Finally, Good Service

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  • Last Post 15 April 2022
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Bud Hyett posted this 05 April 2022

In the last two years, I've experienced extreme frustration with ordering from MidwayUSA. The first source of frustration is sometimes it works flawlessly and sometimes it doesn't.

The second source of frustration is two separate addresses, home for shipping and post office for the bank card. Their website attempts to use either address indiscriminately. Even if I turn off the auto-fill option on the browser.

A corollary to Murphy's Law states if two or more options exist, the unwanted end results can be infinite. In this case, Murphy was an optimist. 

Ordered the RCBS Easy Melt 2 and Midway specified that it be shipped via the USPS to my Post office box per my instructions. Midway sent it to USPS who sent it to the St. Louis post office. The St Louis post office turned it over to UPS. I signed up for tracking via USPS and now UPS. The package got to Seattle and USPS tracking showed it being sent to Granite Falls by last Saturday while UPS tracking showed it being returned to Midway for lack of address. Over the next several days, it was making progress both ways. The USPS tracking said it would be delivered on Saturday. It was not delivered on Saturday.

Sunday I called Midway, 800-243-3220, and told the person that we needed a long dialogue and I was frustrated to the point of swearing. This person worked with me to get the order cancelled, reordered (for a $25.00 savings), and set up for  strictly UPS Ground Delivery which is not an option on their current ordering website. We'll see what happens.

 I offer this as a heads-up. I'll only order in the future via phone. Not that I order from Midway that much. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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Little Debbie posted this 05 April 2022

I’ve had similar issues with Brownells and their “free shipping” subscription and confusing shipping and billing addresses. I solved it by ordering by telephone too! Then I let my subscription lapse and stopped buying from Brownells…… I already given up on Midway. I really miss the days before the internet when you could call Midway for single screw or thousands of dollars worth of stuff and it was shipped free. Or filling out the order form to Brownells and mailing it with a check. The order showed up in two weeks and the shipping rate didn’t seem out of line.

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RicinYakima posted this 05 April 2022

You might as well ask for Railroad Express Company shipment. There is a reason Amazon is the largest retailer in the world, and old people don't use it. 

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Lee Guthrie posted this 05 April 2022

Alas, once upon a time I purchased a lot from Midway.  I quit them some time back, unless I REALLY want/need something that I can't get somewhere else.  Tired of their constantly changing prices and shipping policies over the past few years.  Now, it makes little difference because no one has anything, unless they want 4x the normal price.  I agree with Bud about the ship to and the credit card addresses.  Nightmare, but amazon seems to get it right.

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OU812 posted this 06 April 2022

Could you imagine having to work in any UPS, FEDEX, USPS distribution center?...PURE HELL These places no longer require high school education and also use inmate work release programs. More and more people shop the internet which over loads package delivery

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Bud Hyett posted this 06 April 2022

Could you imagine having to work in any UPS, FEDEX, USPS distribution center?...PURE HELL These places no longer require high school education and also use inmate work release programs. More and more people shop the internet which over loads package delivery

Yes, I can imagine these conditions. But, the question is not the workers, but the process. I believe this is a process problem and not a people problem. 

Why does Midway allow this to happen. Perhaps the upper level executives do not know of this. I've been told Midway monitors websites for input on their sales. Only by outside input can the word be given to Midway. If you use their interior reporting, the first-line supervisors will bury the bad report to look good. (I saw this often at Boeing.)

The other approach is to grab a lot of front space at the Midway table at the NRA Annual Meeting and keep talking until they listened. Do not allow them to take you from this spot because you're the center of attention to the crowd.

I did this at the Ruger table for the NRA Annual Meeting in Milwaukee. I was able to get their manufacturing engineer and discuss the taper in the cylinder throats on the Black Hawk. He was surprised there was taper and we discussed how to eliminate this taper. They roll burnish the cylinder for smoothness and as a result of or discussion added dwell time to the operation. Small item, but successful.

Midway can specify the delivery; I bought it and they are to deliver it. This makes me not want to do business with them again, but they had the Easy Melt 2 in stock. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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Green Frog posted this 06 April 2022

I Just had my first transaction with Midway in several years.  I needed an RCBS LAM heater and nobody else seemed to have it in stock,  Midway had it listed at a discount and even with standard shipping added  I got it below MSRP and it was here in less than a week.  I may have to start using the. More often again.

Froggie 

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 06 April 2022

... just for statistical balance ... i have ordered rom Midway since 1990 without one problem. maybe being 4 hours from them helps.

and yes, Larry made his first millions while paying the postage ... wish he could have kept that up.

ken

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JohnForrest posted this 08 April 2022

Midwayusa has been pretty good for me too. Maybe its a west coast thing?

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RicinYakima posted this 08 April 2022

May be after being charged $12.00 to ship one set of scope rings! Never again. 

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Tom Acheson posted this 08 April 2022

A while back I had my last encounter with Midway. I was used to writing a check and snail mailing it. It came back to me saying they no longer take checks. They could have accepted it and included a note about their revised payment acceptance requirements. I found another source. One lost repeat customer means nothing to them. Maybe they read our forum?

Tom

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Bud Hyett posted this 09 April 2022

They read forums now and then. They do not act on these. The first line managers work to suppress the findings since the complaints act against their raises and bonuses. Things have really disintegrated since the father retired and handed the business over to the next generation. Somebody sold the next generation a bill of goods with the new automated system for packaging and delivery.

Working over the years at various times as a process engineer and business system analyst, I know the depth to which programmers go to meet schedule versus doing the job right. My initial entry was limited to how they dump the package out the back door and forget it. The metrics for success with each package can be programmed into the system.

My next step is to stop at the Midway display at the next NRA Annual Meeting I can make. I grab all the display counter I can so the others can wait and refuse to leave until I am satisfied. And I remind the first kid showing up of the Marine Corps saying, "There's no use talking to the sergeant when the colonel's office is seven doors down the hall."

I want someone with authority who can make a decision. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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sluggo posted this 09 April 2022

I have the best service from all these places when i call and wait for a human being to talk to. A little small talk, be polite, and a shot of respect their way has yet to fail me. This works pretty well in other endeavors for me.

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Bud Hyett posted this 09 April 2022

I've come to using this approach also. Nothing replaces human contact and starting the conversation with, "I've got a problem, can you help?" There is a natural tendency to help others.

I should emphasize that I go to the second option only when the first one does not work. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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JeffinNZ posted this 09 April 2022

Well said Bud.

Cheers from New Zealand

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Aaron posted this 15 April 2022

Several years ago Midway had some sketchy shipping process. I wrote via snail mail directly to Larry with my observations and complaint of their usurious shipping policy on back-ordered items and "below minimum" for free shipping policy. Within a few months, Midway revamped their entire shipping policy.

I have to say that over the last 10 years or so, I have had excellent service from Midway. Today I ordered a product, and received the tracking number within hours of making my purchase. I have had no order errors, orders have been processed within 1 business day, and shipments arrived ahead of quoted delivery times for the prices charged. Shipping costs seem appropriate for the weight and size of the package. I personally handle a lot of shipping to and fro and can attest the prices charged are appropriate. Remember that you are actually paying for shipping material (boxes - foam stuff - tape - and LABOR) to ship the item(s) as well as postage. We used to call that "Shipping & Handling".

For the last decade, I give Midway a solid thumbs up on their business practices, shipping, and costs. They and others like Grafs, Dixie Gun Works, EMF, Taylor's, Accurate Molds, Starline, Brownell's, Cimarron, and a host of others do exceptionally well in general. There is always going to be a glitch now and then with any of them and it has been my experience that a friendly phone call to them asking for assistance gets the attention we need to get things straightened out.

It has been my experience that when things go wrong, it is almost always with the carriers; Fedex being the worst.

I save my hostile phone calls for the power company or the health insurance company. :-)

 

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

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creeker posted this 15 April 2022

Fell out with Midway over shipping cost a long time ago.

Lynn Halstead

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Bud Hyett posted this 15 April 2022

There is always going to be a glitch now and then with any of them and it has been my experience that a friendly phone call to them asking for assistance gets the attention we need to get things straightened out.

Six glitches in a row is not "now and then", and you'll note that my final effort was a direct call to the "Help Line". Even now, things are not straightened out. I'll call Sunday and hope I get the person who was a great help for this call.

My premise is Midway sold the product and they are responsible for delivery. When this does not happen, there will be no pointing in all directions in an attempt to place blame. Their new system delivers the shipment to the shipping dock. Then the system stops tracking and trusts whomever or whatever that the shipment will arrive.

Their system needs to track to delivery. That is the complete system. A bad requirements document will not specify the complete cycle including successful delivery. Having been a business systems analyst charged with getting failing systems running, I know the pitfalls of the coding process. "Garbage in, garbage out!" 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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