I placed a big order on Tuesday night and some items I forgot to add on early Wednesday morning and it still says processing, how long does it normally take to ship? I also emailed to see if the orders could be combined on Wednesday morning to save on shipping and have not heard back, it's Friday afternoon.
Midwest Supplies
- Thread starter rycov
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bellmtbbq
Well-Known Member
fizgig said:
Midwest takes a few days to process but fantastic otherwise. Rebel Brewer ships quicker with similar prices if you need something faster
aiptasia
Well-Known Member
48 hours before they send out their shipping updates. My last hops order with them was last week, and it took them 72 hours to update. I got the update the same day the package arrived.
I placed an order Monday around noon. When the website showed proccessing on Wednesday, I did a live chat and the guy said they had some people out sick and were running a little behind. He said my order had been printed and pulled and I should get a tracking email Wed pm/Thu am.
When the website (w/o any emails as well) showed 'processing' THIS MORNING(Fri) I called them. The girl I talked to said it was on its way and I'll get it tomorrow. I asked her why I didn't get any email about it and why the website wasn't updated, and she didn't really have an answer.
She did however email me the tracking #s, and by golly, it's supposed to be here tomorrow.
Weird, I got the order I placed on Wednesday today (Saturday), and confirmation that my Tuesday order will be coming this coming Tuesday. Never heard back on the email asking them to combine the orders but apparently that's a no.
JoshuaW
Well-Known Member
I placed an order early Monday (830 Central Time). By late day Tuesday I hadnt gotten a tracking update, which I thought was odd even for Midwest, so I shot off a quick email. I got a response saying my order was scheduled to be sent out that day. Great! Thursday came and I still hadnt gotten an email with tracking, so I sent off another email asking for status. I fully expected to come home from work and find a package. Nothing. Odd, but not the end of the world, I figured Friday it would be there. That was the important thing, since I had taken Friday off and was planning on starting several kits I had been collecting over the past few months, including the two I had just ordered.
I receive an email on Friday stating that my order had just shipped. At this point I am pretty frustrated, since I had been told that it would ship on Tuesday. I called up and was told that my order had been printed on Tuesday but for some reason didnt get shipped. He offered to refund me part of the shipping cost, which was nice, but the bigger issue was still that my order had not shipped, and I had this on my list of things to do on my day off! Being kind of OCD, that bugged me. I sent an email thanking them for the $10 refund, but that I was still kind of frustrated. This was more for me, I didnt really expect anything to come from it, as they had already done something.
Later in the afternoon I receive an email response to my query Thursday apologizing that it hadnt gone out Tuesday and they would refund my shipping. I figured I was getting the rest of my shipping refunded, ignored it. I received a refund for the full shipping amount (so now I have received a refund for the full shipping amount AND $10). That kind of made me feel better, but at this point the damage is done. Later on I received ANOTHER email with the simple title of "FedEx Express" and a tracking number. Problem is, this isnt a tracking number to my house. So I am not really sure if my shipping was supposed to have gotten upgraded, which ultimately would have been the solution that would have satisfied me (but I dont really feel that would be a fair thing to ask from them), or they sent me someone else's tracking number in error.
That is my story, but it begs the question, what the heck is going on in Midwest's customer service department? I dont normally make a big deal about this kind of thing, but I think I am going to call on Monday and ask to talk to a manager, simply because someone should know what is going on. If that was supposed to be my tracking information upgraded, then they just gave someone else the best customer service in the world and left me out to dry, and if that was not supposed to be my information upgraded, then someone screwed up by emailing it to me.
I receive an email on Friday stating that my order had just shipped. At this point I am pretty frustrated, since I had been told that it would ship on Tuesday. I called up and was told that my order had been printed on Tuesday but for some reason didnt get shipped. He offered to refund me part of the shipping cost, which was nice, but the bigger issue was still that my order had not shipped, and I had this on my list of things to do on my day off! Being kind of OCD, that bugged me. I sent an email thanking them for the $10 refund, but that I was still kind of frustrated. This was more for me, I didnt really expect anything to come from it, as they had already done something.
Later in the afternoon I receive an email response to my query Thursday apologizing that it hadnt gone out Tuesday and they would refund my shipping. I figured I was getting the rest of my shipping refunded, ignored it. I received a refund for the full shipping amount (so now I have received a refund for the full shipping amount AND $10). That kind of made me feel better, but at this point the damage is done. Later on I received ANOTHER email with the simple title of "FedEx Express" and a tracking number. Problem is, this isnt a tracking number to my house. So I am not really sure if my shipping was supposed to have gotten upgraded, which ultimately would have been the solution that would have satisfied me (but I dont really feel that would be a fair thing to ask from them), or they sent me someone else's tracking number in error.
That is my story, but it begs the question, what the heck is going on in Midwest's customer service department? I dont normally make a big deal about this kind of thing, but I think I am going to call on Monday and ask to talk to a manager, simply because someone should know what is going on. If that was supposed to be my tracking information upgraded, then they just gave someone else the best customer service in the world and left me out to dry, and if that was not supposed to be my information upgraded, then someone screwed up by emailing it to me.
My wife recently ordered some cheese stuff from Midwest. Everything went smoothly.
TheLastDamnBatch
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Placed an order on the 12'th. Grains and some hops. Still said processing on the 16'th @ noon. Gave 'em a call and the CSR said 'Looks like it's going out today!'... Great! but I needed it on the 16th so I could brew today!
I'm not happy with that answer because it doesn't explain what is going on behind the scenes. 4 days to process and ship order where all items are listed as in stock?
My last order with them went the same way.
I shouldn't have to call each time I order and ask what's going on; promptly followed by we'll move your order up our priority list because you called.
My guess is the pickers and packers are low paid and there's high turnover. I don't care if you get to work with beer products all day, if you aren't compensated very well and the job is dull grunt work, you're just not going to care. Which means your employer would need better processes to ensure the stuff get's done right.
Management at Midwest seems subpar.
Northern Brewer is better by fair margin; but still along the same lines... missing items from orders etc...
Thanks for listening to my vent.
I'm not happy with that answer because it doesn't explain what is going on behind the scenes. 4 days to process and ship order where all items are listed as in stock?
My last order with them went the same way.
I shouldn't have to call each time I order and ask what's going on; promptly followed by we'll move your order up our priority list because you called.
My guess is the pickers and packers are low paid and there's high turnover. I don't care if you get to work with beer products all day, if you aren't compensated very well and the job is dull grunt work, you're just not going to care. Which means your employer would need better processes to ensure the stuff get's done right.
Management at Midwest seems subpar.
Northern Brewer is better by fair margin; but still along the same lines... missing items from orders etc...
Thanks for listening to my vent.
lgilmore
Well-Known Member
I have to ask people what they feel a normal shipping time is at the best possible price? Is it realistic to expect to brew within a week of ordering? I'm out on the west coast and I have ordered from Midwest. Usually takes about 7-10 days from order to delivery. I have options for much much quicker but they cost more than the stuff I ordered.
Likewise with Austin, 7-10 days. Both are geographically about the same distance from me. I also have a LHBS shop 15 miles away (costs more in gas than shipping, big truck) in a pinch. I use all of them and a few others. I just wonder if it is realistic to place an order and expect/demand to be brewing in less than 7 days? I plan a least a couple weeks out from ordering.
Likewise with Austin, 7-10 days. Both are geographically about the same distance from me. I also have a LHBS shop 15 miles away (costs more in gas than shipping, big truck) in a pinch. I use all of them and a few others. I just wonder if it is realistic to place an order and expect/demand to be brewing in less than 7 days? I plan a least a couple weeks out from ordering.
I don't expect anything shipped regular ground to get to me in less than 7 days, not counting Saturday and Sunday. If I pay for faster delivery options, they yes, I expect... Er, would like what I paid for, but even then, if you want it for a specific day, order it well in advance. That goes for everything.
TheLastDamnBatch
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Picking and Packing Time: The time it takes to pick and pack an order.
Shipping Time: The time it takes for a shipping carrier to get the order from the origin to the destination. (This has nothing to do with the supplier! Giving credit to the supplier for "fast shipping" just doesn't make sense!)
If all items are in stock Picking and Packing Time should ideally be within 24hrs. discounting weekends.
Shipping Time is usually getting what you pay for. UPS/FedEx and the USPS pretty much have this down to an exact science. Look at the shipping time map for you carrier from origin to destination for the type of service you pay for. Usually they're dead on.
The ambiguity comes in when the supplier and the shipper have agreements as to when the shipper picks up the orders (or conversely when the supplier delivers the orders to the shipper). There may be a delay here also.
Generally speaking, I do expect to be able to place an order on Monday and receive it by Friday, especially with a supplier in my region. If I'm ordering from the coasts then I expect to have to pay for faster shipping service in order to receive it by Friday.
The frustrating aspect of this is the picking and packing time. If you're pp'ing in stock orders from 4 days ago, then you've a logistics/process problem.
Covering up the problem with smooth talking CSR's certainly doesn't fix anything (though you may get some people to say you have excellent customer service on the Internet).
zeg
Well-Known Member
My experience has been very consistent: I usually place an order mid-day on Monday, it ships on Wednesday, I get a notice on Thursday, and it arrives at my door on Friday (this is using standard ground shipping). I don't think it's ever deviated from this.
This seems pretty reasonable to me. Maybe a bit on the slow side, particularly for sending out the shipping notice, but I haven't seen better order-to-delivery times out of any of their competitors.
This seems pretty reasonable to me. Maybe a bit on the slow side, particularly for sending out the shipping notice, but I haven't seen better order-to-delivery times out of any of their competitors.
lgilmore
Well-Known Member
That's all fine and good, but at the end of the day you have to decide if the pricing is worth what appears to be a headache because it's not there fast enough.
The nice thing is I use about 4 different internet suppliers and my local (next city over) LHBS. Right now in this industry if one company makes you unhappy there are 5 more out there that would love your business.
The nice thing is I use about 4 different internet suppliers and my local (next city over) LHBS. Right now in this industry if one company makes you unhappy there are 5 more out there that would love your business.
Thanks for your reviews, its a great help to others to be able to read about your experiences. Posting your actual experience, rather than an analysis of others' experiences, is the most helpful thing you can do. We can all interpret your experience. For example, if someone posts that they are unhappy because they ordered on a Monday and got their package (fill in the blank) business days later, I can interpret that experience for myself.
Brief, factual reviews are by far the best.
Brief, factual reviews are by far the best.
zeg
Well-Known Member
Just received an order today (it would have been delivered friday, but I had them hold it) that included medium toast oak spirals rather than the medium-plus I had ordered. Submitted a comment about the order and within a couple hours they had responded that they will ship the correct spirals and offered either to send a return shipping label or sell the ones they shipped at a discount (not sure what it'd be).
This is the third error I've had on half a dozen orders. One was a left-out strip thermometer, another was an extra half-pound of crystal malt, and this. They've dealt with them well, but it is becoming a frequent occurrence.
This is the third error I've had on half a dozen orders. One was a left-out strip thermometer, another was an extra half-pound of crystal malt, and this. They've dealt with them well, but it is becoming a frequent occurrence.
hughclapp
Member
My 2 experiences with Midwest supplies:
I ordered an AG kit from midwest supplies last week and the bag was ripped open when packed spilling all over inside the box. An email to their customer service and they quickly responded and they sent a new bag of grains.
I was pretty impressed with their customer service.
Then I received the new grains...
While now that they've "corrected" my order - the grains arrived today uncrushed. Original order was for crushed. I do not have a mill - guess I'll be buying one from Northern Brewer.
Their customer service must be so good because they have so much practice!
I ordered an AG kit from midwest supplies last week and the bag was ripped open when packed spilling all over inside the box. An email to their customer service and they quickly responded and they sent a new bag of grains.
I was pretty impressed with their customer service.
Then I received the new grains...
While now that they've "corrected" my order - the grains arrived today uncrushed. Original order was for crushed. I do not have a mill - guess I'll be buying one from Northern Brewer.
Their customer service must be so good because they have so much practice!
midwestsupplies
Active Member
Hughclapp,
I am very sorry for the trouble you had with your AG order. We messed up here, and we want to make it right. I spoke with Todd our customer service manager, and he is going to send out a new kit to you with crushed grains. You should see it on your door step tomorrow.
Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience, brewing should be fun not a hassle. Hopefully this helps to make it up to you.
Cheers,
Nick @ Midwest.
hughclapp
Member
Wow. That was very kind, and not requested. I really appreciate it... my father-in-law was coming here this weekend, and he was hoping to see his first homebrew session. Looks like brew day was saved.
The unexpected package showed up today and was perfect.
Thanks!
I actually just had a very similar experience recently. I had never used Midwest before, even though I had heard only good things. I ended up using them this time because they had a weird hop I was looking for.
It was a big order, with about 50 pounds of grain. When it arrived, the crush looked pretty bad. I like a coarse crush, but this was extreme. I wrote, and they quickly acknowledged that their mill settings had slipped and agreed to send me a new load of grain. When that new load came, it was completely uncrushed. Oops. I wrote again, and this time a manager responded to say that he would personally ensure that I had the grain delivered to me within 48 hours.
Sure enough, it came and everything looks good.
So, it looks like they're having a bit of trouble with logistics, but they're handling those problems like pros. I have no hesitations about ordering from them again. Top notch sellers.
It was a big order, with about 50 pounds of grain. When it arrived, the crush looked pretty bad. I like a coarse crush, but this was extreme. I wrote, and they quickly acknowledged that their mill settings had slipped and agreed to send me a new load of grain. When that new load came, it was completely uncrushed. Oops. I wrote again, and this time a manager responded to say that he would personally ensure that I had the grain delivered to me within 48 hours.
Sure enough, it came and everything looks good.
So, it looks like they're having a bit of trouble with logistics, but they're handling those problems like pros. I have no hesitations about ordering from them again. Top notch sellers.
I have had a few problems with them including my current order which is still sitting in processing almost a week later. Every order has always shipped within a day or two. I usually order on a Sunday and have the order by Friday. This one seems to be lost. Perhaps the printed order fell behind a desk or something?
My very first order was a starter brewing kit. It came in a number of shipping boxes. Amazingly the glass carboy and bottles arrived unscathed but the brewing pot was deeply scratched. As a first time excited brewer I didn't notice it until I pre-boiled water in it and bubbles came out of a number of scratches. All I got was an apology, because I didn't notice the scratches until I used it. I tossed it and ordered a cheap one from another company.
Although upset I let a little time go by and ordered from them again. I stuck to mostly extract beer kits and had a fairly good run of 4 - 5 orders so I created an account. After a few orders they left out my yeast. I waited a few days for the yeast and just ended up buying yeast locally so I could brew and get the beer done in time for a charity event. Once again an apology. The yeast did eventually come. After that I just started buying locally. Locally though means limited choices. Time passed again and I decided to give Midwest another shot.
I paid $12.26 for shipping and handling on a $35.98 order and it hasn't gone anywhere. This kit was to be served to adults at a graduation party but I doubt I'll have enough time to brew it and bottle condition it now. Off to the local place in the morning.
I think Midwest has the best beer kits, and that has kept me coming back, but how many times is enough before you walk away?
My very first order was a starter brewing kit. It came in a number of shipping boxes. Amazingly the glass carboy and bottles arrived unscathed but the brewing pot was deeply scratched. As a first time excited brewer I didn't notice it until I pre-boiled water in it and bubbles came out of a number of scratches. All I got was an apology, because I didn't notice the scratches until I used it. I tossed it and ordered a cheap one from another company.
Although upset I let a little time go by and ordered from them again. I stuck to mostly extract beer kits and had a fairly good run of 4 - 5 orders so I created an account. After a few orders they left out my yeast. I waited a few days for the yeast and just ended up buying yeast locally so I could brew and get the beer done in time for a charity event. Once again an apology. The yeast did eventually come. After that I just started buying locally. Locally though means limited choices. Time passed again and I decided to give Midwest another shot.
I paid $12.26 for shipping and handling on a $35.98 order and it hasn't gone anywhere. This kit was to be served to adults at a graduation party but I doubt I'll have enough time to brew it and bottle condition it now. Off to the local place in the morning.
I think Midwest has the best beer kits, and that has kept me coming back, but how many times is enough before you walk away?
This is my 3rd order from them. I usually order on a Friday and it ships on Saturday or Sunday and I receive it on Thursday, just in time to brew on Friday or Saturday. It's now Tuesday and it hasn't shipped yet, meaning there is almost no chance for it to arrive by this weekend. I saw someone from Midwest post on another site saying that they are having inventory issues or something, but who knows. It's too bad because I like their products and before this, I thought they had great customer service. Many other people on that site were saying that their orders in the past couple weeks either haven't shipped yet or took forever to ship. Might be time to find a new place and stop ordering from Midwest. It's an expensive hobby and if I'm going to be placing orders twice a month and be paying at least $12 shipping each time, I'd rather it not take 2 weeks for each shipment to arrive.
midwestsupplies
Active Member
Steve,
We are very sorry for the shipping delay. We are currently backed up due to a physical inventory count. All week we are working overtime to try and get all of the orders out. I am very sorry for the delay, but just to let you know how hard we are working all Midwest employees will be working until 11:00pm tonight in the shipping department. This includes even our company President.
Again, we are very sorry for the trouble. If you would like, you are more than welcome to contact our customer service department. 1-888-449-2739.
Cheers,
~Nick
We are very sorry for the shipping delay. We are currently backed up due to a physical inventory count. All week we are working overtime to try and get all of the orders out. I am very sorry for the delay, but just to let you know how hard we are working all Midwest employees will be working until 11:00pm tonight in the shipping department. This includes even our company President.
Again, we are very sorry for the trouble. If you would like, you are more than welcome to contact our customer service department. 1-888-449-2739.
Cheers,
~Nick
Thank you for the quick response. Do you have any rough estimate as to how backed up the orders are? I placed my order on Friday.
I'm in the same boat as you Steve. I had issues with Midwest before...at the 1 year mark since my last order they sent me a coupon asking me to come back worth 20% off my order. I thought... Great I should give them another try... Order is still processing... At least it sounds like these issues should be temporary. Thankfully I'm not in a huge rush for anything in the order...
Upthewazzu
Well-Known Member
This is great that you responded, but I really wish I would have known this before I ordered. Obviously, you don't want to lose the business, but I also want to brew my beer.
It's great that Midwest moves its orders out the door so quickly, and my very limited experience fits that.
At the same time, they state their shipping policies very explicitly on their website: "Most orders ship within three to five business days from date of purchase." If they're in that window, it seems very unfair to fault them for not being earlier.
At the same time, they state their shipping policies very explicitly on their website: "Most orders ship within three to five business days from date of purchase." If they're in that window, it seems very unfair to fault them for not being earlier.
midwestsupplies
Active Member
Steveski-
I guessed on your order, based on the info listed here. It looks like we will be shipping that tomorrow based on current volumes. The good news (if there is any) is that it takes three days to get orders to VA. FedEx will deliver on Saturday (they do that on our service agreement). I know it isn't ideal, and I assure you that we want to get back to normal as soon as possible.
We work with a lot of excited brewers who want their goods. All of our Customer Service crew is picking up a tape gun tonight, and we are seeing the same support from other departments. It is taking us a little longer to dig out of this hole than we expected, but it should help make some serious improvements soon. Give me a call at 1-888-449-2739 if you have further questions.
Cheers, Todd J
Customer Service Manager
I guessed on your order, based on the info listed here. It looks like we will be shipping that tomorrow based on current volumes. The good news (if there is any) is that it takes three days to get orders to VA. FedEx will deliver on Saturday (they do that on our service agreement). I know it isn't ideal, and I assure you that we want to get back to normal as soon as possible.
We work with a lot of excited brewers who want their goods. All of our Customer Service crew is picking up a tape gun tonight, and we are seeing the same support from other departments. It is taking us a little longer to dig out of this hole than we expected, but it should help make some serious improvements soon. Give me a call at 1-888-449-2739 if you have further questions.
Cheers, Todd J
Customer Service Manager
Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Mod Note: Please post brief, factual reviews, once per transaction, without hyperbole and only about your experience.
I've ways had great success with Midwest. I plan my brew days long ahead of time because it takes about a week for items to get to me in New Jersey. Ordering in bulk helps and this time waiting is offset by their great customer service.
Ghost1220
Active Member
Midwest excels in customer service. I order from them frequently, and if there is ever a mistake made, they fix it immediately and without question. To me the shipping cost is worth it because with them the sale does not end until the customer is satisfied.
Well as an update I did get my order today. Only took about 1-2 days after it shipped to arrive. The order looks good except some of my grains were no labeled and I had to taste them to actually tell which was which... I also ordered some fermaid-o which was also unlabeled... things just in plastic bags when you have many other things that look similar in plastic bags should be labeled. Overall though pretty happy with the order...though shipping was kind of brutal. the 20% off coupon they sent me basically just offset the shipping.
citingzero
Well-Known Member
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I've used Midwest many times and always had great experiences. Then I quit brewing for a couple of years but now I've started back. I still receive the correct items but the time does seem a little too long. I don't remember how long it used to take but now it takes about a week to get here. Their prices are great but I am tempted to buy a kit from my local hbs (which is part of a trendy over priced co-op) because of the shipping cost and time. They only sell brewers best extract kits (which I have heard mixed reviews) and they are over priced, but saving the $12 shipping puts them at about the same total cost for ordering from Midwest... And I can have it today.
Bisco_Ben
Well-Known Member
Just wanted to let you guys know that I purchased a half-pound of their mosaic hops, which came individually packaged by Midwest themselves, and not by hopunion. I recently brewed a single hop IPA with these bad boys and when I weighed each individually packaged ounce before adding, NOT ONE SINGLE PACKAGE was a full ounce!!! and trust me, my highly accurate .001 scale is calibrated. The most I got from a "one-ounce" package after opening 5 of them, was 27.23. The lowest it got was 26.45!!! Then I called to see what they would have to say, and they essentially told me there was nothing they would do about it other than "pass on the information". Bad service all around!
You hit the '!' at least 10 times in your original post, including 3 in the title, so it seems you are concerned. 1 gram is nothing.
I agree. Though, honestly, if a customer called and complained that a bag of hops was off by 1 gram I'd have trouble not laughing. But yes, vendors should bend over backwards (while laughing) to keep their customers happy.
I guess our members here will weigh this (pun) and determine how it changes their perception of the vendor.
I'm moving this thread to Company Reviews.
Funny timing for this post. A few weeks ago I bought some pin lock kegs from Midwest, yesterday I tried to open one up to clean it and had a problem getting the gas side disconnected, causing one of pins the come off. I called them today to let them know the problem, they are sending me a whole new keg and a prepaid postage to mail back the old one. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them but I couldn't be more pleased with the customer service they provided to me today.
I'll agree with this post. I bought 2 reconditioned kegs from Midwest. After finally using the 2nd keg 4 months later I was getting a ton of foam when pouring. I finally found out it was missing the o-ring around the dip tube so a bunch of air was coming thru with the beer. I told them about it and they sent me out 2 packages of o-rings to replace as I needed, with them covering the shipping cost of course as well. No questions asked, that is how you do business!
