Anyone else having issues with Smartpak?

[keysfins]

@newhorsemommy

I won’t buy in the “SmartPaks” because of the 28-day cycle. How many months have 28 days? Plus, I see no advantage in having to open all those tiny containers rather than just scooping out of a bucket. I like their supplements, and I’ve not had any delivery issues, but I just buy the buckets.

Fair point if you have a horse or two. With a barn of 25 to 30 horses, we love SmartPaks in the feed room.

I have had some issues recently, as posted on another thread about sales. Invariably, I want to order something on sale, make a selection, and I get the notice, “we’re out of stock, not available”. So I cannot check out showing that price. The most recent time this happened, I asked in the customer service chat if the promo price would be honored when the item was available again. Yes, confirmed the CS agent. (I have the transcript and a screenshot to show, if needed!) I am also not loving SP’s site when I am on my iPad using Safari, my preferred browser—site quits responding, but that’s a different issue.

Adams sometimes has items that are not in stock, but I have not had Adams, SmartPak or any other e-tailer charge my card until the item ships.

[trubandloki]

@SLW

I ordered some full priced Ariat shirts from SP on 10/27, a Friday evening. The order was scanned into the UPS the following Friday and will arrive here on Tuesday. I could have bought these shirts off Amazon and worn them twice before my Smartpack order arrives. They really must reduce the number of days between an online order being placed and when it’s picked up fir shipping.

This made me laugh because Amazon is HORRIBLE for not shipping out for ages after the order. Sure I get free two day shipping with my prime account but that two day shipping starts…well… I am not sure…when they get the item maybe?
More often than not with Amazon I order something and then find out I will get it three weeks later, but that information is not shown until after check out. Before check out all is well with two day shipping, etc.

I do not think Amazon was a good choice for saying ‘they are so much better’.

@newhorsemommy

I see no advantage in having to open all those tiny containers rather than just scooping out of a bucket.

Each to their own.
I do not have a big barn. I prefer the tiny containers. That way I know when Mr. Trub feeds that the horses are getting the right amount of their supplements. (Because in the past he decided that using the same scoop in every bucket was fine.)

[Bogey2]

Not sure if they responded here but I teach a person who works there and she said they are having a production issue…lost a few people in that area recently. I will still use them but then I don’t usually need anything I order right away.

[Madison]

I placed an order last Wednesday, everything was in stock and it said it would ship same day. On Friday, I got an email saying yay, your Friday order shipped, and would arrive a week later. I’m on the east coast, it should not take 9 days to get an order of in stock items. I forwarded the email to SmartPak’s Customer Care, and received a prompt response over the weekend apologizing, saying that they have had a temporary production issue stemming from all their recent sales and some logistics issues. She also emphasized that they are working very hard to get caught up and this is not the new normal for them. So, I appreciated the prompt response and will assume they will get it sorted out ASAP. But if they don’t, and it becomes the new normal, that could change the analysis on where I shop most frequently for supplies.

[soloudinhere]

I don’t understand why/how there could be such an extraordinary amount of orders. If so, with the holiday sales coming soon, they are screwed if they’re still catching up and it’s been two weeks since I originally ordered the stuff I posted about.

[zakkandtoto]

I ordered a blanket on Friday. Was supposed to ship today. As of this afternoon, it still hasn’t shipped and they’ve pushed the ‘expected to arrive date’ (which was already 12 days out from the day I placed the order) back a day.

They must be drop shipping the order. There’s no other explanation.

[SLW]

@trubandloki

This made me laugh because Amazon is HORRIBLE for not shipping out for ages after the order. Sure I get free two day shipping with my prime account but that two day shipping starts…well… I am not sure…when they get the item maybe?
More often than not with Amazon I order something and then find out I will get it three weeks later, but that information is not shown until after check out. Before check out all is well with two day shipping, etc.

I do not think Amazon was a good choice for saying ‘they are so much better’.

Each to their own.
I do not have a big barn. I prefer the tiny containers. That way I know when Mr. Trub feeds that the horses are getting the right amount of their supplements. (Because in the past he decided that using the same scoop in every bucket was fine.)

Just sharing my experience with Amazon verses Smartpak. The Christmas toys I ordered last night from Amazon will be here Weds. If I’m lucky my SmartPak shirts will be here tomorrow, 11 days after placing my order.

[trubandloki]

@soloudinhere

I don’t understand why/how there could be such an extraordinary amount of orders.

They have had some pretty big blanket sales recently.

[soloudinhere]

@trubandloki

They have had some pretty big blanket sales recently.

Yabbut then you’d expect there to be more shipping volume and not be surprised by it.

I have noticed that smartpak does have a habit of letting you order inventory that says it’s in stock but isn’t actually in stock, and they sort of game the arrival dates which seems to not work out.

That being said - 12 days to ship and receive an item is crazy. I ordered four blankets from Chick’s last night and they’re already in a box and will be here by Thursday.

Not being transparent with your customers is a great way to lose business.

[trubandloki]

I was not saying that they should not have known about the sale causing larger volume of sales/shipping. I was just answering the question.

I admit I laugh a little that 12 days is now considered a crazy amount of time to receive something when the norm used to be 4-6 weeks after you sent in your order.

[soloudinhere]

@trubandloki

I was not saying that they should not have known about the sale causing larger volume of sales/shipping. I was just answering the question.

I admit I laugh a little that 12 days is now considered a crazy amount of time to receive something when the norm used to be 4-6 weeks after you sent in your order.

Okay, well, thankfully the days of mailing in an order from a catalog ended with the invention of the telephone.

Even ordering via phone from the Steiger’s catalog didn’t take 4-6 weeks. Nor did placing a phone order from Miller’s…

[trubandloki]

@soloudinhere

Okay, well, thankfully the days of mailing in an order from a catalog ended with the invention of the telephone.

:lol:
Well…um… there have been phones around the whole time I have been around… and it was still 4-6 weeks. Yes, it was prior to the whole internet thing.

I am not saying wanting your item in the time promised is wrong. I am one of the people that gets really annoyed at Amazon when after check-out I find out my two day shipping will not happen for two weeks while they do whatever it is they do before they actually mail me the item that did not say it was out of stock.

[IFG]

Reviving because some gloves that I ordered over a week ago just shipped. And yes, I live about an hour from Smartpak. I could have ordered from Adams in Maine and had the stuff last week.

[IFG]

I should add, the order said it would ship the day after, but it shipped a week later, and one of the items is not in the shipment. This is why I quit using Dover.

[trubandloki]

They sent out an email a bit ago apologizing for shipping issues.

In other words, they know they are having an issue.

[Rallycairn]

I have never been impressed with Smartpak’s shipping policies or speed (avoided them for years because they charged my cc LONG before orders shipped, orders that did NOT include actual smartpaks). Still not overly impressed, although right now I have a few things on autoship.

But all of these amazon experiences shared on the thread are very much NOT the norm for me. Yes, orders usually come in multiple boxes, but with my prime I have stuff in 1-2 days always, even stuff from third parties ( as long as it was listed as eligible for prime). But heck, I just ordered the complete 12- book Poldark series from a UK seller, not listed as prime, and it took about a week or less - came yesterday after dark and I heard the ups truck coming and couldn’t think what it was - I was floored when the package turned out to be the books as I figured it would take a couple of weeks.

[SendenHorse]

They screwed up an order so I lost the free monogramming, and they didn’t make it right.
Riding warehouse is getting more and more of my business, they have excellent sales, free shipping, and much much better service. Really too bad for SP. I like some of the supplements and products,

[IFG]

They called me to tell me one of the items I ordered, that was supposed to ship Nov 28 was out of stock. No offer to help me find a replacement. No apology for late shipping except it was the holidays.

[TWH_Girl]

Yes. I am now having issues. Orders are taking forever. Orders I placed on 12/2/17 HAVE NOT shipped yet. I like to give companies the benefit of the doubt if it’s a fluke; I don’t like to post bad press on the internet either…but yeah, something is not as good as it once was. I am not sure if it’s the holidays or what.

[halt]

@TWH Girl

Yes. I am now having issues. Orders are taking forever. Orders I placed on 12/2/17 HAVE NOT shipped yet. I like to give companies the benefit of the doubt if it’s a fluke; I don’t like to post bad press on the internet either…but yeah, something is not as good as it once was. I am not sure if it’s the holidays or what.

I’m thinking it’s definitely because it’s the holidays. they absolutely inundated with orders this time of year as does Dover. 12/2 is not a business day, and it says they ship within one business day of order being placed which means it should have been shipped yesterday if it was an in-stock item. Was it a monogrammed, custom, or backordered item?

This time of year is crazy for all vendors, not just horse vendors. I ordered something on Bethesda Store last week for my SO’s brother who enjoys video games and only just today got confirmation the order was received. Looks like we won’t be receiving it before we visit them upstate…