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Newell Shipping AND Handling charges!?!!
#1

Wow. I just received a package from Newell with a Coleman Mach thermostat and a dual snap disc thermostat for the Aquahot. Maybe weighs 1lb together.

They gave me the prices for the items. I was OK with that. Asked if I wanted/needed next day shipping...I didn't. Told me it would be 19.99 for shipping. OK.

Just looked at the invoice attached to the box and noticed a $48.85 Service and Handling charge!

What?? No mention of this during my conversations with Newell. I WILL be calling about this tomorrow.

Is this normal for small stuff? Is it always around $50. Seems pretty steep for pulling parts off a shelf and putting them in a box.

Be seeing you,

Rick Miller
#423
1996, 45'+, Non-slide, Series 60, ABS, 1.5 Bath, Reverse Floorplan


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#2

The shipping & handling charges are why I don't order parts from Newell.

Steve Bare
1999 Newell 2 slide #531
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#3

they have a 10 percent handling charge on top of shipping. so you must have spent about 300 bucks

tom

2002 45'8" Newell Coach 608  Series 60 DDEC4/Allison World 6 Speed HD4000MH

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#4

That's nuts! OK... important note.. no more Newell ordering.

I am more annoyed that they never, not once, mentioned any extra charges.

Be seeing you,

Rick Miller
#423
1996, 45'+, Non-slide, Series 60, ABS, 1.5 Bath, Reverse Floorplan


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#5

I am not sure why they have that charge. It’s one thing for them to make profit on parts….but this weird handling charge based on the value of the item seems to me to just plain lazy.

I have seen Newell ship tires and radiator doors on pallets and I could see an extra charge for the amount of work…but to throw a small expensive part in a box and charge 10% seems strange.

Newell needs to make money to stay in business. I want them to stay in business, but I don’t want to feel punished because I bought something direct from them.

As long as I am on my soapbox….We are seeing them carry fewer and fewer items that are compatible with the older coaches. If this forum didn’t exist, we would all be on our own for finding things like the hubcaps.

I get that the parts department is not a money making proposition…but the high prices along with a handing fee makes me feel that they would rather I bother someone else.

For what its worth.

Bill Johnson
Birmingham, Alabama
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#6

Bill,
I agree wholeheartedly. To add insult to injury, I asked for the manual for the thermostat I was buying. Mainly because the older technician told me it was the the Coleman Mach one (like I have installed in the rear of the coach. When i received it (several hours later) The manual was for the wrong thermostat! I had to call back and confirm what was actually being sent.

It WAS the correct one, the parts desk person has no idea what's what. Not that he cannot learn, but....well don't get me started on work ethics these days. It makes me sound like an old f*rt!

Be seeing you,

Rick Miller
#423
1996, 45'+, Non-slide, Series 60, ABS, 1.5 Bath, Reverse Floorplan


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#7

Talk about adding insult to injury!

Just opened the wrapping on the 384 dollar dual thermostat for the Aquahot and it's BROKEN. Not from shipping, but looks like someone just shoved the terminal back in when the plastic broke and shipped it out.

Upon closer inspection, this may have been a USED part. Note the bends in the snap disk mounting plate. Could explain why it was cheaper....but obviously never disclosed to me if that was the case.

Waiting for Newell to get back to me.


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Be seeing you,

Rick Miller
#423
1996, 45'+, Non-slide, Series 60, ABS, 1.5 Bath, Reverse Floorplan


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#8

That thermostat has definitely had a hard life. I presume the box did not show extensive damage based on your comments. Assuming it was not damaged in shipping, I am certain that Newell will take care of you.

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
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#9

gurus,

i am not defending newell for charging handling fees. that said, they are a business and a high end business at that. they do what they think works best for their business model. some parts can only be had at newell. some parts are market price, some are higher. not a lot different than any place. once armed with all the facts, buying from them when you need to is what all of us have had to do at one time or another.

also, as gurus, we help each other find alternative and less expensive choices for parts that we need. not always, but often.

we also need to remember that newell still answers the phone and lets us talk directly to techs no matter the age of our coaches. for that we dont get a bill.

just like anything in our lives, we need to be intelligent consumers of parts for our rigs and where to buy them.

as our coaches get older (hard to believe my first newell was a 90 that is now 31 years old), the expectation that newell will have parts sitting around for them that we need is wishful thinking. they might have some, but they will not have all the parts we might need on their shelves for all of our coaches. so we have to be creative. and we are. and willingly share that amongst ourselves. and i know that newell appreciates that. i talk to karl and he has always been complimentary to our guru gang.

my two cents worth and i am stickin to it

tom

2002 45'8" Newell Coach 608  Series 60 DDEC4/Allison World 6 Speed HD4000MH

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#10

Tom,
Mostly, I agree.

I did get a call back from the parts person (who shall remain nameless) Immediately, it was a shipper problem at first. The box showed NO damage and the (far more delicate) Cole-Mach thermostat was fine even though it was only loosely wrapped in its' box within the overall box. The thermostat was wrapped and taped in bubble wrap. The odds of shipping damage were low.

I asked the parts person why the 10% handling fee wasn't included when he gave me my total including shipping (which he DID give me before I gave him my credit card #) I only found out about it AFTER the package arrived and I looked at the included invoice.

He let me know that it was included in his job description and he inherited it from before he was employed by Newell. He further said he get complaints about it all the time. Hmmm... if folks complain because no one tells them about the fee...maybe you should have it posted on the website or make sure you let people know they are being charged extra?

It's not so much the fee itself, but the fact that it appears out of nowhere after an order is placed.

I am glad Newell is around and will stay around, and am grateful all their assistance to date. The technicians who have been there a long time are supremely helpful and quite friendly. new hires should be the same...

Believe me, I understand that for the xxxx thousand coaches since they began building them, parts is a small but healthy profit center. Many of the people that buy new coaches will never experience these issues since they don't order nor buy parts from newell. They just bring it in for repair. When the warranty is up, it's gone. And that's OK.

As the knowledgebase here grows and the parts cross reference grows, it becomes easier to keep them all running. Without newellgurus.com we would be all on our own to discover creative ways of keeping our coaches' systems working.

I am awaiting quotes from the manufacturer for the dual snap disk limit thermostats used on our Aquahots. Hopefully, we'll be able to source them when Newell is out of the Aquahot parts business!

my two and a half cents Wink

Be seeing you,

Rick Miller
#423
1996, 45'+, Non-slide, Series 60, ABS, 1.5 Bath, Reverse Floorplan


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