your net:// Hiccups strike with first online wine order

By CHRIS BARTON

Shamed by Julienne's and Dee's online expertise, I felt it was time I got more confident in my own cyber shopping. But where to begin?

Wine was a logical choice - I already buy a few bottles each month from the New Zealand Wine Society by mail order.

I settled on www.finewineonline.co.nz. The prices looked good and so did the range. It was great to be able to pick and mix my own case - something I can't do with the Wine Society mail order.

In about 10 minutes I had made my choices, thanks to a well-organised site instantly giving me great information about each wine. I ended up with 12 bottles costing $141.60, including delivery - a rather enjoyable 1998 Sanctuary Pinotage and a very acceptable 1999 Ngatarawa Sauvignon Blanc.

Now came the wait. The site said a very reasonable $2-a-case delivery charge within the Auckland area (compared with $5.95 for the Wine Society) and delivery within 24 hours. That didn't happen - and no one from Fine Wine bothered to e-mail or call about the reasons for the delay.

When I rang, they were nice about it - and promised delivery by the next morning. That didn't happen either. I rang again. The staff were once more pleasant and one delivered the goods herself that night after work.

Great customer service - but not the smooth online experience I was looking for.

Links:

target="new">www.finewineonline.co.nz