- This topic has 32 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 5 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Qualtex split accounts into different groups a while ago. You could be gold, silver or bronze. I think only the bronze customers cant talk to anyone. I was lucky to get silver so I can still talk to their technical team when I need to which can easily once a day with awkward parts. I have nothing but praise for this team and for the fact they don’t hide behind false part numbers
I just hope they can improve the current delivery problems soon but with the Christmas rush upon us it could be difficult
Dave
This week, next and likely a good bit of the following… the carriers will be absolute murder.
They tend to prioritise the like of Amazon et all and couldn’t give a stuff about smaller accounts.
K.
We set up an account we ASWO a while back but found their prices well above Maddocks, Qualtex and Connect? So have never actually bought anything from them
Are Qualtex in trouble then? they closed the trade counter in Tyne and Wear I stopped using them for a bit due to delivery taking 3 or 4 days, placed a small order wed 8th still not got it and paid £6.95 post so think that’s the last order from me!
No, not in trouble. Rationalising I think.
The problem is that keeping branches open about the country isn’t viable these days; there’s just not enough business to support it. But there are other factors I will try to explain/highlight.
I think that Qualtex has moved away from small traders to cut down costs. I do get that even if many of you here don’t as it costs them more to supply small accounts than it gains them.
What you all have to keep in mind is that many small accounts want to call up on a crackly Bluetooth connection in their van and order stuff over the phone. For starters that is hard and many parts lookups these days needing product codes, serial number and so forth are not really suited to phone sales, it takes too long and ties up a line as well as the person for an age. That incurs a significant cost to the business.
Your time spent mucking about on the phone, to you, is perhaps viewed as free. To them, it is not; they’re paying the wages of the person you’re talking to. That cost gets counted as it needs to be.
Then many in the trade also expect that they’ll get a whacking great discount, free delivery (overnight of course) and at least 30 days credit.
I’m not even going to get into returns, cancellations and other stuff that’s also a cost.
Often for a sale that’s under £50 that a distributor maybe has a few quid margin in it to play with.
In short, it’s not commercially viable or honestly reasonable to expect all that for, virtually, nothing.
That’s why they’re not too bothered about small accounts as honestly, they don’t make squat from them.
This is why it perhaps seems like they couldn’t give a toss. That’s not true really, it’s just the way it is.
Or they go like Connect and charge accordingly, which for many people I speak to is a sore point as well. But again, understandable given the givens.
To put into perspective for you though the £6.95 carriage charge.
DPD on contract 24 hours not guaranteed is costing about £6 excl. VAT so some of that cost is wrapped up into the sale. This does not include picking, packing and packaging materials or labelling all of which carries a cost.
Hermes 2-4/5 days service costs about £3 excl.
The carriage charge I’d say wasn’t too bad, especially if you’re getting a trade price but I’d not expect a guaranteed next day for that.
To get a cast iron next day (from dispatch) delivery you’re looking at double that cost or more usually, even on a volume contract.
For before 1pm etc, add, add, add… every single thing you do with any carrier adds more cost and on a low value, low margin spare parts unless someone’s willing to pay that premium for the service, it ain’t gonna happen.
What they are left with is to do the best they can within the constraints they have.
K.
dopper wrote:Are Qualtex in trouble then? they closed the trade counter in Tyne and Wear I stopped using them for a bit due to delivery taking 3 or 4 days, placed a small order wed 8th still not got it and paid £6.95 post so think that’s the last order from me!
its not only you
placed an order for about £150 wed just got text from DPD delivering Monday. Going to have to eat humble pie as a customer wanted an oven by the weekend and I thought only being wed would be no problem
not best impressed, also ordered from Connect same day and that arrived 10am the next day HmmDave
DPD, Hermes et all have been an absolute nightmare again this year.
Since the whole Black Friday week/weekend deliveries have been slow and I’m sick of hearing “Where’s my order”, this happens every single year over the holiday period now as online sales are massive now on the run-up to Christmas and it really doesn’t get back to normal till early to mid-January as they clear it all. Largely as after the Christmas break, they then get swamped with returns!
People getting slippers from ASOS or whatever is more important, don’t you know? :rolleyes:
I suspect you’ve been lucky Dave as we’ve had the last three or four Connect orders held up for a day or two as well.
K.
One of the big delays you get is, the drivers get snowed under, have to do what they can when and often come early and stuff’s not ready to go or, late and you’ve bogged off home.
All this stuff nobody really thinks about unless you’re involved in it, the customer just wants the “thing” there with not so much as a thought as to how hard that can be at times. 😉
Not their problem in some ways, just circumstance.
K.
found that 23 dec when DPD gave me delivery slot 6:20 pm to 7:20 pm. they know its a shop and i had gone home. So he delivers it to an off license 500yds up the road and told nobody. did not find it till new year
Dave
Now its Connects turn to delay their orders. The last two times ive ordered over the last week, i’ve had an email the next morning saying,
Dear Customer,
Please accept our apologies but unfortunately the order you have placed with us, invoice number xxxxxxxxxx, has been delayed and will now be delivered by DPD tomorrow instead of today.
We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards
Customer Service TeamIt looks like this may be catching on everywhere and 48 hour delivery will now be the norm
With Qualtex at the moment its just seems they have more orders then staff to pick them so they are doing them in received order . The result from me is another order delivered today after I have left for a hospital appointment
Dave
kwatt wrote:Maddocks are not trade only.
They sell on eBay and Amazon.
Disguised yes, but they do.
ASWO do not.
K.
Sorry to bump such an old thread but do you know what name Maddocks trade under on EBAY? I usually buy from Maddocks but lately have found that some of their prices are more expensive than buying the item on Ebay after you factor in VAT and postage and it is getting a bit time consuming comparing parts and I would be interested to see how they compare to their website.
HTM has been doing that for ages, on Amazon as well and ripping the prices sometimes even cheaper than we could buy from them so eventually with that and other things I told them to close our account.
Bad enough having to compete with non-trade suppliers let alone having your own suppliers undercut you and, the point has been stressed to others as well by myself and other people.
K.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.