I Wasn't Going To Post This But....

[BROBS]

Sent an email to their customer service.. no response as of yet.

Ordered from Pipes & Cigars (I know, I know).... and they use that BS UPS shipping service where it goes through UPS, then on to USPS. Why in the hell do companies use this service??? What is the advantage? It has to be cost for them, because it's certainly not advantageous to the end buyer.

Timeline:
order placed 12/31
order shipped 1/2 (perfectly fine.. I see no problem with the shipping turnaround, and all products in stock and shipped)
tracking as of 1/3: sitting in New Jersey.

Now P&C is in PA. So this package has effectively gone further away from me, and the products are now sitting further from their destination than before I ever even ordered them.

Why wouldn't it just be shipped normal USPS? That's the result anyways is delivery by USPS, but by using UPS it gets thrown all over the country with whatever is convenient for UPS.. then when it finally reaches its destination (slower than with USPS already I might add) it is then tendered to USPS for delivery ... THE NEXT DAY.

I have placed orders with multiple other online retailers.. actually AFTER this order... and they have all arrived already. Days ago.

HIGHLY recommended:
www.tobaccopipes.com

So just putting this out there... that this will be the last time I use Pipes & Cigars.

here is the tracking link... nothing happening here:
USPS.com® - USPS Tracking® Results - https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=92612902338263553000250075

 

[gervais]

Yep, that doesn’t make any sense to me either. I’d give my business elsewhere as well.

 

[BROBS]

the main ding is no response from customer service.
I'm not going to call and sit on hold to have them tell me to "wait and see".

this is a $100+ order, not a single pouch or anything.

it has now been 10 days since I ordered. I have to subtract at least 2 because of the holiday but 8 day shipping (and it's not even here yet) is ridiculous. Either that or one of their shit boxes exploded and the shipper has no idea what to do about it.

 

[3rdguy]

I also placed an order from them on 12/31. It went to NJ and now it is west of me into Kansas City...it was some odd shipping partner I have not seen them use before...like Uncle Jesse’s Carpet Cleaning/Shipping Company.

 

[BROBS]

UPS Mail Innovations or some shit?

I wish mine was in KC.

I almost wish I could have them take back the order and just get a refund.
This is stupid.

 

[olkofri]

Nowadays, shipping is where the business is. That's the voracious carnivorous plant where a very large chunk of my expenses end up being eaten up. At times the cost of the freight is more than the cost of the items being dispatched—one tin for $12 USD and $16 USD for shipping , to give an example. Nuts.

Nuttier: companies are doing all kinds of acrobatics with shipping nowadays, trying to save money I guess. Amazon has been using some company instead of the usual conduits of postal service or well-known couriers (UPS, Fedex, &c.). Never had a problem with them when they used the post, but in the last 6 months I've had one parcel lost and one that just got here to-day, Jan. 9, from an order that was placed on Dec. 23 and was reported as dispatched on Dec. 26. Ridiculous. The post used to deliver within a week of shipping.

I had a bit of an issue with Tobaccopipes.com when I used their global innovations or whatever: poor tracking, looong time to arrive, high blood pressure, but at least the parcel made it here. That was a bit of my fault too, as I was wanting to save on shipping (who doesn't, especially when it's such a substantial portion of your payment?). Too bad you can't always choose your courier: I see no option with Amazon for that, and I'm really considering not buying from them anymore, or at least not as much. This book was also available from Indigo and I woulda had it within a week, as they use Canada Post last time I checked; but I was gonna save ~$1-2 buying from Amasux, right?

 

[BROBS]

Nuttier: companies are doing all kinds of acrobatics with shipping nowadays, trying to save money I guess. Amazon has been using some company instead of the usual conduits of postal service or well-known couriers (UPS, Fedex, &c.). Never had a problem with them when they used the post, but in the last 6 months I've had one parcel lost and one that just got here to-day, Jan. 9, from an order that was placed on Dec. 23 and was reported as dispatched on Dec. 26. Ridiculous. The post used to deliver within a week of shipping.

that's exactly the problem.. I'm guessing it somehow saves a few cents on shipping, yet the end buyer is the one who gets shittier service. It should not take this long for a box to arrive from PA.

I ordered from www.tobaccopipes.com and had my order within 2 days.. from FLORIDA.

guess what? it was sent USPS priority.

 

[olkofri]

Amazon has been cutting corners for a number of years now. They used to ship your items in nice, sturdy boxes, either the easy fold book mailers or corrugated boxes. Then they started to ship in bubble envelopes, s'posedly to be environmentally friendly . The result: brand new books arriving creased, deformed, or somehow damaged. Infuriating.

 

[BROBS]

right... I mean I have come to expect that kind of shipping from amazon or ebay, but not from a retailer... especially when their competition uses no such service and delivers orders in 1/4 to 1/8 the time.

 

[scloyd]

I ordered from www.tobaccopipes.com and had my order within 2 days.. from FLORIDA.

Yep, I'm in Illinois and I almost always receive my orders in 2 days...3 days tops.
I am not a big fan of shipping UPS and then transferring to USPS.

 

[olkofri]

Yeah, I'm ranting off about Amazon because I'm pissed and because it seems their malady has spread to other places. I've seen quite a few complaints about P&C lately here. I can't comment on them myself, since they won't even do business with me because I'm in Canada.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Back a few decades ago, when UPS was still in start up phase, our glorious Congress subsidized them to bring their prices down and to use USPS planes to carry their packages for free. They did this just before they raped USPS profits... yes, it used to make money, and by taking their money, it sent them into a death spiral. This made UPS cheaper than USPS for businesses to use, and it made it so that they could point their finger at the USPS and say, "look, it can't make money, so we need to privatize it." That talk still goes on today.

That said, I know that UPS couldn't find my house if I set them right in front of it and pushed them towards my front door. The idea of getting rid of the USPS terrifies me, because all other delivery services have failed me so many times that it makes me angry to even see one of their meatheads in uniform out and about.

You might contact Russ. He seems to the only one that I know of that can untangle P&C messes... and he is a great guy in general.

 

[BROBS]

I mean I've had issues with them before.. mainly with backorder stuff where they don't tell you that they aren't shipping 1 or 2 items. Then have to call later and get a refund for the not in stock items.

This shipping thing is new to me.. once the thing is shipped I've never had an issue, but this must be some new service they are using.

edit: I know I can contact Russ however I don't feel that this is necessarily his issue besides the fact that they use this crap shipping service now. They did their part and shipped the items, but now what do I do? And how long should I have to wait both for a response from customer service or for my package to arrive? The package may arrive before I ever receive a response.

 

[3rdguy]

I am a free shipping whore but if I knew it was going to be exceedingly long I would pay a bit more. Guess I just solved my issue...

 

[BROBS]

right.. or I wouldn't even have ordered as much to get free shipping..

 

[kcghost]

Ordering from P&C has always been problematic. They make some fine blends but so do many other manufacturers. You don't owe them a living. Just move on.

 

[BROBS]

the problem is that I wanted a few Match Bulk tobaccos.. and from what I can tell they are the only place that carries them.

for anything else that can be had elsewhere... I usually order elsewhere.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

As I tell my children... do not be committed or obliged to a company or bank, because they are NEVER committed or obliged to you. It doesn't matter whether you do all of your business with them or not... when it is in their interest, they will dump you like a newborn turd. I had to actually threaten my oldest daughter when she was going to take higher interest rate on a house to keep it in her bank. The days of old, where you have one guy at the bank that knows you, comes to your kid's wedding and such, and will work in your interest are LONG gone.

 

[rushx9]

The last time I ordered from them I had a similar issue. Saw the package was in Charlotte which means I'd usually get it the next day but then it went over 100 miles past me to Columbia SC and took 2 more days to get back to NC then another day for the local post office to get it to me.

 

[BROBS]

that's just weak sauce in this day and age.