Geoff,

If you check out the store forum, or even took a random poll of users, you would find that in the last 6-8 weeks there has been a SERIOUS degradation in service at DDD.

I love the store and still shop there, but I even warn my friends when shopping there that it might be 3 months after they "ship" before you get your order....and if you have a problem, don't bother sending an e-mail because they don't respond.

"Highly Recommended" should be for a retailer that ships promptly and has a 1-2 day (max) turnaround for their customer service inquiries (among other criteria).

So, I suggest lowering the ranking for the store until they improve.

Here is just a sampling of threads with comments in just the last week (sorted by most recent):

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=308499

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=301803

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=305872

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=306344

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=307334

All stores go through speed bumps as they grow, launch new systems, and modify their shipping process.

I know that both DDD and DVDPlanet have both been doing serious upgrades to their systems and the result has been some order slow downs and customer service issues. So we don't knock a store down in ratings for a short period issue, nor do we raise a store up for a short term improvement. We look at things with these stores over a longer period of time to get a true read of them.

Problems will ALWAYS happen with ANY store that ships product via the USPS it's how they are delt with that's important.

While, it may not be a random poll, I am still pleased with the service and prices at DDD... I have seen quite a few other e-tailers take the dive, and I have yet to see any of the major signs that DDD is flaking out.

Ups & Downs is BS is my opinion.

They have really really been poor of late.
The reflection of the company sending out 10%
off coupons to some should be a RED flag.
(they never have coupons)

Personally I was not going to send my last purchase
back. After being sent the wrong set. And waiting
weeks & weeks for the correct one to be sent out.
But I am going to do it.

Please...Reconsider your thinking. Reducing them in at
least one ranking may? help them improve by the holiday
season. As we all know it takes along time to go back
up after going down. bt

A company sends a coupon and that is a red flag? Damn there are a lot of bad companies then.

A company sending out coupons should be a positive not a negative. It means they are attempting to correct issues and take responsibility when they make mistakes.

Well, I believe people should be informed when there is a "down" period. By doing nothing, many people will purchase there unaware.

Once they are back to regularly shipping items when they send you a shipping notification and responding to emails within a reasonable timeframe, simply reinstate them. It isn't as if it takes some monumental effort on your part to not make them "highly recommended" and provide some fair warning.....................