Anyone placed an order lately?

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SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Thew2002 said:
I think it's interesting to see how long your PC is in pre-production compared to others however, that is why I find this forum useful. Also it is hardly 'every day' asking for an update, when there is no communication from the day of purchase to working day 16 I think it is quite normal to feel a tad uncomfortable with the lack of information about when the order will be delivered.
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The information is given to you at the outset, the estimate is to expect it within 28 days anthing before that is a bonus.

That's the whole point, you're looking at the estimate build times as expected delivery dates, and that's setting false hope. That's just an estimate and with the current climate, it's best to assume the longest time which is 28 days.
 
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DeletedUser

Guest
Thew2002 said:
If it goes on longer than 28 days do you feel you have the right to feel aggrieved?
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Given the current situation and how worldwide supplies of parts are in short supply, then I would say no
 
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nick_123

Silver Level Poster
SpyderTracks said:
The information is given to you at the outset, the estimate is to expect it within 28 days anthing before that is a bonus.

That's the whole point, you're looking at the estimate build times as expected delivery dates, and that's setting false hope. That's just an estimate and with the current climate, it's best to assume the longest time which is 28 days.
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I’m not sure I agree with that. When you’re dealing with customers, in more or less any industry, it’s about managing expectations around the service you’re providing. PCS can only really affect that via their estimated lead times when ordering the PC (and to a lesser extent the ‘lead time’ tables). I believe those have risen to 15 to 18 days and the average build is now close to 20 days. As an aside I’ve been watching that average myself and it does seem to have crept up quickly over the last week.

I do appreciate that people have to provide some flexibility, particularly with what is going on, and that these figures are merely estimates however I don’t think its right from a customer service perspective for PCS to state one thing (15-18 day lead time) but then ask for nearly 100% in over run time. It may say 28 days in the small print but that’s not the headline figure 95% of people will focus on. It’s a bit naive to assume otherwise in my very humble opinion.

So, to my point. Fully understand the wider situation and personally, it makes no difference to me when my pc arrives. However, if I was going to suggest one thing to PCS it would be to improve comms, particularly in light of the rapid change in average lead times over the last 7-10 days. At the very least, prepare your customers for the worst and over deliver - ie state 28 day lead times and deliver in 21. Just a suggestion if anyone is reading!
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
nick_123 said:
So, to my point. Fully understand the wider situation and personally, it makes no difference to me when my pc arrives. However, if I was going to suggest one thing to PCS it would be to improve comms, particularly in light of the rapid change in average lead times over the last 7-10 days. At the very least, prepare your customers for the worst and over deliver - ie state 28 day lead times and deliver in 21. Just a suggestion if anyone is reading!
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That was put very well, I shall pass that along to the site admins.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
nick_123 said:
I’m not sure I agree with that. When you’re dealing with customers, in more or less any industry, it’s about managing expectations around the service you’re providing. PCS can only really affect that via their estimated lead times when ordering the PC (and to a lesser extent the ‘lead time’ tables). I believe those have risen to 15 to 18 days and the average build is now close to 20 days. As an aside I’ve been watching that average myself and it does seem to have crept up quickly over the last week.

I do appreciate that people have to provide some flexibility, particularly with what is going on, and that these figures are merely estimates however I don’t think its right from a customer service perspective for PCS to state one thing (15-18 day lead time) but then ask for nearly 100% in over run time. It may say 28 days in the small print but that’s not the headline figure 95% of people will focus on. It’s a bit naive to assume otherwise in my very humble opinion.

So, to my point. Fully understand the wider situation and personally, it makes no difference to me when my pc arrives. However, if I was going to suggest one thing to PCS it would be to improve comms, particularly in light of the rapid change in average lead times over the last 7-10 days. At the very least, prepare your customers for the worst and over deliver - ie state 28 day lead times and deliver in 21. Just a suggestion if anyone is reading!
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You make some very good points here and I'm sure that everyone would agree that the managing of expectations is important.

Which is better for managing expectations though; providing no ongoing up-to-date information and just stating a flat 28 days build time, or providing updated build times that turn out to be wrong? Could it be that PCS are creating unreasonable expectations by providing inaccurate information? Would expectations be better met by not providing any ongoing build estimates at all (as you hint at)? :)
 
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nick_123

Silver Level Poster
ubuysa said:
You make some very good points here and I'm sure that everyone would agree that the managing of expectations is important.

Which is better for managing expectations though; providing no ongoing up-to-date information and just stating a flat 28 days build time, or providing updated build times that turn out to be wrong? Could it be that PCS are creating unreasonable expectations by providing inaccurate information? Would expectations be better met by not providing any ongoing build estimates at all (as you hint at)? :)
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Some interesting questions. I would probably make the 28 day 'worst case' a lot more prominent throughout the ordering process. I must confess to not knowing that was a thing until I started visiting this forum - I doubt that I am atpyical here. Further I would address the jump in lead times for those in processing and pre production. I ordered on the 25th May when the lead time was stated as 12-14 working days - does this still apply or am I affected by the new 15-18 day lead time? The fact I don't know is a reflection of the poor comms on PCS's part. I don't mind if I have to wait - I am old enough to remember a time when we did not have the convenience of online ordering - but i also don't think it is unreasonable to expect a more specific update from PCS. It can be generic in nature, but you should never leave your customer guessing as to what is going on as lets face it, most customers are irrational.

Just to address your last question specifically, I do think it is important to have a guide on lead times on the site however they should be set realistically. In fact, as I said previously, it pays to be overly cautious here as as setting unrealistic expectations annoys customers and creates additional work for support staff as people call up to check on order statuses. I have no knowledge of the PCS supply chain or business model so how they go about estimating lead times isn't something I can speak with any authority on. I do appreciate that times are tough and that a lot of variables are outside of PCS's control however one thing they can influence, pretty much at all times, is their message.

As an aside, I have learned more about order fulfillment and global supply chain issues from this forum than I have from PCS. Is that a good thing? It's just an opinion but if it was my business, I would be concerned by that.
 
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Troy2801

Active member
Has anyone ordered on or around the 17th May further than pre-production? yes I know all cases are different etc just curious
 
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raygun57

Member
Thought I would add a little colour to the supply side and demand side discussion.

I am surprised that PCS are getting any stock in at all to be honest! Global supply chains have been massively disrupted whilst demand has gone through the roof. With so many people working from home, people's spare time has increased and they have turned to their favourite leisure activities and hoovered up all online stock available. I am trying to buy a kids mountain bike and most of the mid-range models are completely cleaned out. Read the same for ice makers for gin and tonics, breadmakers, hair clippers etc etc. All supply has gone and it looks some time before supply chains can ramp up stocks to meet demand.

Turning to the laptop market, you have suddenly had all office based staff in the country told to work from home. Big banks and other corporates were stock piling laptops, regardless of spec and make, like toilet paper to ensure that they had enough. Many companies were completely unprepared for working from home with their business continuity plans relying on falling back to an alternate, desktop equipped, office location and they did not have the stocks of laptops required to equip their home workers. NHS Nightingale in London took 4,000 laptops overnight. The department of education has ordered a quarter of million laptops for immediate delivery to give to school children being taught at home in an IT deficient environment. Whilst these are not RTX equipped laptops it sucks capacity out of the whole system from factory time through to (much reduced) shipping capacity. To pretend that companies should be able to operate as normal and magic up stock is a bit silly really.

I have read the thoughtful comments above about PCS comms and would only note that it is such a fast moving environment that you can end up reacting too late to events and making the situation even worse through out of date information. Very difficult for businesses. I am also waiting on a PCS laptop, but it will come when it comes.
 
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nick_123

Silver Level Poster
raygun57 said:
Thought I would add a little colour to the supply side and demand side discussion.

I am surprised that PCS are getting any stock in at all to be honest! Global supply chains have been massively disrupted whilst demand has gone through the roof. With so many people working from home, people's spare time has increased and they have turned to their favourite leisure activities and hoovered up all online stock available. I am trying to buy a kids mountain bike and most of the mid-range models are completely cleaned out. Read the same for ice makers for gin and tonics, breadmakers, hair clippers etc etc. All supply has gone and it looks some time before supply chains can ramp up stocks to meet demand.

Turning to the laptop market, you have suddenly had all office based staff in the country told to work from home. Big banks and other corporates were stock piling laptops, regardless of spec and make, like toilet paper to ensure that they had enough. Many companies were completely unprepared for working from home with their business continuity plans relying on falling back to an alternate, desktop equipped, office location and they did not have the stocks of laptops required to equip their home workers. NHS Nightingale in London took 4,000 laptops overnight. The department of education has ordered a quarter of million laptops for immediate delivery to give to school children being taught at home in an IT deficient environment. Whilst these are not RTX equipped laptops it sucks capacity out of the whole system from factory time through to (much reduced) shipping capacity. To pretend that companies should be able to operate as normal and magic up stock is a bit silly really.

I have read the thoughtful comments above about PCS comms and would only note that it is such a fast moving environment that you can end up reacting too late to events and making the situation even worse through out of date information. Very difficult for businesses. I am also waiting on a PCS laptop, but it will come when it comes.
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Some really interesting and insightful stuff in there, thanks (y)
 
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Troy2801

Active member
Thew2002 said:
Still in pre-production here, went on live chat (who previously told me it would be built last Friday) and they said mine should be built either today or tomorrow... Will tell you if this actually happens!
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thanks mate, I appreciate everything that's going on. When I ordered the predicted date was 12-14 days I know its gone up since then but surely it should be 12-14 days still for when we ordered as that was the lead time at the time of order. will wait to see if you get an update buddy!
 
TomBerry

TomBerry

Bright Spark
Thew2002 said:
in some ways it may be better for you to know it's the next few days, than to be told today and the reality turns out to be next few days!
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Can agree there! Like i’m doubting whether it would actually be started on today but only time will tell :)
 
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