How to get customer service at Metal Supermarkets?

[bulgie]

Trying to make an account at Metal Supermarkets ("MS"), never bought from them before, but Online Metals is dead to me now since they closed their Seattle warehouse. (I can't afford shipping, pretty much ever, except an occasional small piece.)

MS has a location easy driving distance for me, so I filled out their Create Account form, and it won't let me proceed, like maybe it doesn't like my password?
There are blue checkmarks next to all the requirements, like minimum PW length, PW complexity, and Passwords Match.

Grrr! I think developers should be strung up by their thumbs for writing a web app that doesn't tell you what the error is. But even worse is the total lack of any contact info on their webpage. No link for Help or Customer Support, not even a Chatbot. Heaven forbid they should give you a phone number.

Man I'm grumpy about this! Anybody here find their support to be adequate, or do I need to keep searching for an acceptable place to buy steel? Small hobbyist quantities, preferably near Seattle to avoid shipping charges. I do use ebay a lot, they have sellers who offer free shipping on short pieces which often works for me. I like McMaster too but more for their excellent website and stellar service, for which I'll pay extra.

But I'm needing 6 foot pieces of steel square tube and angle, for making a workbench. Shipping that would make the whole project impossibly expensive. I'll make it out of wood before I'll pay what OM is quoting with shipping.

Yes I know OM has a Free-pickup location in Seattle, but only for certain items. For almost everything I try to buy, the free pickup option is not there, including some extremely common items. And the website gives no clue whether pickup is available until you go through about 20 clicks to get it into your cart and complete checkout, just to find out if it can be picked up in Seattle. Then repeat the whole process for the next item in your list. They disrespect the value of my time.

 

[NCjeeper]

Can you just call the store and get it straightened out? I just email my sales rep with what I need and he will get back to me with a quote. Easy peasy.

 

[bulgie]

The home page had no phone number. After searching for a while, I saw the link to find a store, went to Everett (my closest one), and there there was a phone number. Unfortunately by then it was a couple minutes past 4:00 when they close, so they managed to avoid talking to me until Monday at the soonest. Well played! It hadn't occurred to me to call a local store for help with account creation, that's usually a Headquarters issue, not one for the local outlet. Dunno if the store would have been able to help.

There is also no email address listed anywhere. I could have missed it, but I'm not new to the web, used to be an IT consultant (30 years), so I'm fairly familiar with how to look.

So, I did manage to get an account created. Turns out it was the password I was trying that they didn't like, though they didn't tell me that... Though they require one "special character", there's no list of which characters they accept, or indeed any clue that there are some they don't accept. But on a hunch, I replaced the characters I tried in my first attempt with different ones, then they took it. Still with no Success message, no email to let me know I was registered, so at first I thought it was another failure! (Lame)

After I got logged in, there was an email address and a phone number. So, not useful when inability to log in is the problem. Catch 22.

OK I'm done ranting, sorry. No matter how lame their website is, it can't be worse than Online Metals. I will try to keep an open mind and give them a try.

Case closed, thanks.

 

[ChazzC]

The home page had no phone number. After searching for a while, I saw the link to find a store, went to Everett (my closest one), and there there was a phone number. Unfortunately by then it was a couple minutes past 4:00 when they close, so they managed to avoid talking to me until Monday at the soonest. Well played! It hadn't occurred to me to call a local store for help with account creation, that's usually a Headquarters issue, not one for the local outlet. Dunno if the store would have been able to help.

There is also no email address listed anywhere. I could have missed it, but I'm not new to the web, used to be an IT consultant (30 years), so I'm fairly familiar with how to look.

So, I did manage to get an account created. Turns out it was the password I was trying that they didn't like, though they didn't tell me that... Though they require one "special character", there's no list of which characters they accept, or indeed any clue that there are some they don't accept. But on a hunch, I replaced the characters I tried in my first attempt with different ones, then they took it. Still with no Success message, no email to let me know I was registered, so at first I thought it was another failure! (Lame)

After I got logged in, there was an email address and a phone number. So, not useful when inability to log in is the problem. Catch 22.

OK I'm done ranting, sorry. No matter how lame their website is, it can't be worse than Online Metals. I will try to keep an open mind and give them a try.

Case closed, thanks.

In a lot of cases, passwords can’t contain special characters that don’t work in file names (can’t provide a list as I’m Mac-based and Apple is more friendly than PC)

 

[bulgie]

Yes that was it. I don't type passwords or choose them, I let my password manager choose them and paste them in for me. So I wasn't even aware of what characters it used, the whole password was rendered as asterisks. Needless to say, if you require a special character and have a limited set to choose from, you should say what those are.

But I'm over it !

 

[gerritv]

I've been buying from MetalSupermarkets for years here in Niagara region (Canada). Never needed an account. I either drop in (and browse the offcuts while waiting) or call. Other option is to use the Store Locator, make the store yours, and then Request A Quote. That also gives you phone and fax numbers.

gerrit

 

[JohnWold]

I use the location in Kent, WA.
Use notepad, or something, to make a list of what you want, referencing the website for sizes and numbers.
Fill in the request for quote information, and send it off.

Steel & Metal Supplier in Seattle (Kent) | Metal Supermarkets

Need metal in Seattle (Kent)? We have over 8,000 metal types, no order minimums, and value-added services. Ask us about pickup or delivery.

www.metalsupermarkets.com

They respond in a couple hours.

What I like is that when you go in, they have a separate drop-zone room where you can buy stuff at scrap prices. It's pretty picked over, but you never know.

 

[aengelas]

For square tube, angle iron, fab type stuff I always go to Pacific Industrial Supply in South Park (Seattle). Prices seem decent, good selection. It’s all sold by weight. You have to call for current prices.

 

[Red96]

Everett Steel has a retail outlet located under the US-2 exit ramp off of NB I-5. May be a bit further than you want to travel, though.

Always felt MS was overpriced, and the Everett store seems to charge near full boat for their 'drops' and scraps. They quoted me an astronomical price (I felt) for a couple sf of expanded steel. Never been back.

Liked Online when they had better flat-fee shipping deals. McMaster even beats them on price with shipping sometimes. I never utilized the free Seattle pickup - I rarely go down there anymore. Grew up in White Center, so ...'nuf said.

+1 on Pacific Industrial. Used to go there with my dad as a kid on weekends. Boeing surplus was the bomb back then too. Not sure it still exists.

 

[aengelas]

Yeah, sadly Boeing surplus is gone. I used to go there all the time with my grandfather. They moved all their surplus operations to online auctions.