Kiltstore fails to deliver

[ccga3359]

Welcome from Ontario, gladyoull finally get your kilt. To post pics here's the link. If you still cant get it, this is what we'll do to you.

[TheKiltedWonder]

I see someone has posted the FAQ way before me. Oops. Glad the PV kilt worked. And now you still have a great kilt coming. May you have many good reasons to don it as well!

[Nick Fiddes]

I've just had this thread pointed out to me, so I've been looking into the order history in our records, and I'd like to reply. Hopefully this may be useful information for anyone ordering a kilt, whether from us or from anyone...

The order was originally placed with us on 14 October. It appears from our records that the customer gave us no indication at the time of an important deadline. Our site urges customers to let us know about any key dates, and our systems are programmed to record any deadline we are told about, so that we'll be alerted in time to take action if there are hold-ups.

When we put the order in process, we discovered that the fabric ordered was out of stock at the mill. But the mill gave us a re-stocking date that was still within the originally anticipated manufacturing time, so there was no need to update the expected dispatch date to the customer.

Shortly before that new re-stocking date, the mill informed us of a further weaving delay, to just beyond the original time. So at that time we notified the customer of this delay.

It was only now that the customer told us about the deadline. On hearing this, we pulled out all the stops to try to meet the key date. We agreed to pay our kiltmakers rush surcharges (at our own expense) and upgraded all internal transfers (mill to kiltmaker, etc.) to next-day couriers. By doing this all, we managed to get the estimated dispatch date to two days before the deadline. Tight, but normally reliable.

We expected the kilt to arrive on the Thursday before 12 noon. But it appears that due to the Christmas rush, the couriers sub-contracted the delivery to another firm and made an error with the paperwork, meaning it didn't arrive until 1.45pm just after our courier pickup. Due to the urgency, our Retail Manager personally packed and drove the package to the airport at speeds risking his license, making it with minutes to spare.

The next morning to his dismay we received an automated message from the couriers, saying there was a problem with the paperwork. (On investigation, it seems that the printer had simply malfunctioned; it seems to be sod's law that once a problem arises, more will come along to compound it!) Normally we can resolve these issues by phone, and he spent much of the morning trying to do so. But on this occasion, not least due to our account representative being on holiday, he could not prevent the package being returned to us.

On the Friday we resent the package, pulling in every favour to ask for Saturday delivery. But unfortunately it couldn't be done. So yes, we'd failed. I'd say we regret this deeply, but that just sounds like corporate speak and understates it. We absolutely hate it. But sometimes events just conspire, and I'm really not sure what more we could have done in these circumstances.

As for wider lessons, I'd just like to remind everyone that kiltmaking is not an industrial process like TV manufacture. It involves the coordinated activities of a whole range of industries, many of which still operate on a craft basis. So delays from a dyestuff manufacturer can set back spinning schedules which set back weaving schedules which set back kiltmaking schedules, and so on.

Normally it works, and we get it right. I believe our own systems for achieving and monitoring our schedules are actually the best in the industry, and we've put a huge amount of work into developing systems that deliver. But whatever our best efforts, we can't always work miracles.

But I can only urge anyone with an important deadline (a) to allow as much time as humanly possible; and (2) to make sure their supplier knows about the importance of this date right from the outset. I'm not making excuses here to cover up for the fact that on this occasion we didn't succeed in getting it right. But it's good advice, so I hope that helps.

Nick

[JohnQ]

Nick,

You have either been misinformed or your records are incomplete. When I placed the order on Oct 14th, I indicated in 'Special Order Instructions or Comments' box that I needed the kilt for an event on Dec 8th. This was acknowledge by your generic 'Thank you for your message to Scotweb Store' email.

When I ordered the accompanying fly plaid, I noted in the special instructions box to please combine with the original order only if the addition would not affect the delivery. As the orders were combined, I can only surmise that these instructions do get read.

On Nov 26th, I again used Scotweb's contact mechanisms to express my concerns about the impending Nov 28th date. As I got no response, I phoned your US number and spoke to Judy who was not aware of any issues with the order and I was assured the manufacturer was working on my kilt and it was expected to ship out the next day (Nov 29th). When I phoned again on Nov 29th, the gentleman who answered the call was surprised when I told him I expected the kilt to have been shipped that day. His precise words were 'We were not expecting it to ship today'.

I was extremely patient during the entire process and clearly communicated my needs to Scotweb over and again.

As of now, (12:00 pm PST, Dec 10th) the shipment has not been delivered as it is still clearing customs in Memphis, TN.

[Nick Fiddes]

John,

I really am very sorry about the fact that you did not receive your kilt by the time that you wanted it. And I fully understand your disappointment and indeed anger. I have been doing my best to explain the circumstances as fully and honestly as possible. And I will continue to do so. But this must involve stating the facts as I have found them, so please forgive me if these do not equate exactly with your memory of events.

I am now writing from home (instead of from work, earlier). This has given me the chance to check your original order email, as I receive copies in raw form at home, directly from the site. And I can swear to you, hand on heart, that your original order contained no reference to a deadline, or any information at all, in the Special Instructions field (or anywhere). Other customer orders nearby include Notes as normal, and it is not a part of the system with any history at all of bugs. You clearly believe that you remember writing this, but it is not there.

I also checked your follow-up order a few days later. I hope you don't mind if, under the circumstances, I append the text verbatim. It makes reference to combining the orders, but there is no hint of a deadline or reference to schedule:
-----------
Notes: I neglected to order a Fly Plaid when I ordered my Kilt (Order 38524)
please combine orders for shipping. If the orders cannot be combined
for shipping, please do not process until contacting me.
-----------

I cannot (especially from home) comment on your recollection of telephone conversations recently. And of course I cannot discount the possibility of staff error. But they are well trained in both recording notes and transmitting information as accurately as possible, and there is nothing in the recorded order history that I saw earlier to explain what you say. I believe that at that time we were working hard to meet the new very difficult deadline we had only recently learned of.

As I've said, I fully understand your anger that we did not succeed. But I feel it would be gracious, and only fair, if you could accept that your recollection of events early on may be inaccurate, and that as we did not know about your deadline the blame is not all ours as you suggest. Had we known about your key date from the start, we could very likely have solved the problem caused by delays at the weavers in other ways. But the truth is that we only learned about your Early December deadline in Late November. We did our very best. I am really sorry we did not succeed.

[Nick Fiddes]

PS - I'm forwarding to you by email the original order email exactly as we received it.