# Woodpellets.com Order that went wrong!! Pics included



## LIpelletpig (May 17, 2012)

LONG POST but an Important READ!!



*The final outcome to this issue has not been resolved as of today*. That being said I was assured that it will have some resolution. What that might be I have no clue but I am not a happy woopellets.com customer. I am not a newbie! I consider myself a fairly knowledgable pellet burner and with reasonable technical knowledge I can basically fix anything on my stove. That being said I have been purchasing my pellets for the past few years locally and I must admit I have a taste of the finer pellet. Barefoot and Okanagon are my first choices. I have no problem paying the premium price knowing I am getting a quality pellet. Well as we all know pellet prices here on Long Island have skyrocketed especially for the SUPER premium pellet. Not going to pay $360 per ton. So I decided to look at woodpellets.com and I noticed they were offering an early buy for the Pacific Softwoods from Cleanfire. I did happen to try a few bags of these this past season from a friend and I considered them to be very close to Okanagon. I said the price is right and the shipping charge is reasonable, so that I would be saving a good amount of money if I put my order in early.

I get a call last week to setup delivery of the two tons of Cleanfires and all is smooth I give them a window that I'll be available this past Tuesday May 15th. That I can accept delivery. Now here is when the situation becomes complicated. If you live in the NE this past week was a RAINY one! Especially Tuesday. I have a unique situation in that I store my pellets in a public storage facility (NO I don't pay for the unit) in a basement unit and during the burning season I usually pick-up a two week supply of pellets and store at the the house. I can really only only about a ton at the house and I am already full from this past season with leftovers. Since I knew the rain was approaching and they were calling for about 2+ inches here in NY I tried to postpone the delivery to Wednesday and hope it would be drier. Well I was told no they cannot it is set in stone and it's to late to change. I was assured the pellets are wrapped up very well and rain should have no effect. (All you pellet heads stop chuckling) You can pretty much tell the rest of the story yourselves. It turns out I get delayed on Tuesday because of traffic accident that had a road closed and I was diverted another route which delayed me 30 minutes and I could accept the delivery. I spoke to woodpellets.com and they were very understanding but I was concerned since the pellets were going to sit in the rain for the next 24hrs on the back of the delivery truck.

Next morning the delivery truck was at the storage unit at 8am and had to close down one lane of traffic on a fairly busy road near the train station. So the delivery guy unloads the pellets quickly drops them in the loading bay at the storage facility and off he goes. I then realize one of the pallets has a rip on the top of the outer and inner covering. The rip was covered with clear tape showing that there was an attempt to not let any pellets get ruined. With one bag visibly ripped straight down the middle. Well in order to really inspect the pellets I needed to uncover all the pellets and investigate. It was not looking good. See pictures. I immediately called Woodpellets.com and was told they would call me back since it was to early for the quality assurance team to take my call. I had no choice I was not going to cost myself a day of work waiting for a call so I had to clear the entrance of the loading dock at the storage facility so others can enter and exit. I kept my cellphone in hand and waited for the call as I unloaded 2 tons of pellets down to the basement storage unit. I discover a few bags that have obvious damage and are leaking pellets. Some bags are moooosh and weigh a ton. Some bags literally have no sign of rips but are literally soaked. The fine little holes on top of these bags let water in!! I could basically say the entire ton was ruined! There is no way to tell if the bags are good or not without opening every bag. As you can imagine VERY FRUSTRATED and I was moving quickly to get to work and not lose a day of pay and add that to the cost of the pellets! Every bag on the pallet was soaked. Literally wet and dripping and I had to dry every bag off before I stacked them not knowing if they were good or not.

I finally did get a call from woodpellets.com and with my surprise they tell me this does occur and that I should of refused delivery! Yeah OK. Little late now the contracted delivery service was gone so fast it was impossible to try to flag him down after inspection. Remember he needed to open the road up and let the traffic flow start again. I had no choice but to stack them and go to work. So the representative states they will come down from New Hampshire and inspect the bags and make a determination on what the company will do for me! I said really! So my word and the pictures I can send you aren't good enough. Nope! I laughed and I said OK. Then I was questioned how long have I been burning pellets? (Why is this important?) I said its going to be very difficult to determine what is good vs. bad since the bags are piled up 8-9 feet high. I was assured I would have a resolution. I shook my head in disbelief. As you can imagine my credit card was billed for the full amount of the two tons of pellets. I now am in a wait and see situation and I am forced to pay the full amount no matter what happens. I said come get your pellets. I don't want them. I was told not an option since I opened the packaging. Not good customer service in my own opinion. Let's see what they come up with? I will update the forum when new information comes along. I am extremely frustrated at this point and probably will never recommend woodpellets.com. It's still early so stay tuned!!

Pictures show obvious signs of damage and wet pellets. YES, the 4x4 skid picture has wood pellets literally in mush underneath and between the slats of the pallet. Its horrific! Live and Learn...


----------



## smoke show (May 17, 2012)

Why are all the bags split on the seam? Poor packaging?

I've burned lots of pellets stored outside and never seen anything like that.

Hope they make it right for their sake and yours.


----------



## mepellet (May 18, 2012)

I just recently took delivery from a local company who had great reviews on here.  I was not aware that they offered Saturday deliveries and since I have a normal M-F job and my wife is home on Wednesdays I scheduled the delivery for a Wednesday. When I got home, the pallets looked wet between the strecth wrap and the big bag they put over the ton of pellets on the pallet.  A few days went by until I could start bringing the pellets to the basement.  I found one of the pallets to have a lot of water under the big bag and half of of the bags of pellets needed to be dried off.  There doesn't appear to be any damage to the pellets however.  They didn't feel heavier at least.  Next time, I will ask for a Saturday delivery and unwrap the pallets and take the bag off of each pallet before they leave. 

Your situation looks worse than mine did.  I am interested in hearing your outcome.


----------



## smwilliamson (May 18, 2012)

I wouldn't sweat it. wp.com is a great company to deal with. If nothing ever went wrong with pellet deliveries, everybody would be selling and delivering pellets. Keep us posted.


----------



## DexterDay (May 18, 2012)

Wow... I hope they do good and replace the damaged product.


----------



## heat seeker (May 18, 2012)

If you get no satisfaction, you can dispute the charge on your credit card, and the CC company will investigate. If it's not made right, they will charge back the seller. I have had to do this a couple of times over the years. It's one big advantage of paying by credit card.


----------



## ducker (May 18, 2012)

I feel your pain..  Having gone through issues with companies not delivering product within the time frame they have stated.

(ps. add some space in your opening post and it would be a lot easier to read)

I'm looking forward to hearing how they resolve the situation.


----------



## LIpelletpig (May 18, 2012)

No doubt the packaging is poor.  That's probably what led to the increase in pellets getting ruined and it will be very hard to tell if all the bags were effected since they will need to be opened.


----------



## smwilliamson (May 18, 2012)

Pellet bags have holes in them so the air can escape when they are stacked without bursting. Don't fret it man. They will work out something. If anyone ever delivered something like that to my house, I would want it to be WP.com. Rest assured. Stuff happens. Considering the volume they deliver...there are relatively very few returns such as this.


----------



## LIpelletpig (May 18, 2012)

Yes I couldn't agree more.  If it was a fly-by-night operation it sure wouldn't sit comfortable with me.  The fact that there is no Quality Control at the delivery level makes me a little concerned for a reputable company.  The delivery was made by a sub-contracted lumber yard that doesn't sell or market wood pellets.  They just pick-up from a distribution center and deliver.  I would of imagined they would of inspected the pellets and the condition before delivery.  I guess its no skin off there back since they get paid to deliver no matter what the condition is of the pellets.  As a reputable company at WP.com I really thought it would of been better Quality Control.  I'm optimistic so we'll wait and see.  Thanks for all the encouraging words.


----------



## jackbean53 (May 19, 2012)

i would contact the cc co. asap so they are aware you have a problem now
just in case this isn"t resolved


----------



## Salty (May 19, 2012)

Don't contact the cc company! It costs a merchant $50 out of pocket with NO RECOURSE! Call the merchant and get it worked out. You wouldnt like getting ripped off for $50

Save the cc call if they refuse to fix it.


----------



## heat seeker (May 19, 2012)

Does the cc co. charge the seller $50 right away, just because there _might_ be a problem? If that's so, it doesn't seem right to me.


----------



## aaronnoel (May 19, 2012)

I orded pellets from woodpellets.com once, and they were delivered on a nice weather day. When I went to bring them into my basement I noticed almost the same looking pellets as the O.P. I called W.P.com quickly and those pellets sat in my carport for 4 months maybe longer with me calling every 2 weeks to find out when they were going to be switched out. The good thing about that was that the next year I found BT pellets and ordered my stash from them, when they delivered there first order, one of the tons was slashed on the in side of  wrap leaving 9 bags damaged, I called them and with in 3 days they replaced the damaged bags and gave me 5 FREE bags, and I will only buy from them now, a nice local company that understands how to treat there clients the right way. I still get e-mails and post cards from W.P.com, but I will never use them again after they wasted a whole summer dragging there feet only to do the right thing 4 or 5 months later, they should have just made the switch out right away and I would have still been buying 3 or 4 tons a year, there loss.


----------



## bill3rail (May 20, 2012)

Salty said:


> Don't contact the cc company! It costs a merchant $50 out of pocket with NO RECOURSE! Call the merchant and get it worked out. You wouldnt like getting ripped off for $50
> 
> Save the cc call if they refuse to fix it.


 
*Hello!?!*

Why would you NOT call the CC Company to inform them that you have already contacted the company?

If you are going to be stuck with bad pellets in an area that could possibly be storing good pellets, utilize all avenues of recourse! 
Nassau or Suffolk County Consumer Services Bureau...
Better Business Bureau...

If they make good on the sale, no harm no foul.

Bill


----------



## Salty (May 21, 2012)

Nobody is stuck with anything.

If you call your credit card company and complain it is a instant chargeback. Merchant loses the chargeback fee no matter what. Mine is $50, some may have $100 or more.

So if you really want to be a dink then sure call the cc company. Then go to sleep tonite knowing you got someone screwed out of money because you jumped the gun and got a black mark put on their credit.  Yes a merchant banking terminal/payment system is the same as any credit card. If you get dinged you lose.

Call the company back and ask for a supervisor, explain politely what happened and ask that they get you new pellets for what was damaged.

Save the cc bs for last resort.

In 20 years I've had 5 chargebacks, 3 were fraudulent....bad on me. Two were people who called their cc company for a $20 order they say they didn't get. I lost on every one. The last two got free merchandise, and I got a $50 ding on my checking acct each time.


----------



## WoodPorn (May 22, 2012)

I too had a bad exp w/WP.com, Last year's 2t delivery came with several rips/gashes, wet bags, and the joy of Carpenter ants...
All said and done I only lost 6 bags and chalked it up to lesson learned. Buy local and p/u myself.
I'll never call them again.


----------



## urkiddin (May 22, 2012)

I too ordered cleanfire softwoods from WP.com this year. The bags look nothing like yours.Mine came in clear bags.First thing i did this year was uncover them to check the bags because last year i ordered the cleanfire hardwoods which came in white bags like yours and i too had a lot of bags with split seams.It was also a rainy day here when they delivered but mine have no sign of being wet.


----------



## ducker (May 22, 2012)

on no resolution yet.


----------



## sinnian (May 22, 2012)

They'll make it right.  

I had issues my first season in 2008, which was their first season.  I had CleanFire Hardwoods which were too compressed and BROKE 3 Lovejoy steel couplings on my boiler and my boiler guy's unit (traded several bags for him to see himself, after he replaced my Lovejoys).  Anyway, this was all before they had a quality assurance dept.

Last year WP calls me (after not having purchased from them since 2008) to see if I wanted to order pellets from them.  After telling them my story they got me in contact with Joy, who made right for me what had happened 3 years previous.  Even UPS'd 3 different types of pellets for me to try before I committed to anything.


----------



## LIpelletpig (May 22, 2012)

*OK WE HAVE AN UPDATE........   *I was contacted by WP.com and they have been very cooperative.  I advised them to look at Hearth.com and view the pictures I've posted.  I too was contacted by the Quality Assurance Dept. and they are working on a resolution.  I will let the group know what the outcome is in the near future.


----------



## PJPellet (May 22, 2012)

Glad to hear they are "working on a resolution."  I hope everything works out for you and maybe WP.com will learn which people to hire as sub-contractors and which ones not to.  Any sub-contractor that I have ever dealt with has given me sub-standard service.  Just my experience.


----------



## ducker (May 23, 2012)

Yep... image/perception is killer in any type of sales/delivery/service industry.  I mean even if they DO provide a favorable outcome - this thread is enough to deter me away from wanting to buy from them in the future.


----------



## kinsmanstoves (May 23, 2012)

heat seeker said:


> Does the cc co. charge the seller $50 right away, just because there _might_ be a problem? If that's so, it doesn't seem right to me.


 
Yes they do then they ask the business owner to explain.

Eric


----------



## LIpelletpig (May 24, 2012)

Additional UPDATE......

I was contacted again by the Quality Assurance team which I must say are very customer service oriented.  They want to do right by the customer.  I am very impressed by the way the entire situation was handled and the response I received from WP.com. The outcome is WP.com is shipping me a free ton of pellets by the end of June.  This type of customer service and commitment to doing the right thing will make me recommend this company to others.  I'll update the forum again after I receive the replacement ton and the condition.


----------



## smoke show (May 24, 2012)

Now everyone will be puposely damaging bags....


----------



## ducker (May 25, 2012)

sounds like as nice as that is.. with you storing them away from your house, you should have them take back all the ruined ones.  Otherwise you'll have to deal with them throughout the winter.


----------



## Lousyweather (May 25, 2012)

yea, agreed...call in ASAP, rather than wait. Not sure the pellet co can be held responsible for pellets if they are really old...who knows, maybe they got wet at your place?


----------



## smwilliamson (May 26, 2012)

ducker said:


> Yep... image/perception is killer in any type of sales/delivery/service industry. I mean even if they DO provide a favorable outcome - this thread is enough to deter me away from wanting to buy from them in the future.


That's foolish. What guarantee is there that anywhere else the outcome will be different? I get all kinds of accolades from my customers. It's very nice to hear but it is only an affirmation of things in the past. What I really like to hear from are the upset customers! That tells me that I'm doing something wrong, then I can change it. In business, you are a fool if you think that everyone is happy with your products and services. The company that has the ability to overcome adversity is the one I want to do business with because it means that they care enough to want to it better.

You can order pellets from a multitude of vendors and have them delivered and any of them could show up wet, damaged, short, in the wrong driveway etc....so what you're saying is that you want to seek out a company you have heard nothing bad about....last I knew all of these companies were run by humans, who are by their very makeup imperfect beings.

Go with the group that tries harder because if anything goes wrong...you want a resolution...just my 2cents


----------



## Lousyweather (May 26, 2012)

Like it or not, perception IS reality. The OP posted, in my opinion, prematurely, and I agree that while the outcome was "being worked on", it certainly wasnt a bright spot on Woodpellets.com 's perceived reputation. If they did a poor job of fulfilling the OP's expectations, then I would expect to see a post here, as a service to potential future customers (cant say Ive ever heard much negative about Woodpellets.com). What I dont support though, and most likely this isnt the OP's original intent, is having an issue, not allowing the company to rectify it, but immediately posting here to use the forum and members as a cudgel to force the company into doing something they probably would have done otherwise. Either way, I have to agree, would seem to be a black mark (for a bit, anyways). People mess up. Hopefully they make it better.

Also, dont disallow that some customers have unreasonable expectations as well....its not ALWAYS the retailer. Just a thought.


----------



## smwilliamson (May 26, 2012)

agreed. it takes two to tango.


----------



## ducker (Jun 19, 2012)

smwilliamson said:


> That's foolish. What guarantee is there that anywhere else the outcome will be different? I get all kinds of accolades from my customers. It's very nice to hear but it is only an affirmation of things in the past. What I really like to hear from are the upset customers! That tells me that I'm doing something wrong, then I can change it. In business, you are a fool if you think that everyone is happy with your products and services. The company that has the ability to overcome adversity is the one I want to do business with because it means that they care enough to want to it better.
> 
> You can order pellets from a multitude of vendors and have them delivered and any of them could show up wet, damaged, short, in the wrong driveway etc....so what you're saying is that you want to seek out a company you have heard nothing bad about....last I knew all of these companies were run by humans, who are by their very makeup imperfect beings.
> 
> Go with the group that tries harder because if anything goes wrong...you want a resolution...just my 2cents


 
You missed the point completely.  For the most part everyone who has a pellet stove has a supplier who they get pellets from.  If they are pissed with their provider, sure they may be looking for another vendor,  I would imagine the majority of people are content with their supplier.  Your assumption above is that a purchaser has zero experience with any vendor. And that picking a company like woodpellets.com would be better then picking an unknown.  That isn't the case for myself nor many people in the this forum.

I have seen a LOT of advertisements for woodpellets.com - I get mailers from them at home.  I've considered buying from them in the past.  This type of event (FOR ME) is a black mark, because I know that the local company I use can and will quickly provide me with replacement for wet/damaged pellets - as well as come in at a lower price for both pallets and delivery.  The fact that the OP even came to this forum to post this - tells me that he felt as if he was not treated like a cared for customer.  Now if he opened the thread singing the praise of how woodpellets.com messed up and fixed it immediately for him, that would be a win/win for them.  Negative situation, positive outcome, positive feedback to the community.

What you speak of is exactly what I do when I make purchased or say traveling to a hotel. There might be glowing reviews, I look to see who had a crappy experience and reviewed it poorly, or how the business attempted to "fix" the situation.    So sure, I'll give them credit for working with the OP in resolving it.  But things like this causes people to pause before making the switch from one supplier to another.


----------



## Lousyweather (Jun 19, 2012)

its like when I book a vacation to somewhere I have never been. I wil llook at reviews online. If there are lots of reviews, I will read them all, paying close attention to the BAD reviews. Then, I analyze the review. Was the copmplaint valid, in my opinion, or was it a stupid, nitpicky one? I read one once where the person's main complaints were the bed wasnt fastened to the floor (go figure), and the pillow wasnt to their liking.....out of 5 stars, i think they allowed one....so, made an opinion of the reviewer then and there, booked the place, and it was GREAT!  same with pellets.


----------



## smwilliamson (Jun 19, 2012)

ducker said:


> You missed the point completely....


No, I got the point. Someone had a bad batch of pellets delivered and decided to blast the forum before working things out privately with the vendor. In a way, the OP used the forum as a bitching platform. Whether the problem is resolved or not, public opinion is that when you order from XYZ you get results like this...or Gosh, I expected so much more from them and this is what I got. While this forum is a wealth of knowledge, it should be used for that purpose and not a place to rant about XYZ unless XYZ clearly isn't taking care of business...then I think we would want to know that.

It would be kind of like me missing an appointment and before I could make good on it the chatter hits the forum.

People that refuse to do business with XYZ, solely based upon a blog post whom they do not know or admire the choices of, will never know the service/ product they could have had...that was my point....it is foolish to not want to do business with XYZ because someone decided to rant.

Regardless, for the choices we make there are no guarantees of outcomes.

People have the notion that businesses aren't allowed to make mistakes, especially those with ever present marketing tactics.

What you all may not know is that many of the folk up there @ WP.com do a heck of a lot more for this industry than any other fuel supplier. Their team is spot on...very nice, very smart and professional....most of all, they act like adults, which, if you know any of the Neanderthals the hearth biz is plagued with...one might find it quite refreshing.

That's why I stick up for them.


----------



## GrahamInVa (Jun 20, 2012)




----------



## Lousyweather (Jun 21, 2012)

smwilliamson said:


> No, I got the point. Someone had a bad batch of pellets delivered and decided to blast the forum before working things out privately with the vendor. In a way, the OP used the forum as a bitching platform. Whether the problem is resolved or not, public opinion is that when you order from XYZ you get results like this...or Gosh, I expected so much more from them and this is what I got. While this forum is a wealth of knowledge, it should be used for that purpose and not a place to rant about XYZ unless XYZ clearly isn't taking care of business...then I think we would want to know that.
> 
> It would be kind of like me missing an appointment and before I could make good on it the chatter hits the forum.
> 
> ...


 yea, pretty much what I said above in post #30.......agreed......tho I dont agree with the neanderthals comment!


----------



## smwilliamson (Jun 21, 2012)

Lousyweather said:


> yea, pretty much what I said above in post #30.......agreed......tho I dont agree with the neanderthals comment!


if you can spell it you're not one of them


----------



## Lousyweather (Jun 22, 2012)

smwilliamson said:


> if you can spell it you're not one of them


 

oh, no, the only reason I can spell Neanderthal is because Archaeological Anthropology  was an easy A in college........I do remember a few things....lol


----------



## CSCPeter (Jun 24, 2012)

Yeah please don't report to the cc companies, they are all criminals, they immediately take the money from the vendor's account and the vendor is guilty until proven innocent, even when people use their card for large amounts, it is taken from the customer's account immediately, but they ask us to prove what the purchase was for and we will not have access to the funds for 7-10 business days, but the CC company will hold onto it for those 7-10 days and probably gain interest off of it. It should just be a matter of the customer signed for it, then that should be all the proof needed!!


----------



## MCPO (Jun 25, 2012)

This above situation has to be rather uncommon in the sense that the OP`s storage location is remote and no one was there to receive and check the delivery but I think many delivery problem/claims could be eliminated if the driver/deliveryperson took some responsibility with what he delivered. It would only take a minute for him to inspect and photograph the coverings and condition of the unloaded pellets . Maybe this is even better done as he initially loaded them. Top and side cover damage is usually pretty obvious .The damage I mostly encountered in the past has been with the bottom layer of pellets getting wet (much harder to see) but returning a few bad bags for exchange or credit is a simpler matter than having to having to return a pallet full due to an obvious damaged cover.
At least in the above situation I place the blame entirely on the delivery person,that is unless I misread something.


----------



## LIpelletpig (Jul 18, 2012)

UPDATE.....As many of you on the forum have questioned why I would post so quickly after receiving my pellet delivery and not give Woodpellets.com time to rectify the problem with the original delivery I am happy to report that the 1-Ton of pellets was replaced today.  I posted my situation to the forum for several reasons.  The first is to explain and show that mistakes happen and things are out of our control.  The communication between woodpellets.com and me the customer was 100% upfront and honest and never once did I think I was taken.  I explained the situation on hearth.com to demonstrate why woodpellets.com is a reliable and good source for pellets.  We all have heard horror stories of pellet companies going belly-up before you take delivery of your season worth of pellets.  This was an example of a good retailer with great ethics in business putting the customer first.  It never crossed my mind in this process to contact the credit card company since I knew I was dealing with WP.com.  I feel very confident in recommending WP.com to others looking for pellets.  How the Pacific Cleanfire's burn?  I can't answer that just yet!

FYI: You might notice one layer of the pellet stack was missing that's because it was already in the process of being unloaded and stacked before the heavy rains arrived.


----------



## novah (Jul 20, 2012)

I, too, was taken back by the change in the OP's attitude when he wrote the UPDATE post. He totally forgot he threw them under the bus in the first post.


----------



## smwilliamson (Jul 20, 2012)

kill them with kindness...c'mon, folks...let us forgive our pellet brother


----------



## AbetterChimneynm (Jul 20, 2012)

I dont even know where to start we have many customers who act like this I blame wal-mart, Wal-mart has given people the idea that anyone can return anything no matter what and that if they groan load enough They get their way even if they are in the wrong (I am not saying that this guy was in the wrong he needed new pellets) but bring it to the forum before going to them was wrong....And like many people said who knows how many people wont give this company a try now because of his first post very sad indeed


----------



## Defiant (Jul 20, 2012)

smwilliamson said:


> kill them with kindness...c'mon, folks...let us forgive our pellet brother


I think(hope) he has been flogged enough


----------



## DexterDay (Jul 20, 2012)

Welcome back Johnny......

(1st post was pretty brutal)  No one wants to be taken, but in fairness.... The company (WP.com) did deserve more time before going down this road. I only say that because heating season was a Looong way away. Lots of time to call customer service and talk through the situation.

I was taken for $500 a couple yrs back by a Scamming site. They had a deal that I couldnt resist. Even though they Didnt take PayPal or my Debit/Credit Card.. I still did it. I went and put $500 on a "Green Card" from W-M and paid them.... Never seen my 10 piece Dewalt Kit or my $500 again. I tried finding the people/place for almost a year.  

Lesson learned


----------



## smoke show (Jul 20, 2012)

DexterDay said:


> Welcome back Johnny......


 and he's gone. POOF.


----------



## UMainah (Jul 22, 2012)

LIpelletpig said:


> UPDATE.....As many of you on the forum have questioned why I would post so quickly after receiving my pellet delivery and not give Woodpellets.com time to rectify the problem with the original delivery I am happy to report that the 1-Ton of pellets was replaced today. I posted my situation to the forum for several reasons. The first is to explain and show that mistakes happen and things are out of our control. The communication between woodpellets.com and me the customer was 100% upfront and honest and never once did I think I was taken. I explained the situation on hearth.com to demonstrate why woodpellets.com is a reliable and good source for pellets. We all have heard horror stories of pellet companies going belly-up before you take delivery of your season worth of pellets. This was an example of a good retailer with great ethics in business putting the customer first. It never crossed my mind in this process to contact the credit card company since I knew I was dealing with WP.com. I feel very confident in recommending WP.com to others looking for pellets. How the Pacific Cleanfire's burn? I can't answer that just yet!
> 
> FYI: You might notice one layer of the pellet stack was missing that's because it was already in the process of being unloaded and stacked before the heavy rains arrived.


 
Your first post and it's title should be updated.
As it is now, when someone does a search for wp.com they'll come across your thread, see "Woodpellets.com Order that went wrong!!" and "*The final outcome to this issue has not been resolved as of today*." and then move on to finding somewhere else to buy pellets. They probably won't spend the time to wade through all the posts to get to the second page that says things have been worked out.

What you should do is at the top of your first post add something like "[Updated] This issue was resolved amicably. Please read post #41." Or even just add the contents of post #41 to the top of you first post. The title I'd change to something like: Woodpellets.com Order that went wrong [ISSUE RESOLVED]


----------



## RiddleMasterMorgon (Jul 30, 2012)

So, I am one of the readers who actually did go all the way through the thread because I do consider buying from w.p.com. I think that in such a forum any customer absolutely has the right to describe such delliveries - even as early as the OP did.

I would never judge by only one anekdotal description, but over time you get a pretty good sense if these reports increase or decrease - which is then very reflective of the average quality of the company you are dealing with - beautifully done at sites like amazon.com ect.

To the OPs defense, he described the situation in detail (of course from his point of view), but to be honest, half through the description I already had the impression, wow what a high maintenance customer (thats how detailed/fair he described it). He called WP multiple times to make appointments, changed times, then does not make it on time for the delivery, then does not want to 'waste' his workday to accurately take or reject the delivery by being on site when delivered. Honestly, I was mighty impressed with WP.com patience right then and there....

Now, that does not change the fact that the delivery was screwed up big time and that does fall squarly on WP.coms hat IMO. Look at the wood pallet !! Is that mold all over the place ? - the pellets had been sitting in the rain for more than just the shower during the delivery attempt. The pellet stack had top damage, likely from original storage and monkeying around with a lift. So, someone absolutely screwed up by letting this pellet even go out the door - plain and simple.

Yes, we are all humans and things go wrong - but it is noteworthy that in the states the perception of 'acceptable wrongness' is very different from say Japan. Its IS a question of mentality and how much pride you pack in your work and how much you do care....about every single thing you do. I had the pleasure to lilve in different cultures over the years and I can tell you that I am not impressed with the idea of acceptable customer service level in the states.

So, although OP seems high maintenance, some of the other comments here seem to suggest that people could really try a little harder to offer better service. 80 % is not good enough as far as I am concerned (dont just blame it on bitching customers). There is no natural right that I have to give anyone a second chance of making it right, the natural expectation is that its done right the first time.

Calling the CC company to hold the charge is very effective precisely because it is such a sharp weapon. If you dont like it, dont accept credit cards or charge extra money for using them (as so many do nowerdays) ! You fail to mention that you enjoy the safety of credit card as a seller (eg no more blown check and running after your goods, no more failed deliveries because the cash is not there ect.).

And the last information that I can get from this thread is that W.P.com were able to resolve the issue within 30 days...personally, I think thats slow - if my local guy would screw up the delivery I would think he can fix than in 7 days with reasonable effort - but its not unreasonable either and its not heating season either, so that an average on my scale.

Overall, yes I feel negatively influenced by this. If they want to have my business then they compete with what I have and need to show that they would be better (service, price, ease of order whatever) - this thread does not show reason to switch for me.


----------



## smwilliamson (Jul 30, 2012)

RiddleMasterMorgon said:


> .
> 
> And the last information that I can get from this thread is that W.P.com were able to resolve the issue within 30 days...personally, I think thats slow - if my local guy would screw up the delivery I would think he can fix than in 7 days with reasonable effort - but its not unreasonable either and its not heating season either, so that an average on my scale.
> Overall, yes I feel negatively influenced by this. If they want to have my business then they compete with what I have and need to show that they would be better (service, price, ease of order whatever) - this thread does not show reason to switch for me.


 
Also to note...the OP may have requested a delivery around his schedule which should be considered in the delayed makeup delivery.


----------



## Lousyweather (Jul 30, 2012)

sadly, these days, credit card acceptance by a vendor is almost a must.....about 85% of our pellet sales come in by credit card. If you read your CC Agreement, you will find that you cant charge a different price for charged items, although a workaround for this is to offer a discount for cash. Lets not forget that the CC companies are paid by the vendor between 2-5% of the gross charge as well (not a little money really).  A company like WP.com almost has no choice but to accept credit cards, given all their business is iver the phone and online.....sedning a check online just doesnt seem to work. Now, in fact a check could be sent, and the delivery could be held up until it clears too, but its cumbersome. There really isnt any chasing money, as most outfits require payment that day or beforehand. If your CC is maxed, or your check bounces, you dont get product...its that simple. As for someone paying when it gets delivered....your right, that doesnt work....you got someone who has to "step out, just for a second (hour)"....guess when the pellets come?!

As for unhappy customers, its unfortunate they tend to post whereas the happy ones dont. Amazon was mentioned. Their system also encourages the positive transactions to post as well, so it doesnt look as bad. Here, there are MANY folks who are happy with them, but you wouldnt generally know it, just the ones who arent.

The customer is high maintenance? I dunno.....it depends on your outlook and personality, I guess. Some are, some arent. He was up front though about missing the appointment...traffic accident. these things happen....he didnt have to tell us that. My opinion is still the same....I think the original post was premature, but Im glad it was straightened out!


----------

