So, I contacted STACK'S...

keyman64

...via their web form since it was after hours, 10 days ago. Stack's Web Contact Form Here

I gave them every possibility in the world to contact me back...name, phone, email, full details of my questions, checked all the right boxes, mentioned a specific lot number, told them how they can provide a service to me and make money etc...

Who wants to guess their response time? Anyone else used their web contact form before? What was your result?

Before you get too crazy with your responses...yes, I realize I can call them during business hours...but I figure if they are going to have a contact form they would be wise enough to have someone man that darn thing... assuming they are interested in some business....I would love to give them some business.

RYK

If I really wanted to contact them, I would just pick up the horn and call them.

keyman64

<< <i>If I really wanted to contact them, I would just pick up the horn and call them. >>


What horn do you use at midnight when you are thinking about some auction item of theirs? PM me with their cell phone numbers. Thanks Man!

19Lyds

You might want to make sure that your Junk eMail filter isn;t deleting their replies as I'm sure its filled with buy this and buy that phrases.

RYK

Most coin dealers are not interested in describing coins to unknown potential buyers or bidders at midnight.

Email an individual at Stack's directly, and you are more likely to get a response.

Some relationships and transactions are not going to be cemented over the internet.

Bochiman

I never think that any company will respond to a contact form online during their off hours.
If they do, that's gravy. But, I would never expect it......I take those things more as a "I am too lazy to call them during business hours and a form is easier since I also don't have to talk to anyone".
Using a form is almost always slower (who knows who is out of office for sick/travel/vacation that is supposed to handle the forms????)

keyman64

<< <i>You might want to make sure that your Junk eMail filter isn;t deleting their replies as I'm sure its filled with buy this and buy that phrases. >>


Not a problem, I manage my own web/mail servers and have ZERO filtering for this very reason.

keyman64

<< <i>Most coin dealers are not interested in describing coins to unknown potential buyers or bidders at midnight.

Email an individual at Stack's directly, and you are more likely to get a response.

Some relationships and transactions are not going to be cemented over the internet. >>

I'm new, I don't have a list of their email addresses. If you read my entire OP maybe you read the part where I said - "I figure if they are going to have a contact form they would be wise enough to have someone man that darn thing"

Why do they have the contact form? Kinda silly if you ask me.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>I would love to give them some business. >>

But you're deliberately avoiding calling them? Sounds like you would prefer to make a point.

keyman64

<< <i>I never think that any company will respond to a contact form online during their off hours.
If they do, that's gravy. But, I would never expect it......I take those things more as a "I am too lazy to call them during business hours and a form is easier since I also don't have to talk to anyone".
Using a form is almost always slower (who knows who is out of office for sick/travel/vacation that is supposed to handle the forms????) >>

I would not expect them to respond after hours either but I certainly expected a response back at some point over the next 10 days...during business hours. 10 Days? Really? I don't think anyone is managing the email box those messages are going to...that is my guess.

melvin289

I was looking at a dealer's web site late one night and saw some coins I was interested in purchasing. I emailed the dealer and bought the coins. The dealer told me several other people were interested in the lot but I had contacted him first. The middle of the night rocks.

Ron

keyman64

<< <i>

<< <i>I would love to give them some business. >>

But you're deliberately avoiding calling them? Sounds like you would prefer to make a point. >>

Nope. I had actually forgotten about it. I work 12-16 hour days quite frequently and I had forgotten about it until I looked at a note on my calendar of when I contacted them. I plan on calling tomorrow. Thanks for playing though. There is no hidden agenda in my post, really....just wondering if anyone else has had the same experience or if I am the only luck one.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>I had forgotten about it until I looked at a note on my calendar of when I contacted them. I plan on calling tomorrow. Thanks for playing though. >>

Fair enough. I'm sorry to have misunderstood your comment here:

"I realize I can call them during business hours...but I figure if they are going to have a contact form they would be wise enough to have someone man that darn thing"

to mean that you were waiting for a reply to your email instead of calling.

WTCG

I have both of the Stacks blondes' cell phone numbers but I wouldn't dare to call them after hours to have them describe an internet auction lot to me.

Next time call them during office hours the day before. I'm certain they'd be happy to help you then.

Bayard1908

Stacks is the one company where I have been consistently impressed with after hours responses to my emails. I can't recall how many times I've sent an email at 9 or 10 pm and gotten an almost immediate response.

Bochiman

I'm not feeling the love towards the OP's dilemma here folks....

leothelyon

The point's being missed here....did they eventually contact you? Or they must of given up on checking their email-no business likely.

I've sent email to a few of these so called better informed numismatics and still no answer although a Mr Fivas did recently break that spell.

You write, post and wait until you forget about it and all's well again.


Leo

RedTiger

It would depend on the question. Often times a low level person reads the emails and has a dozen other duties as well. If the question means that low level person has to ask a supervisor or a numismatist to answer, often times they just skip it. Think about it this way: do you have a boss? Is that boss frequently busy? If you get an email that would require getting the boss involved over some minor issue would you take it to the boss and interrupt his/her work flow? Or bury it? Most low level types vote for option two, if they plan to have any future at the company. I know it isn't the best customer service, but it is the way the real world tends to work.

The other thing about emails, is if a person answers quickly and promptly and thoroughly, the next thing that happens is that customer sends more emails asking more questions, often questions that sometimes require a lot of time and effort to answer, but don't really improve the service rep's standing in any way shape or form. This kind of feedback loop is devastating to productivity if that person has multiple duties, and these days, almost everyone does.

QuarterCollector

Same thing happened to me awhile back. I was interested in purchasing a quarter from their inventory. I used their "ask about coin" option via email and waited for a response. It has been several months without response and the coin has been removed from inventory. I guess I didn't need it that badly

UncleJoe

I think some are missing the point that he was not expecting a reply at midnight but that he hadn't received a reply in over 10 days. A little long IMO regardless of the question.

There was a new restaurant in town that you could order from online for pick-up. I submit the order, the website gave the approximate time of pick-up but when I went to the restaurant to pick-up my order, no one was aware that an online order had been placed. The food wasn't good enough for me to go there again.

Joe.

bstat1020

Seems like if they have a online contact form, you submitted it, one would expect a repsonse. Seems simple to me. 10 days is too long, they obviously do not monitor their own form that they provided for people to contact them.

Then again, just give them a call.

RYK

<< <i>Seems like if they have a online contact form, you submitted it, one would expect a repsonse. Seems simple to me. 10 days is too long, they obviously do not monitor their own form that they provided for people to contact them.

Then again, just give them a call. >>


Nah, that's too easy. How about sending them a telegram?

roadrunner

What difference does it make what time of day the email was sent? They still all stack up in the order received in the person's inbox...including the one received at 4:01 PM, a minute after the person left for the day.

roadrunner

ColonialCoinUnion

There have been a few changes at Stack's due to the Bowers-Stack's deal, so perhaps your email got lost in the shuffle.

RYK

Post your question to the thread, and I will call them today on your behalf.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>Post your question to the thread, and I will call them today on your behalf. >>



I see this as potentially the start of an exciting new business venture . . .

Sonorandesertrat

<< <i>Post your question to the thread, and I will call them today on your behalf. >>



Hmm... Did Longacre give you the boot as his executive assistant?

thebeav

Any email contact deserves a reply. Certainly not at midnight, but a reply none the less.
If you received an email inquiry from a possible ebay buyer would you ignore it if it came during non-business hours ?

ModCrewman

<< <i>

<< <i>Post your question to the thread, and I will call them today on your behalf. >>

Hmm... Did Longacre give you the boot as his executive assistant? >>

bstat1020

<< <i>

<< <i>Seems like if they have a online contact form, you submitted it, one would expect a repsonse. Seems simple to me. 10 days is too long, they obviously do not monitor their own form that they provided for people to contact them.

Then again, just give them a call. >>


Nah, that's too easy. How about sending them a telegram? >>




DO they even use those anymore?!!

1TwoBits

To me, this topic wasn't even worthy of a thread. If you're interested in something, you know what to do. If you don't, call Stack's, ask the name of the person you are talking to and start building a relationship with that person so you don't have to send email to the general question bucket in the future. Instead you will just be able to call your contact for future questions. It's worked for me, so it can work for you too.

I send email questions directly to my contact and they are answered in a reasonable amount of time. If it's really important, I pick up a phone and call.

1TwoBits

Hotfootspin

Sorry, I agree with the OP. Part of it has to do with my being a nerd, and preferring to
communicate via email when possible, and loathing to pick up the phone. Part of it has
to do with not really being available to make phone calls during business hours, so
having an after-hours option is nice.

I'm also a web programmer and I design forms whereby people can communicate.

The fact is, if you have a web form where people can submit questions, you should
answer the questions that people submit via that form. If you don't have the
resources to answer the questions, you ought to take down the form. If you don't
have the technical expertise to do email, then don't post a web form that promises
a reply via email. (The OP did indicate that he allowed for multiple modes of reply
communication.)

I do realize, and I would hope the OP realizes, that when I/he/we choose to
communicate in that way, there might be a delay in the response. In this particular
situation, I wouldn't expect to beat out someone who might call the next day with
an offer. But I would expect some kind of response, any kind of response, inside of
ten days.

Thanks,
Mark

dsessom

Ten or fifteen years ago, I would have said the OP was making a mountain of a mole hill, but in this day and age, I agree that if you are going to have a website and a contact form, you really need to allocate some human resources to checking the web communications. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to some of the older crowd that didn't grow up with computers and Internet, but it is the preferred means of doing business with a rapidly growing crowd.

For the last three or four years, I have not shopped at a B&M for Christmas. I did 100% of my Christmas shopping online and paid with debit/credit cards. Heck, I can even order a pizza online now. So, if a company REALLY wants to remain viable and not turn into a dinosaur, they had best be taking care of the Internet business as well as the people who walk in the door and call on the phone.

This is a digital world now. Blockbuster video and just this week, Borders, the nation's second-biggest bookstore chain filed bankruptcy. Why? Blockbuster didn't offer downloadable content and NetFlix beat them at their own game. Borders is a book store that didn't buy into downloadable "Kindle" content. Amazon beat THEM at their own game.

Think about it...

19Lyds

<< <i>Sorry, I agree with the OP. Part of it has to do with my being a nerd, and preferring to
communicate via email when possible, and loathing to pick up the phone. Part of it has
to do with not really being available to make phone calls during business hours, so
having an after-hours option is nice.

I'm also a web programmer and I design forms whereby people can communicate.

The fact is, if you have a web form where people can submit questions, you should
answer the questions that people submit via that form. If you don't have the
resources to answer the questions, you ought to take down the form. If you don't
have the technical expertise to do email, then don't post a web form that promises
a reply via email. (The OP did indicate that he allowed for multiple modes of reply
communication.)

I do realize, and I would hope the OP realizes, that when I/he/we choose to
communicate in that way, there might be a delay in the response. In this particular
situation, I wouldn't expect to beat out someone who might call the next day with
an offer. But I would expect some kind of response, any kind of response, inside of
ten days.

Thanks,
Mark >>

In this day and age of Iphone communications and being able to get notified of email via the IPhone, I see no reason why 10 days has elapsed without a response of some type.

It's bad for business to ignore your customers or more specifically, potential customers.

shorecoll

I have never gotten bad service from legacy ANR/QDB staff, I have never gotten good service from legacy NYC Stack's staff, even on a referral from ANR staff. I look forward to seeing the service level of the new combination. I wonder where that e-mail address goes?

garrynot

I called the West Coast office this morning on Feb 18 and the lady told me that my coin has not been shipped yet. I paid for the coin on January 27. Any other New York Americana winners in the same boat?

Longacre

<< <i>

<< <i>Post your question to the thread, and I will call them today on your behalf. >>



Hmm... Did Longacre give you the boot as his executive assistant? >>





Longacre does not dirty his hands with emails, and has one of his executive assistants handle his calls. RYK, however, is not one of my assistants.