Supplier Performance

[Jim Miller]

In another thread there are some comments about suppliers' performance during the holiday rush.

We buy most of our materials from three suppliers, all of which are very dependable:

*Culver Art & Frame in Lewis Center, Ohio
*Larson-Juhl in Cleveland
*Century Framing Suppliers in Solon, Ohio

Throughout this year's holiday rush, we had only one emergency situation, and it was my fault -- not a supplier's. Indeed, the suppliers went beyond the call of duty to bail me out.

What are your experiences with suppliers in a pinch?

[MerpsMom]

We have two locals. One is fantastic when you're in a bind; the other wants to be but has trouble. Oh, well.

LJ this year got only a C grade when put into a problem situation. Probably because of their size and the number of people getting involved in a b/o'd or messed up deal, one hand doesn't always know what the other is doing. Our rep, however, is very good.

Decor, shockingly, was spot on. These were the only suppliers to have to deal with problems for us this season.

[Framing Goddess]

All of us Framing Gods and Goddesses here were overall thrilled with this holiday season's service from our suppliers. They are:
LeWinter Moulding in Pittsburgh, Pa.:
-You'd never know that they were doing probably twice their usual volume. Not a hitch. Super professional drivers- how do they always stay so cheery? A++
West Shore Distributors in Westlake, Ohio:
-Flawless, as always. A++
Ivy Industries:
-Their back order came in when they said it would and must have been shipped to us immediately. We got it earlier than expected.
A++
Sales Associates in Lakewood, Ohio:
-No fuss, no muss, no hassle, good product and good people.
Picture Woods in Co.:
-Gold Star for excellent service! A+++++++
They went out of their way to get length to us super quick so that we were able to avoid paying air freight on a heavy bundle. Made a very good customer VERY HAPPY.
Bendix:
-Always no stress.
LaMarche:
-Fixed a minor problem without me even having to gripe about it. A+++++ The Goddess appreciates that beyond words!
Engelsen Moulding, Michigan:
-excellent, as always. Some of the nicest folks in the biz.
A Good Season, it was, and (almost)all of our suppliers rose to the occasion. Some of The Big Guy Suppliers better pay attention.
-The Goddess

[BUDDY]

Jim, In regards to supplier performance, I had an experience this holiday season that answers both your question and Tadporter's.
The experience was with LJ and I am happy to say that my local rep did everything and more to help resolve the problem. He even agreed to over night a chop to me so that I could complete an order. The customer service department tried everything they could to resolve it also including having the Houston's office manager call me. So as for service they did all they could.
But, as to Tadporter's original question the problem originated when I ordered Ascot #348966 for one frame and then later ordered more moulding for a matching frame. The two mouldings weren't even close. After talking to several people in LJ I was told they were well aware of the problem and they had decreased their inventory in the Houston warehouse from 60' to 10' since their moulding variated so greatly.
So even though this is only one moulding it does appear that there is indeed some problem with finished consistency which didn't use to happen with LJ. I just thought I'd mention these two things in an effort to answer both questions. With all the rushing going on in the holidays, we should indeed expect some problems and they did make every effort to clear it up.
BUDDY