118 Golf - am I justified in being hacked off?

[Marko77]

Searching the interweb for a trolley bag and found the one I wanted on 118 Golf. Reasonable price and in stock so I went ahead and purchased.

When buying, I decided to pay the extra for next day delivery (we all want everything asap, don't we?)

So, there's me thinking, Sunday afternoon, they get the order Monday, process it. Can't take them that long, get the shipment out. I should have it Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.......

Unfortunately I had an issue with them last year where an item was "in stock" yet it took them 3 weeks to source it from their supplier. That to me is not "in stock" and yes, I should have learned from this experience but I've heard some good stories about them.

Anyway, am I just being impatient or would I be justified complaining as I paid for next day thinking I would have it by now?

 

[barb]

Your not being impatient, when you pay extra for next day, it should be delivered next day, that is the service you required.
If it doesn't arrive tomorrow I would ring them and request a refund of my postage as I'm sure it wasn't cheap.
At the end of the day if they have to source it from their suppliers then it shouldn't be marked as 'in stock'
Stick to you guns Marko and let us know what happens.

 

[vig]

I agree with Barb. Ask for postage refund against "next day" promise. They have NOT delivered as stated.

 

[theeaglehunter]

If it were me I would ask for a refund full stop just for annoying me through not providing a service they promised. If you were after next day delivery to the extent that you decided yo pay extra for it you would have probably paid extra again to buy it from a company who would actually deliver the next day as it was clearly required asap. They have taken the mick in my opinion and should either offer you something free as a way of an apology or take back the product/ not bother sending it at all. Thats what I would do, but your best option is most probably as the others said, just get a refund on the postage as the company haven't got a leg to stand on in arguing this, if they do try and argue the case however I would tell them to quite simply shove it.

 

[GB72]

I had a similar problem with an item not being delivered. Seems they actually forgot to process my order!!!. Not used them since.

 

[HTL]

Complain! You paid for a service they have not provided.

Its a shame they slip up so much on postage as I have always been very impressed when in one of their shops.

 

[haplesshacker]

The 'in stock' issue is a normal one with internet only retailers that want to keep their costs down. Often by in stock they mean that they have a supplier that probably has one that they can order. However due to the costs of B 2 B, there are often minimum order charges placed on the retailer, who therefore waits until he has enough orders to forgo this extra charge. The retailer will often give excuses about how the supplier doesn't have it in stock etc, when really the retailer is just trying to avoid these extra charges.

To me it's false advertising and therefore illegal (I'm no lawyer), but these practices should be stopped. If the price was favouable to you and the retailer explained that it might take a week to get it to you, then you would at least had the choice as to where to purchase this product from. However, I guess they have your money now.

Drats, giving away far too much info!!

 

[Nico]

PM me,I know the owner.

 

[RGuk]

I'm going to wade in with some pretty harsh comments. Read and decide for yourselves.

I have patiently avoided not publicly airing my grievance with 118, but given your story, it's time to come clean.

I ordered an item from them, and they b**l sh***ed their way through nearly a month trying to come up with excuses for not providing the service.

I have to say that I wouldn't recommend anyone using them. Despite the appealing prices, and the good web-site and very nice customer service staff (I have to admit)...they clearly don't have an issue with taking the p*** on delivery and will take your order/money and not give one iota about coming up with the goods.

There, I've said it. Shame on you 118.....let's see your overpaid lawyers take me on for libel....if you can't provide the service......don't get in the business.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I recently ordered a callaway golf bag as a present and it was ordered on the Sunday and here by the Tuesday but I have a feeling that is because they are based locally and so it wouldn't have been hard to source one laocally if not held in stock.

As such I can't complain about the service but I think a PM to Nico may be a good way of moving this forward. He can at least plead your case in person for you rather than speak to a faceless employee and at the very least should be able to organise a refund on the delivery charge

 

[TonyN]

I,m sure if Nico mentioned to the owner the amount of negative publicity this has caused amoungst the worlds most elite golfing forum, I am sure they will be keen to make it up too you.

Next day is NEXT DAY!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Agreed. There is nothing like a lot of negative publicity to get results especially if he explains, albeit politely that it is not just us posting on here that will affect the business but also the negative word of mouth that will spread as well.

 

[Marko77]

cheers for the replies, wasn't sure if I was just being impatient but glad others would feel the same.

I'd already sent a email to 118 but have since contacted Nico with the order number so will see what feedback is given.

 

[Marko77]

Got reply this morning; they say they sent email advising of problems getting the bag, I didn't get this email? Anyway, order cancelled and a trip round the golf shops this weekend it is for me.

Case closed and I know who I'm not using in future...

 

[billyg]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to add to the litany of frustration expressed by the OP and others in this thread.

I ordered something from them via the interweb about three weeks ago and paid an extra £5 to have it delivered within two to three working days. Having ordered it on a Tuesday morning I felt confident it would we with me by Friday ( or at the worst Saturday)

After not receiving anything in the post Friday I called them up to confirm that it WOULD arrive on the Saturday. No such luck - it was being sourced from the supplier and would likely be with me the following mid-week.

I explained that I had paid for one of a number of express delivery options and they offered to deduct this from the sum total and that the money would not be taken from my account until it was shipped.

The following week I called them again when it didn't arrive and they were friendly if vague about a delivery date, offering a tenuous , 'end of the week?'.

Needless to say the end of the week came and went with no goods arriving and I have only yesterday got an e-mail confirming the goods have been shipped (and the money - minus the delivery charge- has been debited from my account).

That was two days ago and if the item in question is not with me when I return home today I will NOT be pleased.

One the one hand , perhaps on reflection my error for not having understood, it seems a bit of misdirection to suggest that an item is in stock. To back this up by offering a number of shorter delivery option which further imply availability suggests a level of conformation which now rings a little hollow.

If I had known there was going to be a long lead time then I may have searched further if there was some urgency, say as a gift, or at the very least had my expectations adjusted accordingly.

Furthermore it discredits the manufacturer and distributor of the goods in question by suggesting somehow that the fault is to be shifted from 118 to them for not having the required infrastructure to distribute efficiently and meet demand. It would then be the manufacturer as well as 118 which gets a bad reputation for delivery and as we know rumour is all-powerful.

It is party for that reason that I will not be naming the goods involved as I simply don't buy into this quite slippery subtext however appealing it may be.

It is also a shame that for whatever reason, and I'm sure there may be many, that 118 feels it cannot to be more forthright with it's customers. However competitive this section of the retail market is (and I have no reason to doubt it is cut-throat) a form of deception is no way to garner loyalty in the long run.

The practical upshot is that to save frustration in future I will, if competitively priced, still consider using 118 but only by phone and only on the condition that they give me a realistic window of delivery and stick to it pending a full refund with goods if they fail to honour their commitment.

Perhaps 118 would , in the spirit of fairness, like to come on here and make a statement about the feelings we express above?

The prevailing feeling seems to be that 118 is a good outfit which is letting itself down. Once bitten, twice shy.

Bill

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I belive Nico has some dealings with the guy running 118. Perhaps you might want to PM him billyg and see if they can at least e-mail you privately about this

Nico - not trying to put you centre stage and if you don't want to ruin any sort of business interst/friendship you have with the guy at 118 then thats fine but as there are a number of unhappy punters it would be nice to get some idea of the problems

 

[viscount17]

nico, if you should be speaking with him, please just ask him why a British company dealing in golf equipment does not know that the event is The Open Championship and not The British Open as in their net header.

a minor point I know but it bl**dy irritates me

 

[billyg]

Update - the goods I ordered were indeed waiting for me upon my return from work today so seemingly no problem with that stage of the process anyway.

Thank you for the advice about PMing Nico on this HJS but it isn't fair to attempt to either capitalise on such a piece of 'insider' information, put Nico on the spot for something that he ultimately is not responsible or perhaps most importantly- invoke a solution that will not solve anything in the long run for the majority of other GMer's that remain less than happy with 118's virtual shopping experience.

(sorry to be talking about you in the third person Nico if you catch up with this thread at some point by the way)

For myself, it's just a question of letting the dust settle and in future proceeding as I implied earlier.

One other point that might be worth mentioning here is that it would not be too much of a stretch of the imagination to find that many if not all of the other web-based resellers we use have issues of a similar nature

Example - if you look on Amazon you will frequently see a number of express option for ordering but this in a context where you are told up-front if the goods are in stock and/or given a lead time where needed.

The option to 'next day order' a book , for example, that is out of stock is then not available further down the ordering stage.

anyway, rant over

Bill

 

[HomerJSimpson]

!

I have to sayu I ordered a bag from 118 golf back in May time and it came within 48 hours. That may be because they are based in Windlesham which is 15 minutes in the car from Bracknell where I live or that they had the bag I wanted in stock.

Either way I had no problems dealing with them and getting my stuff. On the subject of internet shopping I stumbled across a site called Clubhouse Golf Direct (www.clubhousegolf.co.uk) and they were selling Stromberg trousers for £39.99 which is at least £5 less that I've seen them. THey also had pretty good deals on premium balls (Taylormade TP Black, Pro V and Callaway HXi). The stuff came in 48 hours as per the postage I paid for and nota problem. They seem to be doing great deals on waterproofs too so it may be worth a look. Good service deserves a plug

 

[Nico]

Re: !

No worries with being taked about folks,after all I put myself forward.

I was no damn good to Marko anyway!

Bumped into the owner at our Open and he was less than happy with the situation but I definately got the feeling that things are not as they should be.

All internet businesses are prone to this kind of thing,some more than others, but I can put hand on heart that they have always been spot on with me and the guys I know.