Golf Store Europe - lesson learned

[Airsporter1st]

No denying they were the cheapest (by £20) for a bag which I ordered over the weekend. They advertise despatch within 24 hours, but 3 working days later there was no message from them to say that the bag had been despatched.

On the website all it said (for three days) was that my order was being processed by warehouse staff

Waste of time calling them, I tried on numerous occasions yesterday, each time receiving the same recorded message " All our customer service reps are busy helping other customers etc. etc." (no surprise there - I suspect others are suffering the same problems).

Emailed them twice yesterday - still no reply. Finally received a communication at 1832 hrs yesterday stating that the bag had been despatched and including the Parcelforce Tracking number which showed that it had been collected at 1536 hrs yesterday - a far cry from 'within 24 hours'.

Still no bag yet but hopefully it will come tomorrow. Assuming it does, that is not bad overall, but why can they not be up front about despatch times?

In future I will be paying a little extra to buy from a retailer that processes and despatches their orders promptly and, more importantly, keeps their customers informed.

 

[rob_golf1]

Did you pay for a special delivery service? E.G - selected date delivery or 24/48 hour delivery? If you did, then I would try getting that fee back as a gesture of good will.

I worked in retail part time (at a big DIY store) for a few years and there were always customers that had been let down by our delivery service and were always getting there delivery fee's refunded

 

[Foxholer]

Not good enough if they advertise a service, then fail to deliver - unless they actually inform you.

As it's likely/possible that you won't be getting the bag for use this weekend, they should be compensating you somehow - even just be vouchers redeemable against future purchases.

It's surprising how quickly companies react to bad Facebook type publicity though.

 

[MarkA]

No denying they were the cheapest (by £20) for a bag which I ordered over the weekend. They advertise despatch within 24 hours, but 3 working days later there was no message from them to say that the bag had been despatched.

On the website all it said (for three days) was that my order was being processed by warehouse staff

Waste of time calling them, I tried on numerous occasions yesterday, each time receiving the same recorded message " All our customer service reps are busy helping other customers etc. etc." (no surprise there - I suspect others are suffering the same problems).

Emailed them twice yesterday - still no reply. Finally received a communication at 1832 hrs yesterday stating that the bag had been despatched and including the Parcelforce Tracking number which showed that it had been collected at 1536 hrs yesterday - a far cry from 'within 24 hours'.

Still no bag yet but hopefully it will come tomorrow. Assuming it does, that is not bad overall, but why can they not be up front about despatch times?

In future I will be paying a little extra to buy from a retailer that processes and despatches their orders promptly and, more importantly, keeps their customers informed.

Of course if you used your Pro you'd have known exactly where the bag was! - the internet is killing golf retailers and professionals so don't moan when your non physical purchase doesn't arrive on time. Its not always all about cost but service, pay peanuts you get a monkey!

 

[Hobbit]

Whether you use online or a local retailer, go with a recommendation. Buying cold could, and looks it has, see you disappointed.

 

[Airsporter1st]

I've only just got back into golf after a 4 year break and I'm expecting to move house within the year, so I haven't joined a club yet.

When I do, I'll certainly be happy to give the pro my custom - as long as they are at least half-way competitive. As amply illustrated by this case, price isn't everything and I'd be happy to pay a little extra for good service.

 

[patricks148]

Of course if you used your Pro you'd have known exactly where the bag was! - the internet is killing golf retailers and professionals so don't moan when your non physical purchase doesn't arrive on time. Its not always all about cost but service, pay peanuts you get a monkey!

very true, i rarely buy anything through the Internet, use a local pro .

 

[HomerJSimpson]

very true, i rarely buy anything through the Internet, use a local pro .

You and me both. Will always try and give my pro first dibs especially on bigger purchases and the second option is usually to try a local high street golf retailer. I tend to stick to clothing only off the net as I always want to try the club(s) before I buy

 

[Pip]

I'm having a mare with these guys at the moment. I cancelled an order almost 2 weeks ago and even though I've had emails confirming cancellation and a refund, I've still not had my money back. I've emailed them twice this week for an update and not had a reply to either of them. As for using the phone, I seriously doubt whether it's actually manned as it's never been answered when I've called.

I'm sure they're fine when items are in stock or in store, but like most poor retailers, their customer service is letting them down when it matters most.

 

[Scrindle]

Of course if you used your Pro you'd have known exactly where the bag was! - the internet is killing golf retailers and professionals so don't moan when your non physical purchase doesn't arrive on time.

This literally doesn't make any sense.

If a service is advertised and not fulfilled you have every right to moan. If you pay for a delivery option that isn't then provided you have every right to moan. It's called breach of contract.

Whether one should go to the local pro or not is a different debate entirely and entirely unconnected.

£5 difference? Pro, no hesitation. £20 difference? Borderline, depends whether the pro has it in stock (and in any event, I suspect the OP meant that the £20 difference was in relation to the cheapest online retailer). £50 difference? Internet, no hesitation. As you have rightly pointed out retail is a service driven industry but price point is ultimately the biggest clincher (and actually, some of the pros I have met provide a substandard service to a lot of online retailers!).

Furthermore, everything comes down to relativity which you also don't take into account. £20 difference on a new £300 driver doesn't mean anything. £20 difference on an £80 jacket is either a 25% discount or 33% price increase depending on which way you look at it. That is huge. We don't know how much the OP's bag cost.

For some reason a lot golf pros think a smile is worth a 10-20% (or more!) price hike; that is what is killing them. I visited a course I hadn't played before recently that I shan't name, and had a look around the pro shop as you do. The guy had 2 season old bags priced higher than their original retail price in one corner of the room, some £25 Nike polos priced at £40 in the other corner of the room and a myriad of other examples. He then moaned that sales were slow and American Golf was putting him out of business when I asked him how things were going! I then paid £1 for a Kitkat and £1.50 for a Coke. I think he'd be surprised to hear that it isn't AG putting him out of business...people just don't like to be ripped off.

The pros I have met who practice price matching and properly engage with their member base/advertise their services are doing just fine.

 

[Smiffy]

Of course if you used your Pro you'd have known exactly where the bag was! - the internet is killing golf retailers and professionals so don't moan when your non physical purchase doesn't arrive on time. Its not always all about cost but service, pay peanuts you get a monkey!

As most of you know I am a keen fisherman...and the same thing is said about the small, local tackle shops. That the internet is putting them out of business. Load of rubbish.
Early last year, I needed to buy a bivvy for when I do "over nighters". I did my homework (on-line of course) and decided on which one I wanted. Popped in to the local tackle shop to have a word with the owner (who I know "reasonably" well as we sold him a new car the year before) as I wanted to give him the business. He told me that despite not having one of the ones I wanted in stock he could get me one "no problem" and his quoted price, whilst a little over what I knew I could get it for on-line, was still good enough for me to want to deal with him. So I asked him to order me one. "I'll give you a call when it's in stock Rob" he said.
Despite two reminders, I'm still waiting, almost two years on!!
The internet is NOT killing off retailers. BAD RETAILERS are killing off retailers.
I would much rather buy locally if I can.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As most of you know I am a keen fisherman...and the same thing is said about the small, local tackle shops. That the internet is putting them out of business. Load of rubbish.
Early last year, I needed to buy a bivvy for when I do "over nighters". I did my homework (on-line of course) and decided on which one I wanted. Popped in to the local tackle shop to have a word with the owner (who I know "reasonably" well as we sold him a new car the year before) as I wanted to give him the business. He told me that despite not having one of the ones I wanted in stock he could get me one "no problem" and his quoted price, whilst a little over what I knew I could get it for on-line, was still good enough for me to want to deal with him. So I asked him to order me one. "I'll give you a call when it's in stock Rob" he said.
Despite two reminders, I'm still waiting, almost two years on!!
The internet is NOT killing off retailers. BAD RETAILERS are killing off retailers.
I would much rather buy locally if I can.

Excellent post sir. I'm all for buying locally (pro shop for golf) but if they can't fulfil an order then why would you want to give them repeat business?