Customer Care Outreach – This Isn’t What I Ordered

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Adam Team

Contact Instawares for great service Let’s face it: there are many things that can go wrong when ordering restaurant supplies and equipment online. The product can seem to be what you’re looking for from the picture, but not be the correct size, color, or item at all. Have you ever had a situation where you ordered an item off the site, only to realize upon delivery it’s not the correct item? Ever had an order take too long to be delivered, so you found the items elsewhere only to need these items subsequently returned? Have you signed for items clear and away, unpackaged the product, and notice the items have been damaged while in transit? As a company that conducts its business primarily on the internet, we understand the circumstances that are possible when shopping for products in a virtual environment.

Incorrect items ordered

A vast amount of returns come back to our warehouses due to the delivered items not satisfying the customer’s expectations or needs. Whether it’s because the product was ordered based off of the picture on the site, insufficient product information, or a quality issue, the bottom line is: the received items are not correct and the customer would like to have them returned. A quick call to our customer service can alleviate the concern and frustration the customer may experience from such a situation. Though a restocking fee may be charged for the return of the items, a pre-paid label will be sent to the customer for use in having the items returned. As long as the customer has the original packaging, the effort of returning the items extends to attaching the label to the external packaging and dropping the items off at any convenient UPS location. However, for big equipment, a freight pick-up would be scheduled, which entails issuing a bill of lading.

The sooner items are returned, the better

Though each return is unique in that it is the result of varying circumstances, it is always best to have the items returned as soon as possible. This means contacting a customer service representative once you’ve realized the product doesn’t match your expectations. Authorization from the respective warehouse must be obtained to have the items returned. Once acquired, a return label can be issued to the customer, the items subsequently returned, and a refund can be applied to the customer’s account from which the purchase was made. A proactive and informed customer will contribute to making this process as stress-free as possible by acting sooner rather than later.

Refused Items

Sometimes the reason for the return is not lack of information or error relating to the picture on the website. There are instances where the items have taken too long to get to the customer. We understand this can be a tremendous inconvenience for the customer; however, a standard return may not be necessary, in this situation. If a customer refuses the items upon delivery, the items will be returned to the shipping warehouse. A refusal can save on time and costs, for both the customer and the warehouse; however, if customer service is not made aware of the refusal, it could take longer to have a refund issued. A prompt call to customer service will aid our representatives in tracking your return, and issuing the appropriate credit.

Items can also be damaged while in transit. However, the issues don’t arise during the damaging of the item, but the signing of approval by the customer upon delivery, only to realize the product is damaged. Relying on the condition of the external packaging alone is risky business. It is recommended to always examine the items delivered before signing for them. This means removing the supplies or equipment from the packaging and thoroughly inspecting the items for damage. If items are damaged, replacements can be shipped out or a credit can be issued.

As always, I encourage your input! If you have any feedback or have experienced any of the aforementioned situations, please provide your input. I enjoy the opportunity to speak with our customers. For order inquiries, please contact Instawares.com’s customer service at (800) 892-3622.

Customer Care Outreach – What’s Your Bid?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Adam Team

Contact Instawares for a quote on your large order! Opening a new restaurant, store, hotel, or an established school system looking to reorder a large quantity of supplies? Whether you’re searching the market for big equipment items or every day supplies, our bids department can assist you in locating the best available pricing. With representatives corresponding to various geographic regions, a sales consultant is only a phone call or a click away from assessing your business needs. As a customer, you can submit a bid on our website at Instawares.com by accessing the “Custom Quotes” tab, located on our homepage. Contacting the bids department through customer service can also get your search started, by providing the necessary information regarding your bid.

Getting Started

To begin the bids process, the customer needs to be aware of the products they wish to purchase, as well as, any constraints pertaining to spacing, time, and pricing. As the customer, it is your duty to communicate this information pertaining to your request(s) to the bids department. When you access the “Custom Quote” tab, a form will appear, requesting contact information and details about your bid. This information will be used for easy correspondence by the respective sales consultant with you, and for analysis of the market to meet your business or budgetary needs.

Requesting a bid: Large Equipment

In the past, bids were turned down if they didn’t meet a minimum monetary threshold. This “line in the sand” was $5,000. For the customer, this could create a situation where either an additional unit must be purchased, or failure to qualify for a bid. Recently, however, we have done away with this minimum, and are now accepting bid requests of all sizes. Of course, if you are looking for the lowest priced spatula, then I would recommend contacting customer service. Another strength exclusive to our bids department, is the accessibility to products or units unavailable in our online store. Customers searching for walk-in coolers for their business, whether seeking discounted pricing or not, will be immediately directed to our bids department. When opening a restaurant or hotel, the design, setup, and installation of the kitchen and kitchen equipment can prove tedious. Upon request, we can have a consultant come to your location to assess your space, and offer suggestions in the organization of your kitchen.

Requesting a bid: Small Wares

When opening a new business, supplies on a large scale are needed. With quantities on this scale, the amount of an order can skyrocket when purchasing supplies. Hotel pans, flatware, cooking utensils, dinnerware, and glassware are all examples of products that can, when purchased in large quantities, significantly increase the amount a customer will spend. If your order is time sensitive, and you need a large quantity of small wares, the bids department will be able to locate available products and offer them at a price within your budget. If you have an extensive list of products needed for the opening of a business, you can fax it in to our bids department for review at (770) 874-9951. However, it is your duty, as the customer, to correspond with the bids department to ensure your request was received and the proper information has been provided.

Tracking your bid

To identify the status of a bid, simply call into customer service. Any of our customer service representatives can assist you in acquiring an updated status of your order; however, it is advisable, especially for time sensitive bids, to contact your respective sales consultant within our bids department. They will be your primary contact throughout this process. Tracking, for specific items, is always uploaded onto your order as soon as they are shipped. So, if you’re opening a new place of business and have limitations to work within, contact our bids department and tell us what your bid is.

If you would like to contact me directly to take your bid request you can call me at (770)874-8448.

As always, I encourage your input! If you have any feedback, questions, or have experienced any of the aforementioned situations, please provide your input. I enjoy the opportunity to speak with our customers. For order inquiries, please contact Instawares.com’s customer service at (800) 892-3622.

Customer Care Outreach – Time to Ship

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Adam Team

As a company who ships from numerous warehouses, Instawares.com realizes that there are a wide range of lead times when it comes to product shipments. Level of sophistication and customization can affect the lead time from warehouse to customer. Complexity isn’t the only factor influencing ship time; after processing the order, some warehouses take longer to ship items due to organizational policy. Modes of transit can influence the shipping time as well.

Lead Time to Ship

Most of the confusion amongst customers revolves around the lead time for items to ship. Lead time, depending on the context, is either the estimated time of departure for products to leave the warehouse or the estimated time of arrival at the customer’s location. On Instawares.com, the lead time shown is the estimated time of departure for products leaving their respective warehouse. Each warehouse varies on the time it takes for items to ship. This could be due to organizational policy or the time it takes to schedule the transport of the product.

Transit Times

Once orders are processed they’re transferred to shipping for delivery to the customer. Our primary mode of transportation for goods is UPS Ground. UPS offers the customer the option to have orders expedited. If an item is in stock, the customer can have the items shipped next day air to their business for an additional shipping charge. However, depending on the size of the product, quantity in some cases, a customer’s order may not be able to ship via UPS Ground. For most restaurant supplies, UPS Ground will suffice; while some restaurant equipment (large units) will need to be transported via freight. Con-Way Freight is the primary freight service used by Instawares.com. While, freight shipments will take longer to ship, a week compared to 3-5 business days with UPS Ground, a lift gate is always requested as to make it easier for the customer to get their equipment off the truck.

Special Order Items

Stock and Special Order are two classifications of items. Stock items, as indicated by their name, are in warehouse inventory and can usually ship between 24-48 hours. However, special order items may take up to 2-3 weeks for the items to ship. For an item to be labeled “special order” means one of two things: stock of the item is based upon orders received from customers or the item is custom built. Glassware, for example, could be special order, if the warehouse fulfills orders by supplying the adequate amount of the product to accommodate present orders. More complex items, like a pass thru refrigerator with 4 glass doors, would carry a longer lead time to ship, as it would need to be custom built to match the customer’s needs.

As always, I encourage your involvement! Please provide your feedback or experiences, as I would enjoy the opportunity to engage all of our customers for their thoughts. For order inquiries, please contact Instawares.com’s customer service at (800) 892-3622.

Customer Care Outreach – Where’s My Order?

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Adam Team

The majority of calls, inbound to customer service, are from customers asking about the status of their orders. These situations are resolved in only a few ways: the easy, the intermediate, and the ugly way. The easy way: the order just took longer to process or ship, but is now in transit to its destination with tracking available to the customer. The intermediate way: the manufacturer did not have any available stock for the item at the time of the order, thus delaying the shipment of the order; however, they’ve received stock and are shipping the order. Then, of course, there’s the ugly way: the item has been backordered in the supplier’s system, and is not shipping anytime soon.

What does the term backorder mean?

A “backorder” is when a supplier has no available stock for an item. The term backorder comes from the act of a supplier scheduling a stock replenishment of the out-of-stock item. Some backorder periods are relatively brief (1-2 days), while others can take a month or more. A variety of factors influence the availability of products within a supplier’s product line. Beyond the access to materials through supply chain management, there are products that are more popular than others, and some are seasonal, as well.

As a customer faced with a backorder, what are my options?

Though the call from a customer service representative to notify of the backorder may be dreadful to a customer, it does not make their order hopeless. The customer still has options. Our company conducts business with many different suppliers; just because an item may be out of stock, doesn’t mean a competitor is also out of stock. The circumstance of parallel manufacturers is a possibility, where a supplier possesses a similar product line as another, offering an alternative brand to the customer. Alternatives are also present within a single supplier, depending on the variety of colors and sizes of a product offered. An alternative color or size could mean a difference in weeks for the customer to receive an item.

Backorder Monitoring

It is the goal of customer service to keep the customer as up to date as possible with their orders. This means making the customer aware of any delay in the shipment of their order, as soon as possible. Not only are there representatives monitoring orders that haven’t shipped, they also communicate daily with the respective suppliers to catch any backorder. However, being a proactive customer is always advisable. If a customer feels their order is taking too long, they should call customer service for an update on their order.

For any questions about past, present or future orders, please contact customer service at (800) 892-3622, for Instawares.com. A customer service representative is available to assist you with any of your order needs.