Disappointing experience with Scan

[Papa Lazarou]

Hi. I am sorry this first post is a negative one, but I feel the need to vent. I would also appreciate any help you may be able to give to sort this out.

I placed an order on 13 December via the website. All items were showing as in stock at the time of ordering. I made a point of this as I really wanted the parts before Xmas - I am building the system for a friend who was hoping to have it done by Xmas.

I then heard nothing until the day it was due to be dispatched, when I was informed the CPU and memory were now out of stock, despite them being in stock at the time of ordering. ETA's on the parts were given as some time between Xmas and New Year. According to your customer service line, they were due before then but the items would not be shipped until after the New Year as you close over this period. I decided to agree to this on the basis that it would be shipped straight away in the new year.

I've now found out that the parts are still out of stock and that I'm probably going to have to wait until some time next week (assuming the information given was correct, and no doubt this could change again).

As it stands I'm now looking foolish for using Scan to source parts and I have to say I would be unlikely to use you again.

I am not totally naive and I realise that you have to rely on your suppliers and that they can cause delays beyond your control. What I find most disappointing though is that the items were supposed to be in stock at the time of ordering, and therefore this situation should not have arisen!

Thanks for any help you can give. If you need any further information please let me know.

[Philipp]

Papa Lazarou

I am sorry for the problems you have encountered,

I will forward this onto the relevant department we should have a response for you shortly,

Regards

[Steve A]

If you can PM me your invoice number, i will see what the problem is .

Regards

[Papa Lazarou]

Hi thanks for the replies. PM sent.

[alexsim2005]

I have had a similar experience, where I ordered 2 items and 1 was out of stock, then it was in stock, then the other item went out of stock. very frustrating

[Koolpc]

This is the only annoying side to Scan. Sometimes you order an item as it is showing in stock only to find later that it has suddenly gone out of stock?

Scan are an awesome company but you really need to get this problem sorted guys.

Happy New Year to you all.

[Lee24]

I agree, if you order something and it shows its in stock it sould be put aside for that customer as they have payed for it.

[alexsim2005]

Yes, I agree

[Scott]

I'll agree to this one, hopefully some time will be spent this year linking the site to a stock control system

[scrandman]

I agree with all of the above posts. A similar first time experience almost caused me to dump scan altogether. Only seeing the support & positive comments here at Hexus made me reconsider.

A while back, scan said they had no plans to implement a "50 in stock, etc" solution as found at the likes of ebuyer. Fair enough, but it would be nice if they could implement some form of stock control that under normal circumstances allocates stock at the time of confirming an order.

[Papa Lazarou]

I have had a similar experience, where I ordered 2 items and 1 was out of stock, then it was in stock, then the other item went out of stock. very frustrating

Yes it is very frustrating! Steve A has informed me that another item is out of stock now (that was previously in stock). Are there any guarantees that something else in my order won't go out of stock in the meantime as well, seeing as it seems that items aren't allocated until its actually dispatched.

All of this would be more forgiveable if your card wasn't charged until the stock situation was known. As it is if I want to cancel and go somewhere else I've now got to wait for payment to be refunded to my card.

[Russm]

I agree also with the above posts, I've had this happen to me loads of times. Extremely annoying, especially as Scan always takes the money for the order on the due date rather than when it actually despatches.

[wesleyaldred]

Hi All,

I am writing to follow up your posts and feedback through Hexus. I appreciate absolutely everything you have said and indeed there are similarities between the stock issues you experienced with your order and those which other customers on The Word page (Chris Hill) experienced. You can view these comments here:

http://web6.scan.co.uk/theword/ViewFeedback.ASP?ID=422

Indeed, as we said in the posting, we based our plans for improvements / expansions on many customers feedback, including Chris', so I must admit I had anticipated that, until we get the new systems sorted out completely, we might have a few more isolated cases of similar stock allocation issues arise. I did say in the post that the changes are big and will take some time to implement - we're basically in the process of negotiating and buying a massive warehouse which adjoins our building, then fit it out to expand our own warehouse.

Basically the reason why we physically cannot part pick and reserve all out of stock orders at the point of raising them, is purely down to lack of space in the warehouse we currently have. If you can imagine we ship 1000's of parcels every day and stock many 1000's of product lines, and whilst the warehouse is massive it is completely full with the stock and systems we have in place right now. Physically part picking / reserving all orders certainly is the answer but it is going to require almost double the amount of space we currently have to accomodate this new procedure. We are literally in the middle of a big process to facilitate this change, but it's going to take some time and invariably these things sometimes get slightly worse before they get much better. When we have fitted out our new warehouse, we will then have the space to expand and implement our new ideas and procedures, which will mean we can part pick orders, and also offer people a part shipment option when they order online. All of these changes will definitely resolve the isolated (and I must stress that they are isolated) stock allocation issues. It's just going to take us a little time, but please be assured we're working on it as hard as we can and we won't rest until we've got there!!!

We're definitely of the opinion that as a company you should be mature and humble enough to admit when you're wrong, analyse the reasons why, then take proactive measures to prevent those problems from occuring in the future. We have always tried to take constructive criticism on the chin and maintain a sense of integrity and honesty. Some companies might think this is a risky way to work, by admitting your errors, but we believe firmly that consumers are intelligent enough to realise that even the most effective company will have it's flaws it's just whether or not you admit to them and put them out there in the open that makes the difference. Many companies shy away from this kind of honesty but we feel that it's time to make a change!

I hope the information I have given to you all is helpful in some way. Many thanks for your patience and for your time in reading this post. Please rest assured that your feedback has been read understood and is being acted upon in the background.

Wesley & Roxane
Scan Computers

[pranay84]

sorry for first slight negative post.

Seems like I am going to be in this problem aswell with scan.

I ordered a teco 32" tv scan code: LN15968 on Tuesday 12am and item was in stock and still is and to be delivered for hopefully today (friday 5th jan).

I checked on the scan tacking service and item was not even been picked or dispatched yet.

So I gave scan a call and spoke to someone from customer services to find out whats going on.

They said that it has not been picked yet cos we have had so many orders yesterday thats why its been delayed and they would send it out today for delivery on Monday. Couldn't scan send it out for Saturday delivery since it is there mistake.

However why would that affect it if I ordered on Tuesday morning which is 2 days earlier. According to scans policy email they say that you should receive emails if there are any delays. Ive not received one yet and after the phone call there is no progress in the tracking system.

After having the conversation earlier with scan customer services it did not sound convincing from the representative. Feel like it might even get delayed even further.

Could anyone investigate possibly?

Thanks

[d3fiant]

While it is a very annoying aspect of ordering it is good to see that work is underway to address it, thanks for the update

[Blitzen]

This post is PRECISELY WHY no-one should ever consider using anywhere else.
Overclockers springs to mind in the first instance.
I was actually banned from their forums for asking a customer service issue.
Words for OCUK such as 'unprofessional' ... 'little knowledge' ... 'poor training' ... 'disinterested' ... second-rate' spring to mind.

No company gets it right 100% of the time...thats a given fact. Its how problems are dealt with when they arise and whether the company holds up their hands and admits its error.

Well played Scan ..... you deserve all the good praise you receive