To expect companies to have been prepared for the Christmas rush

[Noodledoodledoo]

I am getting so fed up with Christmas deliveries not arriving.

I have not left things to the last minute, I have 2 orders I made in November, one the 14th one the 26th which I am having a nightmare being delivered.

I get they are swamped but it has now messed up 4 peoples presents which are unlikely to get there on time as I need to wrap and send on. I am aware there is a backlog at the post office so don't want to leave to the last minute when I ordered in good time!

Hobby craft and M&S have badly let me down this year, my attempt to not just rely on Amazon!

It's quite hard to plan for situations where half your workforce is suddenly off sick or isolating.

Royal Mail are only delivering every 3rd day here atm, due to staff shortages, so even if the businesses get the parcels out on time, they're not necessarily arriving.

Apparently, despite the economic conditions, theyvhavent had the usual applications for Christmas temps this year either - no one wants a job that involves knocking on multiple doors per day.

So, OP you are avoiding shops and moving everything online to protect yourself, but the success of that depends on others getting out there...

100% agree OP. Hobbycraft really screwed up their orders. It's not like Covid is new and they hadnt had time to plan for contingencies. They would also know the volumes of orders to prepare for. I feel sympathy for the small shops of course but not the big ones which seem to be using covid as an excuse for poor service. Ignore the ybvus. You are right 😉

This year is impossible for so many companies. They're swamped, you said it, it's not an easy situation.

You say 3 weeks delay is excessive - but again, you have no idea is driving that.

I can’t say what I work with as it’s outing (well - it’s not so specific that it’s outing directly, I just mean I don’t want to add crumbs of info on my username!) but, the numbers I’m using here are correct.

2 months ago, my supplier said that could make me 3000 - evenly spread over 10 weeks.
1 month ago, I’d received 150 out 1200 due.
They absolutely promised a new figure of 500 in the last month.
1 week ago, I’d had just 120 of the 500, including then saying on a Friday “we’re doing them this weekend” - then nothing Monday. (agency labour issue - Covid)

Now, I work for a company that I guarantee you have heard of - think Tesco or Amazon level famous. And this supplier is the largest in Europe in its field. So none of this is because we don’t have the money to throw at it, or the clout to insist that we’re prioritised.

You could even have almost everything you need - the product, the card boxes, the packets, the trucks... but you’ve got no legally required instruction warning booklets, because your printer had people off with Covid and has a back log. So much can go wrong.

Yabu have you seen the news about the ports. This isn’t just about a Christmas rush the world is dealing with a pandemic, businesses are closing down because goods aren’t getting through or even supplied, shops are doing their best to provide for customers. Add brexit into the mix with businesses trying to order in extra stock before 31st December and the excess ppe being brought in.

There are far bigger things to worry about than a couple of Xmas presents. If you havnt got what you want, order something else or go to a local shop and buy something.

@Liverpoolip

100% agree OP. Hobbycraft really screwed up their orders. It's not like Covid is new and they hadnt had time to plan for contingencies. They would also know the volumes of orders to prepare for. I feel sympathy for the small shops of course but not the big ones which seem to be using covid as an excuse for poor service. Ignore the ybvus. You are right 😉

What contingency plans? Don’t you realise, companies are onto their 3rd, 4th, 5th contingency plan? Across multiple areas?

My experience has been really mixed!

John Lewis and Amazon - super fast (really impressed with JL actually).
Hotel Chocolat - good.
White Company and L'Occitane- a bit slow to dispatch (currently waiting) but if they arrive soon then its reasonable considering the issues.

Sending a parcel to another European country has taken AGES, far longer than it normally does. It has been almost 2 weeks and I am not even sure it has left the UK yet! Normally gets there within a few days of sending. Really glad I sent it early. (I have a few more things to put in a second parcel, but as long as the first one arrives then at least they will have something to open!)

One thing that mitigates the slow post is that, for my family at least, more people are spending Christmas at home. Eg normally I need to make sure my sister's present arrives by the 20th, because she travels to her inlaws in the 21st, but this year it doesn't matter if the present arrives on the 22nd because she isn't going anywhere!

@Backbee

I agree with PP that places should limit the amount of orders per day like tu are doing to ensure they can fulfil them. It wasn't unforseen that there was going to be increased demand and strain on deliveries, but they're happy enough to take peoples money of course.

Yes, I agree

NewLook and Superdrug still are quoting the 14th and 18th as last dates for standard delivery for Christmas, yet they have not dispatched items I ordered nearly a month ago.

If they are struggling to fulfil orders placed in November, why are they still advertising delivery in time for Christmas.

There are a couple of things I’ve ordered that can’t be guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas and taken a bit of a flyer on, if they arrive in time, great, if not, no biggie.

1. There are not enough people /vehicles for delivery
2. People in factories, sorting offices and delivery drivers having to self isolating
3. Increased demand
4. Deliveries stuck in ports due to stockpiling by companies as they are considered after a no deal Brexit they won’t get things into the U.K.

How do you suggest they solve these issues?

I do understand how much pressure all of the delivery services must be under but as a small business it’s getting really frustrating customers not getting their orders for weeks when I sent them first class.
There’s not much I can do except ask people to be patient as RM don’t even update the tracking until it’s been delivered so it’s pretty pointless me even checking it.

@Thatwentbadly

1) There are not enough people /vehicles for delivery 2) People in factories, sorting offices and delivery drivers having to self isolating 3) Increased demand 4) Deliveries stuck in ports due to stockpiling by companies as they are considered after a no deal Brexit they won’t get things into the U.K.

How do you suggest they solve these issues?

I understand all of these issues, but it is only some companies that are struggling. If a company is so busy that that they might struggle to fulfil an order within four weeks as in the op’s case, I would expect them to communicate that so a customer has chance to make alternative arrangements. Keeping a paying customer waiting for such a long period during the busiest time of the year is particularly shoddy customer service and I would think twice before shopping there in the future. Some companies, Amazon included, are not having these issues. I think it is a lack of foresight and planning on the part of the business. Covid is not to blame for everything.

There are far bigger things to worry about than a couple of Xmas presents. If you havnt got what you want, order something else or go to a local shop and buy something.

That may not be possible for people whose Xmas present budgets have already been used on said orders. Not everyone’s got enough money to just shrug it off and buy something else in addition to money they’ve already spent.

I'm also having trouble with deliveries from Marks & Spencer and Hobbycraft both ordered weeks ago and still no sign.

I work for a small business. Lots of people leave stuff to the last minute which is hard to get things turned around with few members of staff . (obviously not last minute in your case OP)
I ordered something in October and paid for Express delivery - it still hasnt arrived.when I chased it , it said all orders were subject to at least 2-3 weeks delay.i understand this (although its been way longer than that) but why still have the option of express delivery if there is no hope of achieving that service.

I ordered a blanket for my DD (mid November) not turned up yet .Have Del date of 21 Dec.Not a main present as such ,so can have it when it arrives. Her BD is around Xmas as well.Had some slow deliveries too I think they must be rushed off their feet!

I’ve had parcels from boots and Apple delivered today. One was ordered yesterday the other Wednesday. Both offered free delivery, maybe I have just been lucky.

Curries have let me down badly. I'll NEVER shop from them again.

It is easy to blame these companies right now for being unprepared but you were also unprepared.

Because of the pandemic EVERYONE is buying online in place of going "shopping shopping" -i am being hyperbolic here im sure plenty of people are buying stuff in shops-

I finished christmas shopping in september.

Still havent wrapped it though because I hate it but here we are.

Alls im saying is - you should have seen this coming too OP.

YANBU. I ordered something that promised 10 day delivery. I thought I was ordering from within the UK.
Turns out it is from China and although I ordered it 3 weeks ago the tracking shows it’s still in flight.... have contacted the company and they promise it’s on its way. It probably is, I’m just worried it won’t get here in time.
Still for my DC too. Stressful!

The post office said ages ago to post earlier than normal - that means earlier than december. I have always done my christmas shopping oct/nov so this year i started in sept - not difficult to understand how delayed things could be during a worldwide pandemic!

I did my entire xmas shop online (30 or so presents) started late Oct. I must have been dead lucky, only one thing didn't arrive and that was from Etsy. Got a refund and bought something else from a different site which arrived within a week.

It seems to depend on where you live. I’ve had no issues at all. M&S and Hotel Chocolat orders arrived promptly (via Royal Mail) - everything here within 2 to 4 days (standard delivery). Courier services all delivering as normal as far as I can tell (DPD, DHL, Hermes, UPS).

My posted parcels got where they were meant to go within a week too. That was late November.

Midlands here.

To be honest even all my non xmas Amazon Prime stuff is still turning up within a day.

!