Comments on: STL: Light at the End of the Tunnel?

By: Phil Groom

Phil Groom — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:27:03 +0000

It’s called a pingback, Geoff: if the correct protocols are enabled, when one blog post links to another it ‘pings’ the post referred to and adds a ‘comment’ to it. Keeps everything connected: kinda cool, I think

By: Geoff Wallace

Geoff Wallace — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:49:56 +0000

Not sure how comment No 10 just got added as this comment was orginally added on the 28th? A bit of the STL deja vues?

By: STL: A Month of Darkness « UKCBD: The Christian Bookshops Blog

STL: A Month of Darkness « UKCBD: The Christian Bookshops Blog — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:23:47 +0000

[...] Wallace, November 28, 2008, 4:07pm: It is now the 28th November. The 28th of October marked the last of the four days of closure at [...]

By: Geoff wallace

Geoff wallace — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:42:12 +0000

Cloud and Cuckoos spring to mind.

STL may be sending out more parcels as the days go by but how many of them are for
just one or two books that are backordered items? I think STL have a major problem with attaching back orders to a normal order. It is a very hit and miss affair and this seems to be the problem with Soul Survivor. They definately have had stock since the 20th but it keeps saying 0 copies supplied.
I had a box yesterday with just one single pocket NIV hardback in it. Another box came in with just 4 SU new publication items. This must be slowing up the whole system and is a crazy way of working.

By: John Duncan

John Duncan — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:33:01 +0000

Glad you got your order placed on the 22nd, Geoff. I’m still waiting for mine. Haven’t seen a sniff off the Soul Survivor album either, A discussion I had with customer services this week established two things: that they are working towards a 48-hour despatch, but that it in fact is taking a week to send orders out. Since my experience has been that it has been taking a week (at least)for several weeks now, what exactly does ‘working towards’ mean? I have seen absolutely no progress in the last few weeks.

I also read in the new Christian Marketplace that Mark Hurley states (page 7) that ‘towards the end of the week ending 7th November, we were achieving 48 hour despatch in the main’. Really? Who to? Is there anybody out there who is getting 48 hour despatch today, let alone who was at the 7th November?

By: Geoff Wallace

Geoff Wallace — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:07:37 +0000

It is now the 28th November. The 28th of October marked the last of the four days of closure at STL as they tranferred their system. So one month later all should be well. But is it?
I had an order arrive today (28th) that I placed on the 22nd so maybe things are better than the 10days that it was taking.
However, we have been ringing up daily about the new Soul Survivor Live 2008. There is no sign of Kingsway’s album of the month order for 6 copies (and this is a key title). Our rep placed a top up order on the 15th for a further 6 copies – still not arrived. Finally today we have one single copy that WE placed on the 20th to try and prove that STL physically had stock and had had it for several days. Each time we rang up customer services they kept saying they had stock and this proves it.
AND YET Compassionart was dispatched all on its own to us and arrived on the 26th in a parcel sent in the post. And STL say that every order is dealt with in strict order of receipt!!!!!!!

By: Melanie C

Melanie C — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:41:48 +0000

On an old rant here! I just went to order something from the Select Catalogue for my customers – this Select is meant to last 2 months and guess what! Yep no stock, and this time its not even a price discounted promotional item, it was 2 Dayspring perpetaul calendards!! and supposedly it’s not even down to the system’s problems.I guess its just bad management of this promotion then!
This is now the 16th & 17th item I have gone to order out of the Select promo for customers just to have this problem!!
Just not good enough and yes maybe the suppliers did let them down but as far as I can see it is STL running the promo and charging me for it so it’s their job to keep it stocked appropriately surely?
ok whinge over (actually no its not I’m fibbing!) – I now need to phone back my customer (for the third time for this particular customer) and apologise profusely that STL can’t get their stock levels right, oh and even better yet – the last invoice I had in yet again charged me full price for the few select items I was able to get in for stock!
That’s twice now on that one! probably won’t be a third strike as it doesn’t look like they have anything in the promo left in stock anyway for me to order for the customers or my stocks.
Batter Up!

By: Geoff wallace

Geoff wallace — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:35:18 +0000

You wait 2 days for a comment to come along and then 4 come along at once !!!

By: Phil Groom

Phil Groom — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:17:38 +0000

John: if I’ve understood things correctly, STL’s ‘business process bottleneck’ is an inability to transfer stock from ‘bulk’ — their overstocks warehouse — to their picking and packing area fast enough to keep up with the pickers and packers.

Everything we want is there: it’s just that they can’t despatch it because it’s in another warehouse…

By: Phil Groom

Phil Groom — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:13:50 +0000

It’s certainly wearing me down, Geoff!

Just had a customer come in asking for the advent books they requested — and which I ordered — more than a fortnight ago. I placed my order online and the website said “Stock available” — but by the time STL processed it (the rest of the order came in yesterday), all gone, now “temporarily out of stock”… and no reply to follow up emails, no ETA…

I’ve done my best — I’m doing my best — to be supportive, but the situation really is out of hand…