Kudos to Pampered Chef Distribution Team: Working 48 Hours Overtime!

[janetupnorth]

Hi guys! I just talked to the Mgr. of Distribution at Pampered Chef. I was supposed to be in the warehouse Friday for a tour, etc. He had to call and postpone it a few weeks...want to know why????


We have some fellow consultants among us who have OBVIOUSLY been kicking butt in sales!!!!!

He said the end of September was crazy. They worked 48 hours overtime this weekend and are only shipping LAST Tuesday's orders...

The volume is phenomenal! He said the # of cartons shipped is about 5 times the normal and cookware is flying off the shelves. (Don't worry, no injuries from stainless steel cookware flying into someone's head yet - he-he)


So, please let your customers know that they are doing everything in their power, overtime, extra help, etc. to get caught up and meet our needs.

He is also looking into some of the mis-shipments lately...with all the extra help, not to make excuses, but it is easy to get mislabeled. He is concerned about quality and is checking into it! When I called the Solution Center then didn't notice a rise in them, but nevertheless the warehouse is still checking.

I just have to say kudos to the warehouse team!!!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[JAE]

I had to call this moring because I put in a personal order for the DCB on October 1 at 7:30 AM. On the shipment tracking page it says my DCB was shipped out on the 9th, but when I click on the tracking number the FedEx page says there is no tracking info available. HO couldn't find it either. They are sending out a new one right away. I need it for a show next week, Thursday. Otherwise, I haven't had many other problems.

 

[mpkegley]

Other than the longer than normal shipping times, I haven't had a problem either. I haven't had to do any adjustments on anything missing, etc. I have let me hosts know that the warehouse has been going through some changes to make things better and to expect longer than normal shipping. My hosts have been understanding and I am thankful. I have read some posts where some hosts were very upset.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I have had several really large orders lately and only one error. They put a Professional Grill Pan label on a 12" Stainless Skillet box. Still waiting for them to pick it up and send the new one.

I think that's really great considering the volumes they have to deal with!

So the reason things have been so slow lately is that we are doing our job so well??

 

[janetupnorth]

Other than the longer than normal shipping times, I haven't had a problem either. I haven't had to do any adjustments on anything missing, etc. I have let me hosts know that the warehouse has been going through some changes to make things better and to expect longer than normal shipping. My hosts have been understanding and I am thankful. I have read some posts where some hosts were very upset.

I think we sometimes get so used to EXCEPTIONAL service, that when we get "normal" service like other companies, we are disappointed.

My personal customers have been good so far.

 

[Chef Kearns]

Shipment Issues:thumbdown: I had a major problem on my Open House shipment. My SIL was the host, but I didn't want it to ship to her house because most of the people were my friends and customers. So I put in c/o me in the second line with my address. I bought her the 5 piece set for the host bonus (for Christmas:angel: ), so that was another reason I didn't want the shipment to go to her!! I didn't want her to see it. So, needless to say it shipped to her anway. It was a big hassle. I checked the tracking info as soon as I got notice that it shipped, because I had a feeling something was going to be wrong. And it was. I called PC and after 1/2 a day on the phone we were going to have to catch the packages mid-ship and send them back to PC then re-process the show and ship it to me! Crazy! However; they didn't catch the first 2 boxes. They were delivered to her home. One of the 2 boxes was the cookware. I was livid!! I did everything I was supposed to do or could do and it still wasn't good enough. The third box came to me (SEVERAL days later).

Well, PC must have went ahead and processed the show again because I received all 3 boxes at my home. Get this...one box had all kinds of crazy stuff in it. There was a vanilla colored carafe, a yellow stoneware crock, and a few other random things not ordered . (for those of you who buy surprise packs I guess you'll know what to be expecting) It was a total nightmare. For a show that was supposed to be 3 boxes plus cookware I ending up receiving 5 boxes and 2 boxes of cookware. I was briefly tempted to keep one of the cookware boxes (like 1/2 a second tempted:angel: ). Spices were missing, cookbooks were missing, wrong items were included.:grumpy: It was crazy. I'm just glad it was a show I was doing and not for a host. I couldn't even imagine!

 

[jrstephens]

I just noticed they are currently shipping shows through Oct 9th! I appreciate they are working hard but it is hard for to believe they are that behind as quick as things had been happening.

And it has me freaking b/c I am submitting a show tomorrow night that will have lots of present for a bridal shows on October 28th and it looks like at this rate they won't be here.I don't know how that will go over. I have told the people if the items are not here I can do a gift certificate for the purchase to give to the bride. It is for a shower at my church that the bride has registered for some stuff.

I knew I should have done this last week, but like so many of us I had gotten spoiled/used to the fast shipping!

I have to call to make an adjusment b/c a show that arrived last week had a Stainless Mixing Bowl that was not ordered nor on the packaging slips either.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

My shows submitted the 5th, 6th, and 7th all shipped the 13th, but I got the notification today, and now they are showing up on the website.....so it looks like they are catching up with dates.

 

[janetupnorth]

I just noticed they are currently shipping shows through Oct 9th! I appreciate they are working hard but it is hard for to believe they are that behind as quick as things had been happening. And it has me freaking b/c I am submitting a show tomorrow night that will have lots of present for a bridal shows on October 28th and it looks like at this rate they won't be here.I don't know how that will go over. I have told the people if the items are not here I can do a gift certificate for the purchase to give to the bride. It is for a shower at my church that the bride has registered for some stuff. I knew I should have done this last week, but like so many of us I had gotten spoiled/used to the fast shipping!I have to call to make an adjusment b/c a show that arrived last week had a Stainless Mixing Bowl that was not ordered nor on the packaging slips either.

They were on the 9th when I talked to them this a.m. after having the place open 24 hrs./day this weekend.They said a normal processing wave of orders consists of about 100 cartons, but lately it is 500 cartons.They hope to be caught up by next week. If you remember the e-mail that went out, they received 46% of their month's orders on the last 2 days of the month. Given they average 20,000 out the door a day...that is receiving orders for about 200,000 boxes in a 2 day period. (...and those are averages from 2-3 years ago so it could be more!!!!!!)I work in a similar environment/scenario and that is a killer to recover from.So, yes, Beth! We're doing our jobs and Pan-o-rama and the host special for Sept. have gone off EXTREMELY well!

 

[quiverfull7]

I'm sure also that lots of shows came in from Oct 1 - 5 too right? So they still counted for the incentive? So I'm sure that slowed things even further wouldn't you think?

 

[SandyA]

Late shipmentsWhen we were at conference we were not allowed to tour the warehouse because they were remodelling and improvements were to be making the orders go out quicker by September.hmmmm

 

[janetupnorth]

I'm sure also that lots of shows came in from Oct 1 - 5 too right? So they still counted for the incentive? So I'm sure that slowed things even further wouldn't you think?

Incentive is good through November 30th Diane!!!! They may still get high volume...we can also still submit September dated shows!

 

[quiverfull7]

I am so sorry... I meant the cookware special! ... I didn't mean incentive... I need to mention that on another thread...

 

[janetupnorth]

When we were at conference we were not allowed to tour the warehouse because they were remodelling and improvements were to be making the orders go out quicker by September.hmmmm

Yes, that is true...they still have some small things being done but the major part of the construction is all complete and running fine - that is what I was going to see. No hmmm about it, no matter how big you design a system, you have to strike a balance. They can't necessarily spend the money to design it to meet the current ENORMOUS need and let it sit idle or not used at least partially to capacity the rest of the time.

If you sense sympathy on my part to HO, you are correct. As a consultant I want my stuff shipped fast, as an engineer that deals with the planning, design and running of this daily in my facility, I FULLY understand!

 

[quiverfull7]

I'm wondering how much todays final day for the recruiting incentive will slow things ... like do you think the NEW RECRUIT I JUST SIGNED an hour ago will get her kit quickly???????????????

 

[janetupnorth]

When we were at conference we were not allowed to tour the warehouse because they were remodelling and improvements were to be making the orders go out quicker by September.hmmmm

Oh and not to mention...in ANY company, there isn't always a strong connect between Marketing and Distribution...marketing always shoots higher than the bar sometimes at the expense of distribution...it is hard to strike a balance in a growing company.

 

[janetupnorth]

I'm wondering how much todays final day for the recruiting incentive will slow things ... like do you think the NEW RECRUIT I JUST SIGNED an hour ago will get her kit quickly???????????????

Good question Diane - let me check on shipment of my recruit's kit (signed Friday).

So of that goes out in different waves/departments from the rest so they may be quicker.

 

[Geekgirl69]

Kit speed

I'm wondering how much todays final day for the recruiting incentive will slow things ... like do you think the NEW RECRUIT I JUST SIGNED an hour ago will get her kit quickly???????????????

I signed my recruit after 8pm on the 9th (October) and he had his kit by the 12th.

 

[janetupnorth]

I signed my recruit after 8pm on the 9th (October) and he had his kit by the 12th.

Good to hear - my recruit signed on the 11th, but no shipment yet...of course her 30th day is set for 11/21. Either way, they'll be more than fair on the 30/60/90 and if the kit is late, that date can be requested to be changed.

 

[quiverfull7]

Janet... how do you track those kit shipments?

 

[janetupnorth]

Janet... how do you track those kit shipments?

Go to FedEx.com/tracking choose track by reference number...

The reference number is consultant ID and either 1 or 2 on the order, my kit was:

511321G0002 so I replace my consultant ID with theirs and try G0001 and 02 just in case...and even 3 for good measure!

You also need to know your recruit's zip code.

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Though it has been taking up to 5 days to ship, our hosts are getting their shows within the 10-14 day period. I think for the current circumstances it is working well. I always tell my host 10-14 days, so when it arrives early, it is a nice surprise. The beginning of September my shows were shipped and delivered in 5 days!! That was awesome. We will see some lag at the end of each month.

 

[janetupnorth]

Though it has been taking up to 5 days to ship, our hosts are getting their shows within the 10-14 day period. I think for the current circumstances it is working well. I always tell my host 10-14 days, so when it arrives early, it is a nice surprise. The beginning of September my shows were shipped and delivered in 5 days!! That was awesome. We will see some lag at the end of each month.

Good point Julie!!!! We should never be promising our hosts more than the "standard". Let them be pleasantly surprised when it ships much sooner!

 

[bethsbiz]

I have a show submitted on the 7th that still is showing "received"....I'm a tad disturbed by that since a few have said they are shipping for shows submitted on the 9th. There were no holds, nothing really unique about it, etc.

I do understand when situations catch folks by surprsise but I have had considerable, numerous problems with customer service lately. Not so much with missing or extra products but a lot more broken things, bad packing, poorly taped, bulging boxes....and this doesn't count the returns I've had problems with...virtually all in the past 45 days have had some problem.

So, as much as I'd like to accept fully the "we were really slammed at the end of September" version, I personally have seen problems much earlier than that and now they are just magnified.

I agree, we have come to expect such awesome customer service that when it isn't meeting our expectations, that is frustrating. At the same time, we HAVE to be able to expect a certain "norm" and when things are out of whack, we must make our concerns known. Even though I can understand the pressure of a higher than expected sales month, I will still be contacting PC to let them know my concerns. (But I am really glad to have heard the original thread above for some background on what's happening!)

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Though it has been taking up to 5 days to ship, our hosts are getting their shows within the 10-14 day period. I think for the current circumstances it is working well. I always tell my host 10-14 days, so when it arrives early, it is a nice surprise. The beginning of September my shows were shipped and delivered in 5 days!! That was awesome. We will see some lag at the end of each month.

I just had 3 shows ship that took between 9-12 days to ship.

 

[janetupnorth]

I have a show submitted on the 7th that still is showing "received"....I'm a tad disturbed by that since a few have said they are shipping for shows submitted on the 9th. There were no holds, nothing really unique about it, etc.

I do understand when situations catch folks by surprsise but I have had considerable, numerous problems with customer service lately. Not so much with missing or extra products but a lot more broken things, bad packing, poorly taped, bulging boxes....and this doesn't count the returns I've had problems with...virtually all in the past 45 days have had some problem.

So, as much as I'd like to accept fully the "we were really slammed at the end of September" version, I personally have seen problems much earlier than that and now they are just magnified.

I agree, we have come to expect such awesome customer service that when it isn't meeting our expectations, that is frustrating. At the same time, we HAVE to be able to expect a certain "norm" and when things are out of whack, we must make our concerns known. Even though I can understand the pressure of a higher than expected sales month, I will still be contacting PC to let them know my concerns. (But I am really glad to have heard the original thread above for some background on what's happening!)

Beth - I truly encourage you to call not just do an online adjustment. I did that so I could talk to a real person and encourage them to not keep the data "in the system" but pass it on the warehouse.

I agree that no matter how high the volume they should strive for the same standards, but not knowing things are "out of whack" they can't improve. It was odd, when I called, the agent thought that things were "status quo".

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I can understand Beth's frustration. Maybe if I hadn't sat through a whole spiel at National Conference celebrating the quick turnaround time of orders I'd feel more apt to extend grace. But they were BRAGGING about how quickly they were turning over orders. I think they were bragging prematurely. It really set them up for alot of frustration on the part of consultants, who, after hearing that, expect it to be the norm. We can say, "well, they were really hit with orders the end of Sept".....but we heard that same excuse throughout the summer too. I'm concerned what it will be like as we begin the major selling season. EVERY SINGLE MONTH most of the orders are turned in at the end of the month - that is a given. So if September threw them for a loop, what is going to happen in October and November?

 

[bethsbiz]

I would prefer to speak with someone about my concerns but the last two times I've made a verbal complaint, it was to someone who was obviously new and really didn't understand any of my concerns. As I'm trying to explain my concern, it is clear that they simply don't have long term knowledge of the company...even past 12-18 months! So...I will opt for email as a way to at least HOPE my concern is routed to someone who can understand it.

So...I guess a question is this: If I get someone on the phone, and they appear to be new or uninformed, can I ask for a supervisor??? I would try to be diplomatic but sometimes you just need to go higher....

Any experiences out there to share on that?

 

[janetupnorth]

I would prefer to speak with someone about my concerns but the last two times I've made a verbal complaint, it was to someone who was obviously new and really didn't understand any of my concerns. As I'm trying to explain my concern, it is clear that they simply don't have long term knowledge of the company...even past 12-18 months! So...I will opt for email as a way to at least HOPE my concern is routed to someone who can understand it.

So...I guess a question is this: If I get someone on the phone, and they appear to be new or uninformed, can I ask for a supervisor??? I would try to be diplomatic but sometimes you just need to go higher....

Any experiences out there to share on that?

Yes, you can always ask for a supervisor right away. Just tell them you have additional concerns you would like addressed and could you please speak to a supervisor right away so you don't have to repeat everything.

 

[janetupnorth]

To add Beth, when I called on my adjustment the other day, the person thought "all was normal" and it was normal for me to have an order missing stuff and with extra stuff. I sent my information on to the warehouse to make sure they got it to check into.

 

[bethsbiz]

I should probably start a new threat, but hey, I'm here so I'm going to ask this question since is kind-a-sort-a relates to the thread:

Has anyone, in the past 6 weeks, had a rectangle lid/bowl actaully replaced? I'm just curious if one has been sent to anyone...read on....

(Vent about to occur, warning:
One of my big beefs lately is a return I was assisting a customer with. She had purchased a rectangle lid/bowl about 2 years ago. This item was discontinued a year ago. The customer's lid/bowl broke about 4 months ago and she contacted me for assistance with the replacement. Since the item had a 3 year warranty, I submitted the request for warranty replacement.

I was given an approved return authorization number and the customer was advised to send the broken stone back.

That was done about 2 monhts ago.

The customer had 2 replacements she was requesting, both had been approved. When she received the first item and then a week went by without the 2nd item -- the lid/bowl -- she called me. I forwarded the approval email on that item to PC and asked for a status report on why my customer had not received her replacement item yet.

Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call, message left on my answering machine, that this item was no longer available and I was to contact HO to discuss the request.

When I called home office, I spoke with a rep who IMO had been with the company for maybe 3 flippin days. I asked her to confirm that this item was no longer available even for warranty returns. She said no, it was no available. And then -- get this -- she said "the deep dish cranberry covered baker is the replacement for that item so that is why we don't have the lid/bowl anymore".

Hmmmmmmm.

Now I'm just a tad ticked off. The warranty replacement of a lid/bowl has NOTHING to do with the fact that the lid/bowl was replaced IN THE CATALOG with the deep dish covered baker in cranberry. I made this statement to the gal and she repeated that the lid/bowl was the not available because the deep dish covered baker was the current item being sold.

I then said, please understand that I am not directling this comment to you personally, but the fact that a product has been replaced does not, to me, mean that appropriate product isn't held in reserve for replacements under the warranty. It is like apples and oranges: yes, the rectangle lid/bowl isn't sold anymore and yes, the DCB is the current item in the catalog with those features BUT that is separate and distinct (IMO) from the warranty exchange of an item still clearly under warranty.

I asked her to note my complaint and concern for how this warranty situation was poorly handled.

Oh, another lovely fact that I pointed out to the rep: I was at conference this summer. I purchased 3 surprise boxes. In one, was....a rectangle lid/bowl. I traded it away cause I didnt' want to pay the shipping on such a heavy item. I mentioned this in my complaint. How could an item, discontinued not even an year ago at that time, be in surprise boxes and NOT held enough stock to manage warranty exchanges for a reasonable lenght of time???

Yep, I was a tad hot about that....still am actually.

PC did offer a $35.00 credit to my customer and she is still trying to figure out what she wants. What she really wanted was a lid/bowl to use! I still can't believe the rep's "but the DCB is the replacement so we don't have the lid/bowl anymore" statement AND the fact that that item was in a surpirse box in July. It SHOULD have been in a warehouse at PC!

Ok...that was a wonderful little vent....but I guess this would point out why I am a little nervous about some of the trends right now with shipment errors, delayed shipments, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE PC...and I know that they will address this recent sloppy trend.....

 

[DebPC]

I must have had a newer gal in Customer Service yesturday too. If something doesn't sound right don't hesitate to ask for a supervisor. She ended up transferring me to "the experts".

 

[BethCooks4U]

HO does an amazing job considering the volume that is sent out of the warehouses every day, especially this time of year!

That being said, I really think that those with experience need to be scattered among those that are temps or new to help keep the incidents of mistakes in shipping minimized. I would rather get the products a day or two later than get the wrong or broken products.

As far as the phones are concerned, I think that they are putting people on them way before they are ready and every time I get an operator that doesn't know what she is saying I worry that a new consultant or customer has gotten that kind of information on their call in.

We are representatives of the company in the field. How we represent PC is what people think of PC. Those on the phone represent the company too and they need to know before they state their "facts" - as should we. People do get upset when we stress the warranty as a reason that they should purchase our products over others and then they can't get the warranty honored (or think they can't because of an operator!).

I make the call when ever I can for customers and even for new consultants at first. I tell consultants from the start that if they don't get an answer that they expect (from what they have learned or what I have said or...) to ask for a supervisor or call me and we can check further.

 

[bethsbiz]

I think I'll call PC again on the rectangle lid/bowl issue. Thanks for the pep talks...

I confess that I had just conked my head, suffering an as yet un-diagnosed concussion, when I spoke to the gal at HO about this return. I was not doing well physically and hesitated to continue the conversation since my head was already pounding.

Now I am much improved and ready to ask for a supervisor!

 

[Debala715]

I just checked my shipment status for a show order submitted on Oct. 10th. Says it shipped, but the carton ID is showing 02. No mention of carton 01. Now it's a wait and see whats going on with carton 01.

 

[janetupnorth]

I just checked my shipment status for a show order submitted on Oct. 10th. Says it shipped, but the carton ID is showing 02. No mention of carton 01. Now it's a wait and see whats going on with carton 01.

I had that the other day on an order...when the first carton shipped, it changed status to shipped, then the other one showed up later. For me, the cartons were going to two different places so were probably in 2 different batches.

 

[janetupnorth]

I think I'll call PC again on the rectangle lid/bowl issue. Thanks for the pep talks...

I confess that I had just conked my head, suffering an as yet un-diagnosed concussion, when I spoke to the gal at HO about this return. I was not doing well physically and hesitated to continue the conversation since my head was already pounding.

Now I am much improved and ready to ask for a supervisor!

Go for it Beth, there has to be one lying around SOMEWHERE!

 

[Debala715]

I had that the other day on an order...when the first carton shipped, it changed status to shipped, then the other one showed up later. For me, the cartons were going to two different places so were probably in 2 different batches.

The whole order was coming to me to as I was the consultant acting as host. And since I'm in Illinois, just a couple of hours at the most from Addison, my shipment will get to me tomorrow. LOL, I'm just curious if I'll actually get both boxes or not.