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Post by jerseyhighlander on Oct 10, 2018 10:19:25 GMT -5
Just a warning to all, McMaster-Carr apparently has some new policies or some white collar jackass looking to make his/her position valid.
I've been using MMC for years, more than two decades actually. For many years I was purchasing with a fabrication shop where I was foreman & then Project Manager. We had boxes appearing daily and spent many thousands of dollars a year there. When I left that place, it was just a natural thing to need something and look in the direction of McMaster-Carr. They are often a more expensive option than others but WERE, so easy to work with.
From day one when I registered an account it was just automatically an "open account", where they sent my supplies and a bill came a few days or a week later and I paid it by sending them a check. I was first shocked they never required anything, never wanted a credit card but that was the way they did business, it was easy, no grief, keep going...
One thing I always liked was that I could order something I needed at 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon and the next morning it was at my door. Always! If I had to have something & fast, McMaster was the way to go.
So last week I place an order for a couple packs of those Woodruff keys I needed to get a saw with a sheared key back up and running. Placed the order on Thursday afternoon, expected to get it Friday, I'll be able to work this weekend. Later that night I check my email and I've got this;
"We require a credit card for your orders with McMaster-Carr. We cancelled your order because a credit card was not provided."
They actually cancelled my order!!!!! I even looked it over before I placed it and it still said "open account", if it had asked for a credit card number, I would have given one, happily. Apparently they thought I'd arbitrarily turned to a life of crime and might not do as I have for years over years and pay my bill when it came. When I questioned what they did, all I got was sorry, that's the way it is, you have to pay by credit card.
My answer is, I'll take my business elsewhere, along with the 15 or 20 referrals a year I USED TO send them.
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Post by sweepleader on Oct 10, 2018 11:23:31 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about that. I too have bought from them for years, first at work with an account then on my own. I always used a card so there was never any problem. Even after that bad experience, I would personally not write them off. I would bet that if you called customer service and explained the deal you would get a profuse apology, I am not sure what else they could do. I agree that what they did was wrong and I think they would too, if they knew. Of course I don't know the details of how their rep treated you when you talked to them and nothing now will get the keys delivered by last Friday. Still, now that they have done a poor job of telling you their policy, they might be useful in the future.
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Post by undee70ss on Oct 10, 2018 18:02:57 GMT -5
It’s possible they changed their policy, and are no longer allowing open accounts for individuals. I have used them for years, but have always paid with a card. I have always had fast service from them, if I order in the morning, I’ll have it the next day.
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Post by rowdy235 on Oct 10, 2018 18:26:48 GMT -5
They likely did change their policy- but would have been nice if they would have told you beforehand, or at very least when you were placing the order.
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will
Collector
Posts: 80
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Post by will on Oct 10, 2018 22:11:32 GMT -5
You dont want to cut your nose off to spite your face, MM-C is a great source of literally thousands of needed items. I'm surprised they have even offered open accounts in the last 25 years. That said, cool down and live with it, don't burn your bridges. They probably have been burnt hundreds of times by people who had open accounts for years, so be a little understanding about their side.
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dynodave
Saw Builder
equal opportunity GEARHEAD
Posts: 246
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Post by dynodave on Oct 14, 2018 11:08:14 GMT -5
For quite a few years I have bought from MMC. In April of 2010 I changed to a DBA as Atlantic Green Technical Services.
It has always been credit card at time of ordering. No down side at all for me buying from them. Convenient but higher prices.
I was getting 2 day delivery for a long time but now it is almost always next day.
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Post by jerseyhighlander on Oct 14, 2018 22:58:11 GMT -5
I understand that it isn't abnormal for them to want a credit card payment and I'd have no issue with it if it was done reasonably & respectfully. I was surprised they opened the account as an "open account", but that was 15 years ago or more and it was their doing, not my request and the bill has always been paid, on time. I can even understand them deciding to do things differently at some point and telling me that on the next order the terms will be different. What I can't tolerate is them cancelling an order in process with no notice at all, that they wanted payment terms different than they always were and different than what was stated on their website when I placed the order.
I've run my own companies for more years than I've worked for other people and built a reputation with my clients where I haven't needed to advertise in any way at all for 14 of the past 16 years my current company has existed. I would never consider treating one of my clients the way I was treated. Never. When I do a job, it is known from the inception that payment is due at the job site on that day when I'm finished. Anywhere from $500 to $2000. 98% of the time there is no issue and most clients offer to write the check before we even start & I tell them, no, take care of that later. On occasion a client will tell me they've forgotten their check book and say that they'll head home to get it when I'm about an hour from done, so they can get back in time. I've always told them, don't worry about it, just put a check in the mail, we're fine. And I've never been screwed. McMaster-Carr treated me like a third class citizen, over $50.- I know I'm different than many people today in that my integrity is everything to me but it makes something like that really hard to swallow.
Apologies that it got off into a rant. I just figured people should know that a company they might be depending on to come through as always, might completely drop the ball, for no apparent reason.
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Post by rowdy235 on Oct 14, 2018 23:11:45 GMT -5
Well said Jersey. To me at least, when it comes to situations like this, its more how its handled than the situation itself.
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Post by jbowski on Oct 15, 2018 7:27:42 GMT -5
I just figured people should know that a company they might be depending on to come through as always, might completely drop the ball, for no apparent reason. You might want to get used to that. Many people in the work force today do not understand or have an inkling of what you are upset about, they don't care, they really don't. They don't care if their company fails or that you fail. Its all about them and its getting to be more like that at almost every retailer and business today. |
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Post by rowdy235 on Oct 15, 2018 20:40:20 GMT -5
I just figured people should know that a company they might be depending on to come through as always, might completely drop the ball, for no apparent reason. You might want to get used to that. Many people in the work force today do not understand or have an inkling of what you are upset about, they don't care, they really don't. They don't care if their company fails or that you fail. Its all about them and its getting to be more like that at almost every retailer and business today. I agree with your sentiments but I also feel that there has been a shift in society in a whole which has in some instances pushed the retailers and businesses toward practices that once they wouldn't have thought of. For instance, prior to the internet, if you needed a part for your car, you went to your local parts house, told the guy behind the counter the part, and bought it. You had your choice of parts supplier which was normally based on preference, prices, helpfulness, etc. Nowadays you punch the part number into google and instantly see the price and your local parts houses and several online suppliers, many times the latter is cheaper. So you now have a parts house paying 2 or more people wages during business hours trying to compete with an automated system that costs pennies on the dollar to run. Something has to give and before long you have an upset customer talking to somebody that can't change what's been done and probably doesn't even have authority to offer compensation (which is what 99% of society demands when they don't get there way) for what was done. The same customer probably remarks they can get the product for a better price here and they're right. To be clear, I'm not directing this at anybody here or MMC, just my observations. Like I said in my earlier post I believe the issue here to be communication, and I would certainly be tempted to do business with another organization that has better communication. Sorry for the hijack. lol |
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Post by jbowski on Oct 15, 2018 23:39:52 GMT -5
You might want to get used to that. Many people in the work force today do not understand or have an inkling of what you are upset about, they don't care, they really don't. They don't care if their company fails or that you fail. Its all about them and its getting to be more like that at almost every retailer and business today. Like I said in my earlier post I believe the issue here to be communication, and I would certainly be tempted to do business with another organization that has better communication. Sorry for the hijack. lol While that seems like a very logical idea, the problem is as I hinted at, communication and customer service across the board have deteriorated in recent years. I wanted to buy all my supplies and one place and placed a 600 dollar order, it didn't come in because the guy responsible for purchasing said he had already ordered those same products for another guy and didn't want to order more that month, seriously. I took my business elsewhere. This isn't the first time I've run into this. Sales associates that cant do simple math, can't grasp a situation, and cannot resolve a problem. One assistant sales manager called me for the number of a parts vendor because he couldn't find his list. He didn't bother to look it up or find the list, his solution was to call the customer and ask me if I knew the number. This borders on mental disability and its catching, maybe there is something to these chem-trail theories. |
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rodney
Collector
Ignore my status. I'm a Nooby who talks a lot.
Posts: 90
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Post by rodney on Nov 26, 2018 16:02:12 GMT -5
I'm sorry to see how they handled that. I wouldn't write them off though. I've used them several times over the last 10 years or so. I'm small time. $50 is a big order for me. They've always been fast, friendly, and compared to a lot of other places, quite reasonably priced.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2018 21:31:43 GMT -5
Ha lately McMaster Carr’s standard shipping is faster than amazon prime’s 2 day shipping. I’ve been waiting 4 days for amazon but McMaster carr is alway in the second day
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Post by rowdy235 on Nov 28, 2018 20:19:39 GMT -5
Ha lately McMaster Carr’s standard shipping is faster than amazon prime’s 2 day shipping. I’ve been waiting 4 days for amazon but McMaster carr is alway in the second day If you complain to amazon they almost always will extend your membership by a month. Where I live I never get things in 2 days so I complain, I think I have racked up at least 6 months of free prime. |
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