Should livestock vendors refuse or alter shipments if ....

[Anonymous]

Len wrote:

This is a very open-ended hypothetical scenario.

What, are you imagining problems with ordering hypothetical fish for your hypothetical tank?

Louey

 

[Anubis1]

Here's a few possible scenarios:
1. Vendor feels the customer is not ready to maintain some of the livestock ordered.
2. Vendor feels fish poses danger to other organisms in the customer's system.
3. Vendor feels customer is ordering too many items at the same time.

Len, are you talking online vendors? If so, I can only see number 3 as a possibility.

agreed

as stated before.. it could be a group order.. or the customer may have more than one tank they are stocking.

Assuming the vendor has not had any other communication with the customer; they have no way of knowing...


I used to have my own business.. (not a LFS)..
IMO.. if an order is suspect, the vendor has the right to inquire what the customer is doing. (group order; incompatible species etc)... They also have the right to offer opinions on such IF they deem necessary...

After all, the vendor does have their reputation to look out for as well as making sure there are no potential problems with the order (and in the case of critters; the wellbeing of the critters in question). MOST vendors won't bother to ask because they have too many customers to serve without trying to figure out why a particular customer is ordering what they are... or they have hired people to fill the orders who are just there for the paycheck and really don't care what Tom Smith has in his tank...

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a few possible scenarios:
1. Vendor feels the customer is not ready to maintain some of the livestock ordered.
2. Vendor feels fish poses danger to other organisms in the customer's system.
3. Vendor feels customer is ordering too many items at the same time.

Len, are you talking online vendors? If so, I can only see number 3 as a possibility.

agreed

as stated before.. it could be a group order.. or the customer may have more than one tank they are stocking.

Assuming the vendor has not had any other communication with the customer; they have no way of knowing...


I used to have my own business.. (not a LFS)..
IMO.. if an order is suspect, the vendor has the right to inquire what the customer is doing. (group order; incompatible species etc)... They also have the right to offer opinions on such IF they deem necessary...

After all, the vendor does have their reputation to look out for as well as making sure there are no potential problems with the order (and in the case of critters; the wellbeing of the critters in question). MOST vendors won't bother to ask because they have too many customers to serve without trying to figure out why a particular customer is ordering what they are... or they have hired people to fill the orders who are just there for the paycheck and really don't care what Tom Smith has in his tank...

I do agree with questioning and advising. Most onliners don't do this.

 

[Anonymous]

I can tell you what I do. LOL. I can be an ******* though. If someone gets belligerent with me over the course of conversation(for whatever reason...swearing, not liking that I am asking questions, etc), I won't fill the order.

I have found, the hard way, that's best to ask questions before hand. I find more often than not people ordering aren't even aware of what they are buying or how to take care of it. Granted there are experienced folks out there who order but I just find that most of the ones I have dealt with are not.

I would never change an order without someone knowing. I just can't see why anyone would do that. I have certainly sent orders forgetting to pack something which I apologize for and then ship the balance on my dime (man that sucks for me big time) but taking an order, filling 80% of it and shipping anyway without notice? How could any place justify that? I also do not like to ship blind. Just yesterday I had someone complaining that I hadn't shipped yet. But when I kept asking if they would be available for receipt on X morning they wouldn't reply back with a yes or no. So I get berated for not shipping already. But imagine if I shipped without knowing and the person wasn't there for the package, how angry would they be then?

One time I had a dude who busines I refused. He emailed constantly, in a way that was effectively screaming, insisting I would send him what he ordered. I kept asking him just how he was going to force me to pack something in a box and send it to him and charge him for it when I didn't want to and he just kept screaming that I was definitely going to send him the stuff. LOL

Unfortunately, I don't usually end up charging folks until AFTER I ship. It's a bad bad habit and it has bit me in the hiney SEVERAL times. It drives my wife nuts. When people pay by paypal of course they pay right up front. I don't like paypal though because I get scammed (most times unsuccessfully) by unscrupulous people. I also don't appreciate it when people try pulling a fast one on me , or blame me for their mistakes, so I will definitely refuse any further business when that happens as well. Something I have to admit I find amusing though is when someone tries to play me off someone else in the company they said they spoke to who agreed to send them X for either free or a deep discount. Or when people buy something elsewhere and then it doesn't work so they want me to replace it for free. LOL those things make me chuckle.

I've seen a site once where the vendor had a "shame page" or something where they listed the names of people who scammed them or whatnot. LOL I've always liked that.

*edited out a little story*

I'm lucky though in the position I am in. I'm not hurting for the business. I can be selective even though most times it only hurts me. But hey. I've got my own platform to stand on as well.

 

[Anonymous]

UGH I want to SCREAM! Not minutes ago this happened. Someone ordered a VERY popular product clearly marked out of stock with a wait list formed. I keep person abreast of all updates. Company still not following through on promises to resupply. I even provide customer with emails showing my correspondance with company and their replies!

So just now I get a scathing email. Full of potty language and threats to bash ME elsewhere for something ANOTHER company is doing. So yeah, I told them to screw and take their business elsewhere and I had every right. Some poor puppy probably getting the nibblets and peanuts kicked out of it right now.

INSANE how unreasonable some people can be!

Oh yeah, and without fail I am sure there will be some post on some board in just hours where only the exaggerated facts to help everyone see how this poor guy was so wronged by the big bad wolf. With everyone and their goldfish taking up a torch and pitch fork without even knowing the truth. Gee I can't wait. :roll:

 

[Bubbashrimp]

1 and 2 are definately important to the store owner for reasons such as company credibility. I happen to see another reason that everyone might be interested in, that is company liability. Imagine that you are an owner of a LFS and you sell online and/or retail(doesn't really matter which for 1 and 2). Moreover, you make an agreement with the customer such as no DOA or an arrive alive deal( my understanding is that DOA means it arrives alive at your door and arrive alive means that it stays alive in your aquarium for a while). These agreements burden the store owner with the liability...how do they know if the shipping people are going to be careful with your item, like Dr. Wood says when he talks about cuttlefish transport "...drop kick the box...". Futhermore, lets say the item makes it to the aquarium, this is a deal that depends largely upon how the aquarist can keep the animal alive, the owner has absolutley no control over what the owner does with his/her tank. All of this should be determined at the point of sale, not later on.