Peeved off with the state of LTT store shipping.

[KelMcDowell]

This is sort of a rant, but I'm hoping this will get somebody's attention in the customer service area because so far I'm flying blind. I ordered a water bottle on December 5, 2023, and it was immediately confirmed with a shipping date and an estimated date of arrival on the shop app (in all fairness, this app has its own problems but that's not what I'm focusing on here). While shopping and ordering on this website, I was never alerted to any shipping delays, but I figured that there would be some due to the holiday season. Despite this issue, I have been receiving updates regularly from UPS and Shop. Attached are the updates I have received, extremely useless given the fact that not one single website provides a straight answer as to where my package is. 

1. UPS Website

2. Shop app

3. LTTStore.com

I am truly disappointed in the LTT store and how it seems to take your money and then provide you with your order whenever they feel like it. I am no longer planning on giving them my money and will be finding a different f*cking screwdriver instead of giving them $70 plus tax and shipping.

[jaslion]

Also honestly wouldn't be too surprised if you package was simply "lost" in the mail system. Around this time of year that is quite common

[Razercake]

47 minutes ago, KelMcDowell said:

I am truly disappointed in the LTT store and how it seems to take your money and then provide you with your order whenever they feel like it.

when was the order shipped from label creation? after it leaves the warehouse, they don't have any influence over the process. I can tell you I have plenty of non-LTT packages that have gotten stuck for a few days cause of the holiday rush.

 

49 minutes ago, KelMcDowell said:

While shopping and ordering on this website, I was never alerted to any shipping delays, but I figured that there would be some due to the holiday season.

There has been a banner since Black Friday on the top of the page saying orders would be delayed, completely understand the frustration with getting notified with useless information. I use this site/app https://parcelsapp.com/ when I have to track packages since it checks across multiple services & can usually follow the package if it gets assigned multiple tracking numbers. (works wonders for my LTT deliveries)

 

I think some stuff could be looked into, f.e if they can change the delivery estimates on checkout (This might be handled completely by Shopify and not in their control idk) or maybe a popup when going to checkout, since you are the 2nd person I've seen complaining about not being told there could be delays. even though I think the top banner is more than adequate, some people just need it to be more in your face so that might be an option.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20231205034755/https://www.lttstore.com/

Edited January 3 by Razercake

[Alex T88]

For how long was your order, at the status "label created" ? In the past (don't know if they still do it anymore, hope not) LTT Store would print labels in advance, and it would take a while before shipping (my preorder for the LTT screwdriver, was stuck at "label created" for 8-9 days, iirc, back in late November 2022). Also, after the parcel is picked up by the delivery company, it is entirely out of LTT Store's hands, as Razercake already said it. Since your parcel has already been dispatched, you should reach out to UPS support, they'll probably be able to provide more exact information in regards to the whereabouts of your parcel, than what their online service provides. Given that your parcel has not been lost in shipping.

[Razercake]

8 minutes ago, Alex T88 said:

For how long was your order, at the status "label created" ? In the past (don't know if they still do it anymore, hope not) LTT Store would print labels in advance, and it would take a while before shipping (my preorder for the LTT screwdriver, was stuck at "label created" for 8-9 days, iirc, back in late November 2022).

They might've done it again for the holiday season? I made an order on Dec 8th, the label was created on the 20th & it was scanned in on the 29th. so there was some wait time between the label and it being scanned in, I don't know if they scan the package when it's picked up or when it arrives at the terminal. it could've been sitting at the terminal without being scanned in for all I know. but it was close to Christmas & as I said, plenty of my packages have gotten weird delays during the holidays ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Blue4130]

30 minutes ago, Razercake said:

They might've done it again for the holiday season? I made an order on Dec 8th, the label was created on the 20th & it was scanned in on the 29th. so there was some wait time between the label and it being scanned in, I don't know if they scan the package when it's picked up or when it arrives at the terminal. it could've been sitting at the terminal without being scanned in for all I know. but it was close to Christmas & as I said, plenty of my packages have gotten weird delays during the holidays ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

9 days between label shipping and getting scanned/picked up? That is insane. Years ago when I worked logisitics, orders came in, printed out, picked and packed, and shipped on the same day (as long as the order was in before 3pm). If we waited that long, our customers would have left long before the 9 days. (It was an industrial/mining suppler, parts were often mission critical - something that LTT doesn't need to worry about I guess)

[saintlouisbagels]

1 hour ago, Blue4130 said:

9 days between label shipping and getting scanned/picked up? That is insane. Years ago when I worked logisitics, orders came in, printed out, picked and packed, and shipped on the same day (as long as the order was in before 3pm). If we waited that long, our customers would have left long before the 9 days. (It was an industrial/mining suppler, parts were often mission critical - something that LTT doesn't need to worry about I guess)

Yeah but was Logistics impacted by Black Friday sales, lots of low-value inventory,  an unhinged company owner offering free shipping, and a clearly-understaffed shipping department?

[Blue4130]

1 minute ago, saintlouisbagels said:

Yeah but was Logistics impacted by Black Friday sales, lots of low-value inventory,  an unhinged company owner offering free shipping, and a clearly-understaffed shipping department?

Black Friday, no, but we did have harvest and other events that caused insane work days. As for the company owner, he was not unhinged, but for the value of the oders, shipping was trivial. And understaffed? definitely.

[Teemslo]

Right there with you OP. I've been waiting over a month now for my LTT screwdriver set. The best I can tell they sat on the order for over 3 weeks before it left their building. It was my first time ordering with LTT and while delays are to be expected this time of year the failure to inform the customer on a shipping window properly is just bad business. See a lot of apologists for this type of practice. None of my other orders (outside of LTT) had an issue making it to me and I ordered a fair amount this holiday season. So to place the blame anywhere but on the LTT store logistics chain is silly.

[Alex T88]

12 minutes ago, Teemslo said:

So to place the blame anywhere but on the LTT store logistics chain is silly.

LTT Store can be blamed if they keep printing labels in advance. That's bad practice, imo. They used to do that, when they were understaffed. I have no idea if they are still doing it, however Nick Light, LMG's COO, announced back in November/December 2022 that they won't be doing that anymore (the thread with Nick Light's post is somewhere here in the Merch section, I don't have time to look for it now). If they still do that, it's on them. However, once the parcel is picked up by the delivery company, it is out of LTT's hands. It's pretty straight forward. It's all down to how much it took in the OP's case for the shipment to be picked up, after the label was created. That's the part we are missing. The date when the label was created, since we know the parcel was picked up on the 20th of December. However, that is only relevant to see if they keep printing orders in advance. Afaik 3-9 day estimated delivery, is in business days and I think that applies since the day the order is picked up by the initial courier/leaves their warehouse. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

On a personal note, when dealing with estimates (in general) and especially regarding LTT store orders, arm yourself with tons of patience. I've learned my lesson the hard way. Never make expectations when dealing with estimates and probabilities. Can they do better?! I sure hope so. Did they do better?! Yes, in my case when I ordered the stubby. But that was not a preorder. I've literally had tens of complaints on this forum and possible solutions on how to mitigate shipping. I am not going to reiterate that here. Everything is in my post history. My conclusion, after months of frustrations, is that, it is what it is. Take it or leave it, it is as simple as that. For the time being, I don't think that anything significant will change in regards to the entire process. Also, I live in Eastern Europe. So yeah, waiting for something to be delivered, is extremely slow, especially when you make for yourself false expectations. 

[Blue4130]

37 minutes ago, Alex T88 said:

LTT Store can be blamed if they keep printing labels in advance. That's bad practice, imo. They used to do that, when they were understaffed. I have no idea if they are still doing it, however Nick Light, LMG's COO, announced back in November/December 2022 that they won't be doing that anymore (the thread with Nick Light's post is somewhere here in the Merch section, I don't have time to look for it now). If they still do that, it's on them. However, once the parcel is picked up by the delivery company, it is out of LTT's hands. It's pretty straight forward. It's all down to how much it took in the OP's case for the shipment to be picked up, after the label was created. That's the part we are missing. The date when the label was created, since we know the parcel was picked up on the 20th of December. However, that is only relevant to see if they keep printing orders in advance. Afaik 3-9 day estimated delivery, is in business days and I think that applies since the day the order is picked up by the initial courier/leaves their warehouse. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

On a personal note, when dealing with estimates (in general) and especially regarding LTT store orders, arm yourself with tons of patience. I've learned my lesson the hard way. Never make expectations when dealing with estimates and probabilities. Can they do better?! I sure hope so. Did they do better?! Yes, in my case when I ordered the stubby. But that was not a preorder. I've literally had tens of complaints on this forum and possible solutions on how to mitigate shipping. I am not going to reiterate that here. Everything is in my post history. My conclusion, after months of frustrations, is that, it is what it is. Take it or leave it, it is as simple as that. For the time being, I don't think that anything significant will change in regards to the entire process. Also, I live in Eastern Europe. So yeah, waiting for something to be delivered, is extremely slow, especially when you make for yourself false expectations. 

What I don't understand is why is the label being printed in advance at all? It is the last step in the chain. Recieve order, print out pick slip, get items from warehouse, verify items, pack in box, THEN print label, fianlly call delievery (honestly they should have daily pickups scheduled already - I assume that they do)

 

So at most, after the label is printed, there could be a one day delay if the oder is boxed after the daily pickup is already done.

[Dangling9808]

I ordered items on 11/27/23

I received an item shipped notification on 12/15/23

My order has been at "label created" since then.

I contacted support 12/21/23

I have not received any assistance and have sent another email today. I realize there have been holidays to account for the delay in response, but per the email, I should have allowed for 5 days for a response. This is day 7 in business days.

 

What amuses me is the secret shopper series just wrapped up on youtube. If I were randomly placing one order from this shop, I'd be deducting a ton of points.

[Alex T88]

@Dangling9808 Sadly, your post and what others have posted as well, stand testimony, that LTT Store is still employing the same bad practice, of printing labels in advance. I will also include Nick Light's take on the subject, dating from November 19th 2022. I will also drop the link for the original thread. Very disappointing to see, that more than a year later and things have not changed for the better.

 

 

 

[nicklmg]

Just want to jump in and clarify a couple things.

 

Shipping

To my understanding, we have not been printing labels in advance of shipping. It's possible that on some days our distribution team has been unable to fill all orders printed due to overestimating their outbound capability for that day, but as a matter of policy we are not printing labels beyond what can be picked and shipped that day.

 

As mentioned in this thread, our distribution team was pre-printing a number of labels late last year during peak season and it lead to a ton of frustration, so we did our best to nip that in the bud. Our team was printing 5,000-10,000 labels at a time for convenience, which would send an initial update to our customers, but we were only able to ship 1,000-2,000 orders per day. This lead to additional delays of 5+ days for a lot of customers, which was extremely brutal.

 

With all of that said, there are still delays between a label being created, and a shipment showing updates on tracking - especially during the holiday season.

 

Typical process outside of peak season is:

 

Day 1 - label printed, order picked, added to pallet for pickup. Depending on time of day, pickup may happen day 1 or day 2

Day 2 - package picked up & entered into our aggregator's system. This does not show up in tracking, as it's through a 3rd party. We've asked for additional visible tracking stages on packages for a number of months at this time, and to our understanding this is being worked on, but isn't live on their side yet

Day 3 - cross-border transfer & sorting at facility in the US, then transfer to the final carrier. This does not show up in tracking, same as above.

Day 4 - package scanned in final carrier's system. This DOES show up in tracking. From this stage, all updates should show up in tracking

Day 5-28 (depending on region/country) - normal shipping process with semi-regular updates (eg. "scanned at local facility," "out for delivery")

 

So effectively, even if we print & ship same day, you may see a 3-4 day delay on tracking updates under normal circumstances through our current process. When we get into holiday rush, that has the potential to balloon significantly due to delays on day 3/4 from the carrier side - we've seen anywhere from 1-7 day delays on packages being scanned into the system from UPS, USPS, and others during peak times.

 

Support response time

We have been a bit behind over the last week or so - we underestimated the amount of inquiries we'd receive around the holiday (partially due to some unforeseen circumstances like the backpack dual layer issue) and approved additional time off for some of our team, which left us a bit understaffed for the number of inquiries we received - especially given the fact that we've had 2 4-days weeks in a row due to public holidays here.

 

With that said, our team is making a ton of progress and working through hundreds of responses each day, and they're putting in whatever OT they're comfortable with (obviously up to a cap...) in order to get replies back to as many people as quick as possible.

 

As of today our oldest tickets are from 12/27 (6 business days), and we expect that response delay to drop significantly by early next week.

 

Conclusion

It's difficult for me to comment on individual circumstances, especially with stuff like Shop app where some of the measures we have in place may or may not push to the end user (eg. through late November and early December we had "ships by" date estimates at checkout, but I don't think we can control if that pushes to the Shop app or not) - if you have an individual concern with your order, please reach out to our support team as they'll be best-equipped to handle the issue in full.

 

We are evaluating new opportunities around distribution to try to improve the experience through our store - nothing is off the table right now, so while we have distributed primarily out of Canada up until now, it's possible that we may add or change regions as we continue to grow. We're reaching a point where this is becoming more and more feasible due to the incredible support from the community.

 

Our goal is always to do right by our customers. We're far from perfect, and there may be some delays or issues from time to time, but we appreciate all of the feedback we get from y'all and we're taking it to heart.

 

 

PS: If you are in a situation where you've reached out to support and haven't received a reply from a ticket before 12/27, please let me know so I can look into that further. Always possible that something was missed or a mistake was made in the process, and I'd like to address that if it happened.

[Dangling9808]

8 hours ago, Alex T88 said:

@Dangling9808 Sadly, your post and what others have posted as well, stand testimony, that LTT Store is still employing the same bad practice, of printing labels in advance. I will also include Nick Light's take on the subject, dating from November 19th 2022. I will also drop the link for the original thread. Very disappointing to see, that more than a year later and things have not changed for the better.

 

 

 

I received an email today that my order was delayed because one of the items I ordered was "unexpectedly out of stock" of course which the website did not show as out of stock and I never received a notification of that after my order was placed. I also was informed by support that my order shipped at the end of December, meaning the label was printed approx. 2 weeks before my item was in their warehouse to ship. 

 

As of today, after writing for a refund, I now received a support response and my order is moving through UPS. Quite the coincidence.

 

 

[nicklmg]

8 minutes ago, Dangling9808 said:

I received an email today that my order was delayed because one of the items I ordered was "unexpectedly out of stock" of course which the website did not show as out of stock and I never received a notification of that after my order was placed. I also was informed by support that my order shipped at the end of December, meaning the label was printed approx. 2 weeks before my item was in their warehouse to ship. 

 

As of today, after writing for a refund, I now received a support response and my order is moving through UPS. Quite the coincidence.

 

 

The response lining up with your order moving through UPS is a coincidence - we have no control over their systems, and it typically takes a number of days to get an update from them when we do reach out for clarification.

 

I'll DM you for your order # as I'd like to look into this one further. That 2 week gap shouldn't happen, so I'd like to see what went wrong there.

 

Regarding the item being out of stock - unfortunately sometimes there are inventory errors where our inventory count on the site doesn't line up 100% with what is actually available in the warehouse, and this typically shows up in cases like BFCM where we're doing a lot of "final sale" processing.

[Searingcastle]

I run a small business where our goods are about 85% MTO, and 15% Pick/pack inventory. During the holidays(typically Oct. 15-Dec. 30) we are inundated with so much orders that we end up making labels for stuff going out in the next day. Absolute worst case scenario we sit on a label for two days. But that’s insanely rare and usually involves some type of physical emergency. 
 

we can also do whatever the F&$k we want as long as the customer is chill because we run the show. But if you use shipping partners and pick and pack fulfillment centers, sometimes the time between order and “shipment” is a pretty serious KPI that can have a major effect on business relationships and even maintaining contractual agreements. 

I say all that to say, sometimes fulfillment centers or companies will print labels to clear the order into “the next stage” where they aren’t penalized, to give their woefully understaffed crew some breathing room to catch up with the surge of orders.

 

its totally frustrating and it’s not just an LTT problem, it’s not even a Canadian issue. It will get worse. 
 

And for the time it takes UPS to get stuff to you? That’s also going to get worse.