I hope you like to wait!
Written: Oct 21 '07
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| Full Review |
I used Skate America to order several pairs of Vans sneakers in June 2007. Skate America sells most brands of skateboarding gear, have a great selection, and their price on Vans was very reasonable. They have a good online ordering system, and claimed to have great customer focus. (Doesn't everyone?) Like many online stores, Skate America works with distributors to fulfill much of their orders -- i.e., they stock very little, and use drop-shipping to keep costs down.
I'm not a skateboarder per se: I'm a rock musician, and I find Vans to be a great "stage sneaker." I like to have several different colors/patterns around to suit my mood, and prefer something besides the standard black-and-white checkerboard style. I find other versions of their sneakers difficult to buy in New England. I'm also something of a "bulkaholic" who buys hard-to-find items two and three at a clip; if they're hard to find now, they'll probably be even harder to find in the future, right? Anyway, Skate America appeared to have many styles in stock, and even posted info that certain styles were discontinued. I ordered six pairs of sneakers, in four different styles that I like, plus a belt. I received a form email thanking me for my order, and sat back to wait for delivery.
In a few days, I received an email stating that all but one pair of shoes in my order were backordered, and asking what I wanted to do about it. Since most of these sneakers were for future use, I went to their website and clicked on the "I prefer to wait" option. Not the best situation, but not a big deal.
I began receiving one of these backorder emails every 5-7 days, so after the third one, I decided to call the company and see what was up with the order. This is when the difficulties started. Skate America doesn't publish their phone number; instead they ask you to fill out a customer service form with YOUR phone number, and a good time to call. For customers who prefer email, they offer replies in that way, too. I tried this three times -- twice with email, and once with my phone number -- but never received any reply. The weekly backorder emails, however, kept coming...
At this point, I started to do a thorough Web search for their contact information. I found their address, several stories similar to mine, but strangely, no published phone number for the company. Further searching with Google turned up two different numbers. The first -- and most common -- phone number had been disconnected. The second one seemed to connect me to Skate America, but required an extension number to proceed further; pressing "0," "*0," "#," etc. had no effect.
About a week later, I received an email saying that part of my order was finally being shipped. I tried contacting Skate America Customer Service again, including a testy email bemoaning the lack of prior contact, and someone finally did return a phone call! She confirmed the partial order in process, and gave me both the phone number and the "magic extension" needed to contact Customer Service. The partial shipment arrived several days later. Unfortunately, the packing slip said there were five pairs of shoes in the box, but only four pairs were shipped. I called Customer Service again, and after explaining that the shipping box could only hold four pairs, she agreed to adjust my order. (Interestingly, the missing pair of shoes was the same style as the pair that was still on backorder.)
A week later, the belt arrived, then nothing more. Around the middle of August -- about 9 weeks after first placing the order -- I called again to find out what the status was. I was told the final two pair of shoes would ship "within a week," and decided to wait. I was gone away on business for two weeks, and when I returned to find no final shipment, I called again. This time I was told that the shoes had been discontinued, and I asked for a refund.
Several days later, I received an email apologizing for the lack of product, and explaining that I would receive a refund "within six to eight weeks." Six to eight weeks! I called back again, and was told that the refund was being expedited. A second call a week later resulted in the same answer: it was being expedited. Finally, a third call brought to light that the refund was in two parts -- the missing pair of shoes, and the final pair -- and that I would receive the refunds in a few days. Finally, I received the refunds last week, about four weeks after I requested one. I firmly believe that if I wasn't so persistent, it would still be 2-3 more weeks before the refund arrived.
To be fair, I have seen online reviews that give the store good marks, and it may be that if an item is in stock the transaction goes smoothly. However, I placed an order for five different shoe styles, none of which were listed as "discontinued," yet four out of five items were on backorder. This, coupled with the lack of an easy way to contact the company, leads me to a "buyer beware" warning.
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
Member: Bruce Wahler
Location: Central MA, USA
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me: Musician, engineer, opinionated soul.
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