Ordered some solid bar medium foundationless frames from Kelly...they shipped me shallows. The packing list states they are supposed to be mediums but that's not what was in the box. Called to try and get instructions for a swap out and so far ...3 e-mails and three voice messages later and no call back yet and its been a week and a half.
Has anyone else had this experience with them.
Yes I have had a similar problem with them. I ordered 2 queens,they sent 4. I called several times never got to talk to anyone. After 3 days of trying to get a call thru I traded the queens for a discount on 2 packages. ( I didnt want to just let the extra queens die) I kept calling to arrange payment for the extra queens. Took me another 2 days to actually talk to someone. The lady said they were very short on operators.
I doubt I will ever use Kelly bees again.
Kelly was left in some kind of trust and changed hands a few years ago. It had been in a trust for 20 years. After the trust expired I think a private company bought Kelly. It seems at this time. maybe just coincidental, prices went up and based on comments posted service went down.
In 1978, Mrs. Kelley passed away after a steady decline in health and in 1983, at the age of 86, Mr. Kelley negotiated the sale of the Louisiana property and relinquished all holdings. At 89 years of age, Mr. Kelley passed away on August 22, 1986 at the local hospital of congestive heart failure. The company was willed to the hospital, now known as Twin Lakes Regional Hospital, in an operating trust for 20 years where a hospital wing now bears his name. The Elizabethtown Technical and Community College - Leitchfield Campus also adorns his name as the Walter T. Kelley Building and serves to educate future young leaders in Grayson County. Today, the control of the company lies in private partnership, but honors Mr. Kelleys strong commitment to his employees, the community, and the beekeeping community.
Yes, we placed an order with Kelly and not only did it take FOREVER, it was all screwed up.
They attempted to make it right but even screwed that up! In the end we came out better, but still not what was promised.
I ordered all my equipment from them starting last September and they were great. Even ordered my package bees there. However, I placed an order four weeks ago for more equipment, and haven't received it yet and my email has gone unanswered.
We ordered frames, needed them quick. After two weeks of waiting and then being told it would take another 3 weeks, we cancelled the order. They were quick about returning our funds. We ordered from ManLake and got them in 3 days and we ordered on a holiday weekend (memorial Day). We'll stick with MannLake.
I'm beginning to wonder if they are even in business. I placed an order for foundationless frames on the morning of 1 Jun and received a computerized acknowledgement but have received no indication of shipping date or when it would ship. Sent a message later that same day, no answer. Phoned today and literally ran the battery on the phone dead while being on hold. I called back and pressed 7 to "check on an order". Got a recording - No big surprise. I left a message but have no expectation of a speedy return call. I am quickly becoming disenchanted with Kelley. I need the frames quickly. If it will be a while before they get shipped, I need to know that so I can purchase some locally to get me by while I wait on the Kelley order.
I am left wishing Mann Lake had frames designed specifically for foundationless.
Beethinking.com has them but I don't know how long they take to ship. Free shipping.
Quote from: James M. Wagner on June 03, 2015, 01:24:11 PM
I'm beginning to wonder if they are even in business. I placed an order for foundationless frames on the morning of 1 Jun and received a computerized acknowledgement but have received no indication of shipping date or when it would ship. Sent a message later that same day, no answer. Phoned today and literally ran the battery on the phone dead while being on hold. I called back and pressed 7 to "check on an order". Got a recording - No big surprise. I left a message but have no expectation of a speedy return call. I am quickly becoming disenchanted with Kelley. I need the frames quickly. If it will be a while before they get shipped, I need to know that so I can purchase some locally to get me by while I wait on the Kelley order.
I am left wishing Mann Lake had frames designed specifically for foundationless.
I bought 10 foundationless frames from Kelly last year. Now that I have something to go by I make my own from scratch. It is cheap and once you get it down it goes quick. It also gives you the option to make narrow frames for the brood nest.
I checked out beethinking. I'd not heard of them before and now I know why. $2.10 per frame. OUCH!!!
As for making my own, it just isn't worth it. For one thing, I really don't have a place or the equipment to do it. Too, I don't think I could do it cheaper than 85 cents, especially considering my time.
I have a local saw mill that I can get rough cut 1"x10"x8' for $4.00 they work great for top bars. A slightly planed finished 2x? Will make lots of end bars. They can be a pain if you use deeps and I have an office at work a few miles away from the Waverly NY Dadent store. I rarely need to go to that office but the lady across the hall from me goes at least once a week and I can give her some honey to make a stop on the way if I need to. They are under $14 for 100. Bottom boards can be made from the 1" boards. All of this is mute if you don't have a table saw and a place to work however. Yes it takes some time. With my router and table saw I have gotten top bars down to two passes on the router and a zip with the table saw. I ordered a tongue and groove bit set to make it one pass on the router.
Just looked at the google reviews for Kelly and almost everything in the past 6 months is a 1 star review....the company is in trouble and it looks like whoever is running it now is clueless how to conduct online business and doesn't understand how much "communication" is needed for order fulfillment and customer support. If you cant drive up to their store to pick up your order they aren't worth it.
Here is a review I found on Bing:
4/17/2015 READ ENTIRE REVIEW: as a new beekeeper, I thought buying my supplies from a company that was "established" would be the way to go. wrong! I placed a substantial order (over $400, including an entire full hive) and was told it would ship within 2 days. a week later I called and was told it had NOT shipped because one $10 item was on backorder! who holds up an entire order for one small backordered item?! I told them (Amy) not to hold the order and to cancel the b/o item.
I called again a week later and was told it had NOT shipped because, you guessed it, one item was on backorder. I told them, AGAIN, not to hold the order up and was told it would ship next day. this was 2 weeks after placing order. I called again 2 days later to get a tracking#, and spoke with a "supervisor", Mary Glenn. she said the order had NOT shipped because the order was not complete. I'M NOT KIDDING! Mary Glenn "promised me" she would personally see that this order shipped that day, and I should have it in 2 days. she promised to email me the tracking# the next day.
2 days later, I had not received my order. I called Mary Glenn and she told me the order had NOT shipped, guess why? you got it, they were waiting for one item. she told me she would go to shipping department and personally make sure it shipped that day. it did not ship that day.
I then had to drive 2 hours to a bee supply company to buy a partial hive, because my bees were due to arrive that weekend. an additional $120 I had to spend because of Kelley's horrible service.
4 WEEKS after I placed the order, and 3 promises that it would "ship that day", I finally received the order. a section of the hive had been damaged in shipping (the bottom board, or base, which the entire hive sits on), and one major component they said they had shipped was missing. I contacted Mary Glenn immediately and she said Jessica (customer service?) would get back to me that day to address the problems. after sending daily emails for 6 DAYS, they never even responded. I finally had to contact my credit card company to dispute the charges.
when the hive and accessories finally did arrive, the quality was really very poor. the hives were STAPLED together (and not glued prior to that), rather than nailed or screwed, like good quality hives are constructed. they were flimsy and the corners fit poorly. I can tell these hives are not built to last more than a couple years, a considerable investment for such poor product.
I know for certain that I would never order from this company again. their product is poor quality and their customer service is non-existent. I have ordered online on a regular basis (weekly) for over 10 years, and this was possibly the worst experience to date. AVOID Walter Kelley Beekeeping.
And another one:
5/22/2015
Terrible company. My bees did not arrive ever! They do not care. They say they care about the bees but they only care about the money. They would not give me a refund. DO NOT DO BUSINESS with this company. Horrible. On hold for 45 minutes . Customer service is terrible. I was told that once the bees are shipped, they did their part. Now it was my job to find them. Find a different company. Their supplies are cheap also.
Its funny how its different from one to the next. As a newcomer to Kentucky, I drove to their location about a month ago (1 hour drive) and they were super nice and very helpful. Got what I wanted and left. Then I ordered more supplies for a new package last Thursday and it came it today.
Who knows? LOL
I have a BUNCH of the F style frames. I'm not sure I really like them.
I like the fact that they don't have places for SHB to hide, but that's about it. That wedge shape really doesn't give them much of a guide to go by and they couldn't care less sometimes. Something with more of a starter strip would be better in my opinion.
Hey James M. Wagner... Try Miller Bee Supply, I have been using them for several years now, and love 'em. They always ship fast and never had any problems with orders. They are in North Carolina. Not sure if it's the kind you are looking for, but they have foundationless frames for $1.60.
Hey Hi Tech...like I said driving to the shop is probably the only way to do business with them....
I would have no issues with their customer service if they HAD any customer service. My order was shipped relatively fast and the other items in the package were as advertised so for the most part I am not upset....but if you have a message machine on your customer support # that asks that you leave a message and they will get back to you as soon as possible and then they IGNORE those messages....and then if you have an automated service answering your e-mails with this...Hi Jeff! Your request for help has been received and is being reviewed by our support staff. Happy Beekeeping! KBC Support One would expect a reply of some sort sooner rather than later...Its been 3 weeks and I have yet to hear from anyone either on a call or an e-mail reply.
I haven't purchased much in the last year or so. Since I started beekeeping there was a rep that I worked with at Kellys, I just happened to deal with her on one of my initial purchases and kept asking for her when I called or emailed her directly. She was *excellent* in helping me out and would ship stuff out to me *fast*. Also, took good care of orders I'd email her for delivery to beekeeper meetings. Then about a year or so ago I emailed her and she responded that she would be leaving very shortly. I sensed "something" in her voice that made me think "things weren't good". Not knowing her *that well* I didn't question her, but just wished her well. Since then, it seems I've heard mostly negative experience with Kelleys. Walter Kelley wouldn't be a happy camper if he was still around. :(
http://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-frandsen-corporation-announces-strategic-acquisition-of-the-walter-t-kelley-company-llc/
Ed
James, there's nothing to making the foundationless frames. I do it in my kitchen and just use regular frames. Info on here about it and it's easy and cheep.
Mann Lake has been good for me. I watch for free shipping, but even without, they are not bad.
Kelley was bought out by another company last year. I had great dealings with them before the sale, now, "not so much."
Unfortunately I have an order in limbo from Kelley's. They charged my credit card over two weeks ago and i haven't heard anything from them even after a couple of emails. I guess the company that bought them out last year thinks that they know how to operate a company better than it was run for 90+ years. It seems to me that they have decided to cut costs(people) and raise prices. Apparently they don't realize that customer service and quick shipping is worth more than a few dollars. I checked their facebook page and the company hasn't posted anything since July of last year. A customer posted:
June 2 at 12:05pm
.
I have been trying for two days to get through to you. Waiting on hold now for 37 minutes. Where is my order you took my money but have not sent my items? Update they finally answered and they are working on orders made on May the 6th so they are 4 weeks behind. Wow I ask for my money back I can?t wait that long.
If that is true than maybe they will be getting to my order within the next two weeks. The bees will wait, won't they :wink:
I guess it was a good thing that I placed an order from Mann Lake after not hearing from Kelley's. That order was at my house 4 days after ordering. :happy:
Let's hope it's just "growing pains" or adjusting to new management and that they will get over it. I've been doing business with Walter T. Kelley for 41 years because they had things no one else had and because they had good service and good prices. I would hate for that to come to an end...
Well I guess I should tell my story as well....
I ordered some frames, small cell foundation, nuc entrance reducers and a few other things from them and payed extra for the 2 day shipping. It took them 9 days to ship and another 2 to get to me. Had I known they would sit on my order for 9 days I would not have paid extra to get them in 2 days. I ended up going to a local supplier to get the frames so I could put another super on. I think that will be my last order with them. I did call and talk to someone and was told they would get it shipped today (that was on day 5) She did state that they are getting about 4 times as much business than the same time last year so I guess they were falling behind. While I understand things get busy I feel like this is something they should plan for. Every year in late winter to early spring all the keepers order stuff. It should not be a surprise. Bring in some temp workers to get back on schedule if needed but do not make your customers pay (by waiting and not communicating) for your lack of planning. Walter is turning in his grave.
Where, N or S, La, in the swamp or dry land ? ?
Quote from: MikeyN.C. on June 08, 2015, 11:05:33 PM
Where, N or S, La, in the swamp or dry land ? ?
I am in central La in Plaucheville. Dry land but we do have some swamps around.lol
Kelley was a topic of conversation at our local bee club last evening. Several complaints about package bees being dead within a week of arrival. The Kelley response: "Too bad." I've been hearing horror stories about their bees for a couple years now. Last year an experienced beek I know bought 20 packages, and only 1 made it the end of summer.
I'd stay away from those folks, at least for a couple of years anyway. I've been very well pleased with mann lake. I recently had an issue with one of my shipments. The staples came out of the box and were broke all up, lick-a-dee split more were on the way. That was one day they were in the mail the next day. I never order less than a $100 so I don't worry about shipping. I just wish they sold the screen bottom oil traps like at greenbeehives. I'd love to get several with the free shipping.
>I've been hearing horror stories about their bees for a couple years now. Last year an experienced beek I know bought 20 packages, and only 1 made it the end of summer.
I've been hearing and experiencing those kind of things from all the suppliers of packages for a decade now...
I figured I might as well share my story about Kelly as well.
I just started my first hive.
I ordered a complete hive, tools and bees from Kelly back in at the beginning of February. The hive and tools were supposed to ship within a few days of my order, however, the end of March came and nothing had been shipped yet.
I called Kelly and after waiting on hold for over 45 minutes, I was told that they were behind in shipments because the winter was so bad and that my hive and tools will ship in a few days. A few days pass and I still have no package. I call Kelly again and after waiting another 45 minutes they tell me that the smoker I wanted is out of stock and I need to pick another one. I choose another smoker and I am told that the order is going to ship the next day.
A week goes by and still nothing. I call Kelly yet again and this time I am told that the smoker, gloves, hive tool and four or five other items I ordered are all out of stock. After spending a half hour picking replacement items, Kelly tells me that the order will ship later that day or at the latest, the next day. The next day comes and I get a call from Kelly regarding my order. Evidently the woman I spoke to the day before never saved my selection of replacement items and I had to go over everything again. I hang up the phone and get a call three hours later from someone else at Kelly. Again they forgot to save my selection of replacement items and I had to go over things a third time!
It is now two weeks from the when the bees are supposed to be shipped and I finally get my hive and tools shipped to me. I open the package and the screened bottom board and several other parts are snapped and broken. Additionally they sent me the wrong size frames and I am missing several items. I call for replacements and they tell me that I need to send them photos before they will send me replacements. I send them photos and express my frustration and disappointment with their customer service. They agree to ship me replacements but never apologize or even acknowledge my frustration.
The replacements come in and the frames are still the wrong size! Additionally they send me the wrong replacement hive tool. I call them again and they ship me a second replacement. This set of frames is finally the right size so I am able to finish putting the hive together.
The bees are supposed to be here the first week of May. The day comes and goes and no I have no bees. I call them up and they tell me there is a delay with the shipment. A few days and several calls later, I get my shipment. The queen should have been marked blue but the apiary they were using messed up and marked all the queens white.
My queen ended up dying so I ordered a replacement queen within the day I noticed she was gone. I paid to have it expressed to me so I should have had it that week but the day came and went. I call them up and I am told that the queen didn't ship because they were out of stock (it would have been nice to have told me that before I ordered a new queen). I am told it will take a few more days. I wait again and when it does not arrive I call them and the representative at Kelly claims that the queen was shipped but was returned to them for some reason. She went on to tell me that she was "surprised that the queen was even alive when she got it" and that she expected it to have died on the way to me. One of Kelly?s managers said she would personally drive to the post office that day to express a new queen to me but I later get a call that she couldn't because by the time she went to mail it, the post office was closed. I finally got my new queen over two weeks after I ordered it.
This is the first and last time I do business with Kelly.
Its been over a month since the Kelly debacle started with no replies to numerous voice mail and e-mail attempts at contact and I pretty much had given up and was going to eat the costs of the equipment sent to me that was incorrect....and out of the blue yesterday I received a shipping notice from UPS that "something" is on the way to me from Kelly...still no e-mail....or call to let me know whats going on but there is a remote possibility that they are catching up on their customer service backlog.
Still wont do business with them again but at least its something.
my problem has been with shortages, especially with frame components. I bought some frames to stockpile & 2 months later when I cracked open the boxes I noticed I was short some pieces. was told since it was over a month too bad so sad. I now count everything as soon as it arrives. it just occurred to me that I've never actually counted the sheets of foundation. that was probably a mistake. on a recent order I ordered 100 deep frames. I received 100 top & bottom bars & 100 side rails ( 1/2 ). I called them & they apologized & shipped the missing parts the same day. so as long as I check what I buy right away I've not had any problems. they answer the phone & ship within a reasonable time frame. I've not bought any of their bees so have no input there. if I buy bees at all I buy locally raised overwintered nucs.
as I said above I called Kelly about the problems with my last order. that was on Tuesday afternoon. the make up parts arrived today.
I should have opened the box before posting. they sent the missing end bars but sent L-shaped frame rest instead of the correct frame spacers. I just got off the phone with them & hopefully they'll get it right this time. luckily I'm buying these for future use. so along with my original advise about checking the count right away i'll add don't wait until you need something to order it. try to plan ahead.
LOL.....i would love to be a fly on the wall in their customer service department......I bet they have a pretty low opinion of the people who actually pack and ship the boxes.
Since I posted earlier on this thread I thought that I'd post an update. I placed an order for foundation on 5-19. They billed my credit card that day. After a week without any notification that they shipped it, I emailed them to find out what was going on. No response from them. I waited for another week and emailed again. Again no response. I emailed them a third time and told them to cancel the order. Again no response. I figured I would give them a month before I was going to dispute the charge on my credit card. Guess what arrived at my door on 6-18. One day short of a month to send my order. I only live 2-3 hours away from them.
Quote from: KeyLargoBees on June 26, 2015, 05:12:44 PM
LOL.....i would love to be a fly on the wall in their customer service department.....
What customer service? :shocked: