Same Day Shipping

I'm not sure why I'm continually surprised at people's lack of patience. 

Like. I've been dealing with customers in retail for nearly ten years now. I've seen time and time again how impatient people can be. How much they have to satisfy their urge to 'buy it now' or 'get it now' instead of just....waiting for the best results or for better options.

Especially when it comes to Ordering Stuff online either to be shipped to their home or picked up at the store.

Like. I can't tell you how many times people get upset that the item they ordered for in store pick up like 'ten minutes ago' isn't ready to be picked up yet....when our website clearly states that it can take up to three hours for orders to be picked.

And oftentimes it takes at least half an hour or so for the order to show up in our system in the first place--though I'm sure that time is getting faster. 

I mean. Before 2020 we didn't even have the option of curbside pick up. Before the pandemic you had to come into the store and shop yourself.

But now you can shop online and pick it up in the store. And unlike other places...unless you're shopping through doordash....we don't do 'time slots' like other stores do. Of course...I haven't used curbside pick up for other retail stores. But I'm pretty confident that our turn around time is rather quick compared to say...trying to order all your groceries online and having to wait to pick them up for a couple of days. 

 In any case.

People can be surprisingly impatient about their orders.

Which makes sense since most of those people are impatient because they procrastinating getting the food and such that they needed for their pet until they were out of food. Especially the vet prescription food because it takes multiple days to confirm those particular orders because they have to validate the prescription and such.

But tonight I experienced a new....kind of impatient with a customer.

They called the store right before 7pm. 

-We close at 9. And curbside pick up where we take the orders out to the car stops at 7pm.

But the customer calls our store wanting to cancel their order.

Why?

Because they ordered it "Fifteen minutes ago for Same Day Shipping." but when they finished the whole transaction and such online they noticed that the estimated date of arrival was the 6th of January. 

So they wanted to cancel the order. 

Because basically the website lied to them.

And I just had to roll my eyes at them for multiple reasons.

The main reason being that just because the website says that it will SHIP the same day you order it doesn't mean it will ARRIVE the same day you order it. The two words mean totally different things. And like Lady. You ordered it at like 630pm. If you'd ordered it in the morning at like 6 am I could see the potential of you getting a package the same day. But that late at night? No. Sure amazon can deliver until like 8pm but I'm pretty sure FedEx, UPS and the Post Office all stop their routes much earlier in the day.

Even doordash stops delivering after a certain time frame. 

So it's rather....egotistical to expect same day delivery when you order so late in the day.

Though...judging by the fact that the customer called our store directly to complain that their order wasn't going to arrive 'the same day' that they ordered online to be SHIPPED TO THEIR HOME instead of Picked Up at the store...that they more than likely thought that their stuff would be sent from our store to their home.

And that's not how it works.

Sure. Doordashers can shop for you or pick up orders at the store and bring it to your home. But us workers in the store? Nope. We only deal with the orders that come through our system to be picked up in the store.

If the order is shipped to your home it doesn't come from our store at all. It comes from our supplier and we have No. Control. What. So. Ever. Over that aspect of online ordering. I can't cancel those orders. I can't fix those orders. They're sent to a different system. 

Honestly.

Sure Amazon is getting faster with their shipping to the point where it's possible to receive a product the same day you order it. But hardly anywhere else is unless you get the right time slot and such.

I just...have to wonder what the customer was thinking....

And if they needed that item tonight...why did they not just come into the store and grab it themselves? Like I would think that people would realize you can't deliver within hours of ordering....

*exhales*

Like I said. I don't understand people. Not at all.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi