Vendor incompetence

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cjones1344

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
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Apr 29, 2009
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Mississippi
I feel like I have to rant about this a little bit. The incompetence of moulding companies has become absolutely ridiculous. I would almost swear that people are purposely trying to make me stop doing business with them.

Vendor A - I order a moulding for our truck that we order quite often, a black funky scalloped thing. Truck arrives and they sent white. Not a big deal, I'll just get them to fix it next week since the customer was not in a hurry. Truck arrives next week......they sent white again. I look at the invoice and it even says, "Sent white by mistake, make sure to send black". They refuse to overnight it to me, fits were pitched, and the moulding company owner ended up driving 45 minutes to bring the moulding to us and to pick up all his samples.

Vendor B - I ordered a moulding UPS from a Canadian company and when it arrives I see that it's the wrong moulding. Checked the sample and it turns out they sent us a sample with the wrong sticker on the back. They are reluctant to admit fault, but they did 2 day the correct moulding to us since it was for a birthday. It just got here a few minutes ago.....wrong moulding. They sent the black instead of the brown. Invoice is correct, wrong moulding got pulled. I now have a new customer that probably won't be coming back.

Are all the vendor employees illiterate? Sorry for the rant, just needed to vent.
 
They are the sort of business that makes it easy for you to “move away from them”.
 
I think that some of it is that the suppliers have either

A: laid off some employees and have been having fewer people doing more work and thus making more mistakes

B: laid off experienced employees that made a decent wage and replaced them with what ever they could get cheap.

Mistakes happen to all of us, it is how they are handled that sets a quality company apart.
 
Must be something in the air. I recieved the wrong moulding this week for a rush order of all things, and on another note a different vendor was out of stock of a moulding I needed for multiple orders!
All in the same week.:icon45:
 
Lately, I too I have experienced some similar situations from vendors whose past performance has been stellar. I have also seen significant out of stocks and moulding shipped to me that in years past might never have gotten out of a warehouse.

Unfortunately, I do see it as a "sign of the times." And, while I am not happy about it, have taken some steps to acknowledge that it is happening and it may affect my performance to my clients in my ability to deliver product as promised.

So, I have found that I may have to extend due dates for completed orders to allow time for replacement (make turn around times slightly longer) - or ramp up my ordering so I receive product sooner and inspect it as soon as it comes in so I can order replacements as necessary.

The difficulty is that it also means I may short myself on the ability to get "free freight" or other such benefits by combining orders. Thus, it is also time to talk with the reps to see if policies can be waived so I can continue to achieve discounts etc. while protecting myself from order difficulties.

The key is to anticipate that these problems are going to happen and not schedule ourselves into a situation where we disappoint our clients.
 
Just this week I I ordered a couple of sticks of one moulding and a couple of sticks of another.

Order came, one moulding (the right one) all banged up; the other moulding, not even close in size, color, or number! huh? The invoice and packing slips were both correct. huh?
 
Vendor A told me for two weeks that a moulding was in stock and then on delivery day it did not come. Would call and they would say it will be on next truck. Never came. Customer picked a replacement. Called it in and asked if the original moulding was back in stock, answer was no. I order the substitute then. Next day I get the sub frame as well as the original frame that was not in stock. Go figure.
 
Glad to see I'm not the only one having trouble. I have a suspicion that the reason a lot of moulding that comes in looks like B stock or semi damaged stock is because that's exactly what it is. I have a couple of suppliers that I'm sure are dipping into the stuff they wouldn't normally ship because they don't want to order a new shipment.
 
Strangely enough, same thing in each of the posts above happened to me, just the last 4 weeks alone!

And what's truly alarming is that those companies that never had such problems before, whether wrong moulding, wrong size or out of stock, are as bad now as the habitual ones!
 
Im noticing a lot more mistakes these days.In the past I would just weed out the company but the problem is now they are all doing it.Just another thing thats making this business more frustrating.
 
It's frustrating. How can we deliver the promised work on the date due or just before if we keep getting scrambles like this. It is getting hard to keep track of the credits for mistakes and mis-picks on the part of the supplier. This week has been worse than lately.
 
I guess I jinxed myself, just got another frame in on Fedex...... big ol' ding right in the middle. That's one more customer that now has to wait for their stuff.
 
I, too, have been having far more problems lately with my main vendor. I've been with them since I started the business, but it's never been like this. Mis-pulls, dropped items, and out-of-stocks galore. Twice now they mixed up an item of mine with an item from another customer ("I ordered a 22x28 chop, not 8x10!").

To their credit they're very good about fixing things when they can (not much to do about OOS, but they'll frequently UPS replacements for mis-ships rather than making me wait for the next truck). Thing is, the time and money they're spending fixing their mistakes has GOT to be eating into their business... I see a downward spiral on the horizon if they can't get a handle on this...
 
I normally don't even look at these discussions as I'm not in the picture framing industry other than I'm a wood buyer. So I would never have even posted, but this discussion struck a cord; as the same is rabid in the wood industry as I would suppose every industry.

Too often, companies spend bundles of money doing market research about products, build nice building/stores, and all of the displays of doing business; then times get tough and the staff is cut, experiece and knowledge is discarded and one is left doing the job of six and the customers shoulder the brunt of this burden only for so long. Then the company wakes up to realize that in shedding their labor, they shed their customer service, and therefore their customers. Sadly, I have recently had to deal with two of my suppliers becoming past suppliers as they are now out of business with warehouses and yards full of some of the best product.
 
I to had problems.
Ordered floater frame,(sight size) did'nt come fedx in the normal amount of time.
Called supplier.
That order was cancelled.
BY WHO.
You.
NOT BY ME.
Ok reorded.
Came in, Wrong size $@## Sight size was on invoice
Called supplier, what the $@#%%
Plant manager wants drawing of moulding with size location marked faxed to him. DUH
They want the wrong size sent back. They sent a call ticket.
I boxed up the wrong size they sent and ALL OF THE SAMPLES OF THAT MOULDING.
 
Our business is not the only one experiencing this phenomenon of out of stocks and back orders, etc.

Last month I broke down and decided to buy some new bras. I ordered them from a catalog. Two of this style, four of that, different colors, all the same size. Ordered about a dozen all together.

Well, first one arrived, then a week later, two more, then another one and then two which had the correct size on the label but which were not the correct size so I had to send them back and now I have completely lost track of what I have received and what is coming and what is what.

Guess what company I will never buy from again???

So we are not the only ones.

Might be able to use that in telling our customers of possible difficulties - they must surely be experiencing this in other areas as well.
 
Unfortunately, people make mistakes.

Some of the better vendors realize this and are trying to improve the situation. I was at an open house recently, {Colorado Moulding} and the new owner mentioned they are addressing these 2 key items at their company.

1. They are tracking out of stocks, and they gave the percentage rate from the time they bought the business to now. It has improved greatly.

2. They are tracking mistakes by employee. Every employee that is mistake free for the week, gets a gift card, and recognition. They were handed out at the open house, for the prior week. I don't remember what the gift card was, or the amount, but I love that there is recognition for a job well done.
 
Vendor Competence

Most of my orders go to a local vendor in Las Vegas, who although we do have issues, they really try hard to keep us in good business standing with our customers. I have a large job coming up in the next few days, and I quoted a specific moulding for ~ 250 ft. from this vendor. Recently, I ordered a couple of sticks of this specific moulding, and they ran out. Immediately, I panicked and called the manager, Chris Honick, who assured me they have plenty of the same moulding at another warehouse.

We dont have problems such as those described before this post, ie, we get what we order. Occasionally, we may have problems with warping or finish separation, but those issues are quickly resolved. Our customers would not tolerate multiple errors on orders. I basically have 3 vendors I buy moulding from, and I certainly depend on their competence.

The three vendors are: CMI, Larson and Universal. My hat is off to them.

Ernesto
 
Mistakes will happen even in the best companies. It's how they rectify them that makes the difference. One company I deal with regularly was out of stock of some chop sevice moulding I needed urgently. That wasn't really a mistake - just bad timing. They actually got some some from a competitor and had it ferried over to them in a taxi, chopped the frames and I had the them the next day. Which was a Saturday. That's what I call beyond the call of duty.:thumbsup:

The best 'Fail' story I know was from a friend of mine who ran a garage just over the road. He order a replacement driver's door mirror. The supplier didn't have one so they sent a passenger door mirror instead. :D
 
I think it's just another sign of the times. I have 41 years of experience in framing, I never miss work, I'm always on time, I make next to zero mistakes, none of my work comes back, but I'm finding out I am "overqualified", mainly because of my salary. I work for 2 companies now just to keep fully employed.

So what companies want is to lower the bar, hire the cheapest labor they can get away with and if they screw up every 4th or 5th order, what the heck they can pay that person 1/2 of what I get with no benefits. I'm not sure they realize the long term downside of this policy.

Many suppliers are trying to make it with a skeleton crew or they have people doing jobs they wouldn't normally do.
 
Ordered 8 pieces, 4x8x3/16 Gator.

The driver arrived holding a small parcel of 1, 4x8 Gator sheet cut into 8, 1x4 sheets. The new girl at the order desk explained she thought I was a sign maker, and that's what I really meant to order.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Ordered 2, 4x8 sheets Optix cut into 6 equal pieces. Got 6 pieces of the cheapest, most scratched up construction grade acrylic I ever saw, billed for the price of Optix. My (now former) supplier explained it was EXACTLY THE SAME STUFF! Acylic is Acyrlic, right? Didn't want to take it back because it had been cut.
 
I'm kind of lucky. Both of the companies that I work for are within a few miles of three major moulding and supply warehouses in the Phoenix area. I often pick up at will call and if they make a mistake on a delivery it can be fixed quickly.
 
neilframer said:
I'm kind of lucky. Both of the companies that I work for are within a few miles of three major moulding and supply warehouses in the Phoenix area. I often pick up at will call and if they make a mistake on a delivery it can be fixed quickly.
Click to expand...

I have often wondered what it would be like to live in a place where I could not only will-call moulding, but also drive only a short distance to see an actual sample versus some twisted-sister artist's-concept web picture. You Phoenixians don't know how lucky you are. Well, except for the HEAT.

Question...How many seasons are there in Phoenix?

Answer...Two. Summer and ####.

There I feel better now. Hey, what's with the ####'s?
 
You may have been bleeped.
One moulding supplier allows me to go in the warehouse and pick my own moulding sometimes. Comes in handy if I need 4 feet so I don't get 8 or 9 feet. I've been working with them for more than 20 years so they cut me some slack.
 
I am not sure that any of this is news. We have seen these sorts of vendor mistakes, delays, and damage for a long time now. What we have learned is that some companies are much better at fixing problems than others, and we favor those vendors while having dropped others.

As Rob said, it is important to give yourself time to fulfill orders should there be a vendor problem. This is something we often forget at our shop. We see an open date within a week to ten days and schedule the job. In fact, tomorrow, I am going to add a couple of more days lead time to the POS generated due dates.

We do gang orders and our vendor shipping agreements depend on once-a-week ordering. With the exception of Larson and one local vendor, and with the exception of do-overs or reshipments, we order on Mondays, period. I would rather extend our lead times than pay exhorbitant shipping for 10' or 20' of moulding.
 
....and if they are "ALL" doing it----who will you end up with?????
we can NOT dump ALL the vendors unless we all want too get into the wood-butcher biz! :nuts:
will boil down to 'them what makes the LEAST mistakes wins"! :fire: And we will still be left with lousy service/bad wood......this may well prove to be THE biggest industry KILLER---no one will want to waste time/money on framing because they can not get whAt they want, when they need it because of corner cutting, penny pinching, and general incompetence !!!!!!!!!!!! :vomit:


so...........what we need now is an ongoing list of those vendors that DO get it right!!!!!!!!!!!! (so we can all order from them)
 
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Kirstie, that's what I did too; I added a few more days in my POS, so the due date is a bit farther back.

However, when a customer places an order, I always ask; "when do you need it". I advise them about my normal turn around time, but if they need it sooner, I'll see what I can do. I always try to beat my own turn around time no matter what.

If it's a rush order (I do get a fair amount of those since I am working with more and more artists who have last minute shows...) I tell them I'll do the best I can, will call to see if a certain moulding is in stock, but always have the customer pick a second (and sometimes third) option.
Customer do appreciate this.

I do have some moulding in stock; they usually end up choosing that.
 
"artists who have last minute shows...)"

Artists do not have "last minute shows."

They wait until the last minute and then they decide to enter.

I have seen artists picking up a piece for a show and filling out all of the paperwork that goes on the back of the frame while still in my shop (they have had this paperwork to fill out for weeks or months).

Several even ask me what they should name the piece!

Oy vey.

I do like the idea of giving them a chance to pick out alternates - good idea, Ylva!
 
We do that at Christmas. Every order that is placed, they also pick a back-up moulding so we can make extra sure that something is shipped in time for the holiday.

Last year I had to use the backup moulding twice because of back orders, but the hassle was minimal and instead of putting my customer out by coming back in to pick a new one, I look like an experienced and forward thinking genius! :)
 
I know Mar! There are no last minute shows of course. But lots of last minute people.

I have artists who have shows the next day and the paint isn't even dry yet....:nuts:
Seems they can't plan. However, I don't mind; I'm getting quite a name of being able to do something real quickly and some same day service.

It's not so different from the people coming in, looking to frame a photo for a birthday...today...

I draw the line at doing a shadow box same day though :D
 
As mentioned its not just the framing industry experiencing out of stocks and order mess ups. I have noticed the same problem with photography equipment retailers. The studio lights I wanted to order have been out of stock at various retailers for the past couple months with no confirmed due date, the manufacture of the lights was/is having trouble getting some of the parts they use to build the lights. I have also had some problems with one of the photography supply retailers sending me the wrong items, so far its been memory cards, I have ordered 16gb SanDisk cards and received 8GB Kingston cards, even though the shipping slip says 16 GB Sandisk cards, 1) the cards they sent were a lower capacity 2) they were the wrong brand, for some reason Kingston cards arent compatible with my camera (which seems to be a common problem with the Kingston memory cards, they only are compatible with certain camera makes and models). Luckily they retailer I ordered them from gave me an RMA # and when they received the Memory cards they had initially sent me they sent out the ones I ordered via UPS Next Day (originally I had UPS Ground for the original order) along with a check for the return shipping I had to pay.

neilframer said:
I think it's just another sign of the times. I have 41 years of experience in framing, I never miss work, I'm always on time, I make next to zero mistakes, none of my work comes back, but I'm finding out I am "overqualified", mainly because of my salary. I work for 2 companies now just to keep fully employed.
Click to expand...

Its like that all over the place. Right now I am looking for a temporary job, till I can find a decent one. I went to both the local Taco Bell and Burger King and was told by both places that because I had worked almost 10 years at McDonalds I was over qualified and they couldn't hire me. Many employers are being very selective about who they hire, and when they do hire they seem to want to hire either high school or college students, who they can get away with giving less hours to and those who are inexperienced in that job field since they can also get away with paying them minimum wage or close to it.
 
I have been so spoiled - I had a GREAT supplier in Kansas City, and NEVER had a problem with an order. I have recently relocated near Chicago, and am getting set up with new companies, but am still using my old suppliers (glad I still have a lot of glass...)
 
First of all those of you that are using vendor A instead of calling these vendors out are nicer than I would be. Unfortunately our society nowadays doesn't reward the "nice guy approach" as often as getting fired up. This is ### backwards but it is the way things for the most part have become. If I was getting horrible service and the wrong product more than a few times I would start with my sales rep. and work my way up to the owner with some butt chewings. As a wholesale supplier I have realized over the past few years that we need you more than you need us. There are way too many suppliers for you to deal with for any of us big or small suppliers to screw up, not fix the issue(s), and take a chance of losing a customer. I think that all the owners of the supply companies would tell you the same thing I am. They built these companies to make money and without decent products and good service it is very hard to achieve that in this industry. If for some reason an owner doesn't share this opinion I probably would let them know they would not have the priviledge of doing business with you any longer. Maybe you should ask these companies for their mission statements.................
 
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