Disappointing...

[Selkie]

Let me preface this by stating that I've been a customer of Title9 Sports since back in the day. You remember, when the company primarily sold work out gear and was the "go to" place for decent athletic bras?

Over the last few years, I've noticed that their customer service has gone down the tubes. My biggest beef was the company's inability to manage its inventory or anticipate demand. Things are sold out quickly and regardless, the company still shows these sold-out items in its catalog....

Earlier this month, I ordered two items from them. To my surprise, both items were in stock and I was happy to see the shipping notification. That was TWO WEEKS ago (USPS). It does not take two weeks for the USPS to ship a package from California to Arlington, VA, even if it comes "economy class." I checked the package tracking and it's apparently been in Capitol Heights, MD since the 22nd. So yesterday, I sent Title9 an email, asking them to find out what's going on (I paid for shipping/handling and to be honest, I have neither the time nor inclination to deal w/USPS personnel). NO RESPONSE TO MY EMAIL. No acknowledgement, nothing. I'm disappointed and ticked off.

I won't order from that company again, even though I really like a lot of their stuff (the Title Nine brand items).

Gives me a greater appreciation of TE's exceptional customer service.

[Tri Girl]

That is disappointing!

TE really does an amazing job, and I've been happy with every transaction I've had here (more than happy).

I think that in this economic climate, business can't afford to be sub-par when it comes to quality or service. They won't survive.

[Gowest]

I too have been frustrated with out of stock items at title nine - and have essentially stopped ordering from them.

I have used athleta, te and cbike (chicagobike) recently with good results. I emailed cbike in the spring as I was getting ready to purchase a decent amount of stuff (new helmet, some bibs and bar tape) I asked if they had any specials coming up of available and someone emailed me back the next morning with a 20 or 30% off code (can't remember which) that I could not have found otherwise. Love that level of customer service.

[beccaB]

I've ordered a lot from Title 9, and have also noticed a lot of items not available or backordered. I'm not in a position to be able to tie up my rare money in a backorder.I found another source for some of the same things I get from Title 9- I like Sierra Trading Post so much, I must be a really good customer because they gave me a gift subscription to Backpacker magazine. Once in a while they have some of the Moving Comfort bras and others in their catalog in certain sizes. I've bought them for my daughter and myself and not had a problem with them at all.

[OakLeaf]

I don't think you can blame the shipper for the Post Office's scr*wup...

If it is a scr*wup. With FedEx to some extent and especially with UPS, you get only the delivery time you pay for, regardless of the actual transit time. Parcels will sit in UPS's warehouse for up to a week, to be delivered on the scheduled day, if you've only paid for ground shipping. I'm not aware of USPS doing that, but companies tend to copy what works for each other's bottom line.

[Selkie]

Oak -- I understand that but as I said, Title Nine did not even respond to my email (poor customer service). I've never, ever, ever experienced the USPS sitting on a package for more than a week, even something sent parcel post. Maybe the item is lost; however, Title Nine should have the decency to respond to my inquiry and if it's a good company, contact the shipper to initiate an investigation.

Any old how, this was simply the last straw, as my experiences with Title Nine have been increasingly unsatisfactory.

[ny biker]

I don't think you can blame the shipper for the Post Office's scr*wup...

If it is a scr*wup. With FedEx to some extent and especially with UPS, you get only the delivery time you pay for, regardless of the actual transit time. Parcels will sit in UPS's warehouse for up to a week, to be delivered on the scheduled day, if you've only paid for ground shipping. I'm not aware of USPS doing that, but companies tend to copy what works for each other's bottom line.

There is a storage cost for leaving packages sitting around, though, so I would think it makes sense to just deliver them. Especially for the Postal Service since they're going to your house anyway. With Fed Ex and UPS I understand, since they have to make a special trip.

I had a similar problem with something I ordered from Overstock.com a couple of months ago. The shipping information said it was nearby yet I wasn't receiving it. In my case, overstock screwed up and put the wrong address label on it, so it went to Florida instead of my house. The very nice woman in Florida who received it then put it in a new envelope and mailed it to me (luckily it was a small, lightweight mp3 cover). I called overstock and gave them what-for, but they didn't seem to care all that much.

[Zen]

I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't ordered from T9 lately but prefer(red) them because they seem to have a better variety than Athleta.

[Irulan]

I was disappointed to find some stuff out of stock in the catalog that just arrived...

I find it is ALWAY better to call an 800 than to email customer service. Some companies are just slow, period. Performance bike is like that, you can forget getting your order before 3-5 weeks are over.

[ny biker]

I used to work in marketing for direct mail companies. Back in the day, any good company knew that service was important and faster delivery was always better, so they processed orders and got them out the door as quickly as possible, often in only one day. Lately I'm noticing that many companies can take up to a week just to get your order out of the warehouse. It drives me crazy.

[tulip]

Last week, I ordered new shorts from TE on Monday and they were delivered Wednesday. I've ordered from TE only a handful of times because I just don't buy that much stuff, period, but every time has been great. I even returned something more than a month after I got it (I went out of the country before I could return it) and they were terrific.

[NbyNW]

I've never, ever, ever experienced the USPS sitting on a package for more than a week, even something sent parcel post.

It happens. I once sent baseball tickets to a friend via Parcel Post, a week ahead of time. Should have taken 3 days, right? It took 12 days.

Have you tried calling Title 9? Maybe your email got lost in the server. I've had that happen, too.

[Selkie]

This insults my intelligence.... I don't need suggestions on how to handle this. I'm venting, ok? If you're a Title Nine fan, good for you. I hope you continue to have positive shopping experiences with them.

For chrissake, I work full-time and I don't have the time to call them, wait around while they put me on hold, etc.

Let's face it, given the company's recent track record of crappy customer service, it's more likely that my email will go unanswered and is not lost in the ethernet (I did not get a delivery failure notice, and the cc that I sent to myself was delivered).

Enough said.

[tulip]

Selkie, based on the number of posts you have under your belt at TE, I am surprised by your pretty hostile response. You should know by now that these forums often result in suggestions. People here are pretty damn helpful. If that's a problem for you, that's really sad, for you.

Frankly, I find your response extremely insulting to those of us who responded to your first post. Trust me, I will not respond to your future posts.

-tulip

[NbyNW]

I didn't mean to insult your intelligence and apologize if it sounded that way.

I was merely suggesting that sometimes it helps to follow up via a different mode of communication. IMHO it helps to get a real live person on the phone. Even if it means I have to multi-task while on hold.

Just because you didn't get a delivery failure notification doesn't mean your email didn't get lost.

I'm not trying to defend or apologize for T9 here; but it seems like you're willing to trash their reputation over a mistake made by USPS. And as an equal opportunity shopper, I feel that the more options there are out there, the better.