sure does not speak well of SmartPacks owners since 2019, Covetrus
Covetrus has a division whose sole purpose is inventory management, it is a service they offer
from their website
Storing and tracking inventory doesn’t have to be a headache. Inventory management solutions offered by Covetrus are designed to reduce mismanagement or inventory risk, so you have what you need, when you need it.
The takeover by Covetrus is undoubtedly part of the problem. Sounds like they’re more worried about warehouse workers stealing stuff than getting orders to customers in a timely way.
I feel like customer service at all companies has tanked lately. I have had recent issues with sellers that used to be quicker to ship and more responsive like SmartPak, Amazon, and Allivet. I am trying to get one more prescription order completed with Allivet so I can use my current rewards, and then I am trying Chewy. Amazon twice sent me the wrong item and I can’t seem to talk to a human about it. I also had a bad experience with DHL this week where they updated my tracking with a delivery exception citing new delivery instructions from me (nope!), then admitted in chat that the driver had just plain run out of time / decided he couldn’t be bothered. I don’t know what is going on (labor shortage, pandemic burnout, general descent into IDGAF) but it seems pretty widespread.
I’ll chip in from the shipping/receiving side of things. I’m in outdoor retail but not anything remotely horsey.
Demand for ship to home has skyrocketed, and with supply issues still plaguing certain distributors (though most are catching up), it’s a cluster. If it’s in the warehouse, the trucks can’t get it to the DC’s in the old timeframes due to demand. If it’s in the DC, it’s buried in pallets they don’t have the staff to get unpacked on time. If it’s in transit to the customer, UPS/FEDEX/USPS are so behind (and often also understaffed) that stuff gets shoved in the corner of their hub for days, or never makes it off the truck.
From a retailer perspective, there’s only so much we can do. We warn people that their items are still taking longer to arrive, we offer expedited shipping when possible, but if the item has left us to the carrier (UPS/USPS/etc) there’s literally nothing we can do. It’s up to the carrier now and a lot of them are understaffed and raking in massive profits - so they will remain understaffed until something changes.
We upgraded to these this year and have been pleased. We’re in temps up to 110 here in Texas now, so they’ve been pulled for the time being.
Just tried her in a Turtleneck and it fits very well. But the Schneiders ones were one of the options.
I just got the same $10 offer as my smartpaks are about to ship late for the third time in a row. I’ve moved up the date repeatedly and each time they manage to delay until I am out of supplements before the new strips arrive.
I switched to buckets from Valley Vet last August due to this exact same issue. I wish they would get their act together.
This!
They have a good product that people like. They need to fix their problems.
Totally get that once it’s handed off the carrier there isn’t anything SmartPak (or whatever retailer) can do - in my experience with SP lately, it’s not the carrier’s fault. SP (and Farmvet too) are taking over a week to even get the packages to the carrier. Once the carrier (UPS in most cases for me) has the package there are no issues getting it on time (overnight if paid for overnight, or a few days if standard ground). I’m sure everyone is overwhelmed but it’s certainly frustrating to sign up for autoship, have money taken from my account, and have SP not even drop the package off (or have it picked up, whichever) to the carrier until AFTER it was supposed to arrive.
I took a risk and ordered this week because I wanted to pick up a few of their house brand halters and wasn’t in a rush. Placed order midday yesterday… my order is packed, label created and has been scanned in/picked up by UPS 24 hrs later. Who knows how long it will take UPS to get it to me but I am very surprised after reading this thread!
Me, too. My order from the 18th still says it “has been received but not shipped yet”.
Much to my surprise, my mare’s Smartpaks showed up today, a few days early. And this happened even though this was the first month they were delivered to my house instead of the former barn.
My horse’s Smartpaks showed up yesterday, right on time.
Just got an email that my order has shipped
They had exactly the saddle pad I wanted in the colors I wanted. Ordered them. Then came here and read this discussion - and sure enough, got an email today that shipping has been delayed. Not a good sign, according to the above.
I jinxed myself!
My next autoship order will be billed before the prior one shows up at my door. Granted, UPS has been fumbling around with the order since their receipt of it on the 22nd.
If anyone has an online source for Copra Coolstance, I’m all ears. Chewy has been out of stock for months now.**
Here is their Where to Buy finder, enter your zip code and range, then call those supplies to see if they have stock
Well I went to check on my non autoship order that I placed earlier this month as I still haven’t received it yet. Turns out I placed the order two whole weeks ago and they haven’t shipped it yet! I tried to Live Chat and text with customer support but both options are unavailable (it’s 5:50PM in my time zone, CST) and there is a 20 min wait when calling. I have never had these issues before but when I’m dropping a couple hundred or more a month on their site, I would like to be able to contact someone. Super unhappy with all of this.
For those timing things, my order arrived today. So 10 days from order to door for me.
My order placed on Monday has just arrived on Thursday afternoon, and I’m on the West Coast. No autoship or supplements, just a bunch of halters and lead ropes. Super weird!
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