Threads like this never cease to amaze me . . . there are obviously a lot of folks on here who have never worked for themselves or run a company. . . and who also seem to lack a grasp on reality.
I have a suggestion to all of those who have a b%&ch with Midway . . or any other company. There seems to be a large group of you so why don't you all pool your resources and start your own mail order on-line business selling the same things that the companies you are complaining about do? After all, you all seem to think you have the "expertise" to "do it the right way".
With the way things have been and still are . . . these companies are lucky to be surviving. Items out of stock . . back orders . . you think they like not having things to deliver to people? Who do you think pays for the bookkeeping to keep you on "back order" for some of the periods you are talking about? Somehow . . that information has to be processed by an individual and I doubt that any of you work for nothing.
Complaints for minimum shipping on small items . . do you think they get packing materials and someone to pack one or two items for nothing? And let's not forget the increase in shipping charges that seem to be a regular thing by the Post Office, etc.
Personally, I've ordered a number of orders from Midway and have been very pleased. Yea, perhaps the minimum shipping is a little high but if they have what I'm looking for . . and nobody else does . . it's up to me to decide if I want to pay the price or not. Nobody is twisting my arm. And having had run business for many years, I also know that someone has to pull that small order, check it, process it, pack it and ship it - and that labor, shipping materials and shipping charges don't come "free".
No one should be surprised that things are out of stock or that things may need to be backordered . but to complain because a company decides to cancel backorders that have been on the books a considerable time is just plain childish. So you have something that has been on back order for a year or more and do you think you are the only one? For all you know, they could have several thousand on back order for the same item . . do you expect them to keep that many on the books?
And I'm always amused by those who refer to the owners as "being to big for their britches" or not "caring for their customers". . . . I hope that makes you feel better as most of the complainers seem to think the owner is "getting rich". Well, number 1, any business cannot operate at a loss. They would be a lot "richer" if they could get product on the shelves to sell . . but they can't due to the shortages . . . remember, that's why you are on "back order". Add the loss in true cash flow . . . which is the lifeblood of any business . and then factor in the increased to the business for operating expenses . . . property taxes, overhead - electrical, water, insurances, etc. . . . well, some of you are living in a fantasy world.
If you are pissed at Midway or any other supplier "because you can't get what you want" or they don't run their business "the way you think they should" . . . you are free to get your stuff from anyone you want to. But you also need to look at all of the scenarios . . . you all want to boycott a company . . fine, go ahead . . but then don't complain when the number of suppliers start to "dry up". This country is run on free enterprise . . supply and demand usually sets the price . . . thrown in are the shortages . . . . you want to form a group so you can get group "discounts" . . . you are certainly free to do so. If I were a supplier and was approached by a group who banded together who "wanted" a discount on bulk purchases . . a supplier who didn't have and wasn't able to get enough supplies to handle the normal retail customers (remember, that's why your items are on backorder) . . . I'd offer you the same "discount" that I get from the power company, insurance company, water company, phone company, withholding taxes for my employees, workman's comp insurance and the list goes on and on . . . that discount would be zilch.
It's easy to criticize a company or a business . . but there are two sides to every story . . . and until you walk in that man's or company's moccasins . . . you have no understanding of the trees put in their way as they try to run their business and satisfy their customers.
So I look forward to seeing a new company formed by all of those who are "experts" on how another person should run their company . . . please keep us all informed and let us know when your catalog comes out as I want to be the first in line to buy shooting supplies from you . . . after all, you'll have an ample supply of product line to serve and supply everybody, you'll sell and ship at a reduced rate and there will never be any backorders so you won't even have to worry about establishing a policy on them nor pay someone to keep track of them. And oh, yea . .. . the best thing is that you'll never have to have a "customer service department" . . . because you all know how to run things without a glitch of any kind. And the Federal and State Regulations you have to abide by, the forms you have to fill out, the fees you have to pay . . . don't give them a though . . . I'm sure the employee who you assign to this task will gladly do it for nothing so you can keep your costs down.
They don't have anything and what they do have they will not ship.
