Arc Backorder Progress

Canada here, ordered 10/3/2020, with shipments to start 10/16

Just tonight I was finally charged for the order and it switched from back order to “processing”!!

First, it's about transparency, which has been lacking from Sonos when it comes to the true cause of these delays.  I’m responsible for 3 large size manufacturing sites for medical devices in two continents and have fair breath of knowledge of MFG & Supply Chain over 25 years.

Agreed, the problem seems to be related to increased operating costs due to covid but instead of ramping up additional teams/resources to address the customer service/backlog issues, they’ve chosen to MFG with the reduce available capacity and even shift to higher volume products in the short term, hence the longer lead times.  It's not a lack of resources “perse”, more of a management decision to protect margins, at the expense of customer service, because they believe they can, and hide behind “Covid” as an excuse.

Short-sighted as as “we” the consumer, will only bear the wait for so long before looking at other competitors in this space as an alternate option.  I’ve already sampled a few components from others in this space and the technology gap between Sonos and “others” is closing.

Sonos Canada Order placed 10/3/2020

Was told it would ship starting 10/16/2020

FINALLY got an email tonight letting me know it has shipped. Should get 2 packages 11/26 and the last package 11/27.

Ordered Oct 5 here in Canada, Sonos attempted to process the order Nov. 20.  My credit card company thought a large online order from a company I had previously ordered from online was too suspicious and locked my card without contacting me first.  Hours spent just trying to get that sorted while also contacting Sonos to let them know what was going on and get the order in - finally late this afternoon the payment went through.  Phone support was great once I got them, and I got callbacks for the final resolution and one more from the original support person to make sure everything was fine - they were excellent.

I have yet to see tracking info yet but was promised by the same Sonos staff to expect it very soon - fingers crossed!

Yes - mine is due to ship on the 12th having been delayed from the 29th Feb, but it’s saying ‘temporarily out of stock’. I have found the apparent random changes from out of stock to backorder to be linked to wether it logs into the UK or US website when you type in Sonos to your web browser - the US one always says backorder. (i’m in the UK)

As others have pointed out in this thread - the problem Sonos has is it isn't very good at managing expectations - Apple are masters of this, when you make an order with them it will often quote a ridiculously long lead time and then deliver the next day - underpromise - overdeliver - no doubt a cynical ploy but at least you're happy with the result. I would be happier if Sonos just came clean and gave a realistic delivery time rather than a constant stream of unachievable best case dates. Clearly, delays in the delivery of my expensive Soundbar is something of a first world problem but its a bit irritating all the same .

Thank you @ChrisHouseStark  yes that probably is part of the issue but I fear you are being very optimistic to receive yours by then when I ordered mine 30th December 2020 and they have so many backorders to fill.

Chip shortage sea container shortage reduced manufacturing due to covid restrictions, global logistics all play a part but what Sonos is doing by pushing back shipping a week at a time without explanation or email notifications to its customers is unforgivable.

A simple public statement on the website would at the very least give customers something to consider at the point of sale 

Have you called your own phone number? Wait forever and receive no real answer. Just like your fatuous apology. 

Out of curious, what do you think the reason is?  I think it’s a combination of Sonos intentionally reducing the size of their inventory in order to cut costs, as well as COVID-19 delays in manufacturing and shipping.    I’m not sure what other reason their could be.

How about they just answer their emails or send out a periodic update for those sitting on a back order that’s over 2 weeks past the anticipated shipping date?

I hadn’t bothered calling until today given how much this thread has gone so far (order 10/5 Canada, full arc/sub/one SL kit) but I just spoke to someone who claims the Mississauga warehouse should be getting stock today/Monday and orders should ship out within a day to people in Ontario after that - middle to late next week for delivery here is claimed.  Since I am literally 10 minutes from Mississauga hopefully this comes through soon.  Series X is here already.

That’s disappointing. Sorry to hear that. I notice Sonos has a sale on now. I wonder if we’ll be charged the sale price if / when our orders finally ship. I didn’t have a promo code...would be nice way for them to say sorry for the wait...

Yes it was the bundle, but when you order it it tells you it comes in separate pieces but should all arrive within a couple days of each other 

I got the One SL’s yesterday, today I got the sub, so tomorrow I hope I get the arc

Expected delivery at that time was April 16th.