Unreasonable delay for new irons???

[RichA]

Hi. Apologies for the length of this post...
Having recently returned to golf with a vengeance after 10 years off, my wife persuaded me to splash out for my 50th and replace my 1980s Ping Eye 2 irons.
It's turned into a bit of a saga with American Golf and Ping, due to manufacturing delays and COVID lockdown.
I've summarised it below and would be grateful for any honest opinions. Are AG and Ping being unreasonable, taking over 3 months to deliver eight slightly customised but largely mass produced golf clubs or am I being a dick for whining about it when there are bigger things going on?

In October 2020, I had a fitting at American Golf, resulting in my ordering a set of Ping G410 irons.
The fitter assured me there was a 4-5 week lead time.
I ordered the irons in my specs and paid in full. The fitter, having completed the transaction, wrote, "4/5 weeks" on my receipt.
During December, I made several visits and phone calls and sent emails to the store. They were never able to give me any concrete information on a delivery date. I did learn that most of the set was being delivered to store mid-December, with a long delay from Ping on a couple of the clubs.
The store is currently closed and staff furloughed, with nobody kept on to deal with outstanding orders, answer the phone or reply to emails.
It is now 12 weeks since I ordered a set of golf clubs with a 4/5 week delivery date.
American Golf Customer Service are working from home and do pick up the phone after a long delay, but have no access to information held at the relevant store.
The AG website has a message basically saying that orders of customers in my position will be progressed when lockdown finishes.

 

[fundy]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry to say, youre being a dick.

Shops are shut, golf courses are shut and theres far more important things going on. What are you going to do with them if they turn up tomorrow? sit and look at them for 6 weeks?

 

[CliveW]

I don't think you are being unreasonable. I'm not sure about Ping, but most golf clubs are produced in China and that could be the reason for the delay. How did you pay for the club's? If it was Visa you might have a chance of a refund or have you tried contacting Ping direct? As for golf courses being closed, it is a pity you are in Herts as courses and ranges are open in Scotland.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Have you contacted Ping direct to find out what is going on?

 

[Ethan]

I'd cancel. Probably not AG's fault, although I would never have bought them there in the first place, but them's the breaks. Order some 425s in the same specs when things start to open out a bit.

 

[greenone]

No your not being a dick. You paid out money and not received the goods. If they want to borrow money AG should go to a bank not their customers. If it was me I would be doing a section 75.

 

[Smiffy]

Welcome to the forum
Sorry to say, you're being a dick.
Shops are shut, golf courses are shut and there's far more important things going on. What are you going to do with them if they turn up tomorrow? sit and look at them for 6 weeks?

I tend to agree with this, (although I wouldn't go as far as to call you a dick!).
The Covid situation with the resultant lockdowns/furloughs is making it impossible to guarantee delivery times.
In April last year I ordered two new sheds for my garden from a company that I had dealt with before, and had been very happy with.
I was quoted 10-12 weeks for delivery, they actually arrived in October!
I also ordered two new settees for our living room on Christmas Eve with a quote of 10 weeks delivery.
These arrived in June!!
Sure I was frustrated. I was annoyed. But I couldn't do anything about either so just sat back and twiddled my thumbs, knowing that eventually they would arrive.
Like I say, we are living in unprecedented times.
Just be thankful you hadn't ordered them in August 1939. You wouldn't have got them until around 6 years later after they'd outlived their usefulness as a Spitfires propellor.

 

[NeilG]

The fact that there is a delay is understandable.
However, the least they can do is communicate with you clearly regarding the current situation and the likely next updates.

I would be annoyed in your spot - very little excuse for a business not knowing what is happening with customer orders, and not communicating clearly.

 

[Smiffy]

The fact that there is a delay is understandable.
However, the least they can do is communicate with you clearly regarding the current situation and the likely next updates.

I would be annoyed in your spot - very little excuse for a business not knowing what is happening with customer orders, and not communicating clearly.

Problem is, if staff are on furlough they are limited to what they can do.
I am furloughed at the moment and access to my staff email system is denied, so I cannot get in touch with my customers.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

When I have ordered Ping stuff through a pro it has been 2 weeks wait if everything in stock. I have friends who have ordered through AG and they always take longer.
However right now, everything is taking longer unsurprisingly all down to the 3sins were are having.
As much as I don’t like AG, it’s not their staffs fault if the are furloughed as they cannot do anything, not forgetting that if they are furloughed they cannot legally be working....and Im sure you don’t want them to break the law.

 

[Oddsocks]

Personally I get your frustration given you would have laid out the best park of a grand, but the delays will be out of AG’s hands, HOWEVER I do agree absolutely no communication is poor.

Surely pro shops with have a trade only support number at ping and likewise someone at ag should be monitoring outstanding orders and updating customers fortnightly at worst.

Cancelling the order gains nothing as you’ll effectively join the back of an already growing queue caused by lockdown shopping.

 

[NeilG]

Problem is, if staff are on furlough they are limited to what they can do.
I am furloughed at the moment and access to my staff email system is denied, so I cannot get in touch with my customers.

AG’s choice how much of their business is shut down and how they handle business in progress. In most cases it is not a good excuse for poor customer communication.

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

AG’s choice how much of their business is shut down and how they handle business in progress. In most cases it is not a good excuse for poor customer communication.

But what communication are they after, they know original delay was due to manufacturing/transportation issues and 4/5 weeks was always going to be tight. They know that the clubs are now in the store but that the store is closed as the Government have ordered all non-essential shops to close. They know they'll be able to pick them up the first day AG are allowed to reopen.

AG can't keep staff off furlough to just deal with occasional deliveries as it wouldn't survive/people will lose jobs in the long run. Likewise it's good to see that the shops are properly shut rather than being staffed from "the window" as that's the point of the rules. There only option would be to employ people to go around each store opening, sorting orders and then onto the next but they wouldn't have keys etc. hence you'd need someone at every store to come off furlough.

I can understand it's frustrating, everybody wants new things as quick as possible but that's just life at the moment. We don't know when kids are going back to school etc. which seems significantly more important so I don't know what AG could say differently as they'll have no greater insight as to when shops will open.

 

[KenL]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry to say, youre being a dick.

Shops are shut, golf courses are shut and theres far more important things going on. What are you going to do with them if they turn up tomorrow? sit and look at them for 6 weeks?

What a ridiculous way to speak to another forum member. Hopefully mods will correct.

Yes, we are in lockdown now but this order should have been fulfilled long ago.

To the OP, a friend of mine ordered a set of i210 irons through our pro and they arrived in about a week. These were custom and arrived without grips so he could fit his own ones.

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

What a ridiculous way to speak to another forum member. Hopefully mods will correct.

Yes, we are in lockdown now but this order should have been fulfilled long ago.

To the OP, a friend of mine ordered a set of i210 irons through our pro and they arrived in about a week. These were custom and arrived without grips so he could fit his own ones.

In fairness to Fundy I didn't read it that he was being insulting or rude (hence the welcome element of their post). The OP phrased the question with "am I being a dick" so they just responded using the same language as that was one of the options the OP had given as a response in the same way reddit has the "AITA" threads.

 

[Deleted member 23344]

What a ridiculous way to speak to another forum member. Hopefully mods will correct.

I think you will find that the OP specifically asked if he was being a dick.

 

[NeilG]

They know they'll be able to pick them up the first day AG are allowed to reopen.

It did come across as if the OP didn’t know that for certain. Just a generic message on the website.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I understand the want to vent, it is a long time to wait. But as they say good things come to those who wait.

If you are in a country under lockdown you are probably not able to use them. If you still have your old clubs you can use them if golf opens up again, it will not be long before your clubs arrive once the store reopens. Note their opening date and get into the as soon as the phones/emails open! Once you can go to the shop drop in and chase from there.

You will be without your new clubs for a maximum of a couple of weeks of actual golf time, which is pretty normal for delivery.

Be thankful you are having this issue now when it’s snowing/wet/lockdown and not in the middle of summer when you have rounds booked!

 

[Orikoru]

Bit of both. It's certainly going to be frustrating, but given there was lockdown and shops closed throughout November and also January, the delay is understandable. I feel a lot of companies have been using Covid as a crutch to excuse poor customer service - however if production and delivery channels can't function there is little they can do.

Given that newer irons have now been released by Ping, I would try and get a reduction on the ones you ordered to soften the blow. Worth asking given how you've had to wait so long, and the worst they can do is say no.

 

[IanM]

I hope that Rich took it that Fundy just used the term he use in the post!

I'd be looking at the 425 spec and thinking "mmm I wonder?"

AND - do not sell the Eye2s. Wrap them up and put them somewhere safe. Might help the pension scheme in the future!