Smartpak issues resolved

[french_fry]

1/21 UPDATE: Smartpak has resolved not only the below issue but several other issues that were highlighted by various posters throughout this thread. I could not be more impressed with their positive attitude in the face of several pages of somewhat negative discussion and their commitment to making things right both for individuals and overall.

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As an ardent Smartpak fan, I have to say I am disappointed in their customer service lately.

I ordered a small, simple personalized item before Christmas that was scheduled to ship within X amount of time. When the date I needed the item by (several days after it was supposed to have shipped) came and went I contacted Smartpak and got a slightly snottier response than I’ve come to expect from their customer service. Apparently I missed the “arrive before Christmas” cutoff (nothing notified me of this) and the estimated ship dates on the order confirmations were likely to be off due to an increase in orders around the holidays. Fine, but I mentioned that with all of my other holiday shopping the online retailers had updated their estimated shipping dates or at least put a warning in the order that items may be delayed. The response? “Sorry this ruined your present, I hope you can find an alternative.” Whatever, I got over it.

The item delivered sometime around Christmas (I was traveling) and when I opened the package yesterday I found there was an extremely obvious error in the personalization. WTF? I checked and double-checked but I had ordered the item correctly.

I am still waiting on Smartpak’s response, but has anyone else noticed a decrease in the service? In the past few months I have had a couple of smaller issues after years of absolutely top of the line customer service.

[Marla_100]

I noticed their shipping is much slower. Now it takes several days for the order to go out whereas before it often went out the same day or next morning.

My guess is they’re cutting staff to save money and their service is slowly eroding.

[Shorehorse]

I actually just had my first bad experience with them in the many years I’ve used them. I emailed them and got a very nice response back. I appreciated it.

I hope they can make it up to you like they did for me

[trubandloki]

I ordered something (not personalized) last week and I received it in a timely manner.

It does suck that it was late and someone was rude. That is worth talking to someone up the food chain about because I would guess they would frown heavily on someone being rude to a customer.

[evenstar]

[QUOTE=Marla 100;7953341]
I noticed their shipping is much slower. Now it takes several days for the order to go out whereas before it often went out the same day or next morning.

My guess is they’re cutting staff to save money and their service is slowly eroding.[/QUOTE]

I had that same shipping delay the last time I ordered my mare’s supplement. I placed the order after Christmas, on the 29th (and early in the day). They didn’t get it ready for shipment until almost midnight on the 30th. And then it ended up sitting at the first UPS location over the New Year’s holiday. I normally get my SmartPak orders three days after the day I place the order. This one took eight days! I do attribute some of the delay to UPS because they also essentially sat on the package over the weekend before it proceeded to its next location. But that wouldn’t have happened if SmartPak had actually packed and sent out my order when their confirmation email said they did.

Fortunately I had enough of her supplement to last until the order arrived, but it was cutting it very close. At least now I know I can’t trust them to be prompt.

[vxf111]

I also had a not-as-good-ad usual experience recently. I ordered a sale Wellfleet bridle in August and the noseband ripped clear in half with no warning a few weeks ago. Less than 6 months of use, and it was the extra bridle with the elevator on it, so it didn’t get used all that much.

Yes, the bridle was on sale… but not for any disclosed defect in quality-- it was when they were changing the design. All I wanted was a replacement noseband piece (for which I was happy to pay). And, in fact, HK makes this exact piece and sells it separately. Had that been impossible, in the past Smartpak would have offered an exchange for another of the same bridle. Smartpak told me I could return the bridle for a refund but wouldn’t order me the replacement piece even if I paid for it.

I finally cajoled ye old local tack shop to order it for me, after much grumbling, and they added a huge surcharge on top of the price because they didn’t want to place an order now (small store and I doubt they very frequently have demand to place orders meeting HK’s minimum whereas I am sure Smartpak blows the minimum away every couple of weeks). I’m appreciative that Smartpak was at least willing to accept the return but I was hoping (and in the past expected) more in the way of offering options to make the customer happy where there was an obviously defective item.

Postscript-- I am now very concerned about HK quality and before they were my go to brand.

[Beckham03]

I recently had my first delay in shipping as well. I paid for the monthly shipment on 12/23 and didn’t get it until 1/5. My stuff always ships on a Monday and arrives on a weds. My horses went 4 days without. I did call and the woman was nice and apologetic, but ehhh, as much as I spend there, maybe a coupon or something would be nice!

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=Beckham03;7954575]
I recently had my first delay in shipping as well. I paid for the monthly shipment on 12/23 and didn’t get it until 1/5. My stuff always ships on a Monday and arrives on a weds. My horses went 4 days without. I did call and the woman was nice and apologetic, but ehhh, as much as I spend there, maybe a coupon or something would be nice![/QUOTE]

I had the same problem with Autoship this time (the horse lives at my parents’ farm and Mom started to ask if it was coming, and it showed the normal ship date.) I wrote it off to holiday delays but we’ll see how long it takes this month.

[atlatl]

I have not had a problem at all. In fact I just had a problem with a defective seal on my smaprtpaks and they are sending me replacements at no charge.

[Desert_Topaz]

I have also noticed the time between order and shipping out has increased. A friend paid for second day air because they needed a certain item by a certain date and it didn’t ship until the day they needed it.

[KingoftheRoad]

Interesting you mention it, because this reminds me that I had ordered a personalized item for someone at our barn on Dec 6, and it still hasn’t shipped! I’m starting to notice their service begin to slowly erode…terrible to see, given how much I have loved them in the past.

Going to have to call them tomorrow and see what the heck is going on…

[seabreeze]

I’ve been an ardent SmartPak devotee, too. I, too, have noticed some decline in customer service lately (oh, how it hurts to say that). Like others, my biggest complaint is long shipping times. Heck, for the first time in years I ordered some stuff from Dover before the holidays…and got it sooner than I would have if I had ordered from SmartPak.

[maunder]

I’ve always experienced first rate customer service with SmartPak. My most recent order was just after Christmas and great experience as always. I appreciate their notification of when the package has arrived at my house, because my UPS man doesn’t like to walk up my longish driveway and leaves the packages down by the road. With supplements I really need to know when he’s been here, especially in the winter when I can’t hear the truck arrive on the road.

[SuckerForHorses]

Nope, still love them!

[islgrl]

No problems here!

[pompeiii]

Something similar happened here. My husband ordered me a personalized item well before Christmas (whether or not it was in time to guarantee delivery by Christmas, I don’t know, but I believe so). Never received a shipment notice or anything and item didn’t arrive in time for Christmas. After Christmas, we looked at the order (I knew what the item was) and saw that it would ship on or before 12/18. We called 12/26 and customer service said it shipped but couldn’t find any tracking info or explain why it still was listed as in process. She put in a new order.

We received the item on 12/31, a month after the item (nameplate) was ordered and assumed that it was the reorder. Came 2 day air, expedited. Thought nothing else of it. Last week (1/9) we received a second item, 2 day air, expedited. Based on the packing info, it appears that this was actually the reorder. Still very strange that we actually received both. Especially since they claimed the first had shipped the week of 12/18, but arrived via UPS 2 day air, shipped 12/29… At the end of the day, we received the item so it’s fine, but…

I haven’t ordered a lot lately, but I am seeing a delay in shipping. Once things ship, I usually receive it within 2-3 days. That’s still the case, but instead of shipping the day I order, things don’t often ship for several days.

[french_fry]

[QUOTE=vxf111;7954500]
I also had a not-as-good-ad usual experience recently. I ordered a sale Wellfleet bridle in August and the noseband ripped clear in half with no warning a few weeks ago. Less than 6 months of use, and it was the extra bridle with the elevator on it, so it didn’t get used all that much.

Yes, the bridle was on sale… but not for any disclosed defect in quality-- it was when they were changing the design. All I wanted was a replacement noseband piece (for which I was happy to pay). And, in fact, HK makes this exact piece and sells it separately. Had that been impossible, in the past Smartpak would have offered an exchange for another of the same bridle. Smartpak told me I could return the bridle for a refund but wouldn’t order me the replacement piece even if I paid for it.

I finally cajoled ye old local tack shop to order it for me, after much grumbling, and they added a huge surcharge on top of the price because they didn’t want to place an order now (small store and I doubt they very frequently have demand to place orders meeting HK’s minimum whereas I am sure Smartpak blows the minimum away every couple of weeks). I’m appreciative that Smartpak was at least willing to accept the return but I was hoping (and in the past expected) more in the way of offering options to make the customer happy where there was an obviously defective item.

Postscript-- I am now very concerned about HK quality and before they were my go to brand.[/QUOTE]

Bah, your story just reminded me that I had a bad experience with their Plymouth Elite hunter bridle. It’s a pretty bridle, if a bit cardboardy, but the dye on the reins started wearing off in chunks IMMEDIATELY (as in my first or second ride) and now the reins are a mottled mix of bright orange and dark oil. I chalked it up to “don’t buy $100 bridles, french fry” and eventually changed out the reins for Dover’s lowest priced reins and they’ve been fine and have broken in beautifully but I am disappointed in how the rest of the bridle broke in - or didn’t! Despite regular care and cleaning it is still very stiff and cardboardy.

I guess I should have talked to customer service about it earlier in the game but it did sort of feel like a “shame on me” for buying a cheap bridle in the first place, good reviews or not.

[asb_own_me]

Not with customer service per se, but I agree that their shipping and handling times seem to have gotten longer.

[Gorgonzola]

I had an issue with them, but I was very happy with how it was resolved.

They had a big sale on some bridles (maybe the ones VXF is talking about?) I was having trouble placing the order, for these and something else that was not on sale, on the website, so I called and placed my order.
A week later, I hadn’t gotten a shipping conformation, so I called and ‘whoops, the order has a note on it, but was never placed. We’re now out of the sale items you wanted.’ Ok. I cancel the order and ask that they look into why no one looked at the note on the order, and why no one ever contacted me.

I got a nice apology email a day later, said the issue had been resolved, wouldn’t happen again.

About 2 months later, I go to place an order for the HS bits they had on sale. Again, issue with the website. I call, place an order. Next day, no conformation email. I call, ‘whoops. order hasn’t been placed, we’re out of the items you wanted.’

I asked to speak to a supervisor. I mentioned that this has no happened twice in as many months, and I love Smartpak, but it’s really unacceptable that I’ve had conformation over the phone that my order was placed, but then is not, and no one contacts me!

I got another nice email, and a $200 credit two days later.

Now whenever I place an order, if I don’t get an email within 5 minutes I call and won’t get off the phone til I see the email!!

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=french fry;7955278]
Bah, your story just reminded me that I had a bad experience with their Plymouth Elite hunter bridle. It’s a pretty bridle, if a bit cardboardy, but the dye on the reins started wearing off in chunks IMMEDIATELY (as in my first or second ride) and now the reins are a mottled mix of bright orange and dark oil. I chalked it up to “don’t buy $100 bridles, french fry” and eventually changed out the reins for Dover’s lowest priced reins and they’ve been fine and have broken in beautifully but I am disappointed in how the rest of the bridle broke in - or didn’t! Despite regular care and cleaning it is still very stiff and cardboardy.

I guess I should have talked to customer service about it earlier in the game but it did sort of feel like a “shame on me” for buying a cheap bridle in the first place, good reviews or not.[/QUOTE]

I have not previously had ANY problems with the Wellfleet or Harwich bridles (and I have MANY) or their analogs the Aramas and Americana (I also have some of these). I had previously had NOTHING but good things to say but seeing what happened to the noseband (literally deteriorated after a few months of light use)… I am nervous that there were bad batches of HK bridlework.