Bottom line up front: Sheridan Books charged me $1,100 more than my initial estimate for 30 less books. I'll start with the good: my book order was received and the books are of good quality. That's what the two stars are based on. So kudos to the people that actually make the books. The bad is that each step in the process felt more painful than it needed to be. Given that the individuals at Sheridan that I communicated with have been in their respective roles for 15+ years, one would think that they would have the entire process down, yet this was not the case.
I had to request items that should have been provided, documents I had provided were misplaced or forgotten and were later requested again, etc. Communication from the account rep was poor. Responses to emails were always slow and robotic. At no time was the sentiment conveyed that my business was appreciated. Most inquiries required a follow up email on my part the following day in order to receive a response. There was often a lack of attention to detail. In one instance during the process, an important inquiry went unanswered for weeks. I had given up on the request when I was surprised to finally receive a response.
More examples: My scheduled print date came and went with no indication that the books were actually printed. All I received was a request for my shipping information. You are just asking for this now? Eventually I learned that the printing was delayed by two days. This should have been clearly communicated to the customer. Did the sample copies ship? Again, I had to ask. Great customer service would be to provide that information to customers without them having to ask. I work with many vendors, so I know what good customer service looks like, and this isn't it. The feeling one is left with is that at least this particular account rep does not enjoy working there and is just going through the motions/doing the bare minimum.
On to the cost increases. The first cost increase came when it was time to sign the contract -- a $200 increase for an "increase in materials cost" -- 30 days after my initial estimate? Maybe the materials cost did go up, maybe they didn't. As a customer, you have no way to know. Do you think they ever lower the cost based on a "decrease in materials cost"? I'll bet that's never happened. I would not be surprised if the "materials cost increase" was a basic part of their operation: low ball the quote to get the business, then add a small but significant price increase at the time the contract is signed.
Finally, the cost of shipping increased by 145% on my final invoice vs. what I had been quoted five months prior. While I anticipated an increase in shipping costs due to current high gas prices, I didn't expect a 145% increase (about a $900 increase), and I was never given any indication that the price of shipping could have this much variability. It should be stated clearly up front that the shipping price on the initial estimate is pretty close to meaningless and could potentially increase dramatically -- especially when turnaround times are running at 16 weeks. My sense is that, again, they probably low balled the initial shipping estimate to make the overall cost seem more attractive. There are many websites that track shipping prices, and I couldn't find any indication that U.S. domestic freight prices had nearly tripled over the previous five month period.
But it gets worse. Once the order shipped (which provided the weight), anyone can go online and get quotes for freight shipping. There were many estimates that came in far lower than what I was charged. A reputable, national carrier (that Sheridan Books used to ship me an order previously) came in at about $800 less! Further, I received a quote from *the same carrier* -- again, on the same day that my order shipped -- that was $300 less. The excuse for the $900 increase was "higher gas prices." Yet the surcharge for the higher gas prices was stated clearly on most of the estimates, and was typically about $250.
When I called and spoke with a customer service rep for the shipping company Sheridan used to ship my order, he would not disclose the price that was paid for the shipping. Why would this be a secret? At this point I think it became obvious that Sheridan is marking up the shipping price that is charged to the customer. I even found an article on "Freightview" describing the "best practices" for marking up shipping costs as a potential new "profit center" (average mark-up: 19%). And while marking up the shipping is not illegal, personally I find it highly distasteful, and not the kind of thing I would expect from any company that I would choose to do business with -- especially when I'm being charged $900 over the initial shipping estimate.
So while I was grateful that the books came out well, due to the less than stellar customer service and the shipping mark-up, I won't be doing business with Sheridan Books again. read more
