PPT mouthpieces
PPT mouthpieces

Mouthpieces Mouthpiece order ... delayed delivery.

ellinas

ellinas

Senior Member
Café Supporter
Messages
1,333
Location
Athens, Greece
Hello,

3 months ago ( December 25th ) I ordered a couple of (clearly not handmade) mouthpieces from a well known US company.
Truth is that I have had over the years mouthpieces from them and one of their technicians and they've always been top notch.

After quite a few "follow up" emails, use of their feedback form and finally calling them they answered on February 10th (month No2) that they have a large backlog and that they will advise when they will ship my mouthpieces.

Am I too impatient?
I have been ordering things <music related> for many years now and I haven't ever experienced something like this. I've had orders cancelled because vendors had no stock, I have ordered when clearly things were on backorder etc.. but nothing like this.

I feel I have no idea when I will receive those mouthpieces.

They have a "Policies" webpage which states :

=========================

What if we don't have the item(s) in stock?

Given the nature of our product line and wide variety of available options, not all items are in stock at all times. While we do normally stock all accessories and many of the saxophone models, occasionally an order gets delayed due to the item being out of stock. If an ordered item is going to be delayed more than 5 business days we will contact you to inform you of the back-order status and expected wait times. If the delay is unacceptable to you, simply let us know and we will cancel your order and refund your payment.

=========================

What do you suggest? Do ask for a refund?
To call them again?

I'm not an impatient guy at all.
I have waited 1 full year to have a 60s organ repaired. I have waited for 5 months to get my bari overhauled.
The difference is that I knew upfront. And happily agreed.
I have bought all of my mouthpieces locally or used. Some from here at the cafe.
Is there something I don't know or understand?

But is it normal to order something on Christmas and wait for it delivered (hopefully) during easter? 🙂

I will not say which company this is. It's not my intention to hurt their reputation. I'm not that kind of person.
I just wonder if in the world of mouthpiece makers this is normal .....
 
I would hope they also have a policy not to take payment until goods have been despatched.

I'm afraid I don't have the patience to wait that long. I usually spend so much time selecting what I want and then swaying backwards and forwards over the purchasing decision, that by the time I've pressed the button to order I really want it next day or I'll just burst with excitement!!

If you've not paid for it, then I guess it comes down to whether it's worth the wait, or if you can get from elsewhere.
 
Oooh ! Sorry skimmed over that bit.

If they are reputable, perhaps its just a simple case of lack of availability. Fingers-crossed.

Not entirely off-topic, I had an unfortunate experience ordering in-ear headphones from what looked to be a reputable UK website, paid up front with the order and only after months of chasing via email/contact forms it became apparent that they didn't hold stock of anything - they were a business based in Hong Kong taking customer money and sitting on it, then ordering goods themselves at a wholesale/trade/discount price. After several months of broken promises I claimed a refund from BarclayCard and obtained the goods from my local reseller. Bah humbug!

Good luck but certainly worth chasing them and preferably talk to a human over the phone rather than get bland non-committal email responses.
 
It depends how much you want the product... since they don't appear to have kept you informed and you had to chase them up about it and you still don't know when you're going to get your order, then you'd be entitled to a refund since it's well over 5 business days. Depending what it is, you could probably find one secondhand.
It's sad that they didn't send out an email to everyone explaining about the delay and offering your money back, there's no excuse for poor customer service and word soon gets round and they'll lose customers, whereas a quick 'sorry for the delay, we've got problems with blah blah blah, you can have a refund or wait 2 months" email will help customers feel like they're making an informed choice about whether to wait or not.
A lot of small companies have notices on their websites about how long it'll take for anything that's not in stock or when they'll be taking any fresh orders due to high demand.
Manufacturing always has some problems and it only takes one weak link in the chain and the whole thing comes to a halt, but keeping your customers informed of any issues helps keep them on your side
 
Awful customer service. Tell them firmly but politely you want a refund and buy something else. Lots and lots of mouthpieces out there. If they don't co-operate then you should be able to claim back from your credit card. If they make things difficult, name and shame at that point.
 
ellinas said:
What do you suggest?
Click to expand...

To buy from a UK mouthpiece company in future 😉

ellinas said:
I just wonder if in the world of mouthpiece makers this is normal .....
Click to expand...

It shouldn't be, especially if not handmade.

If I have a mouthpiece in stock it generally goes out within 1 - 4 days of the order. (Could be quicker but i tend to only go to the post office twice a week and it's also good to spend some time checking/testing the mouthpiece.

When not in stock it can be up to 6 weeks (occasionally a bit longer). This is because it's not always practical to make them one at a time, it's more efficient to make in batches then do the facings in batches. Also once cast, there is a necessary waiting period for the material to properly cure. (For resin and/or resin/ebonite mix and other composites)
 
Everyone knows that my mpc of choice is my PPT!!!!!

And yes I have never had ny problems with UK eshops. And of course never with members here at the cafe....

I called them today, and they asked for my email address (?) to send me news about my order .......

i think I'll ask for a refund and see what i will do......
 
Once I lost a fair bit of money when Prowinds went bankrupt and sax-ccessories closed down because of the death of the owner I became much more careful about buying there. I buy more things locally even though the local retailers tend to charge more (but not always) than US online sellers.
 
If I were in your shoes I would be feeling very nervous. Money in the hand is worth many promises in the bush.

I know they may not suit everyone but if you have a PPT, unless you are playing classical .....was it GAS.
 
Hmm....
I called them. They said my package was sent a while ago but there is no tracking number .... And they will send this again to me.
When I said, thank you very much in case I receive it 2 times I will send the one package back to you, I experienced the most silent 10 seconds of my life from them .....

I will give them time until Monday to "re-"ship my mouthpieces for the first time .... And I will keep this thread updated.
If this keeps going on, I might ask a refund directly from my bank.
 
MacSax mouthpiece business is headed by Eric Falcon.
He's a busy man (he make MacSax piece... 10mfan pieces... SaxQuest pieces)

Sometimes it can be difficult to comunicate and having a prompt response.

You need a lot of patience.
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

Join us in the Cafe!
Contact mods
Follow us: Bluesky  Facebook

Popular Discussions on the Café

Member Blogs (currently active)

Featured Classifieds

Calendar events

Latest Song of the Month

Forum statistics

Topics
27,306
Messages
505,503
Members
7,090
Latest member
Workthatwedo
Back
Top Bottom