since everyone seems to be having issues.

Hey guys -

Sorry it took so long for me to post something about the shipping (or non-shipping as it seems). I've taken on a new project in addition to CBid so I haven't been able to keep as close track of you mooks as in the past.

First off, I apologize for the inconvenience. We had some major issues in the warehouse that began about the time of CigarFest. We've just never gotten caught up. We also had some major turnover in the warehouse staff. Hiring new people and getting them up-to-speed has taken its toll as well. Add to that a higher-than-expected increase in volume due to the cigar-smoking season and you have the perfect storm for creating lousy shipping.

I assure you that everyone in management knows about the issue - lots and lots discussion on ways to fix the situation permanently. Some of the measures decided included mandatory overtime and the addition of a second shift. That didn't seem to be enough so they are going to put into place a third shift, making the warehouse open 24/7, 6 days a week. We've maxed out our conveyor system used in packing and scanning orders so we've gone 'old school' and returned to using tables and tape guns to get additional packages out the door.

Will all of this work? Only time will tell. But with 12 years of this under my belt, I'm confident that we're on the right track. I've been told that we should see a return to normal shipping by the end of May (which is next week).

As for profit being built into shipping - BULL ****! Last year alone, we lost more money on shipping costs than most of you will see in several lifetimes so you can keep telling yourself that but its 100% untrue. Remember that shipping costs are not just the fees charged by the shipper. They include the cost of the shipping materials as well. And while you may be able to ship via USPS with that cutsey little box, we're not so lucky. Most of our orders don't fit in that size anyway.

I'm sorry guys. We're trying.

That post was seen as I proceeded through the many other posts. His comment about me being a man in panties seems to warrant the comment, wouldn't you agree? Especially seeing that I did explain the situation, after reviewing all of the posts.

Besides, wheel likes it when I play rough...... [whip]

I'm not sucking up, just understanding,and stating facts, as stated, a bit different, but I ran a warehouse, worked in the COrporate world, been over multi million dollar operations, been a pee-on, deckhand, Coca Cola/Dr. Pepper Driver/merchandiser/salesman, had many jobs/lifetimes.

As for the shipping costs, I don't think many here have a CLUE about what is involved in operating a pick-n-pull, non-stop warehouse of the proportions ya'll must have. I have gotten a few orders,that I know there was no way that what I paid in shipping covered the cost of the UPS box+ the separate shipping for the lighters that I also won, especially for the prices I lucked out and got 'em. Multiply that times a few hundred thousand, and you will quickly learn that shipping is one of your largest costs, and "hard" losses.

This doesn't even cover product loss, returns, write-offs, keeping track of all that, NO THANK YOU!

I've done it, and INVENTORY, OMG, I could only imagine, and I can assure you, I bet you can NEVER reconcile, huh, Miss Trish?

Looking back over my request for the past six months about poor shipping..........I have gotten this same response for the six months. It's getting old.

Thanks Numi. You know what we're up against here. Its ugly for all of you, but trust me please - its just as ugly for us. We know what you've come to expect but are powerless to aid in achieving that expectation. All we can do is try to explain why. The who, what, when and where are out of our control.

This company as a whole, has difficulty anticipating growth needs. Thats why we seem to have 'growing pains' so often. We're in the process of adding a 2nd floor to the building to accommodate office staff growth. I jokingly asked if we had plans to move the Contact Center because the expansion only gets us to where we need to be during 2013 - not 2014, 2015, etc.

We moved into this building 4 yrs ago. I asked where we were gonna park all of the cars in 5 years. Turns out I was wrong - we don't have enough staff parking 4 years into it!

In this economy, growth is a good thing so I'm not complaining. Just explaining why its creating such an issue.