Northampton-based online retailer apologises for delays and disappoint for customers before Christmas

A Northampton-based online retailer has apologised to customers for delays and not being able to fulfill some orders before Christmas.

Disappointed Squizzas customers have complained online and directly to the Moulton Park firm while one told this newspaper they felt let down.

Jason Palmer, from the company, blamed issues with the supply chain and its small team struggling with demand and customer service requests for the 'chaos'.

"It's been a very difficult time over the last couple of months for us but we're doing everything we can to fulfill customers' orders and everything else but we have been overwhelmed this year," he said.

"The growth of the company has been too quick to keep up with our internal processes and we've had a lot of issues outside of our control which we've tried to manage like the supply chain.

"Much of our supplies are bought on pro forma but many have not fulfilled their promises to us which has a knock on effect as we deal with the customers.

"It's disappointing as we're not here to disappoint them and not fulfill orders, especially around the Christmas period."

Nathaniel Villette, from Stamford, spent just over £100 on Squizzas' website on toys and presents for his family for Christmas as he wanted to support smaller businesses than places like Amazon.

But the 25-year-old has ended up regretting that decision as two of his items went out of stock and the rest have yet to arrive despite promises from UPS.

He said has tried to contact Squizzas to find out what is going on but could not get through on the phone, social media or email.

"I think it's a bit shocking as people are spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds on their site and they've not arrvied with no notification about what's happening," he said.

Squizzas enjoyed a bumper year as the coronavirus pandemic saw online shopping go through the roof with the Northampton retailer benefitting from others running out of stock.

But Jason admitted they did not grow enough with the demand as the orders kept coming and the small team could not keep up, particularly when supplies did not arrive.

A lot of stock was paid for in advance but as Covid-19 closed factories and transport, stocks became harder to come by and suppliers had to prioritise who received their goods.

For a small business like Squizzas, this resulted in often receiving half of what they ordered later than expected, which meant customers could not be guaranteed what they bought.

More and more complaints started coming and the two-person team dealing with those could not handle them all, only adding to pressure the company was under.

Jason said: "It's disappointing to know we let a lot of people down - it's not a nice feeling. But we've learnt a hell of a lot and we've changed our whole strategy for 2021.

"Firstly we're not selling anything unless we have the stock in the warehouse regardless of promises from suppliers.

"And for pre-orders, we want to communicate better with customers to let them know about when it's expected in stock and if there will be any delays."