To all those who have been experiencing delays in their order processing, I'd like to personally apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I'd also like to reassure everyone that none of us here at the NutraPlanetarium or our reps, are in any way belittling anyone or their problems. AE14 is simply stating that majority of our orders are shipped out in a timely [and sometimes insanely] rapid rate.
It has always been, and always will be, our goal to provide our customers with a level of service that exceeds their expectations. In these cases, we apparently dropped the ball. I accept full responsibility, but would like to explain why these delays are happening, so you can make a more informed decision when shopping with us.
Let's begin...
First, we try to keep enough inventory on hand to accommodate the demands of our customer base. Lately we have been growing at a very rapid pace. This causes shortages of inventory at times, as well as shortages on samples. We rely heavily on communication from our vendors to assess whether we should allow products to oversell or cap them at current levels. When a vendor fails to relay their stock levels, turn-around times, or even statuses of pending purchase orders, this causes a ripple effect which is felt all the way at the consumer level. Couple this with the time of the year when companies reduce inventory to lessen the tax burden, and you further exacerbate the problem.
On a side note:
When you look at the availability field on our product page, you will see 1 of 3 things:
1) In Stock, Ships in 1-2 Business Days
2) Ships in 1-3 Business Days
3) Out of stock
Option 1 means it's in stock in our physical warehouse
Option 2 means it's either on order and in route to us, or will be arriving soon
Option 3 means it's out of stock and you can't physically checkout with this product
At times our inventory counts are off, and this can cause an item to be listed in stock but actually be out of stock. We go to great lengths to ensure stock counts are accurate and do weekly counts of our entire warehouse, but sometimes these mistakes and oversights happen, and may cause delays.
The solution…
I am making this one of our top priorities and working with our vendors, IT dept, and warehouse staff to increase our capacity and ability to fulfill orders more efficiently. I will also be working with our customer service department to be more proactive so we can help and inform you before a lengthy delay takes place. I am fully aware that each individual has a choice in where they choose to shop. That is why my team and I are sincerely appreciative for the trust you guys put in us when shopping for your supplements. This is never overlooked or unappreciated, and that is why we will continually strive and challenge ourselves to better serve you.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we overcome these growing pains.