Bad Pangea experience...

[Tommy Gun]

On their site Pangea said they'd be closed between Dec. 25th and Jan. 3rd (I think it was the 3rd), so new orders wouldn't be processed during that time.

I placed an order on their site Dec. 24th, thinking the order would still ship out since it was before the deadline. I never got a confirmation (besides the automated), so I emailed them on the 29th asking if it went through and would be shipped. No response.

Finally on Jan. 6th (two weeks after I placed the order!) I emailed them again asking if they could just cancel my order. No response.

This really pissed me off. The main thing I was ordering were vitamins. I could have just bought some at Whole Foods a week ago, but I thought I would have them by then (or soon). The worst part about it is that I couldn't even order or buy from anywhere else because I didn't even know if my order was going through or if it was cancelled!

So finally I called them today and asked what the deal was, and the guy said they had been closed on Dec. 24th, not the 25th like the site said. Still, why no emails? He had no idea, but they had in fact cancelled my order when I requested it. He said that I was right, the site was misleading about the date.

The only other thing that may have happened was that my address hadn't gotten changed after I moved (even though I changed it with the bank, for some reason it never got changed), so my credit card may not have gone through. Still, the guy on the phone didn't say anything about that. If that had been the problem, shouldn't they have emailed me?

I'm patient, and I know they're not a huge company, but that was a terrible experience. I co-own an online store, so I'm sort of speaking from both a consumer and a retailer viewpoint. Leaving customers in the dark about their order status is bad, and not responding to ANY emails is a big :no: :no:

Even after they had cancelled my order, they STILL didn't email me!! Arrggh! I've ordered from Pangea before, and it was fine. Sorry this was so long.

[Quizeen]

I've had a similar experience with them, especially the bit about not answering e-mails. It was ultimately resolved, but in a rather too public fashion.

I order everything from Vegan Essentials and Healthy Eating now without any problems.

[Tommy Gun]

That's too bad. I was hoping it was just some rare thing that happened to me. I'm going to place an order with Vegan Essentials today. I'm a growing vegan boy and I need my vitamins!

[missleigh]

I've been ordering from Pangea for several years with no problems up until recently. They took more that three weeks to get us an order (small order) this time around, and some was still backordered. I called to inquire about an order, and didn't receive super customer service like I should have. I understand that this happens sometimes with companies, and I do want to support vegan companies, but Vegan Essentials have been consistantly fast and nice on the phone. My money is going where the service is.

[Flower]

I've noticed that Pangea's service level has gone down a bit, too. They seem to have *a lot* of stuff that is backordered. I'll still order from them, but only if I can't find what I need from Vegan Essentials, which doesn't happen very often. Vegan Essentials rocks! :up:

[Artichoke47]

I had a slight problem with Pangea, too, but it was rectified and I got an apology.

I do like Vegan Essentials, too.

[Tommy Gun]

Well I FINALLY got a reply (this was after I called them of course):



We're very sorry for not getting your package out to you in a timely manner. We have been *extremely* busy due to the Christmas rush and, unfortunately, your order seemed to slip through the cracks. It should have gone out a long time ago. We're not sure how that happened, but we feel absolutely terrible about it.

We have cancelled your existing order and would like to give you $10 store credit to use toward a future order. We hope you will give us the chance to make this up to you.

Once again, we're very sorry about this.

"Slipped through the cracks"? Along with both of my emails?? *shakes head* Well anyway, it's a nice gesture, and at least they finally replied, but I don't think I'll order from them again anyway.

[Artichoke47]

They're human, and humans can and do make mistakes.

It was a nice gesture to give you a store credit. :up:

[skarrlett]

I ordered from Pangea once and I probably won't do it again. It took forever to receive my order and when I did receive it, they substituted a few items because they were sold out of the ones I ordered. I wished they would have asked me about it because I have crap that I don't want and I had to pay for it. :down:

[tearhsong2]

I've never had problems ordering through Pangea or Vegan Essentials. I like both companies and order from both depending on what I can find and their prices. Until recently, Pangea got all of my business, but that was because I didn't know Vegan Essentials existed. :)

[bstutzma]

I ordered some vegan marshmallows from Pangea about two weeks before thanksgiving, hoping they might come in time.

I received the marshmallows YESTERDAY. (01/08/04).

They shipped part of my order and that arrived after thanksgiving, and told me i wouldnt be charged for shipping for the backordered items. Well it finally came (two holidays too late!!) and sure enough there was a $6 shipping charge. I called them and they told me they'd credit my card for it.

I understand that the marshmallows were a huge hit but GEEZ!

I've also ordered from vegan essentials. very fast, courteous. I still prefer to buy things in my local stores when i can cause shipping is so expensive and the products seem a little marked up too.