Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.
They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track record that's second to none."
"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery service."
Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their promises (pun intended)?
Cheers, DaveyOz
[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled", but hey ho.
[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.
"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery service."
so where's the improvement then?
What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'
It's like the dreaded words 'new and improved recipie' on one of your regular groceries, what they mean is, 'we've sourced one of the ingredients for a penny a tonne cheaper in Pakistan, so now we're using this inferior s**te instead of the other inferior s**te you are used to, by the way, it tastes f*ck all like it used to'
Oh I wouldn't have called the delivery service from RS "crappy". On more than one occasion I've had envelopes couriered from them containing single IC's. Almost always arriving early next morning. All at no cost (apart from the premium on their catalog prices). Occasionally I've received two packages, each containing part of the same order, arriving on the same delivery. Over the top and fast: yes, but not crappy. It will be interesting to see how PF square up.
Indeed. These days "improved" is just another word for cheaper - unless it is used as a reason for putting the price up.
However, companies seem to like to have accounts with them for buying one-offs, modelshop/prototype manufacture, etc. and I've worked for companies who insist we ordered from RS.
I don't imagine many companies would be using them as a supplier for a production line though. Certainly, when I worked for a computer manufacturer some 15 years ago, development staff ordered their bits from RS, but when products were handed over to the production line, the production line buyer would source direct from the manufacturers or distributors.
Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves. It's a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google the numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!
S
Anyone remember Dave Plummer, RS Midlands area rep (or one of). I'd go through the catalogue noting any crazy prices and be waiting for him, and he expected it :) In would walk Dave to be greeted with "O for f*ck sake, it's the Real Shit rep" He loved it ;) I'd mention one item then he'd spend 30 mins telling us why the RS version commands such a price. Great was our Dave, ex RAF.
I've always found PF fine. In fact most of them are fine, certainly the ones we get lots of via, esp. City Link. My least favoured are Interlink/DPD
Couriers just seem to eb one of those things which who ever you pick there are always some disgruntled customers. Even HDN seem to have got their act together lately. Possibly because we seem to get a proper van nowadays rather than someone running around with parcels in the back of their car (and leaving said car parked with the engine running whilst they toddle off to deliver a parcel.....)
But then PF is good for me as we live opposite the village post office, which is also the local delivery office. PF leave their parcels there rather than back at their depot, so handy for me :-)
I like Rapid except for one thing - their website loses your shopping basket if you forget to save it. They've lost far more orders from me due to this than they've actually had from me. I even emailed them about it once, but they just didn't get it.
I do use Farnell occasionally. I used to order electronic ballasts from them, but their range dwindled to almost nothing a few years ago. They were good value whilst they were on clearence though.
I've used them for hard-to-find things. An example which springs to mind was a motorised 100k dual potentiometer for something I was making.
Yep, it's happened a few times. Hula hoops was the most noticable for me, long bin an affoficioinado of their stuff, only to find it was the utterest crap after it had been 'improved'
It wouldn't be so bad on this shipping thing, if the companies had some sort of cohesive and repeatable policy. Farnell are the worst for this. One day, you can order half a dozen transistors, and they will come, as you would expect them to, the next day, in a Jiffy bag, by Royal Mail. You can then order the same half a dozen transistors a day later, and they will come in a box the size of your head, claiming to weigh half a kilo, and delivered by UPS at some totally variable and unpredictable time between 8:30am, and 6pm. And they insist on having a signature, and won't leave the parcel behind the bin or round the back, as my local friendly postie knows to do, if I'm not in. Today, I ordered five 8 pin chips from RS. And how are they coming ? By DHL for christ's sake. Why ? It's coming 10 miles down the road from Corby. Use the Bloody Post office and a Jiffy bag ! It's gotta be cheaper than using a courier for small packages, hasn't it ?
And as for stock, Farnell used to be the best. Nothing was ever out of stock, ever. Last night, I came to order these chips. The website searcher found four examples. All four said out of stock, but worse, that the reason for this was "no longer manufactured". And no, it wasn't the old RoHS lead-free thing, because no alternative was being offered, and at least one of the four was marked as being RoHS compliant anyway. I couldn't believe this device was no longer manufactured, so I went to check on the ST Micro website, and there it was, large as life in all its versions, and showing as a current device. So I went to the RS website, that I haven't used in a long time, and there it was in both through hole and s.m. versions, available in quantity, for next day delivery ... And, surprisingly, very reasonably priced.
It's hard to get any decent service from any of the component suppliers any more. I ordered a couple of audio ICs from Chas Hyde earlier in the week. Website showed three examples, one that was available for next day delivery, and two that were 7 to 14 days. Next day, they ring me to tell me the item is on back order. So, you're out of stock ? I say. No sir, says the erk on the other end, we just haven't got any here. So, you're out of stock ? I say again. No sir, the manufacturer has got them, we just haven't got them here. So, is the manufacturer shipping the item direct to me ? No sir, we'll ship it to you. When ? I say. As soon as we get them from the manufacturer, says he. So, you're out of stock then ? say I. Silence. I tell you what pal, just cancel the order.
That said, I then phoned Cricklewood, who had them in stock, and promised me that they would be dispatched that day, by Royal Mail. And so they were, and they arrived first thing this morning, so a result in the end ... :-)
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