Stock level enquiry functionality

[toonarama]

Hello there

It strikes me that a number of the complaints within the forum relate to delays in processing orders and I imagine that many of these are caused by problems in getting stock from suppliers.

Of course, this is an unavoidable and inherent problem within your business model which allows users to build their own machines from an extensive list of parts.

However I think it would be a great help would be if a customer could access a webpage that allowed them to see what current stock levels/expected supply dates were for individual parts.

I appreciate that offering such a facility may be technically difficult/impossible (especially because to be useful it would need to be up-to-date) and potentially costly however the costs could be outweighed by the benefits:

a) increased customer satisfaction therefore more likely to re-use and less likely to cancel order

b) customer may well be willing to adjust specification to use items which are in stock which again would reduce the risks of cancelled orders and customer dissatisfaction

c) reduced traffic for telephone support

Just a thought, thanks

Mick

 

[Robbie]

Some companies don't like showing stock levels as it give them flexability. Plus it may cause people to moan even more if it says the parts are in stock when they arent or if they need to use the last of the stock due to one being faulty etc even though it's showing as stock available.

 

[Tez77]

1536MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX580
1536MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX580 whay thanks m8 did not no u cared

 

[Phoenix]

An interesting idea but i don't think it would be very feasible.

 

[Tom DWC]

Nice idea but I can't see it being very practical either. The amount of time it would take to implement could just as well be used elsewhere.

At the end of the day when you order from PCS the T&C do make it clear that all delivery dates are estimated, and there's always the fast track option for a premium.

When it comes to suppliers and delivery couriers, a company is reliant upon them, too.

 

[Maestro]

Please all, dont forget that we have shipped over 60,000 computers to date. The forum is here for all customers to express opinions wether good or bad. However it is human nature that people with a gripe are more likely to post than someone who doesnt have an issue. Therefore it may seem that there is an issue with stock problems.

This is simply not the case. All companies have issues with stock, even apple and dell. Just lately there has been a big issue with stock availability caused by the Sandy Bridge issue, which affected every supplier, manufacturer on the planet. Not only did it affect sandy bridge products but all other intel lines as intel had run down stocks of the older generations in anticipation of the migration to sandy bridge. When the sandy bridge issue then came to light there was amassive surge in demand for the older stock that simply wasnt available.

This is why we do state in the terms that when ordering you do agree to provide us with 30 days to fulfill your order. This is normal and most companies such as ourselves have such an agreement in place. The estimated lead time given on our website is the actual average lead time for all computers dispatched over the last two months.

The number of orders that go over our estimated lead time is very small compared to the number of shipments we make. The number of shipments that go over the 30 day limit is way less than 1%.

It is human nature to be impatient. We understand this and dont have a problem with it. Anyone spending a large amount of their hard earned cash on a pc wants it as quickly as possible. But, please remember at the end of the day, you have ordered a custom built pc / laptop and been given an ESTIMATED LEAD TIME. This means that we will do our best to deliver within this timeframe but it is not Guaranteed, and deliveries may be quicker or longer than this. We are building your dream machine and will not rush it.

Most people at PC Specialist are very capable builders and testers of high quality pc systems. If we have to employ too many of them answering tracking calls, emails and threads then we cannot build as many systems and you are indirectly delaying delivery of your pc.

Sit back, enjoy the anticipation and we will do the rest.