I'm not really interested in defending WLL, HOWEVER, being someone who has worked in customer service for 3 different companies over a span of 6 years (not anymore, thank goodness) I must say that while any company may have the greatest intentions for their customer service department, it comes down to the hands of the individual on the other end of the phone or at the receiving end of your email. Most companies do care about giving good customer service to their customers. Two companies I've worked for in the past have completely re-structured just to be able to provide better customer service.

Most times you have a peson in a thankless job with crappy pay who just doesn't care about your order no matter how much the company cares. And you never know what kind of software they are using to track order processing - they may not have the details.

You always have the option to cancel your order and take your business elsewhere. Actions speak louder than words. We are and will remain a 'wal mart country' because we are lazy.

Vince said

Most times you have a peson in a thankless job with crappy pay who just doesn't care about your order no matter how much the company cares.

As a professional who has an office i.e. a business, I couldn't disagree more. If you care, your employees are paid and treated well. I make espresso etc. for my employee, not the other way around, treat her like family and she responds to make sure the office runs smoothly.

Marvin

zin1953,

I appreciate the feedback and understand your frustrations. We will get you taken care of right away. Give me a call 888-411-5282- x5140 so we can get the part over to you. I would also like to chat a bit about your experience.


Best,
Jon

iginfect wrote:As a professional who has an office i.e. a business, I couldn't disagree more. If you care, your employees are paid and treated well. I make espresso etc. for my employee, not the other way around, treat her like family and she responds to make sure the office runs smoothly.

Agreed! Whether it's working in the wine trade on a retail level, a wholesale level, or at a winery, good customer service is essential in keeping your customers as customers! -- let alone gaining new ones. The same is true in a law office -- your reputation is gold, and the best way to maintain it is with a warm, knowledgable voice on the other end of the phone.

The horror stories that one hears regarding WLL are really indicative of what happens to a company's reputation when support is lacking.

Eight years ago, WLL was close to the top of my short list when it came to ordering machines/supplies. In fact, my 2nd machine and grinder came from them. Things were fine from a support perspective for the next couple of years. However, after a couple of years, support had started to have issues. Parts seemed to take much longer to get, even considering that I was a direct customer, not just some guy ordering parts. It got harder and harder to talk to someone knowledgeable in tech support as well. My final straw was when I ordered a new burr set for my MDF. It was in stock on the site, but after a couple of weeks with no communications other than the confirmation e-mail, I called to see what the problem was. Turns out they were out of stock, but coming in soon. Here's the kicker....It was costing them more to get this shipment of burrs in, so they wanted me to pay several dollars more for them now. That's right, they wanted more money to fulfill a backorder. Told them that that was BS and refused to pay it. Fortunately, I had the complete satisfaction of canceling the order as my SJ was already on the way.

Due to my personal experiences with WLL (and Aabree Coffee, another WLL storefront), I'd never recommend them to anyone. This is in stark contrast to my current vendor who has always gone above any beyond with support.

Mike

VS_DoubleShot wrote:You always have the option to cancel your order and take your business elsewhere. Actions speak louder than words. We are and will remain a 'wal mart country' because we are lazy.

I'm an easy customer service issue. I respond to the guy on the other end of the line as a guy on the other end of the line. I'm easy to talk to, and I understand that there are issues at work that I don't understand. All I want is for someone to make things right when they're wrong, and if it's going to be a ridiculous amount of time (five months is a ridiculous amount of time for someone to spend without the use of an espresso machine that they just got as a Christmas gift) for a part to be forthcoming, something in the way of making up for that ridiculousness should be forthcoming. Even if it is just an explanation accompanied by an apology. That would have mad the difference between the feeling that I was dealing with a company that wasn't very good and didn't care about my business to one of satisfaction and confidence. The latter can't keep me away, and the former won't get my business again. Not for repairs, parts, or new kit.
And, there is usually only one place to get warranty work done. You don't 'always' have the option of taking your business elsewhere.

JonathanSwan wrote:zin1953,

I appreciate the feedback and understand your frustrations. We will get you taken care of right away. Give me a call 888-411-5282- x5140 so we can get the part over to you. I would also like to chat a bit about your experience.

I will do so tomorrow . . .

quar wrote:. . . My final straw was when I ordered a new burr set for my MDF. It was in stock on the site, but after a couple of weeks with no communications other than the confirmation e-mail, I called to see what the problem was. Turns out they were out of stock, but coming in soon. Here's the kicker....It was costing them more to get this shipment of burrs in, so they wanted me to pay five dollars more for them now. That's right, they wanted more money to fulfill a backorder. Told them that that was BS and refused to pay it.

Odd, Mike, that we're talkin about the same parts. Was this recently? If so, I wasn't asked to pay any extra.

I'll call Jonathan Swan tomorrow as he asked. Fortunately I am in a somewhat similar position to you, in that I have three other grinders. I was merely ordering the MDF burrs as replacements before I sell it. In other words, I don't really need them . . .

Cheers,
Jason

No, this was several years ago. I haven't done business with them for quite some time.

It is an odd coincidence though.

Mike

I had a good conversation with the people at WLL yesterday. If everything pans out according to our discussion, I'll have no complaints. I'll post details as soon as they develop.