• The rules for The Exchange can be found here. Please read and follow them. Stop using Paypal Friends & Family and follow our best practices to prevent getting ripped off or having a bad deal.

BladeHQ makes it right.

blueboost

blueboost

Feedback: 7 / 0 / 0
Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
115
Mark, I appreciate you reaching out to apologize.

Not only did the bladeHQ CEO personally reach out, he went above, beyond, and backwards to make things right. I would not want something that has been resolved to sit out in the open for eternity and besmirch this good man's business. They have offered solutions, discounts and more than satisfactory service. One rude employee is no reason to condemn a business (Tony, I hope youre on bathroom cleaning duty for the next 6 months). I have told Mark that I want super fast shipping from my knife dealer. We are both on the same page and he assured me steps are being taken to make sure that happens.
 
Last edited:
This IS concerning, as in the past (though we are talking quite distant past) had very good experiences .... many where the folks there went out of their way to provide stellar service. However, this ... combined with a really bad feedback in June is NOT good.
 
I can understand the OP's frustration and I would undoubtedly feel the same way if I had the same experience. However, all of my transactions with them have gone well and they will continue to be one of my go-to dealers.
 
Hi everyone,

Thank you to those who notified me about this thread. I am shocked that this happened to you blueboost blueboost . Others have mentioned the bad feedback we had received, and I wanted to say that we have taken steps to remedy the service problems. Including hiring 6 new customer service representatives and a new CS manager. Several of those people have started working for us now, but a few of them will start next week. Our goal is to make sure we take care of customers as quickly as possible so that there aren't wait times to get a hold of us. I've not heard any complaints about Tony before, but if you could give me some more information about this order, I want to look into how he treated you immediately. It's not at all appropriate. I will not put up with our CS reps hanging up on customers. blueboost blueboost can you please DM me your order number? I will also send you a DM to try and help with your specific order. I want to make sure you get all of your money back. How you were treated is inexcusable. I totally understand if you don't want to give us another chance again.

Just to clarify, since this is a public forum. When the rep mentioned the holidays he probably meant that our order fulfillment department was closed on Monday the 2nd of Sept for Labor Day. There is no excuse for how you were treated though. I will do everything I can to make it right.

Mark
 
Back in August. I placed an order over the phone before going on vacation and was told it would be shipped out for sure that day if I upgrade to 2 day shipping iirc so I would have it in time. I confirmed this with the gentleman who was assisting me , well before placing the order. He stated he would make sure of this himself.

After not receiving shipping info I called the next day and was told it never shipped. Not sure if it was out of stock or they simply didn't get it done. I can't remember.

So I asked for a refund and $$ were returned to my card a few days later.

I will still use bhq for some items but that was less than pleasant .

I mention this because I want bhq to succeed and I've recommended them for years. I'd rather that not change.
 
The only problem I’ve had with bladehq is that the shipping is slooooow. They sit on shit for days before it even leaves their warehouse. I never see that happen with other vendors.

They do have nice stuff and fair prices, but that delayed shipping is for the birds. :thumbsdown:
 
BladeHQ said:
Hi everyone,

Thank you to those who notified me about this thread. I am shocked that this happened to you blueboost blueboost . Others have mentioned the bad feedback we had received, and I wanted to say that we have taken steps to remedy the service problems. Including hiring 6 new customer service representatives and a new CS manager. Several of those people have started working for us now, but a few of them will start next week. Our goal is to make sure we take care of customers as quickly as possible so that there aren't wait times to get a hold of us. I've not heard any complaints about Tony before, but if you could give me some more information about this order, I want to look into how he treated you immediately. It's not at all appropriate. I will not put up with our CS reps hanging up on customers. blueboost blueboost can you please DM me your order number? I will also send you a DM to try and help with your specific order. I want to make sure you get all of your money back. How you were treated is inexcusable. I totally understand if you don't want to give us another chance again.

Just to clarify, since this is a public forum. When the rep mentioned the holidays he probably meant that our order fulfillment department was closed on Monday the 2nd of Sept for Labor Day. There is no excuse for how you were treated though. I will do everything I can to make it right.

Mark
Click to expand...
It sounds like your issue is in order fulfillment. What are you doing to fix that problem?
 
BladeHQ has 3 or 4 threads like this now, specifically about bad experiences with CS reps. Hopefully changing the manager will fix that.

The slow shipping has never bothered me but I know they get hit on it often, as they should if you are expecting a package within a few days because you chose 2-day ship, but they wait 3 days to ship it.

I still like BHQ, but they are no longer my initial online retailer for knife stuff and I search other places first. Hopefully, this poor CS and shipping timeliness is addressed and they go back to what made them successful originally. I like their website and the effort they put into their videos and want to support that entertainment aspect, but the CS problems isn't confidence inspiring. I'm going through something similar with a brand's warranty and I will probably not be a customer of theirs any longer when/if I get a response and my knife back.

The OP hit on the head, it is very frustrating when a hobby adds to the stress instead adds to the fun.
 
They used to be one of my first line places, but I've stopped ordering from them for a host of reason.

Slow shipping, shipping large and heavier orders, in bubble padded envelopes instead of boxes, and often using brand new Priority Mail envelopes taken from the Post Office, as packing material inside other packages, which just runs up the costs of postage for everyone else, but the straw that broke the camels back, is refusing to sell Autos and Balisong to me, because they think they are illegal in my state, even after being shown they aren't.
 
cf1969 said:
I will also add I only use BladeHQ BladeHQ last due to how long it takes them to ship. I've personally never had a CS issue with them.
Click to expand...
This. BladeHQ BladeHQ - Mark, any chance you could respond to this, or provide some insights on what's causing the shipping delays?

Specifically, there is a sizable delay - often more than 24 hours - between when I get a shipment notification from BladeHQ, and when USPS actually scans the shipment. Most recently, I placed an order 10pm on August 15th, got a shipment notification email 3pm on the 16th, but the corresponding USPS tracking number shows the package acceptance scan at 5pm on the 17th.

I know USPS isn't the fastest at processing packaging, but I'm regularly (read: almost always) seeing at least a day's delay between a label being generated, and USPS receiving the shipment - sometimes 2 days. To me as a customer, I'm interpreting this as your fulfillment guys printing the shipping label pretty quickly, but taking a day or more to actually box up the knife and get it to USPS.

That's not the end of the world, of course, but when GPKnives, DLT, and KnifeCenter all get my packages into the postal system a day faster (e.g., if they shipped on Aug 16th, it would be scanned by the post office the afternoon of the 16th), I do tend to give my business to them. Especially given that your website has the best filtering features, I quite often use you to research what knife to get, but then actually place my order elsewhere, to get it 1-2 days faster.

Please don't read this as a complaint - that's not the intent. I just wanted to make sure you're aware that, at least amongst some customers, such as me and D Dave from State Farm , the shipping delay is actually costing you some business. I'm not going to try to quantify how much, but I would be interested in knowing more about what's causing the delays (e.g., fulfillment process, local USPS being slow, etc.), and if BladeHQ is considering any options to expedite things going forward.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
tyyreaun said:
This. BladeHQ BladeHQ - Mark, any chance you could respond to this, or provide some insights on what's causing the shipping delays?

Specifically, there is a sizable delay - often more than 24 hours - between when I get a shipment notification from BladeHQ, and when USPS actually scans the shipment. Most recently, I placed an order 10pm on August 15th, got a shipment notification email 3pm on the 16th, but the corresponding USPS tracking number shows the package acceptance scan at 5pm on the 17th.

I know USPS isn't the fastest at processing packaging, but I'm regularly (read: almost always) seeing at least a day's delay between a label being generated, and USPS receiving the shipment - sometimes 2 days. To me as a customer, I'm interpreting this as your fulfillment guys printing the shipping label pretty quickly, but taking a day or more to actually box up the knife and get it to USPS.

That's not the end of the world, of course, but when GPKnives, DLT, and KnifeCenter all get my packages into the postal system a day faster (e.g., if they shipped on Aug 16th, it would be scanned by the post office the afternoon of the 16th), I do tend to give my business to them. Especially given that your website has the best filtering features, I quite often use you to research what knife to get, but then actually place my order elsewhere, to get it 1-2 days faster.

Please don't read this as a complaint - that's not the intent. I just wanted to make sure you're aware that, at least amongst some customers, such as me and D Dave from State Farm , the shipping delay is actually costing you some business. I'm not going to try to quantify how much, but I would be interested in knowing more about what's causing the delays (e.g., fulfillment process, local USPS being slow, etc.), and if BladeHQ is considering any options to expedite things going forward.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Add me to this list. Last package took 8 days to get to me, one was a holiday though.
 
Some basic analytics ought to highlight problems that need immediate attention. Date/time ordered, date/time item picked from inventory for order, date/time package leaves BladeHQ, date of delivery, and the time lapse between each versus service goals.

In this day and age picking in-stock items more than 12 hrs from time of order is lax. Shipping from loading dock in more than 24 hours is lax. Delivery more than four days to most locations is not competitive.

Just some ideas. I too have bought from BladeHQ and no problems but it did take a couple of days longer than most from time of order to mailbox. The fulfillment area is often not a glorious part of organization, yet it is rubber meeting the road for customer expectations. The first customer experience is the order process. Then the fulfillment process. Then the product hands on experience. Then the customer support. Fulfillment deserves just as much emphasis as collecting the money.
 
tyyreaun tyyreaun Yeah, I normally wouldn't be this open about our business processes but I think it's been enough of a problem that I want to let you all know what's going on.

Earlier this year, our operations manager decided to get orders shipped out even faster, we would add an order fulfillment swing shift. It's an extra shift that comes in after USPS picks up the mail for the day and packs orders. That's the reason that sometimes the order label is generated the day before USPS receives the package. We are not printing labels and then waiting to put the knives into boxes. Although, I totally can see how it would look like that. Typically USPS comes to pick up at our place around 3 pm (Mon-Sat). Also adding to the confusion, we have noticed that our local USPS often doesn't scan packages reliably. Sometimes the tracking number doesn't tell the whole story.

Sometimes the orders get flagged for fraud. Those orders need to be manually reviewed, and that typically slows things down a lot. We are working on fixing this system so it doesn't flag so many orders while also not allowing fraudulent orders to get through.

Additionally, we have had a goal to get orders shipped out within 24 hours but the last couple of months we have been increasingly unable to meet that goal. We have tried to hire employees to fix the problem, but we had a few bad hires that ended up leaving the company very quickly. I am committed to getting us back to shipping out our orders on the same day that the order is placed. Just this week we have hired several more order fulfillment employees, and that should make a difference. I am in the office today and we are currently shipping out orders that were placed today. I am very concerned about how long it is taking to get packages out, and we are making that a focus right now.

As to how long the orders are taking to get to everyone, we are experimenting with FedEx two-day shipping in order to try and fix that. We are working with them to bring costs down and to try to ship the bulk of our products out two-day. Now that FedEx counts Saturdays, this could potentially be a viable option for us going forward.

Mark
 
Well I am glad you're trying to sort this. I'm a BHQ fan myself. In Canada so the shipping is pretty well always slow but if the stuff can get out the door faster that will help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top