Mark,
I called LaserSketch on Monday, April 4, to place an order for a case (10) of the 8"x10" Absolute Black ovals. The phone was never answered on any of the six attempts I made throughout the day. I left several messages and finally received a call back around 4:00 that day. They had the product in inventory, but said that the UPS truck just left and they wouldn't be able to get them out until Tuesday. I indicated that would be fine since my customer didn't need the finished piece until around noon on Friday.
I am two day UPS shipping service from their location. Thursday of that week rolled around and still no product. I contacted them mid-afternoon to see if they had shipped via FedEx Ground, who delivers randomly throughout the day. They said they found my shipment still setting on the dock from Tuesday and they wouldn't be able to ship it until Friday.
I was naturally steamed at this point and conveyed that I needed one of the pieces for a commitment I had made to a valued customer. The person on the phone offered a moment of silence, then I suggested they overnight a piece to me, then ship the balance standard ground. The acceptance of my idea wasn't met with great joy, but they did do it.
When the overnight shipment arrived, it was in good shape and I got the finished piece in the hands of my customer as scheduled.
I was anxious to find out how they would handle the shipping charges on this order without me asking. The balance of the product came in and I was charged for half of the overnight charges for the one piece. You be the judge as to whether this is appropriate handling of this transaction.
The additional pieces did arrive in good shape, but I was a bit shocked at the inadequate packaging.
I have ordered this same LaserSketch product from Laserbits and Time Products International, and it had better packaging. Part of that may have been that I didn't order full cases at the time.
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