Northerner complaints/issues.

[LaZeR]

Since the new law was passed in USA we have received an extreme amout of e-mails, this has unfortunately made the respons time very long. We will have more people answearing e-mails in 48 hours. We will answear your question as soon as we can, we apologize about the long respons time. In August or September we will also open up a 800-number for customers to call. We will employ one person in the US who will work with customer support.

We also experience supply problems from manufacturers:
Knox, White Portion
Skruf Stark, White Portion
Odens Classic Kanel, Portion
Odens Extra Stark Kanel, Loose
Offroad Original, Portion
Offroad Wintergreen, Long Cut
Thunder Frosted Long+, Strong Portion
XQ's Licorice, Portion

We will ship these brands as soon as we receive them from our supplier. We apologize for the delay!

Of course we will compensate for every delay, you can expect that.

Sincerely,
Frank

Thanks Frank. I know your schedule is likely overloaded with everything but your presence in this forum and popping in from time to time to keep us posted is invaluable as in 'priceless' and goes a long way to keeping us feeling confidence in these troubled times.

PS: If you need any help manning the 'emails' or whatnot, drop me a PM and we can discuss. I do this sort of communication(s) for a living.

/Peace!

[snusnoose]

Of course we will compensate for every delay, you can expect that.
Sincerely,
Frank

I sure didn't get any compensation after my money was held for 20 days. I remained in limbo with customer service ignoring my inquiries. I could have used that money elsewhere. Yes, I eventually received the merchandise that I paid for. The least Northerner could of done was include a apologetic mystery can, or a coupon, or even a simple letter of apology. My family buys a lot of stuff online. Hands down this was the worst online transaction I have ever experienced.

[ratcheer]

....

Sincerely,
Frank

Excellent info - thanks!

Tim

[Experimental Monkey]

Northerner FTW I love you guys

Northerner for the win? Why? Because Frank comes on here and posts a canned message telling us the manufacturers are having a tough time getting product to them? If the manufacturers are having such a tough time then why is BuySnus not having the same problems? We have been told this whole time that the US is a small market - if we're such a small market why is Northerner having such a hard time servicing us?

[timholian]

Northerner for the win? Why? Because Frank comes on here and posts a canned message telling us the manufacturers are having a tough time getting product to them? If the manufacturers are having such a tough time then why is BuySnus not having the same problems? We have been told this whole time that the US is a small market - if we're such a small market why is Northerner having such a hard time servicing us?

OUCH... good observation.

[dxh]

snuscentral FTW. for me anyhow.
Northerner has been to unstable for my blood. I already have a family, that is plenty of instability for me

[texastorm]

I have been watching this thread silently, but dammit I can't contain myself. I run an ecommerce website. I answer emails, sometimes upwards of 200 a day during our busy season. I package everything, I ship everything, I answer the phone. Some days I can hardly keep up, other days I watch tv... and yet I have NEVER sold an item I did not already have available to ship. The software I use if free, and allows me to keep a running inventory of everything I have in the warehouse. It deducts items when people buy them, it adds them back when an order is canceled. I always know exactly how many of each item I have.

This is so damn simple its not even funny.

DO NOT SELL ITEMS YOU DONT HAVE

Then you dont have to worry about answering emails asking WHEN you are going to ship the product. You will still get the occasional impatient person, but then its on the shipper, because you already shipped it. So the problem here is not that Northerner showed bad customer service. Because if they had not taken orders for items they did not have they would not have to answer questions about it and hence would not have needed customer service. There are only a few hundred items on the Northerner website. Inventory should be easily a one man operation. Then when you are OUT of something, what you do is.... DONT F'ing SELL IT

Just plain bad business, preselling an item people are addicted too. Just plain bad. PACT or no PACT the answer is the same... sell what you have, be out of what you are out of. People will still order what they like, and be happier because they received it in a timely fashion.

[Harlequin]

I have been watching this thread silently, but dammit I can't contain myself. I run an ecommerce website. I answer emails, sometimes upwards of 200 a day during our busy season. I package everything, I ship everything, I answer the phone. Some days I can hardly keep up, other days I watch tv... and yet I have NEVER sold an item I did not already have available to ship. The software I use if free, and allows me to keep a running inventory of everything I have in the warehouse. It deducts items when people buy them, it adds them back when an order is canceled. I always know exactly how many of each item I have.

This is so damn simple its not even funny.

DO NOT SELL ITEMS YOU DONT HAVE

Then you dont have to worry about answering emails asking WHEN you are going to ship the product. You will still get the occasional impatient person, but then its on the shipper, because you already shipped it. So the problem here is not that Northerner showed bad customer service. Because if they had not taken orders for items they did not have they would not have to answer questions about it and hence would not have needed customer service. There are only a few hundred items on the Northerner website. Inventory should be easily a one man operation. Then when you are OUT of something, what you do is.... DONT F'ing SELL IT

Just plain bad business, preselling an item people are addicted too. Just plain bad. PACT or no PACT the answer is the same... sell what you have, be out of what you are out of. People will still order what they like, and be happier because they received it in a timely fashion.

very well put..

[paulmall]

very well put..

Well put indeed, and what I've been saying all along - Northerner deducted the money for my entire order from my bank account - one item of many is out of stock - instead of sending a partial shipment like they say they do on their site, they list the whole order as pending, indefinitely waiting for the one item that isn't in stock. An item they don't actually have - but have immediately accepted payment for. As I mentioned before, one thing Northerner does extremely FAST is taking money from people. No problems there!

[Panserbjørne]

Sure wish I'd found snuson and checked in before I tried an order from getsnus. When I first started using snus, The Northerner's site was the only online store from which to purchase. When SwedishMatch and buysnus came along I switched to them precisely because The Northerner was always late sending my orders, never responded to email until I began threatening legal action in the subject line, and or course always deducted the funds from my bank account first thing--regardless of how many weeks it was going to take them to get around to filling my order. Had I known that getsnus was owned by The Northerner up front, I'd have never even bothered.

I'll grant that I haven't kept up with the latest business news in the world of snus like folks here have, but I can tell y'all this: The PACT act and any stock shortages that accompanied it probably have little effect on the situation. As long as ten years ago, ordering from the The Northerner meant dealing with the same annoyances nearly each and every order I placed. After 10 years, you'd think they'd have figured out some way to improve their performance--unless they simply don't give a rat's rectum, which seems very likely. They must not use tobacco in any form, because if they did they'd realize why they need to at least say something if they can't get an order out right away.

It's been almost a day since I emptied my last can of snus. I was going to try to wait it out as long as I could but I am not having fun. I half wish I was in PA to deliver the message to the SOB(s) responsible, live and in person. At least now I know what's going on. Might as well head to the store for a roll of Copenhagen.

Thanks for the info, guys.

Dave

[Bigblue1]

Northerner for the win? Why? Because Frank comes on here and posts a canned message telling us the manufacturers are having a tough time getting product to them? If the manufacturers are having such a tough time then why is BuySnus not having the same problems? We have been told this whole time that the US is a small market - if we're such a small market why is Northerner having such a hard time servicing us?

Primarily, because I've never had an issue. So why should I not love them. Because some people have had some problems. sorry, not my problem. Hate em if you like, but I like them.

[beachbum1972]

I found this thread because I am trying to figure out what happened to my order. I figure I will chime in.... I placed an order from GetSnus.com on Wednesday, June30th. I figured the order would arrive Monday, maybe Tuesday, although orders in the past would usually arrive in 2 days. It is now July 14th. I have sent several messages to them asking what happened to my order. I have not received one reply. Nothing! At this point, I'm probably going to call my credit card company to reverse the charges and go elsewhere. I understand that s&*t happens, but nobody has even contacted me. They have my money... that is all that really seems to matter to them. As a small business owner, I understand there are things that happen that are beyond your control, but you must explain to your customers what the problem is. Don't just leave them sitting in the dark. If I happen to get my order or a response, they will have to do something very special for me to order from them again.

OK, that's it for me... happy snusing!

<reaching for a can of Skoal>

[lxskllr]

Welcome to SnusOn Panser and beach!

I've always thought Northerner's communication could be better, but it's always worked out eventually. I'd have a hard time recommending them at this time, but in 6 months, I think they'll be a solid snus source. Too much happened too quickly, and I don't think they were prepared. They aren't out to screw anyone, but patience will be necessary getting things straightened out. Whether or not the service is considered acceptable is up to the individual, but it should all work out in the end.

[snusgetter]

Been there, am there, yada yada..

.... I placed an order from GetSnus.com on Wednesday, June30th. I figured the order would arrive Monday, maybe Tuesday, although orders in the past would usually arrive in 2 days. It is now July 14th.

My situation, too, since June 30 EXCEPT that I managed to PM Frank from Northerner early this morning while he was around and finally got some information (trying to contact Fredrik the whole time was useless as is trying to track him down).

We are dealing with this right away and will ship out as soon as possible. oomph will soon be in stock in the US. We will now hire more person to deal with the customer support. We have received so many emails due to the Pact Act but we WILL solve every single issue and compensate those orders that are affacted.

Sincerely,
Frank

I think they are really over their heads right now, whatwith their acquisition of Getsnus and all the FDA & PACT crap. I haven't given up on them yet but, once I finally get my PENDING ORDER, I should be OK until everything shakes out. I'm not trying to make excuses for them -- the planning was definitely p*ss-poor -- but I have a feeling there might have been internal shakeups that aggravated the situation. Just my .

[dxh]

I found this thread because I am trying to figure out what happened to my order. I figure I will chime in.... I placed an order from GetSnus.com on Wednesday, June30th. I figured the order would arrive Monday, maybe Tuesday, although orders in the past would usually arrive in 2 days. It is now July 14th. I have sent several messages to them asking what happened to my order. I have not received one reply. Nothing! At this point, I'm probably going to call my credit card company to reverse the charges and go elsewhere. I understand that s&*t happens, but nobody has even contacted me. They have my money... that is all that really seems to matter to them. As a small business owner, I understand there are things that happen that are beyond your control, but you must explain to your customers what the problem is. Don't just leave them sitting in the dark. If I happen to get my order or a response, they will have to do something very special for me to order from them again.

OK, that's it for me... happy snusing!

<reaching for a can of Skoal>

Ouch. You mirror my recent experience. I was using grizzly straight to get me through.
I mean I did not get one freaking update for almost a month. Actually, I still have not. Just read the posts they did here for an update.
I did get a tracking number the other day for a partial shipment. So at least I know something is coming.
In the end I am going to vote with my money on this one and buy elsewhere. That could change, this whole mess could be growing pains that help shed light on weakness, but I am playing it safe and going with a different source for the next year or so.