# Problems with Conde customer service anyone?



## papermama (Mar 6, 2010)

Okay, I am frustrated!!!! I placed an order for a few different sublimation blanks with Conde back in the beginning of January (1/3/11). Not a huge order, approx. $300. There was a shipping mis-communication wherein the package was shipped to our old address. The old address was vacant, however FedEx evidently left it their anyway. (Mind you, I get packages daily and hadn't been at that address for 6 months so they went from daily to NONE...but that is another discussion. LOL!)

When the package did not arrive a week or so later I contacted Conde to find out the problem. This is when it was discovered that it was sent to the wrong location. My Conde rep said she would contact her shipping department and they would have FedEx return to pick-up the package and she would call me back with an update. One week later, no response so I emailed my rep for an update (I had asked for her email on the prior phone call). No response. I called and left a voicemail two days later. No response. I emailed again a day later. The rep responded with a copy of the tracking info from the first shipment. I called and spoke with her and she again indicated she would talk to the shipping department to try to figure out what could be done and call me back.

In the meantime, I had someone go check the old location to see if there was a package sitting outside in the snow. No package.

Again a week passes and no return call or update from my rep. I email her again. She responds "we are going to reship the order; what address should this be sent to?", I responded with the correct address (which had also been updated in the system). This was on January 25th.

Again a couple of weeks pass, no package. I call the rep back. She indicated there was mis-communication again and she never indicated that they were re-shipping my order. I read her the email (and forwarded it to her). She says she mis-stated and wasn't clear. What she meant was FedEx was going to go and retrieve the original package and then re-send it me. FedEx had still not made an attempt to do so - OVER ONE MONTH AFTER INITIAL DELIVERY! Again she said she would contact shipping and call me back. Again, no return call.

I gave up. I decided to call and speak to another rep this week to voice my frustrations. She was very pleasant and listened intently. She said she would email all parties involved and connected me to the RMA department to try to resolve. I left a message in the mailbox I was transferred to. Two days later, no response AGAIN. 

What gives? I know the order is small but it gives me HUGE concerns about their reliability with larger and time-sensitive orders. 

Any regular Conde customers care to reassure me that this situation is a fluke and their customer service is generally reliable and responsive?

Best,
Jephtha

Ps - Thanks for letting me rant! If I am being unreasonable let me have it!


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## elhines33 (Jan 28, 2011)

Rant away, it's theraputic 

I've been dealing with Conde for a couple months and have never had the kind of issues you are having! I can understand your frustration! Generally Conde has been the fastest, most reliable supplier when it comes to shipping my orders. I hope for all our sakes this was just a one time fluke! 
Have you tried contacting FedEx yourself?


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## holcomb (Dec 5, 2007)

I think you need to take responsiblity for not making sure Conde had the correct address. I have had nothing but excellent customer service from Conde.


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## MX1CAN (Jul 24, 2009)

As Liz and Gary said we've never had any problems with Conde's shipping department either. Once again we don't know both sides to the story (as with almost any complaint) but you must also share part of that blame however small/large it is. This was in my experience dealing with them a one time fluke.

Try contacting Conde_David (David Gross) from Conde. He posts regularly on the forums and I'm sure he'll be happy to help you out.

If you can't get a hold of him I think there are also more Conde reps on the forums as well. 

Hopefully you can get your problem resolved quickly


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## papermama (Mar 6, 2010)

I completely agree that there was error on my part with the incorrect shipping address. And had I been told off the bat that 'sorry your out of luck' I would have just had to deal with it as my error. My issue really rises from being strung along as though there was a solution and then not being called back when promised. Then actually being told it was being re-shipped. If there was nothing that could have been done from the beginning, I would have adjusted accordingly in January and not still been dealing with this in March. So yeah, I am not without blame, I know that.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

I cancelled my account with them after several instances of them deciding to not ship entire orders because 1 piece was missing, even when I specifically told them to cancel the 1 missing piece. A week would go by, no package, call the rep, oh he misunderstood. 3 orders with the same problem combined with the rep calling me every 3 days to see if I needed something, even after I specifically told him to stop calling me, I had enough.

No, it's not just you...


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## irish (Dec 13, 2008)

My experience with Conde is to find a decent rep and I talked to several before I found one I could work with. As others have said, when they screw up shipping, they do it big time. Have you called your credit card company to tell them to reverse changes since Conde wouldn't take care of the problem?


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Well I guess I better look for another vendor. I was thinking of using them since I see one of their people posting here. 

One thing I hate is to have customer service reps who think they're the only ones in the world that matter. After they get off the phone they complain about you with their fellow workers. 

I like companies who want my business no matter what size it is. 

This is the only problem I've found with different companies. So far all the t-shirt suppliers have been great. They really take care of you the best they can. 

I've had some ink suppliers send me bogus supplies becaues they didn't know better. Some may say it's not their fault, but it actually is. They need to know there business. They also need to know that everyone talks to other people just like we're doing here. 

Maybe we should start posting their names so we don't have the same problems, lol


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Well I guess I better look for another vendor.


Hopefully one or two miscues from a supplier (any supplier) won't cause you to ignore them completely. I've heard many more positive stories about Conde than I've heard negative experiences.

A company of any large size is going to make a mistake every now and then. Customer service people are humans like us and have bad days and good days (just like people on the forum have bad days and sometimes aren't always as polite as they could be ) To me, how they handle the issues in the end is the bigger signal of how a company stands.

I will say I've never ordered from Conde myself, but I've read many helpful posts from David and talked to him at a trade show (as well as read many posts by other Conde customers), and I don't think this is the norm for them.

Ultimately, every business has to make their own decisions about who they use and why they use them, but I hope that folks see a larger picture than just a few posts. This applies to not only Conde, but also to all the business members on this forum and out there in the offline world 

@papermama thanks for taking the time to share your experience. It really helps for members to hear honest experiences with companies. Much appreciated for also letting people know that the reason for the original mis-shipment may have been on your end. It was also good meeting you last weekend at ISS


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## casperboy77 (May 20, 2009)

Jephtha,

Sorry to hear the problems you are having. I have been using Condè for a few years now and they are the absolute best vendor I have ever dealt with in my life! I am serious. Once in a great while I may receive a broken mug or something with a defect and when I call they correct the problem instantly. All the Condè reps I have dealt with have been excellent to talk to and have helped me beyond that of any expectation.



> The rep responded with a copy of the tracking info from the first shipment.


Often times, since it was the same order they will reuse that tracking number when they pickup the order. That is a FedEX thing not Condè. 

I too have had a major shipping problem with FedEx, let me tell you: I ordered a Crystal Machine around $2000.00 (from another vender NOT Condè. When the machine arrived it was smashed beyond what could be imagined!! Glass was everywhere and the metal just totally dented to being non usable. Well lucky for me it was insured (we at least I thought I was protected). I called the vendor and they had FedEx pick the Crystal Machine back up the same day. FedEx picked up the machine to send out to one of their inspection stations for the insurance. Well a week went by and suddenly the Crystal Machine was delivered back to me from FedEx. The same machine with the huge dents and broken glass all over the place. I called the vendor and the vendor told me that FedEx inspected it and found nothing wrong with it!!!! I almost fell on the floor right then and there. Luckily the vendor I purchased the machine from believed me and seen the pictures and sent me another machine. 

So after my little story and experience with FedEx I wouldn't put the blame all on Condè. I would do as one user on here suggested call David Gross. David is a great guy and I have called an e-mailed him many times over the years for sublimation advice on different substrates. Condè won't do wrong by you, they are good people!! I know that first impressions mean everything. My very first order was with BestBlanks.com many years ago and it was so bad that I haven't ordered from BestBlanks.com since. So I understand your first impression right now with Condè. I really hope that you can give them a chance because they will do everything they can to help you.

Just my 2 cents worth!
-Jim


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## DaveW (May 24, 2008)

I have been using Conde for several years and no problems. I do think a good rep is probably key to the relationship, I recommend Derek D.  He has pulled my rear out of the fire more than once.

They are not perfect, we struggled this week with response time on a print order, but Derek was on vacation which I think was part of the problem. 

David Gross has given me his direct phone number to call him on Sunday for a printer problem. I think overall, Conde is a good company and has a culture of doing the right thing.

DaveW


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Sorry for the issue.
Please give me a call.
Happy to help.
251.639.4202


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## PhilDx (Feb 13, 2010)

I've had excellent service from Conde. If you had it shipped to the wrong address it's really your bad, kudos to them for at least trying to fix it.


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

I understand that Conde is a vendor and all that goes with that - I do not have a dog in this fight - but people have individual experiences. What I try to do when I do not get satisfaction is to keep going up the food chain until I reach someone that can either fix the problem or tell me it won't be resolve. I have been tracking this thread and I am sure the person stated that they would resolve it until they were told that it would not be resolve and there was no way they could get out of that block. Everyone reports to someone and you just have to keep going up until you get a decision maker. The good part - by you starting this thread - a decision maker reached out to you. A lot of times owners, senior managers, etc does not know what is going on in the weeds. I try to put on repellent and go into the trenches every now and then just to get a look from that vantage point. I hope it is resolved to everyones satisfaction and I like to thank all of the vendor who verify my address before shipping me my goods. I will no longer take it as an annoying practice.


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## papermama (Mar 6, 2010)

Thank you everyone for the input and opinions! I am not giving up on Conde yet, I will give David a call tomorrow and request Derek D on my next order. Wish me luck (and remind me to ALWAYS triple check my shipping address! LOL!)


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

Personally, I think Conde better find out which reps aren't providing good customer service. There are enough good people out there looking for jobs, so they may need to weed out some of their workforce. One or two bad reps can really hurt a companies reputation. My rep sometimes doesn't return messages for 3 days. It does irritate me. Another time, after waiting for a shipment for 2 weeks, I called my rep and was told they had a bad batch and were waiting for new ones to come in. I should have been notified of this immediately. In the meantime I found another source with the same price but less shipping, due to being a few hundred miles closer. Overall, I'd still give Conde a 9 out of 10, but I do have another vendor that gives a little better customer service.


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## TexSub (Aug 27, 2007)

I have been a customer with Conde for a few years now and can say they are awesome. I have had very few problems with orders and they all were rectified immediately. When I got my new printer David himself helped me set it up properly...and he was on his way home after hours. Jessica is my rep and is top notch! She has helped me when things got critical (Dad died and needed photo panels the next day). I called her right at quitting time and sure enough, the panels were waiting at my door that next morning. Jessica is Derek's sister so I guess great customer service runs in the family. There are two major vendors here in Texas that will order from ONLY IF I need something the next day and dont want to spend $$$$ for next day air. That is rare though. And one of the vendors never seems to have anything I need in stock in their Texas warehouse. Conde is my go-to company. David, if you read this make sure you give Jessica a big ole hug for me(Bobby) and tell Stefan I will see her in a couple of weeks in Austin at the NBM show.


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## texasjack49 (Aug 4, 2008)

papermama said:


> Thank you everyone for the input and opinions! I am not giving up on Conde yet, I will give David a call tomorrow and request Derek D on my next order. Wish me luck (and remind me to ALWAYS triple check my shipping address! LOL!)


 We just about gave up on Conde about a year ago but opted to request a different service rep instead. We didn't want to criticize our rep, she was making an effort and is a nice person, but we just weren't on the same page. Derrick is our rep now and we are still with Conde. When we do call for support if a certain person answers we just tell her we will call back later(not our original service rep). Nobody hits 100% all the time but we have learned that many times it's who you are working with that makes a difference.


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## irish (Dec 13, 2008)

I think I should clarify my earlier post. I do use Conde because I found a good rep in their system. I was just saying that once there is a shipping problem with them, it seems to snowball and maybe that is because they use Fedex as their primary shipper. I HATE Fedex in this area and won't use them if at all possible.


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Our primary carrier is UPS.

I did call her and left a message.


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## LaserHead (Jul 10, 2010)

All issues aside, one thing I admire about Conde is their level of support on sites like this. Let's be honest, David, is the CEO (I think), and he's on here daily, helping people and when issues come up, he tries to make sure they are resolved quickly.

I don't know the name of any other CEO of any other supplier we deal with in any industry. I've never had one call me after hours, on the weekend, or any time in general. I've never had one that knew enough about their product to actually answer technical questions. 

I LOVE having account reps too. I get sick of talking to a different person every time I place an order with other suppliers. Seems like I'm nothing more than an order for them. We bought from one company for 4 years and never heard anything from them. No "thanks for the business" or "is there anything else we can help you with", no nothing. Just take my order week after week and forget I exist until the phone rings again.

I like having someone's name I know and I can ask for and talk to, and that knows who I am.

Is Conde perfect? Probably not. Do I have any perfect suppliers? No. Do I think they will go above and beyond to make me happy as compared to the people that don't know who we are? Yes, I do.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

casperboy77 said:


> Jephtha,
> I too have had a major shipping problem with FedEx, let me tell you: I ordered a Crystal Machine around $2000.00 (from another vender NOT Condè. When the machine arrived it was smashed beyond what could be imagined!! Glass was everywhere and the metal just totally dented to being non usable. Well lucky for me it was insured (we at least I thought I was protected). I called the vendor and they had FedEx pick the Crystal Machine back up the same day. FedEx picked up the machine to send out to one of their inspection stations for the insurance. Well a week went by and suddenly the Crystal Machine was delivered back to me from FedEx. The same machine with the huge dents and broken glass all over the place. I called the vendor and the vendor told me that FedEx inspected it and found nothing wrong with it!!!! I almost fell on the floor right then and there. Luckily the vendor I purchased the machine from believed me and seen the pictures and sent me another machine. -Jim


Part or most of the blame is the driver making the delivery this is something the company you made the purchase with can’t control. A few years back we had a Ioline 300 cutter delivered. As the FedEx driver was taking it off the truck, she said “I think you need to take a look at this, something fell out of the box and I shoved it back in.” There was a hole in the end of the box with a piece of metal hanging out. I knew it wasn’t part of the cutter so I pulled it out. You’re not going to believe was it was… a sway bar for a Ford truck! It had a shipping tag taped to the bar with the address of where it should be delivered…no box just a tag. I looked at the driver and “Duh! I didn’t know you could ship without a box.” You can't make people care!


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

I would have to agree with both of you. I always see Dave on here and would have to give his company a Gold Star for that. I only know a couple others I've seen Like Peter from All American, and Ed from Proworld. 

Kudo's to you all.

Also, you're right about the Drivers. It seems like you just can't get great service. However, I think our UPS driver is top notch. We always get the right packages and he takes care of us.


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

Kevin from Johnson Plastics is also a regular on here and has come to my rescue at times.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

mn shutterbug said:


> Kevin from Johnson Plastics is also a regular on here and has come to my rescue at times.


Kevin is incredible. We all make mistakes or get wires crossed but what really matters is what happens after the fact. We had a situation a while back where a critical delivery did not come on a Friday as intended. It would have shut us down over the weekend and we would have missed a delivery date. Kevin arranged for a courrier to delivery it to us and we had our products in 3 hours, printed all through the weekend and made our delivery.


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## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

we love conde, they will replace broken stuff (mugs, tiles) over the phone. Next time your package dosen't show up on time call then, don't wait. always a learning experience, next time you move make sure all your vendors know a new shipping address. maybe have them ship ups insted of fedex! good luck uncletee.


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## sandyk (Nov 2, 2007)

I'm having a problem with a brand new Oki C8600. Upon starting it up, it says there is a paper jam. No paper has been run through it yet. Because I discovered the problem at night, I callled Oki's 24 hour helpline, we walked through some attempts to figure out what is wrong, and they finally told me that the problem is something I cannot fix with tech support. I called Conde on Wednesday, and was told that they would replace the printer. On Friday I called to see if it had shipped and I was told to contact Al at Okidata. We kept missing each other yesterday, but through it all, Lori at Conde checked with me more than once to see if I'd reached him. Unfortunately, I was never able to catch him before he left for the weekend, so I have to wait until Monday now. I called Oki's tech support again today, and was informed that they ship parts, then schedule a technician, so the earliest I will have someone here is next Thursday. I would say that I am feeling quite disappointed because if a new printer had been shipped, I would have had it by Monday. Lori was great, but I wish I had a printer that works. I bought an Epson 4880 at the same time, and cannot get the ink set, so I am quite frustrated!


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

I am sorry that your printer is still not working.
I spent a lot of time on the phone with
Okidata regarding your printer on Friday.
They have assured me they will come onsite
to repair it.

I would have already send you another but due
To size and Okidata saying that it was easy
to fix, I agreed to their plan.

Again I am sorry for the delay.


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## sandyk (Nov 2, 2007)

Thank you David. Part of my anxiety stems from the fact that I have an order I need to ship Monday. It is already later than promised and I don't want to call our customer and tell her we cannot send it. Is it possible that you could print a single white t-shirt for me tomorrow and ship it to my customer?


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Yes. Send me the file. Email address is below.
Thanks.


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## FatboyGraphics (Sep 20, 2009)

Conde has always been great to me. Both my Sales Rep Stephan, and I've dealt with David a few times with my 7800. Both have gone above and beyond for me.

Ofcourse there have been issues, I can't recall any company not mess up eventually. But it is in how the fix the issue that is the most important. Conde has always taken care of my issues right away when they arise.

Request a new sales rep...just don't ask for Stefan, she needs to stay available for me when i need her...thanks.


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## sandyk (Nov 2, 2007)

Douglas at Conde walked me through some more things to try and my printer is now feeding paper. However, I am trying to use Digitrans paper and the toner isn't sticking to it well, from the center of the image downward, worsening as it reaches the bottom of the design. Everyone at Conde has been great at checking in with me. I'm sure once everything is set just right, I'll be happy.


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

sandyk said:


> I'm sure once everything is set just right, I'll be happy.


Good luck with that. Once you get into dye sublimation, happy days are history.  Just kidding. Good luck.


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Funny Mike,


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## papermama (Mar 6, 2010)

Just wanted to update... I did speak with David and he apologized for the mis-communication. He also put me in touch with Derek who has also reached out to make sure my account is up-to-date on all of their databases for future order. And although I will never see that initial vanished order, I am about to place another order and hopeful that all goes smoothly. Another rep, Sonya, also reached out to me on the forum just to make sure everything was handled. Again, thanks Conde for easing my concerns.

I am VERY appreciative of this forum for not only being a source of infinite information but also a place where vendors actually look for opportunities to help their customers. I applaud David at Conde for his hands on nature. 

Thanks to all for your input as well.

Best,
Jephtha
Paper Mama!


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## peekers (Dec 13, 2010)

i'm a startup business and i've ordered from conde twice. however, i've emailed the guy who contacted me as my service rep twice since then to ask for his guidance on what inks to purchase and he won't email me back. does anyone have an email from a rep that they'd like to share? love their stuff - i just need a little help.


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## papermama (Mar 6, 2010)

peekers said:


> i'm a startup business and i've ordered from conde twice. however, i've emailed the guy who contacted me as my service rep twice since then to ask for his guidance on what inks to purchase and he won't email me back. does anyone have an email from a rep that they'd like to share? love their stuff - i just need a little help.



I'm PM'ing you


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## LaserHead (Jul 10, 2010)

peekers said:


> i'm a startup business and i've ordered from conde twice. however, i've emailed the guy who contacted me as my service rep twice since then to ask for his guidance on what inks to purchase and he won't email me back. does anyone have an email from a rep that they'd like to share? love their stuff - i just need a little help.


Why would you email someone instead of calling them? In this day and time, you have absolutely no way to know if your email ended up in a spam folder or filtered out at the server level and never delivered. You could very well be sitting there thinking that the rep hasn't responded to you and he/she could very well be sitting there with an empty inbox. So who's to blame?

If it's someone you haven't mailed before, you should consider putting a note in the email that says "In order for me to know this email reached you, would you please send me a quick email confirming you got this?".

Don't assume people are purposely ignoring you. Step up and find out what's going on.


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## peekers (Dec 13, 2010)

that's a good point, steve. sometimes i forget to look through my junk email. we'd emailed several times before so i don't think it was purposefully ignoring me, just didn't happen. i guess i'm in the generation that thinks technology is just as efficient (and sometimes more so) than describing something on the telephone. after reading through this post, it's obvious that people love this company and there were far more good service stories than bad.


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## LaserHead (Jul 10, 2010)

No problem Amanda, I'm all for voicing opinions on vendors. I believe they should hear from us when they are bad and they should hear from us when they are good. 

Let's look at this thread as an example. Someone posted problems with a printer and said they were in a jam and asked David if he'd print a shirt and mail it directly to their customer to help them through the problem. He said "send it on". To me, that's a "Wow" in customer service. I can't think of any other supplier of mine that would make the product complete and send it to my customer. To me, that's impressive customer service and should be duly noted.


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## kalaja (Mar 15, 2008)

I just have to write that Conde so far was best supplier in last 4 years I had . My rep Derek will call you back no matter how small your order is .
Best service ever ....


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## nappen (Dec 12, 2010)

My daughter is just starting up and has only made a couple of orders, but conde has been helpful and easy to work with. Just wish shipping to Alaska was cheaper!


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## nappen (Dec 12, 2010)

Okay, may have spoke too soon. Just had a delivery a couple of weeks ago right after last post. Had some damaged items in it. It was most likely a UPS issue, but responses have been somewhat curt to this point and not very helpful. Will see how it plays out...


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Let me know ASAP.
Our email was down on Friday.


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## LB (Jul 25, 2009)

Ordered my second order on Friday. Got a call from my rep Michelle just to confirm everything. It was after 2pm on Friday but it still went out the door. I'll have it Monday. Don't remember doing business with a company that seemingly works so hard to make me happy. Very refreshing is all I can say.


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## nappen (Dec 12, 2010)

Conde_David said:


> Let me know ASAP.
> Our email was down on Friday.


Can't tell who you are asking? THX


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## nappen (Dec 12, 2010)

So, got a refund. Shipping replacements (my first choice) was not possible, I assume due to the shipping costs to AK making it to big a loss. But at least I got the cost of the broken items refunded and I will just have to eat the shipping. Not the best resolution, but could have been worse.

Conde_David was very quick and helpful once he got involved.-Thank You.


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

On your next order, we can reduce your shipping
To compensate.


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## nappen (Dec 12, 2010)

Conde_David said:


> On your next order, we can reduce your shipping
> To compensate.


 I will let you know when I start planning my next order. Thanks again.


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