Circleville Signs
New Member
Had one of the worst vendor experiences of my life today. I'm not one to just throw a vendor under the bus, but this was over the top ridiculous. Be aware. The way this was handled at the branch level is a joke. Here is the email that I just sent to the CEO of the company.
Mr. Hummert,
My name is Gary LeMaster, and I own Circleville Sign and Graphics in Circleville, Ohio. Our main Grimco hub is Columbus, Ohio. Today I had one of the worst vendor experiences that I have ever encountered with your company.
Let me preface this by saying that I realize we are not your largest customer. At one point I believe we were spending close to $20k/year with you, however about 18 months ago we had some terrible customer service and I took much of our business to Fellers and Tubelite. Over the past 6 months I have begun using Grimco again for substrate, and some vinyl products.
Today, however, not only makes me not want to ever use your company again, but to do everything in my power to make sure no one else does either.
I placed a relatively small order last week for a few sheets of coro, and some magnetic material. No big deal - it will be on the Friday delivery. Well, Friday rolls around, and by 4:30 I still haven't seen a driver, even though I was told that someone would DEFINITELY be there no later than 4:30. I get a call from your courier dispatch at about 4:45 stating that they were at least 30 minutes out. Obviously, this wasn't acceptable, so we made arrangements for a driver to come this morning instead (even though this puts me 2 days behind on my project). The driver was to be here at 9:30. I came in early to make sure that we didn't miss each other. At 10:45 I finally called the Columbus branch, relatively frustrated that I still had not received my product. I quickly get a call from the dispatcher saying that the driver has been sitting in my parking lot since 9:30am. Say what? No - he hasn't. I got here at 9:15, turned on all the lights, unlocked all the doors. He wasn't here and has never tried to come in. 30 seconds later he strides in to the shop as if it's no care in the world that he has tried to BS both myself and his boss. At this point, he explains to me WHILE I AM ON THE PHONE WITH A CLIENT, that I will need to help him carry things in. At this point, my blood begins to boil. I tell him that isn't going to happen, that it is NOT "no big deal" that he is over 3 days late with my product, and that he can damn well carry the stuff in himself. He glares at me, proceeds to go get the product, and that's when the fun begins.
He comes back in and begins yelling at me, telling me that "no one speaks to me that way!". At this point, I tell him forcefully, but calmly to get out of my shop. He refuses and continues to get louder. I tell him again to "get out of my shop, before I throw you out". This was said rather loudly. At this point, your courier tells me that he is calling 911, because I threatened him. He STILL refuses to leave my shop. I turn my back and he finally leaves, but refuses to leave my property. It takes me calling both the Columbus office and the courier dispatch to get him off of my property.
After he finally leaves I was able to speak with Nick in Columbus. To Nick's credit he remained calm, and that kept me calmer than I would normally be. I explained to him that this was wholly unacceptable and that I expected immediate action, and that something be done to fix this and compensate me for the time I was out, the intense trouble and stress the incident caused, etc. He assured me that I would be taken care of and the situation would be taken care of as well.
15 minutes ago I got a call from one of your salespeople in Columbus. She was very nice. HOWEVER, I was given the obligatory "I'm sorry", and nothing more. It wasn't even offered to me that I would have the delivery fee I was charged refunded. NOTHING.
At this point, I expect much more that THAT, and am insulted that any reasonable person believes that this is sufficient. As I told your employees in Columbus, the way this is handled will determine whether I even spend another dime with Grimco.
Thank you, and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Gary LeMaster
Circleville Sign and Graphics
Mr. Hummert,
My name is Gary LeMaster, and I own Circleville Sign and Graphics in Circleville, Ohio. Our main Grimco hub is Columbus, Ohio. Today I had one of the worst vendor experiences that I have ever encountered with your company.
Let me preface this by saying that I realize we are not your largest customer. At one point I believe we were spending close to $20k/year with you, however about 18 months ago we had some terrible customer service and I took much of our business to Fellers and Tubelite. Over the past 6 months I have begun using Grimco again for substrate, and some vinyl products.
Today, however, not only makes me not want to ever use your company again, but to do everything in my power to make sure no one else does either.
I placed a relatively small order last week for a few sheets of coro, and some magnetic material. No big deal - it will be on the Friday delivery. Well, Friday rolls around, and by 4:30 I still haven't seen a driver, even though I was told that someone would DEFINITELY be there no later than 4:30. I get a call from your courier dispatch at about 4:45 stating that they were at least 30 minutes out. Obviously, this wasn't acceptable, so we made arrangements for a driver to come this morning instead (even though this puts me 2 days behind on my project). The driver was to be here at 9:30. I came in early to make sure that we didn't miss each other. At 10:45 I finally called the Columbus branch, relatively frustrated that I still had not received my product. I quickly get a call from the dispatcher saying that the driver has been sitting in my parking lot since 9:30am. Say what? No - he hasn't. I got here at 9:15, turned on all the lights, unlocked all the doors. He wasn't here and has never tried to come in. 30 seconds later he strides in to the shop as if it's no care in the world that he has tried to BS both myself and his boss. At this point, he explains to me WHILE I AM ON THE PHONE WITH A CLIENT, that I will need to help him carry things in. At this point, my blood begins to boil. I tell him that isn't going to happen, that it is NOT "no big deal" that he is over 3 days late with my product, and that he can damn well carry the stuff in himself. He glares at me, proceeds to go get the product, and that's when the fun begins.
He comes back in and begins yelling at me, telling me that "no one speaks to me that way!". At this point, I tell him forcefully, but calmly to get out of my shop. He refuses and continues to get louder. I tell him again to "get out of my shop, before I throw you out". This was said rather loudly. At this point, your courier tells me that he is calling 911, because I threatened him. He STILL refuses to leave my shop. I turn my back and he finally leaves, but refuses to leave my property. It takes me calling both the Columbus office and the courier dispatch to get him off of my property.
After he finally leaves I was able to speak with Nick in Columbus. To Nick's credit he remained calm, and that kept me calmer than I would normally be. I explained to him that this was wholly unacceptable and that I expected immediate action, and that something be done to fix this and compensate me for the time I was out, the intense trouble and stress the incident caused, etc. He assured me that I would be taken care of and the situation would be taken care of as well.
15 minutes ago I got a call from one of your salespeople in Columbus. She was very nice. HOWEVER, I was given the obligatory "I'm sorry", and nothing more. It wasn't even offered to me that I would have the delivery fee I was charged refunded. NOTHING.
At this point, I expect much more that THAT, and am insulted that any reasonable person believes that this is sufficient. As I told your employees in Columbus, the way this is handled will determine whether I even spend another dime with Grimco.
Thank you, and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Gary LeMaster
Circleville Sign and Graphics
