Frustrated by McMaster-Carr

[Madison]

Has anyone else had enormous difficulties with ordering things from McMaster-Carr and receiving a level of service that even borders on competent?

Since Kickoff, we've had nothing but problems with their service and I'm just enormously frustrated and wanted to vent somewhere.

On the day of Kickoff, we placed an order for several hundred dollars worth of drivetrain parts. When the order hadn't arrived a week later, we called to see what had happened to it, as we though we'd missed a UPS delivery, to find out that McMaster-Carr hadn't ever filled the order. Despite our receipt of a order confirmation via e-mail, the order was nowhere to be found in their system. We placed the order a second time and was told that it would be shipped Next Day Air -- but it was shipped ground, instead. After a third call, they reshipped the order and sent it via overnight.

Yesterday, we placed a second order and specified that it be shipped via Next Day Air. It didn't arrive today, so I again called to find out what the problem was only to be told that some of the products we ordered -- nitrogen filled gas springs --were not able to be shipped via air freight, so the whole order was shipped via ground. I feel like it would be the least common courtesy to call your customer and let them know that the shipping they requested was impossible or to otherwise explain the situation and give them the opportunity to make a decision regarding the shipment.

Again, they re-shipping everything (except the gas springs) via overnight air freight.

We've lost days and days of work time to this stuff and it's enormously frustrating.

Caveat emptor, I guess.