Catastrophic Failure

Well, I’ve never been one to allow my ego to get in the way of decisions. And though I always back my intuition with complete confidence, it surprises many when I admit when I’m wrong.

Today, I acknowledge that I made the wrong decision.

Yodel has failed us. Catastrophically.

In their defence, the relationship probably would not have worked even if we were a much larger company. After reading some of their documents submitted to Companies House, I now understand they focus on “establishing profitable accounts”.

Vinyl Deli will likely never be large enough to be deemed a profitable, key account for them. Our Total Addressable Market, meaning the potential maximum customer base we could gain is limited. We are a niche service within what once was deemed a part of the music industry only spoken of in history books.

Why has Yodel failed you may ask. Simply, damages to the record sleeves.

This month we had four claims for damages made by customers. All of which have been rejected due to Yodel’s terms, which appear to have been amended recently.

While Royal Mail have an unfair pricing model and couldn’t give two *ahem* about us, Yodel have now concluded their network can’t handle what they deem a fragile item in what they regards as insufficient packaging, and they will no longer payout compensation to us for the damages they cause.

For transparency, here’s the email from a Director at Yodel:

I have had many comments over the years about the packaging we use, with everyone commending how good it is. To say our packaging isn’t sufficient is laughable and highlights a major concern.

Here is my response to Yodel:

This now leaves me with a difficult choice to pick the best from a bad bunch.

Royal Mail is more expensive, but they are much less of a headache as there’s hardly ever a time where damages are an issue. Unfortunately, losses are a concern and if they will not payout compensation for those losses, then I’m not sure what we as a business can do bar suck it up.

For the interim period, that’s exactly what we’ll do.

Now that I’m aware Yodel have a “get-out-of-jail-free card” in addition to their other shortcomings I previously listed, then there is little benefit to using them. It’s the first time they’re using this as an excuse, and it’s the last as I won’t accept any further headaches they cause.

There is a large cost saving, but I have spent a larger amount of time firefighting when my time could be better spent on other things. It takes too much of my mental energy for the cost-saving to be beneficial.

We have also received our first non-5 star review on Google, which is solely down to Yodel failing. And I am severely disappointed by it.

I hold Vinyl Deli to the highest standards. I am a perfectionist and will continuously fight for it. If someone has a bad experience as a customer and member, I want it to be because the act of having records chosen for you just isn’t for you as an individual.

That as a reason to have a poor experience, in my mind, is perfectly fine. As much as we as a business celebrate everyone having different tastes in music, everyone has different preferences and consumption habits.

What is not fine is having a poor experience because of a supplier.

I have had many issues with suppliers of vinyl records, so I created our own one to try and alleviate some of the issues we experienced.

Now Vinyl Deli is having issues with our delivery partner. As much as I wish I had the resources to create our own solution, I do not — unless someone reading this is a billionaire and fancies partnering (email me, jordan@vinyldeli.com)…

As I have alluded to, I’m keeping this situation fluid. I’m not closing the door on any possible courier until we find the right solution. Currently, we haven’t found anything sustainable.

Disappointingly, we will switch back to Royal Mail for the foreseeable future as there is no other courier who is suitable right now. I have, thankfully, found a way that slashes our costs with them by quite some margin, so there is a small silver lining to all of this!

I will of course update you as we progress over the coming months.

Thanks,
Jordan