# Pidgeon Mountain Trading Company



## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

Has anybody had issues with PM's length of time to process an order. I ordered an extractor on May 29th 2013. As of today's date June 07, 2013 they are still processing my order. I have emailed them twice, no reply. I called them and she was very nice and said that the shipping department was very busy. She would try to get them to go ahead and precess my order and ship it. tht was three days ago and it is still being processed. I live in North Carolina, I can order from Mann Lake and get my order in 7 days max and they are in Hackensack, MN. I realize that they are busy trying to get package bees shipped to replace the ones died while in UPS's possession. I just want to know if this is a normal processing time for them.

Thanks


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## spudrocket (Feb 13, 2013)

I too had trouble with them, my extractor from them took 2 weeks to get to me. I won't order from them again because my other items were damaged, but thankfully not the extractor.


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

spudrocket, I'm getting a little upset about this issue. I got honey to extract and I don't want to crush and strain. My old extractor bit the dust beyond repair and I don't want to lug all the supers somewhere to extract and with my luck lately I'm not going to rent or borrow one. I thought I would give some of my business to a company close to home. To me it is sad that a company 1 state away from me takes longer to ship than a company 7 states away. This ain't looking good for me placing future orders to them.


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## spudrocket (Feb 13, 2013)

The only upside that i ever saw with pigeon mountain is the cheap extractors, other than that, I will never order from them again.


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## Robbin (May 26, 2013)

PM had a 490 some bee packages get killed in a single UPS shipment. To say the least, they are overwhelmed. I understand. It breaks my heart to think about all the bees dying and all the bee keepers disappointed. Most are like me, it's a hobby and when stuff doesn't arrive on time it causes me problems because I can't rearrange my work schedule. Call them if you are desperate, I did, and my order shipped today. I think they are doing the best they can. They are a mom and pop type outfit. 
Not a huge business. That’s my .02 worth.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

our only issue was the sizing on a veiled jacket. they never knew it was taylored for woman (zipper on the opposite side) soo it was sized smaller. i had to reorder 3 times before we realized it. im a big guy i get that, but A 5XL ? hahahaha. i wear a 2x normally hahahaha. it was a funny situation for a few weeks. i guess it was a sales pitch for them because my wife ended up keeping one she liked it soo much.

my guess is they are ordering them from someone else who is making them and they dont have what they offer on hand. your probably waiting for them to get the items from a wholeseller and they then ship the item to you. standard practice in retail.


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

Thanks honeybeebee for the offer. I guess I will just have to make do until it gets here. And yeah it is nice to have honey now.

Robbin, I did call them 3 days ago and explained my situation and they said they would try to put a rush on it, and like I said 3 days later it is still "processing". I (like I stated previously) do understand that they are busy as "bees".


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

Tommysnare, I have the same problems with jackets or suits. 
Yeah I had given thought that this is what the hold up was, but they could at least told me this is the problem and I would have been more understanding.


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## Slow Modem (Oct 6, 2011)

Robbin said:


> I think they are doing the best they can. They are a mom and pop type outfit.
> Not a huge business. That’s my .02 worth.


I think that's right.  I've been to their store and it's an interesting place. But I only saw a few people there, not a massive shipping organization. That's not to say that they might have one in another building. I think this year may be a make-or-break year for them. They definitely had trouble with the bees, but I think that was UPS, not PM (although it doesn't help PMs reputation any). I think they would be wise to hire a person with national website sales experience to help them size their corporation/workforce so that they can cope with the volume of sales/service. I hope they get it straightened out. They seem like nice folks.

Also, they recently sent out an email about actual calls they had been getting from customers about packages. I would guess every bee company gets calls like these, but in PMs case, it probably strains their already-loaded customer service:

_"I cannot stress to you all how important it is for you to read and follow the hiving installation instructions!! Here are just a few of the calls we’ve received this week from our customers: 

•Upon arrival, I took the Queen out of her cage to look at her. She stung me and flew away.

•I was busy and did not install my bees the day they arrived. I didn’t want them in the house overnight, so I put them in my bass boat outside for the night. The next morning they were all dead, as the temperature fell below freezing.

•I put both of my packages into my one hive and turned both Queens loose at the same time.

•I was not home when my bees arrived. my wife put them in a sealed plastic bag as she was afraid of them. They were mostly dead by the time I got home.

•The spray container I used to spray some sugar water on the bees had been used for spraying insecticides before. This killed my bees...I did not know they were that sensitive to insect poisons._

Disclaimer: I am not associated with PM, although I did buy my bee suit from them.


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## hedges (May 18, 2013)

I ordered a package from them and it arrived (they sent it out on a friday so it was held some over the weekend, which I didn't understand). Installed, it's active and doing its thing. I think they killed the queen, but I have to investigate more and see if that's really the case or not. I was a little worried I wouldn't get the thing and some people I knew were skeptical of the apiary having never heard of it, but aside from the dead queen (wasn't doa - I saw her in her cage), I didn't have a problem.


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

I just recieved an email from Johnny Wallace, he stated that they infact were very busy and are one person down in the shipping department. My order went out today. Just thought I would post an update.
Thanks everyone for your replies.


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## FindlayBee (Aug 2, 2009)

Had some issues with back ordered bee suits last year. Suits were back ordered and took longer to get than expected. However, I did order well in advance of needing the suits. Communication was good via phone and email. I did order another suit this year as a backup and got it in a couple of weeks. Website still showed processing about a month later. Their website does not update shipping status very well.

Something I have learned in beekeeping is to order well in advance. Otherwise you find you ordered at the same time as everyone else and the item either becomes out of stock or arrives a week late. Need an extractor in June, order in April or earlier. I ordered mine 4 months in advance last year (not from pigeon mountain) to make sure I had it on time. Took a month to get as the extractor was backordered from the manufacturer.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

dadandsonsbees said:


> spudrocket, I'm getting a little upset about this issue. I got honey to extract and I don't want to crush and strain.


I don't know about PM, but waiting til the last minute to order an extractor is not their fault..........


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## Bee Whisperer (Mar 24, 2013)

I have had excellent service, and experienced awesome quality, with Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. I am certain they would get an extractor shipped out quickly if you need one soon.


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## Captainfester (May 1, 2012)

I would guess that they don't stock extractors heavily and your order was being drop shipped from the manufacturer. Which in this case pigeon mountain has zero control on the ship date. 

In a related news I just ordered some stuff from better bee and it came the next day. It was great. Maybe try them next time it could help.


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

gmcharlie said:


> I don't know about PM, but waiting til the last minute to order an extractor is not their fault..........


gmcharlie, I wish I had a crystal ball or could see into the future like you can to be able to tell ahead of time when something is going to break so I can order it before I need it. If you read my original post you will see that my extractor broke beyond repair so I ordered one as soon as it broke. I was upset no one returned my calls or emails at the beginning to tell me what the delay was. When I finally did get someone ( who was very nice ) stated that she was going to contact the shipping department and have them expedite the order. After this I still had a delay. No one contacted me to explain why. I figured a company 1 state away from me would/could ship an order as quick or quicker than 1 that is several states away. So to all who think this is all my fault I apologize, I guess I will have to log 15 more years of beekeeping under my belt to be as smart as you. .


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

Captainfester said:


> I would guess that they don't stock extractors heavily and your order was being drop shipped from the manufacturer. Which in this case pigeon mountain has zero control on the ship date.
> 
> In a related news I just ordered some stuff from better bee and it came the next day. It was great. Maybe try them next time it could help.


Thanks Captainfester,

I took all that into consideration and gave them the benefit of the doubt. Just not knowing how long before you will get your order so you can plan an alternate solution to you problem was what was upsetting me. I did receive the order and it was not damaged but I will be sticking with my usual supplier from now on. I know when I order something from them I will get it in 7 days or less from the day I place the order or they contact me and inform me of a problem.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

dadandsonsbees said:


> gmcharlie, I wish I had a crystal ball or could see into the future like you can to be able to tell ahead of time when something is going to break so I can order it before I need it. If you read my original post you will see that my extractor broke beyond repair so I ordered one as soon as it broke. I was upset no one returned my calls or emails at the beginning to tell me what the delay was. When I finally did get someone ( who was very nice ) stated that she was going to contact the shipping department and have them expedite the order. After this I still had a delay. No one contacted me to explain why. I figured a company 1 state away from me would/could ship an order as quick or quicker than 1 that is several states away. So to all who think this is all my fault I apologize, I guess I will have to log 15 more years of beekeeping under my belt to be as smart as you. .


My apologies, You didn't say it broke this season and I assumed, you just did like most customers and waited until the last minute.....

I am a terrible person, I profiled you .. when I see a post trashing a supplier about something like this, I just assumed what kind of person you were..... I will try to got my bad habits in check


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

gmcharlie said:


> My apologies, You didn't say it broke this season and I assumed, you just did like most customers and waited until the last minute.....
> 
> I am a terrible person, I profiled you .. when I see a post trashing a supplier about something like this, I just assumed what kind of person you were..... I will try to got my bad habits in check


Apology accepted gmcharlie,
I wasn't trashing a supplier, I was just concerned about the status of the shipment. And I apologize to all if it sounded as if I was trashing the supplier. You are not a terrible person either we all have our bad habits. Mine is I have no patience for Laziness, Disrespect, Theivery or Disgracing our great nation.
Have a good day gmcharlie.


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## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

I have been waiting more than a month to be reimbursed for the bees I ordered. Their communication is horrible and they act like they don't care. They will not get any more business from me or anyone I know. If they keep this up, they won't need to worry about their shipping department being overwhelmed!


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Dadandsonbees
Shoot me a pm if you can't get your extractor sorted, not sure what kind you have but if your in a pinch I have one of my personal ones you can borrow.


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

MAXANT said:


> Dadandsonbees
> Shoot me a pm if you can't get your extractor sorted, not sure what kind you have but if your in a pinch I have one of my personal ones you can borrow.


Thanks MAXANT,
I recieved the extractor from them and it works good. I really appreciate the offer. If I can ever do you a favor please let me know.


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