Tiki business gripe - anyone else?

Ok, here's the deal:

With the current economy and retail hurting so bad, I would assume that every business would take advantage of any sale they can get and do their best to offer great customer service. I myself just started a small tiki business, which is just part time for me, but I still go out of my way to try to make everyone happy, because who knows when the next sale is coming in. However, I seem to get the worst service imaginable from some of the bigger names in the tiki world. I don't want to name names, but here are a few examples.

My girlfriend and I have made over a dozen different purchases in the past 6 months from one of the big mug makers, totaling over $2500. Every time we order, it takes forever for them to be shipped out, and when we do inquire on their status, we rarely get an answer. Now, I'm not being crazy with the time frame. I'm fine with delivered in 2 weeks being acceptable. I live in Hawaii and things can sometimes take longer to get here. What I'm talking about is placing an order for something that is in stock, having my card charged at that time, then after 2-3 emails, they say they just mailed it out - over a month later. We just made another order about 3 weeks ago, and all items were one of a kind that were in stock, and so far we have only received half of that order last week. I would say over half of the past dozen orders were mailed out over 2 weeks after ordering (and I do mean mailed out past 2 weeks, not arrived in 2 weeks).

And I've had the same problem with another big name in mugs. Placed an order for 2 high end mugs that were supposed to be in stock, was charged immediately, and they took almost 2 months to arrive. No response from the 3 or 4 emails asking for an update.

Both of these makers sell mugs full time, but seem to run their businesses like they were some part time weekend project. Does anyone else have these same problems as a customer, or am I just having a lot of bad luck? I really want to support these people and I love their mugs, but at some point enough is enough regarding bad service.

What are your thoughts?

Alloha,

screw em!!! find new mug makers!!......i assume you are buying wholesale to re sell through your store??....i guess it's hard when there aren't many makers out there to choose from in terms of suppling volume....we are trying to get mugs for chef shangri-la here in chicago and are having a bitch of a time getting them made.....seems if you are little guy with alittle order you get placed at the back of the line in favor of others with larger orders than you....which i understand in terms of profit but it's still shitty, especially when you have supported a company in the past.....

i guess the bottom line is there's no excuse for poor service......the bigger a company gets, the harder it is for them to pay attention to every single order and give their personal care.....i understand things get crazy, but they should tell you if a mug is going to take a month or 2 to get.....

recently i ordered a c.d. off amazon...at the time i ordered in early january they said the c.d. was in stock so i ordered it......it finally showed up last week almost a month later.......they took my money and my order with me believing it would be here in a few days.....then i at least got 2 emails during the time i was waiting saying it will be shipping soon....i was almost tempted to cancel my order and find the c.d. on ebay instead....just another non tiki example of the same thing that's happened to you...

good luck in what ever solution you find....keep us posted.

Aloha Tipsy,

Actually, none of this is wholesale. These are all full retail prices. Buying mugs for my own personal use, which I think makes the bad service even worse. I can kinda understand a wholesale order being put off for retail orders.

Never order a cd from Amazon.
Not unless you want it to take forever.
I always go with one of the other sellers on Amazon.
They are much faster.
But if you say something to Amazon about the slow service they may
give you some money back.
They did that with me.

On 2009-03-02 05:24, Mo-Eye wrote:
Aloha Tipsy,

Actually, none of this is wholesale. These are all full retail prices. Buying mugs for my own personal use, which I think makes the bad service even worse. I can kinda understand a wholesale order being put off for retail orders.

..okay...now you got me really interested....who the hell spends $2500 on mugs for personal use???...i gotta know.....this is fascinating to me and if you are throwing those types of parties that require that many mugs, why have i not been invited??? :)

..and thanks for the tipper, skipper!!

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-02 07:48 ]

On 2009-03-02 07:47, Tipsy McStagger wrote:

On 2009-03-02 05:24, Mo-Eye wrote:
Aloha Tipsy,

Actually, none of this is wholesale. These are all full retail prices. Buying mugs for my own personal use, which I think makes the bad service even worse. I can kinda understand a wholesale order being put off for retail orders.

..okay...now you got me really interested....who the hell spends $2500 on mugs for personal use???...i gotta know.....this is fascinating to me and if you are throwing those types of parties that require that many mugs, why have i not been invited??? :)

..and thanks for the tipper, skipper!!

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-02 07:48 ]

...I heard he's building a house with em'. :wink:

On 2009-03-02 04:20, Mo-Eye wrote:
Ok, here's the deal:

With the current economy and retail hurting so bad, I would assume that every business would take advantage of any sale they can get and do their best to offer great customer service. I myself just started a small tiki business, which is just part time for me, but I still go out of my way to try to make everyone happy, because who knows when the next sale is coming in. However, I seem to get the worst service imaginable from some of the bigger names in the tiki world. I don't want to name names, but here are a few examples.

My girlfriend and I have made over a dozen different purchases in the past 6 months from one of the big mug makers, totaling over $2500. Every time we order, it takes forever for them to be shipped out, and when we do inquire on their status, we rarely get an answer. Now, I'm not being crazy with the time frame. I'm fine with delivered in 2 weeks being acceptable. I live in Hawaii and things can sometimes take longer to get here. What I'm talking about is placing an order for something that is in stock, having my card charged at that time, then after 2-3 emails, they say they just mailed it out - over a month later. We just made another order about 3 weeks ago, and all items were one of a kind that were in stock, and so far we have only received half of that order last week. I would say over half of the past dozen orders were mailed out over 2 weeks after ordering (and I do mean mailed out past 2 weeks, not arrived in 2 weeks).

And I've had the same problem with another big name in mugs. Placed an order for 2 high end mugs that were supposed to be in stock, was charged immediately, and they took almost 2 months to arrive. No response from the 3 or 4 emails asking for an update.

Both of these makers sell mugs full time, but seem to run their businesses like they were some part time weekend project. Does anyone else have these same problems as a customer, or am I just having a lot of bad luck? I really want to support these people and I love their mugs, but at some point enough is enough regarding bad service.

What are your thoughts?

Alloha,

You need to order from Tiki Farm Max... Duh!

"No response from the 3 or 4 emails asking for an update"

I seldom get e-mail responses from businesses, whether I am checking for an order status update or just want info. If I really need an answer, I usually end up calling on the phone (it's harder to ignore) Seems like many businesses consider the web side to be the bastard stepchild of the business.

Had an interesting experience on eBay recently. I had ordered something (non-tiki) and got a message back saying they were back ordered. Now why would you advertise something for sale on eBay that you didn't have in your hand? 2 weeks later I got a message saying they were shipping it out.

Not getting a timely response and constantly slow shipping is just not good business. I have had excellent service and delivery times from Tiki Farm, Bosko, and Munktiki, so I don't know who you're dealing with, but that's a shame. Hopefully things will work out for you and the business.

On 2009-03-02 07:47, Tipsy McStagger wrote:

..okay...now you got me really interested....who the hell spends $2500 on mugs for personal use???...i gotta know.....this is fascinating to me and if you are throwing those types of parties that require that many mugs, why have i not been invited??? :)

..and thanks for the tipper, skipper!!

Let's just say that I've developed a bad tiki mug habit that my girlfriend actually approves of!

I am just finishing my home bar now- "Kapu" - and when it's time to break it in, I'll let you know, Tipsy!

On 2009-03-02 11:08, MakeDaMug wrote:
You need to order from Tiki Farm Max... Duh!

I have to say - I have always gotten great service from the Farm!

Hey Max! Howzit?

Perhaps you should be more specific as to who you're speaking about (or better yet, who you're NOT speaking about) so folks don't start assuming shenanigans where there are none.

:)

yeah....what squid said!!......if you are refering to dynasty mugs, we gotta know....i want to get some barrel mugs for the ol' home bar this spring and need to know what i'm up against here.....

On 2009-03-02 13:39, Mo-Eye wrote:

On 2009-03-02 11:08, MakeDaMug wrote:
You need to order from Tiki Farm Max... Duh!

I have to say - I have always gotten great service from the Farm!

So you think we might be worth an extra $1 or $2/mug especially since our molds aren't like 250 burned out per??? Hello!!!

I pre-paid for a Hukilua 2008 mug, and.......
still have not received it

• Buyer Beware -

Aahhh Mo-Eye-san, this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

Mugs... can't live with'em, can't live without'em? Speaking for myself, I've been fortunate enough to meet and talk at length with many of the mug makers that call TC home. Each are as unique in personality, as they are in thier artistry. The way each approaches thier craft is homage to thier inner childhood. Each have a passion and deeply believe in resurrecting the phoenix of tiki to greater hieghts. What's not to like about Mugs d'Art? Drinking vessel, art object or a pencil holder...whatever the collector desires to do with the purchase.

bliss.

That said, my experience of purchase has been a mixed bag. Some are quick to ship and others are a zen-like test of patience, faith and perseverence. But I can honestly say this, that no matter the length of time in wait and transit, the results are nothing less than spectacular! I can spend hours looking over the nuances in sculpt design, execution, inspiration and glaze work. These mugs and thier makers are a welcomed oasis in a fast-paced overtly commercialized jungle.

I agree, sometimes an email response would sooth the aching sweet tooth of a delayed mug delivery. I then remind myself that I'm not the only customer, fan, friend, foe or family member to the artist. Putting all into perspective, its just a moment in time. Consistently, more than three years later...the mugs keep rolling in and my appreciation for all these wonderful, amazing people grow.

time.

So keep the faith, enjoy the artistry and take time to meet the mug makers...in time you'll be glad you did. :)

Stay tiki & cheers! :D

Howza bout some pics of that home bar!?!?!

You mean someone besides Tiki Farm makes mugs? That doesn't make sense, Who could stay in business with Holden as their competition?

I've never had a problem with any website that I've bought Tiki mugs from, and I agree that Tiki Farm has been a delight to deal with.

In putting together my home Retro ScFi Tiki Lounge, I made about 120 purchases over the space of several years from Ebay. Mostly, my experiences were good, with a few bad ones: things poorly packed, taking forever to ship, a poster that was not as described (a bad photocopy instead of a vintage print), that sort of thing. Then my wife wanted to start selling some items from her vintage store last year, just at the time Ebay established new requirements for sellers that have made it virtually impossible to work with.

As for Amazon, everything I have ordered, even when it was from a seller that was using Amazon, has arrived in a reasonable time. From Amazon itself sometimes amazingly fast. Of course, it may be because I pay extra for their premium service, which includes free shipping.

On 2009-03-02 15:27, squid wrote:
Perhaps you should be more specific as to who you're speaking about (or better yet, who you're NOT speaking about) so folks don't start assuming shenanigans where there are none.

It's kinda like selling a velvet painting without any photos.
Can you email me who it is?
(kidding about the email)

SHENANIGANS!!

Yeah, I second, third, concur to Tiki Farms fast, almost light speed shipping. I just ordered a couple things last Friday and they got here today. Even if it is within California that's pretty quick. Plus all of the retailers I know here love to deal with Holden.

As for some of the smaller artists, you have to understand some of these folks have full time "real" jobs, so besides that and the time put into the art they create, it may take awhile to get an item shipped, especially from Hawaii cuz ya have to remember, "dey ona ho nadder time frame brah" :)

And if I order from Munktiki, I just go down and get it...

Thanks for the comments and info.

From talking to others, it seems that with one or 2 vendors, this is normal service, but with the others I just was a little "lucky" to have problems more than once.

Actually got some messages from the vendors themselves, which I really do appreciate.

Mahalo!!

<I am just finishing my home bar now- "Kapu" - and when it's time to break it in, I'll let you know, Tipsy! >

If you have a bar with thousands of dollars worth of mugs in it - you shouldn't let anyone else know about it but me.

I'm as trustworthy as... an in-law.

Sometimes I wish Tiki Farm would take longer to get me my mugs...just so I could hang out in Mugoomba longer! Ohh the benefits of living near the Farm...

Old habits - treating customers like they don't matter - die hard!

Very, very foolish behavior. I ship the next morning if my shipping center is open.

We're looking at concrete examples of evolution here - these guys might just end up getting themselves Darwinized!

Sorry to hear about your supply woes, Max.

I would definetly start looking for a new mug maker. First time it took that long it could have been a fluke but more than once is just bad business and really poor customer service. You would think with the way business is now a days they would most definetly appreciate the business that they do have. With such a large order I am surprised they didn't have answers right away either. I would definetly find a smaller company that pays attention to details like shipping. I am sure they didn't have any problems taking your money same day your ordered.