Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: kevin sparrow on February 06, 2010, 01:24:24 am
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I ordered a pump and a 3 stage Vac motor as well as some chemicals from Woodbridge last Friday.
I was told that they were waiting on delivery of the pumps , they were expecting them that day so if the pumps arrived in time I could expect delivery on the Monday, if not Tuesday,so I thought fair enough.
Monday came nothing, Tuesday nothing so I phoned on Wednesday "Oh sorry, be with you tomorrow"
so waited nothing on Thursday,so another phone call only to be told " Oh bear with me mate and I'll check for you only my computers just crashed" he then puts me on hold and I get some crap message promoting their chemicals and how other chemicals can bugger up your machine. So I hung up and swiftly rang back, this time I spoke to John who is the owner "Be with you tomorrow" , I said wot fingers crossed!!, "No it will be with you tomorrow"
Guess what it never came.
Question is Do You think I'm being a little too pushy?
Kevin ::) ::)
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Kevin No not too pushy I think you expect some communication from them to you if there is a delay and shouldnt be chasing them all the time.As with most things in life its the communication/service people give you that ultimately makes you go back and give them your hard earned cash or not.Regards Alan(swindon)
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maybe they're in trouble?
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No not too pushy IMO.
If they cant deliver when they say and certainly after you contacted them again, then they should be giving you the truth and keeping you informed of what has gone wrong and when it will DEFINITELY be delivered.
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It's the way they've always done business
they just don't care it's as simple as that !
Steve
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Go to different supplier and twist their arm to price match. There are several that are always recommended on here Restormate and cleansmart are two i've dealt with both offer excellent service, as does my Local Hugh Crane. Might cost a few quid more but you want a reliable service. It's good to build a relationship with a local supplier if you can.
Promise and delivery is part of every business.
Simon
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Been a number of similar posts on here over the past year or so about more than one company. If business is slow supply companies will run on minimal stock levels as stock on shelves is " dead " stock
This is a problem with modern trading where " price is king " and low profit margins require high sales volume. Fine in a buoyant market but even a small downturn can put established and apparently healthy businesses in trouble.
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And there you go.................
We get regular posts about keeping charges HIGH but when you want something yourself, what do you do..................phone around for the lowest price !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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....but often the "cheapest" has a lower dilution rate per unit hence the seemingly cheaper one works out more expensive in the long run! - strangley similar to when you choose to employ a cheaper tradesperson... he also runs out quicker then you have to get in a pro to correct the billy bodgers effort....
lol ??? ::) ;D
Stu
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is there a low profit margin for the suppliar with products like Prochem and Chemspec etc???
i thought it would have been high(ish) since they are pretty much niche products. i.e. not sold in the millions on supermarket shelfs.
tony
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Tony, Standard margins in this industry for distributors is 40%. That might seem high but to put it in perspective on £100 worth of product you make £40 gross profit. Out of that you have to pay courier charges, often both ways unless you buy in bulk and get free inward carriage. Then you have your overheads, wages, rent, rates, electricity, marketing, insurance and all the other costs associated with running a business. So you can see out of that £40 there is very little profit left. There have been a few companies lately and they spring up all the time offering products a rediculously low prices. They eventually go to the wall leaving people with worthless warranties and usually big debts to their suppliers. These companies are just the same as the cut price carpet cleaners, damaging the ones who want to offer a good service at a sensible price.
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Give them a call informing them that you more than un-impressed with their service. Tell them that the parts you require are available from many other suppliers and unless they can deliver by Tuesday you will take your order elewhere. Also request some kind of discount for the poor service you have recieved.
Personally i have never had a problem when ordering from Woodbridge. Ive always had orders delivered within 2 days.
Richie.
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ordered 12 grands worth of truck mount ,the said they needed a £1000 deposit ,fair enough I said,that evening they took the lot 12 grand . when i got in touch they said it was a mistake but couldnt offer me my money back as they would have to pay 3.5% intrest but promised me a van load of goodies,silly me I accepted.
i took my brand new van down to harlow I had been told 3 days to fit three week latter i got it back ,after a week had to go down as they had my money and my van and i was panicing.there wasnt all the hose i ordered and had to battle to get that ,my one and only freebie was an inline sprayer with a hole in it ,as soon as woodbridge had my money they didnt want to know,they show big units on the website they were empty ,nothing and voice overs on the phone to make it look professional but it aint and never will be
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Woodbridge are Pony.
We had machines of them a while ago and had nothing but trouble with them, the service is appaling and it is NEVER on time.
In the end we over their and collected the machines ourselves which had not had the work done that they went in for and took them elsewhere to be completed.
When I rang and spoke to them about it, expecting some sort of apology and and offer to meet us on the cost of the work , all I got was the couldn't care less attitude that you always get from them and that was too much to handle and I lost my rag with them.
I have warned so many would be customers not too touch them with a barge pole, that they must have lost thousands in potential business.
I am surprised they have lasted so long, I can not think of anyone in the business that has a good word to say about them.
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Agree with the above posts ordered materials and had to chase up but allways delivered
Usually 7 days after order date on several occasions.
Follow up phone call on late delivery would be appreciated.
If i am going to be late for my next call i allways phone before appointed time,common courtesy.
Steve.
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just to add my little moan :)
I ordered a 47 truckmount blower off them, they sent a 45 when i called them they swore blind I ordered a 45 and no way would they back down.
never bought anything off them again, that was 5year ago
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IF YOU REALLY FEEL THE NEED TO DEAL WITH THIS OUTFIT. NEVER ORDER OVER THE INTERNET OR GIVE OUT YOUR CARD DETAILS OVER THE PHONE, IN A WORD MAKE SURE THEY NEVER HAVE YOUR BANK DETAILS. ALWAYS SEND A CHEQUE WITH ALL WORDING GAPS FILLED.
Regards
Peter
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peter, please don't shout in red capitals on a sunday night when my head is already a bit sore from the weekends excesses, keep it in black and lowercase,
colin :o
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Colin's at that age where thr recovery time goes well past Sunday and my be onto Wednesday or Thursday ready to start again Friday ;D
Last thing I bought from Woodbridge came through OK but before that things were missing and not resolved properly but I did buy on price.
The thing with Woodbridge is that they deal with larger customers buying bulk we are just a small part of their business.
Shaun
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shaun, as you don't drink anything stronger than coffee you have no idea what trials and traumas us drinkers go through to get through the weekend, it's tough waking up with a sore head and not able to think straight or simply go out for a run or even a steady walk, you have it easy with your clear head and go for it attitude, pitty us poor drinkers!!!
i have bought from woodbridge before and they have come up trumps but i have a mate who spits blood at there name, who knows?
colin
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Don't tell anyone but I had a glass of wine last night and yes it made me sleep very well and relieved my stress but because I don't drink I had a thick head this morning.
Shaun
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my wife doesn't drink and drop stronger than than tea and for that reason she thinks that i am an alchi if i drink more than 2 pints!!!
whoa is me!!!
colin
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That reminds me some years ago when i did a course and the guy there mentioned pouring red wine on some sample carpet to practice stain removal. The look on my face said it all
waste good wine pouring it on to a carpet i would rather see a church on fire
I now have cut back to only three types of wine RED WHITE & ROSIE
BEST DRINK IT QUICK SO NOT TO SPILL ANY ;D
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I have dealt with woodbridge commercial for over ten years and always found that they gave good service compared to others ie Ashbys
not as good as Solutions but you cant have everthing can you ?
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On the plus side, I have had good reliable deliveries from Woodbridge, but on the downside I have had issues with their sales staff over the years.
One guy there only seemed at all interested in you if you were one of their larger, more regular customers...
I had to almost fight to spend my hard earned money with them.
I've asked for information about products and equipment without reply and recently, having said I would be prepared to try some of their cleaning chemicals, I had a bit of a nightmare.
I asked the salesperson which product I could try on upholstery as their website wasn't very clear. Unfortunately, although trying to sound knowledgeable the guy obviously didn't have a clue....
Anyway, he sent me a product to try...and buy, which arrived the next day.
This turned out to be an unmarked 5 litre container of clear unidentified liquid with no safety Data Sheet.
I contacted them and they apologised sending out a relevant sticker and SDS.....which turned out to be a Flushing Product not Upholstery Cleaner !! :P
Another call, more apologies, "have the product free" and they would send out the correct one which arrived once again the next day.
This was 'supposed' to be a gentle cleaning, citrus odour product, however upon opening the container and pouring a small amount into a measuring jug iIwas overcome with what I can honestly say was the most potent fumes I have ever known !! I had effects from the vapours for most of the day, wheezy, laboured breathing and and saw nasal passages.
No way was I going to use it and rang to querey what the hell they had sent me ?
I was just told that it 'should' be ok to use and they weren't really concerned.
The product was never opened again and they lost a reasonably good customer.
It's a shame that 'product knowledge' and 'Customer Service' seem to be a thing of the past.
some companies think that it doesn't matter and you'll always do business as long as you open your doors in the morning.....
Wrong !! :(
Les
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I've only had a few small dealings with woodbridge, mostly pump spares etc. Mostly OK but waited weeks for a pump diaphragm, forgot about it really until it turned up! But was only a backup part, not an emergency.
I do remember having a slight issue with something regarding payment, but it was sorted in the end.
Funnily enough just been on the phone to steve knight chatting about the service we get from suppliers. It's bonkers that some carry on like they don't want your business!
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Got home today, and still nothing, problem is now they've got my money
You would think though that with the recession and all that they would be on the ball.
I have dealt with them a few times over the past 5-6 years, but never had an issue like this.
Perhaps another phone call tomorrow.
Its not April fools soon is it?
Kevin
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Woodbridge are well established.
This time of year supply chain can be slow
I sometimes think we expect a lot for a small order. But You should try below and cancel , when I phoned them they made sure part was in stock
I have found best bplace is www.williamsonpumps.co.uk
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Ian
Whats well established got to do with giving poor service, you don't get away with it just because you have been around a few years.
I have never heard supply chain used as excuse before, if somethings out of stock let us know.
This goes back years any way and our order could in no way be described as small.