The bitter disappointment of Australian online businesses

[lesmeyer]

There should be a law in this country that prohibits an item being put up for sale on a website that is not available for immediate shipment (read, in stock) unless otherwise stated. It is 2014 and a simple computer system can tell these things. Even some of our larger companies are simply a little backward when it comes to these matters. Online shopping has been around for 20 + years now. So they are simply stupid or unethical.
My tuppence worth.
Les

[Chief Tiff]

There should be a law in this country that prohibits an item being put up for sale on a website that is not available for immediate shipment (read, in stock) unless otherwise stated. It is 2014 and a simple computer system can tell these things. Even some of our larger companies are simply a little backward when it comes to these matters. Online shopping has been around for 20 + years now. So they are simply stupid or unethical.
My tuppence worth.
Les

My partner has found some companies on E-bay like this; they list a particular item but then tell you it's "out of stock and won't be in for 3 weeks, would you like a refund?" Then they re-list it.... at a higher price. We report these companies to E-bay and always check the negative feedback for signs that this has happened before.

[ian]

There should be a law in this country that prohibits an item being put up for sale on a website that is not available for immediate shipment (read, in stock) unless otherwise stated. It is 2014 and a simple computer system can tell these things. Even some of our larger companies are simply a little backward when it comes to these matters. Online shopping has been around for 20 + years now. So they are simply stupid or unethical.
My tuppence worth.
Les

I believe state consumer protection law already does this. Difficulty is that a customer in Vic buying from Qld has to complain to Qld Consumer protection Dept and guess what, why should they do much, their Minister only cares about Qld voters.

[BRADFORD]

Because of my remote location I buy a huge amount of stuff online and have done so for a good many years, mostly with Australian suppliers.
My experience has been positive with excellent delivery times and service, and the few times it has gone wrong it has been sorted out quicklly with followup phone calls and emails to keep me in the loop. Overall I have no complaints with the Australian online sellers I have dealt with.

Where I have the most trouble and frustration is dealing with Telco's and Government Departments. Now these guys really know how to make you want to bang your head against the wall.

[Heavansabove]

I posted a form to my local council last Tuesday, I received by post the letter telling me the action taken, on Thursday. If local government can do it...

[GraemeCook]

I ordered a camera on Dec 14th from a certain Australian electronics and furniture store that is always complaining that people buy from over seas. Nermerous phone calls and emails later (during which you are made to feel like you are a harassing customer) They had lost my original order. (Required many phone calls cos ..........

Careful, Anne-Maria, you're not allowed to mention the whingeing billionaire's name.




Fair Winds

Graeme

[NathanaelBC]

Not woodworking related, but I had that with L####r where the item was listed as available and they didn't tell me it wasn't until they had taken my money. The technology is available. If you can't hook your inventory management into your e-commerce site then have processes in place for putting up "Low stock" warnings on the site at the very least.

And don't get me started on telcos … had a horrible experience with ███ last year; 25 emails back and forth not including with the TIO and more than eight phone conversations lasting a total of several hours not to mention the distraction of having to deal with it daily for over a month before they finally relented and refunded my money (without an apology or acknowledgement of being at fault).

[NathanaelBC]

Where I have the most trouble and frustration is dealing with […] Government Departments. Now these guys really know how to make you want to bang your head against the wall.

Please rest assured there are plenty of people on the inside trying to make things better!

[Driftabout]

I posted a form to my local council last Tuesday, I received by post the letter telling me the action taken, on Thursday. If local government can do it...

I doubt anyone on my local council elected representatives can read much less care about rate payers.

[Evanism]

Please rest assured there are plenty of people on the inside trying to make things better!

Ronald Reagan: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

I'm sure you are a nice chap, but the idea that the government, or it's employees, can offer to make things "better" is simply wrong. The government cannot help, it can only take resources, taxes and time off people and businesses by force.

The government can only "help" by spending or squandering these extracted resources in an entirely uncompetitive manner.

I have no love for businesses that waste my time or their own resources, but that is entirely to their detriment. But for a government to do so, is criminal.

[Sturdee]

Where I have the most trouble and frustration is dealing with [.......] Government Departments. Now these guys really know how to make you want to bang your head against the wall.

in reply:

Please rest assured there are plenty of people on the inside trying to make things better!

and your rant:

Ronald Reagan: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

I'm sure you are a nice chap, but the idea that the government, or it's employees, can offer to make things "better" is simply wrong. The government cannot help, it can only take resources, taxes and time off people and businesses by force.

The government can only "help" by spending or squandering these extracted resources in an entirely uncompetitive manner.

I have no love for businesses that waste my time or their own resources, but that is entirely to their detriment. But for a government to do so, is criminal.

Lovely rant that you do again, but I think you miss the mark with this one and is rather condescending to Nathanael.

Nathanael is assuring us that their are plenty of people within the government trying to correct the behaviour of its own employees, something that we all want and has nothing to do with your rant.

Peter.

[NathanaelBC]

Nathanael is assuring us that their are plenty of people within the government trying to correct the behaviour of its own employees, something that we all want and has nothing to do with your rant.

Nah it's ok; State and Federal Government bureaucracy is a pain in the for sure and there are plenty of public servants who just don't care. It's just a job and they have no interest in making an effort to improve the system or to even empathise with the people who suffer from having to wrestle with the giant red tape machine.

But there are definitely agitators both in Australia and embedded in Western democracy generally who are pushing for a cultural change, recognising that governments need to do a better job and that citizens deserve better. People like Cass R. Sunstein who was the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration (and read his book Simpler: The Future of Government if you want some glimmer of hope) plus various initiatives locally sometimes launched under the banner of Open Government or Government 2.0 in an effort to close the gap, to make government transparent and accessible and develop empathy and understanding of the citizens that government serves rather than treating everyone like homogeneous numbers.

Some people who want to see change do so from the outside, while others recognise that the best way they can contribute is to join the public service and do what they can from inside. It's a thankless, difficult job pushing against the norm and such people frequently cop flak for not keeping their head down and just doing business as usual … but they want to make the world a better place, they want to change government and arrest it's move towards command and control back to serving and supporting.

[Glennet]

What has any of this got to do with woodwork?

[cadas]

As a recent arrival to these shores I am staggered at the level of customer service offered locally.

I recently bought wine on line from an Adelaide wine company for delivery to Adelaide (15kms) to be precise. Two weeks......

Ordering Stanley sweetheart chisels from Nsw dealer, three weeks plus $25 delivery. Amazon 72hrs, free delivery and35% saving. I'm guessing that's where the dealer was going to go.

There are good stories though, our dog food supplier, email over the weekend, buckets arrive by 10am Tuesday without fail.

Small businesses have clicked on what they have to do and are more than capable of responding and week succeed. It's the mid level companies that seem fixed in their gouging mentality of screw you and pay more. Oh and the answer is to lobby government to make importing more expensive in order to compete, not get more competitive...

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[Handyjack]

While I hate to say it, I am having problems with an on line order.
I placed an order with an Australian company web site at the end of February, and normally, as per their web site, they deliver in a few days. This time however after three weeks, not only am I still waiting, the web site shows I have made the order, but no progress is noted in status.
I tried sending a message to the owner via a WWF private message - no response. I sent a message via the website help desk - no response. I have tried ringing - we are unable to take your call due to relocation, but are still excepting orders. Finally I sent an email saying if I did not receive a response in three hours I would assume the company no longer existed. At last a reply. They are having communication issues. Since then I have exchanged a few emails but my last one, "When can I expect delivery?" has gone unanswered.
In the past I have praised this company's service, now I doubt if I would be returning. A pity really.

One of the good things about the internet is it sometimes lets you compare prices. I have found a different local supplier with lower prices, I can shop in person, and they can also deliver if I am unable to get to the shop.

Sometimes things are diamonds and roses, at other times they are ...