GrafxWerks.com - poor experience, poor customer service

[whats77inaname]

This dude, Ryan....*smh*. Might be a kinda long post, I'll try to condense it. A little back story: my s.o. is always trying to get me stuff for my car, but everything she's purchased thus far has had to go back for some reason or another, so she's been really keen on getting me something and having everything work out. A few months ago she wanted to know what I wanted for my mid-March birthday, so I told her that I wanted some illuminated door sills from GrafxWerks.com.

http://www.grafxwerks.com/shop_detai...pid=E46M3-1412

I spelled out exactly what I wanted so there would be no surprises.

Their site says

Since these sill inserts are custom made to order, please expect shipment within approximately 3-4 weeks of ordering. Additional shipping charge will apply to orders outside Canada/USA, please email us before ordering.

To make sure there was *more* than enough time for this to arrive in time for my birthday, she ordered and paid for them on 1/31/14, giving them more than 6 weeks to get them produced and get them here. She also paid the extra $30 for what they call "Tuesday Express shipping", which, as per their site, means

If you select this option, your order will ship in approximately 6 days. Tracking info provided.

4 weeks passed, and she still didn't receive the package, nor did she receive any notification as to what was going on. She contacted them on 3/7 (@ 5 wks), and Ryan said he was waiting on a final part and was planning to ship late the following week which is when she mentioned it being a gift. On 3/13, he said he would be shipping the sill inserts the next day and included the installation instructions. He said they would be in 2 boxes, but he didn't include tracking info. The next day (3/14) she wrote to inquire about the time frame for deliver and to let him know she was disappointed and had given plenty of time etc. which is when he let her know they were shipped USPS Priority Mail. The box didn't arrive until 3/17, which is after my birthday. We've been waiting on the other box, and once again, she contacted Ryan on 3/18, and he *finally* gave her a tracking number...with a twist. She ran that tracking number, and it showed as being "pre-shipping", which basically means that there was nothing shipped, there was only a label printed. She refreshed it a bit hour later, and the postal service showed it was scanned @ about 4:45 on 3/18. Awesome. So he didn't ship the box until WAY after he said he was shipping. Incidentally, that "$30 express shipping"? The postage on the box she received was for $5 bucks and some change. So he pocketed almost $20 for "express shipping" 2 boxes.

Needless to say, she's *extremely* disappointed, b/c once again, she was trying to do something nice for me and the car and it didn't work out. 3-4 weeks has turned to going on 7 weeks, and they didn't apologize, didn't offer to refund the shipping, nothing. She couldn't even file a Paypal complaint b/c 45 days have passed.

Just wanted to share with my fellow members so that their expectations are set if/when they decide to place an order w/GrafxWerks. Their lack of customer service skills and general lackadaisical attitude regarding this transaction has left a *lot* to be desired.

[GW-Ryan]

Originally Posted by whats77inaname

This dude, Ryan....*smh*. Might be a kinda long post, I'll try to condense it. A little back story: my s.o. is always trying to get me stuff for my car, but everything she's purchased thus far has had to go back for some reason or another, so she's been really keen on getting me something and having everything work out. A few months ago she wanted to know what I wanted for my mid-March birthday, so I told her that I wanted some illuminated door sills from GrafxWerks.com.

http://www.grafxwerks.com/shop_detai...pid=E46M3-1412

I spelled out exactly what I wanted so there would be no surprises.

Their site says


To make sure there was *more* than enough time for this to arrive in time for my birthday, she ordered and paid for them on 1/31/14, giving them more than 6 weeks to get them produced and get them here. She also paid the extra $30 for what they call "Tuesday Express shipping", which, as per their site, means


4 weeks passed, and she still didn't receive the package, nor did she receive any notification as to what was going on. She contacted them on 3/7 (@ 5 wks), and Ryan said he was waiting on a final part and was planning to ship late the following week which is when she mentioned it being a gift. On 3/13, he said he would be shipping the sill inserts the next day and included the installation instructions. He said they would be in 2 boxes, but he didn't include tracking info. The next day (3/14) she wrote to inquire about the time frame for deliver and to let him know she was disappointed and had given plenty of time etc. which is when he let her know they were shipped USPS Priority Mail. The box didn't arrive until 3/17, which is after my birthday. We've been waiting on the other box, and once again, she contacted Ryan on 3/18, and he *finally* gave her a tracking number...with a twist. She ran that tracking number, and it showed as being "pre-shipping", which basically means that there was nothing shipped, there was only a label printed. She refreshed it a bit hour later, and the postal service showed it was scanned @ about 4:45 on 3/18. Awesome. So he didn't ship the box until WAY after he said he was shipping. Incidentally, that "$30 express shipping"? The postage on the box she received was for $5 bucks and some change. So he pocketed almost $20 for "express shipping" 2 boxes.

Needless to say, she's *extremely* disappointed, b/c once again, she was trying to do something nice for me and the car and it didn't work out. 3-4 weeks has turned to going on 7 weeks, and they didn't apologize, didn't offer to refund the shipping, nothing. She couldn't even file a Paypal complaint b/c 45 days have passed.

Just wanted to share with my fellow members so that their expectations are set if/when they decide to place an order w/GrafxWerks. Their lack of customer service skills and general lackadaisical attitude regarding this transaction has left a *lot* to be desired.

I'm sorry the transaction was not perfect. I admit that the raw materials I ordered to build the sill inserts for you took longer than they should have, and I did apologize to your SO for the delay. I apologize to you as well, as it is clear by your post that you were very excited to receive the product.

The shipping cost in your case reflected shipping 2 packages via Priority Mail to Texas, plus the cost of me paying a company to transport the product from Canada across the US border to be mailed into the US Postal Service network. This is a much more economical (yet still not free) method that I use rather than UPS, FedEx or Canada Post to keep postage costs as reasonable as possible. This is the reason for the difference between the "cost of the stamp" and the shipping fee I charge.

I could not ship both packages on the same day due to the value of the item. There is a limit of $200 per package when crossing the border from Canada to USA, or else you would have had to pay customs duty. This is the reason for the delay between the two packages, and also the reason why the date that the postage was printed and the date that it was scanned into the US Postal Service system did not match.

[EDIT] I did provide one of the tracking numbers via the Order Status feature on our website as soon as the product shipped. Your SO would have received an email to confirm that the order shipped, and/or she would have seen the tracking number by pulling up her order status on our website. The second tracking number I had to provide separately since our system only supports one tracking number. [/EDIT]

I hope that in the end you are happy with the product, and again I'm sorry for the delay.

Kind regards,

- Ryan
GrafxWerks

EMAIL THREAD

On Thu, Mar 14, 2014 at 2:50 PM, Ryan [GrafxWerks] wrote:

They are shipped by USPS Priority Mail. Usually delivered in 3 business days.

Regards,

- Ryan

*************************************************

From: <whats77inaname's SO>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 12:25 PM
To: Ryan [GrafxWerks]
Subject: Re: Order Confirmation

Ryan,
What is the time frame for delivery? I remember having to pay extra for some sort of faster shipping. Given that your website says, "Since these sill inserts are custom made to order, please expect shipment within approximately 3-4 weeks of ordering", I ordered these six weeks ago to make sure you had plenty of lead time so that they would be here in time. I am disappointed they are not going to make it on time for his birthday... he always gives me a list and he knows I chose the most expensive item he has been wanting for quite a while so it isn't a big surprise but I still won't have anything to give him this weekend. Thanks though for sending the update.

*************************************************

On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 2:05 PM, Ryan [GrafxWerks] wrote:
Hi <whats77inaname's SO>,

Shipping the sill inserts tomorrow, installation instructions are attached.

Thanks for your patience, I hope your husband enjoys them!

Cheers,

- Ryan

PS: It is shipping in 2 separate packages so don’t be alarmed 

*************************************************

From: <whats77inaname's SO>
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 5:52 PM
To: Ryan [GrafxWerks]
Subject: Re: Order Confirmation

Ryan,
Thanks for the update!
I got them for my husband's birthday next Sunday but he already knows what is coming. We both look forward to seeing them.
Thanks again!

*************************************************

On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 4:47 PM, Ryan [GrafxWerks] wrote:
Hi <whats77inaname's SO>

Sorry for the delay, waiting on a final part before shipment. I’m hoping to ship these late next week.

Cheers,

- Ryan

*************************************************

From: <whats77inaname's SO>
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 5:15 PM
To: Ryan [GrafxWerks]
Subject: Re: Order Confirmation

Can you please send me a status update for this order? I see the site still lists as not shipped and I would just like to get an idea of when I should expect shipment. Thank you!

[Bavarian Beast]

The company shouldn't advertise something they can't deliver. Not the customers' issue if the company has a supply chain issue. Compensation is in order. Especially on the shipping. Hope is not a solid business practice.

[tinman831]

Also to add, if you pay by PayPal and have an issue, as you get closer to the deadline just open a dispute. Don't wait till past that time.

[whats77inaname]

Thanks for the support, gents. A dispute wasn't open b/c my SO was trying to be nice.