50% of my online orders have been screwed up

I've frequented a very well know online home brew supply store 4 times since I started home brewing.

My second order included an order for coopers cabr tabs. The supplier sent me Munton's tabs. Not a horrible screw up but a screw up none the less. I contacted the store and they didn't seem all that concerned about the screw up and didn't even volunteer to rectify the problem. I had to request some sort of fix. In the end they simply refunded me the difference in price between the products (something like $1.50 I think). Ultimately I found I preferred the Coopers carb tabs.

Alas...I ordered from them again. The 3rd order went fine.

My fourth order included an extract kit for a Wheat beer. The website mentions the kit would include orange peel and the intructions that came with the kit mention putting the bitter orange peel in the boil for the last 15 minutes. Alas...I foolishly did not check my kit for all the ingredients before I started up. It was too late and my wheat beer will end up without the bitter orange peel.


Is this at all normal? Have I just been unlucky?

 

I've only placed about 4 online orders (from 2 different vendors so far), but I've ever had a screw up...My guess is you are unlucky, FWIW. also FWIW, both of my vendors are based out of Minnesota, just to give you a hint as to which one's I've used.

 

I guess it depends on the vendor. Every once in a while, we see folks posting here about a bad experience, but it seems like half your orders getting messed up is outside of the norm. If I were you, I'd consider another online vendor.

 

Depends on the vendor. Here are the common complaints:

More Beer: Out of stock items lead to delayed order processing. Sometimes orders are shipped with missing/wrong items.

Austin Homebrew: Occasional shipping delays due to high order volume.

Nearly every online supplier has been accused of rude/poor customer service at least once. You can't please everyone all the time.

 

So, why not mention which store it was so that others can take that into account when ordering?

That said, I have ordered beer equipment and ingredients from Mr. Beer, Amazon.com, Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies and many times from Austin Homebrew, and all orders were filled correctly. I am expecting another shipment from AHS tomorrow, so hopefully I didn't just jinx myself

EDIT: The shipment arrived, and everything was there. So I didn't jinx myself

 

I have ordered from all of these as well and had excellent results. MW has even been able to change my order over phone after I've sent it in. I prefer Austin though, as they let me specify fractions of a pound for grains and add it to the grain bag.

 

I just ordered from Austin Homebrew Supply and figured I would go ahead and order two batches worth to minimize cost on shipping (great price Forest!). I knew it would take a few days to ship, but I was in no hurry. Well, the order finally arrived and was missing quite a few items. Turns out all the items were on the "Page 2" of the order. I called up and talked to them. No hassles, no questions, the rest of the order was shipped out a few days later. I was satisfied with the response to my issue.

I will give AHS high marks for excellent customer statisfaction, but still have a hard time believing they can have as many shipping issues as I read about on this forum and not "really" address it. I mean, how hard is it to verify an order? A one time mess up is COMPLETELY understandable - but to continue to have have issues like this over the span of months would be having me making some personnel changes real quick if it was my company. The screw up cost them another shipping charge that they had to eat, and if it happened multiple times when a guy was planning a brew party or something - it might cost a customer.

I have never had issues with any other online supplier, but I am sure they ALL make mistakes from time to time. It is how you deal with that mistake and ensure it does not happen again that makes loyal customers.

 

Ive probably used midwest 30 times with no problems whatsoever

 

Why would anyone care which store I'm having a problem with? If I were to mention the name, and you already shop there, would you switch? Hell, some people are already aware of issues with some stores and still they shop there. Mentioning their name wont solve any problems as I bet the reason for order screwups are due to the stores being so busy.

 

i have never had mistakes, but morebeer is a pain when an item is out of stock!
they dont ship the order at all, and they send you an email a day later....they help up my last order two weeks ago because they are out of us05. i ordered several packs with the rest of the order.
luckily i am one day of shipping away, so i called em on theursday, and still brewed saturday.

everyone else i have used has been flawless.

 

Because it might help people decide which store they want to order from in the future. If two stores offered ingredients and equipment for about the same price, wouldn't you go with the one that provides faster, more accurate service? I certainly pay attention to reviews and ratings when making a decision who to order from, ranging from travel to books to beer ingredients and stuff on eBay.

Example: Let's assume two out of my last three orders from store x were missing items. I don't know if that's just me being a victim of random chance, or if there is a pattern of poor order checking by the company that others have experienced, too. If the latter is true, I would be more likely to take my business elsewhere.

Likewise, there is a possibility that a store you chose to stop doing business with because of poor service in the past revamps their operation - if people didn't report such a change, I would never find out about it. I would miss out on deals offered by the company, and the company would miss out by not getting any of my business.

 

I have placed orders with most of the major online stores (AHS, Midwest, NB, etc.) in the past, but now I rely exclusively on my LHBS. The last order I placed with an online store was for an AG kit that I put together. I ordered the grain, a few oz of hops, and a packet of yeast. When the order arrived, everything was included EXCEPT the yeast. A note was attached saying they were currently out of stock of that particular strain and so my money for the item was refunded. Great. Now I have everything to brew, except the GODDAMN MOST CRUCIAL INGREDIENT!! All they had to do was substitute the yeast for similar strain, shoot me an email, or give me a call. Any of those would have been acceptable. After that experience, I called it quits with online vendors. I'm sure some of them are fine, but when I walk into a LHBS I know I'm going to be walking out with everything I need to brew. If I want something the store doesn't carry, the owner always tries to order it in his next shipment. And if he can't get it to me for the same price or cheaper than an online vendor, he tells me. Plus, with the amount of grains I use there is no way I could get a better price from an online vendor. And I'm supporting out local economy by buying from the LHBS. I see absolutely no benefit to ordering from the online shops. Thats my two cents.

 

The person in question in the shipping department is being fired tomorrow. He is really new but he has to go.

I also hired a new buyer because the old buyer was not good enough.

We have also recovered from the massive increase in order in January. Thanks to all that placed an order and sorry for the delay.

I have implemented a lot of new procedures and hired extra people in shipping. We are back on track and there shouldn't be delays in the future. Obvious exceptions will be when we have our anniversary sale. We typically receive 3 weeks worth of orders in one day.

Thanks for all of your patience and understanding.

Forrest

 

Hrmm, 2 weeks here and I never got an email... not an option to sub pellet for leaf. Maybe I was unlucky. Cancelled, went with Midwest.

 

I guess I've just been lucky. I usually order from Northern Brewer or Midwest Supplies and have never had a messed up or delayed order. Midwest even over-nighted me a replacement corny lid for one that I determined wouldn't hold pressure...no questions asked.

I've also ordered from MoreBeer with no problems. One time only they were out of stock on one item and emailed me that day to ask if I wanted them to ship the rest or wait. I had them ship everything else and cancelled the out of stock item. They shipped the rest that day. No hassles.

I've had no experience with AHS.

 

I've had 100% perfect orders with Northern Brewer. I also have great service with Brewmasters Warehouse: http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/

 

acurate reviews are needed for all buyers so we know who to buy from. maybe the supplier your using has a known history or they do not know the issues that are happening and need to be told about it. i am not seeing this as a post asking for benifits so noone would think that. and yes i would possibly avoid a supplier if you had this post and others said they had the problems as well/.

 

I will say AHBS had a problem with my last order but they fixed it right away. I was missing parts and actually the parts I got were wrong but I didnt notice that untill after I called and Pm Forest. The best part was I recieved a shipping notice that day that the missing parts were shipped. Forest pm me back explaining a problem with an employee, that says alot to me and I will give AHBS a second chance. IThe only reason I shopped thier in the first place was I see Forest on this forum. I would rather order from someone I can contact here than a robot behind a phone.

 

4 points of data, and you're calling it 50%???
Please say 2 out of 4 instead of 50%....
I'm sorry you had poor experiences by ordering online, but everyone who knows math is crying inside....

 

LOL....sorry but to me 2/4 is 1/2...which is 50%. No way around it but 2 out of 4 is 50%. The sample size might not be that which statistics are measured but when its your orders that are being screwed up due to incompetency 50% is 50%. Please keep in mind that my original post was clear on the numbers and I was not passing off my experience as being anything more than it was.

 

I confirm that, the calculator even came up with 50%. My 10 year old also double checked it for me he came up with the same thing.

 

Sweet...thanks for double checking my math

 

I would certainly consider it if your anecdotal evidence lined up with my own.


From my own experience:

NB: a bottle of liquid popped in shipment. Quick email response and agreeable resolution by customer service.

Midwest: no problems.

AHB: my first order with them was apparently in the middle of some big sale and shipment was delayed so long I forgot about the order. Came with a "free shipping" coupon in it.

Morebeer: I don't remember.

 

I did the math too... my 5 year old daughter comfirmed it, 4/2 is exactly half... so 50%.

90% of my orders from Morebeer were great... BUT, the ONE time that something went awry with an order, they were nowhere to be found. So even then, 90% good, sucks. Id take 50% great orders over 90% as long as the store at 50% was diligent when it came to fixing the problems.

 

I've placed dozens of orders on line from multiple vendors. I think I've only had 2 issues. Both vendors were quick to take care of the problems to keep me a happy customer.

 

I order from online vendors all the time and have only had complications once.

I'll give thumbs up to Ed at Brewmasters Warehouse. He actually called me one evening because the racking cane clip ($1.50 part) I added to my grain order broke as he tested it, so he sent my order on without it, and then fedex-ed the clip the next day.

How about that - a personal phone call for a racking cane clip!

 

Ultimately the store has decided to send me the bitter orange peel. Sadly it is too late for the wheat beer as I had to go ahead and finish making it 2 days ago. Though I suppose the most important communication from the store was the appology. Without it I think I would have stirred clear of them in the future.

 

4/2 = 200% but don't be hard on her - she's only 5 and probably adorable.

I figure this is a post building exercise as much as anything else since the offending supplier wasn't mentioned. So far - midwest and northern brewer have been good to me. I'll give AHS a try (assuming prices are right) just because they're trying so hard and supporting this board.

-OCD

 

I don't know why you would want to boil bitter orange peel in the first place.. maybe you should have sucked it up and just waited for it and put it in your secondary.. I think the point is that no company is perfect, but if they are willing to own up to their mistakes and rectify them right away then whats the big deal! In my opinion, if you have enough free time to post threads on a homebrew forum, you probably have enough time to wait for some miniscule ingredients..

 

I have ordered 3 times from Morebeer.com, new to the home brewing thing, and every time they have shipped everything quickly. 2 of the orders did have out of stock items, but they were very quick to let me know, and to offer other ideas. For example my last order on 1FEB09 had some 1 gallon jugs that were not in stock, they let me know on the 3rd that they were out but should be in stock on the 5th if I wanted to wait, or if they could ship what was in stock, and ship the bottles at a latter date. Since I am in no hurry for this shipment (being APO customer being in a hurry is a bad thing) I had them hold till in, and they picked the order on the 5th. Very good communication from morebeer, and great customer service.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Because in every recipe I have seen it is placed in the last 10 miunutes of the boil...? The only online order that I ever had that went bad, went bad in a BIG way and the vendor, a MAJOR online HB supplier didnt offer to do anything to rectify it, so I cancelled, and I will never shop with them again.

 

Oddly this came a week after I blew up this board about how they never called me, never emailed me, and never offered to fix a problem with my 2 week delayed order. Maybe my promising here never to use them again struck a cord with them.
They recieved 100% of my business until that botched order in January where there was no communication and then when I PURSUED THEM, they offered no solution, so I left them for good. Granted that finally set me out looking for a new vendor and I just placed an order for ALL of my HB ingredients for 2009 with Brewmasters Warehouse.

25 items, 20 different malts, 110 pounds of malt, multiple yeasts (which they guaranteed me GOOD dates on through 2009) and it shipped in LESS than 24 hours. Should be here 3 days from the time I ordered. I have ordered from them all, and none of them can beat that. Not to mention Ed, the owner, called me to discuss my yeast needs and dates... then offerd to send me the yeast I needed, WITH FREE SHIPPING, later in the year if he could not get me a date that was far enough out for my needs. Any other vendor would have told me tough luck, order your yeast later in the year then. Keep in mind, Ed was less costly with shipping than anyone else out there as well... including the place with FREE shipping. I cant wait to drop an order like this on Ed again, he and his employee (soon to be employees) are all HBT members and have a vested interest in serving this group (and all customers) with the utmost care.

 

I use Austine Homebrew Supply and Midwest almost always. I've placed many orders and no serious screws up with either. The stuff that has messed up they fixed immediately. I don't even remember who did what anymore. It's like one place forgot the spigot for a bottling bucket. Another sent me iodine test strips instead of chlorine. But, one phone call fixed it all.

 

Glad you found a good place to order. I hope that your post did make morebeer a better place to work with. I might give BrewMasters a look next time. Shipping time/prices are almost never free for me, mostly due to the fact that they have to use USPS and must due a customs form. I loved the fact that MB put 'cooking supplies' (with the quotes) on the customs forms.

 

After reading this horror-story of a thread, I'm somewhat glad I live in Australia. Sure, I'm paying about double what you guys are for ingredients and equipment, but using Craftbrewer for ordering has been a *very* pleasant experience. Prices are great, the orders are always 100% correct, and everything ships the same business day as you order! And amazingly enough, he must have convinced the postal service to move it quicker, because it arrives the day after it shipped, which in Aus is nothing short of a miracle. For any Aussies that read this, Ross at Craftbrewer *deserves* your business. Just order from him once and you'll see why!

For everyone that's had problems with a homebrew supplier, you have my commiserations. Nothing's worse than waiting a couple of days for things you've ordered, which turns into a couple of weeks, then half of it doesn't arrive.

 

After reading this horror story of a thread, I sure am glad that Midwest is about two miles out of my way on my drive home from work.

 

I've ordered 3 good sized orders so far with MW and they've all been great, well packed and complete even with 10+ items. This last order was for 2 recipes and a few pieces of gear, I compared the prices from MW with AHS and even with AHS's cheaper shipping they were still 10-20% higher. MW's shipping can be a bit intimidating sometimes however I feel they provide the best overall prices possible and let you pay the actual shipping instead of hiding some of the shipping in higher prices. I'm sure AHS as well as ohers are wonderful suppliers however MW was the first I used and plan to continue

 

You bothered to quote my original post but then didn't bother to read it. I did not realize the ingredient was missing until after I started the brew. I even admitted I was foolish for not having checked my ingredients before started. What does having the time to post on the boards have anything to do with waiting for the ingredients when I was in the middle of the boil?



This thread was about how 1/2 of my orders from one online store have been screwed up. Sorry but just as 2 out of 4 is 50%, even though 4 total isn't a huge number, a screw up of an order, even though we're talking about miniscule ingredients, is still a screw up of an order.

 

right here.. yeah here looks good We mainly just have hops, but even considering shipping ($5) it typically costs you less than buying just about anywhere else. No mistakes as of yet to our knowledge, and fast shipping.

 

100% success with Northern Brewer (many orders), 100% success with the couple of small orders through AHS, 100% (one order) with Williams. In fact, never had a problem. But, I've deliberately avoided one of the major suppliers because I've heard of too many problems; why deal with that when I'm happy with the others?