Cole-Parmer Reviews

Called about an open order and service was very unfriendly and unhelpful.

Order will be over a month late, delayed twice- understandable in this situation, but will not let me cancel.

I'm a Clinical Engineer who was trying to get some pressure gauges calibrated through them recently and have gone through hell just to get an accurate quoted price/get someone to email me back. I have called call countless companies to coordinate repairs/calibrations but this company required, 5 separate calls and hours of being put on hold... and the gauges have still yet to be calibrated. Some people taking the calls don't even recognize the model number presented to them but others know right off the bat. Didn't make a difference that some knew because the ones that did all forgot to send me the quote/email or never entered the interaction into their system for reference. Every call i had to start from scratch and was met with rude/confused employees. In all my years as a biomed I've never encountered this level of disorganization. Stay far away.

I purchased extended-length readers to assist with fluoroscopy procedures (to see the patient and the screen). Cole-Parmer sent standard-length readers, which don't work for me. When I contacted them, the rep said the website images are just stock images, not what is actually sent. Not being able to show actual images of a product being sold is absurd.
She asked me to send pictures describing the problem, which I did.
The same day, I returned the readers. They wouldn't refund the shipping costs even though the fault was theirs.
I did not receive any response from customer service regarding the pictures I emailed back to them.
Very poor customer service. You may draw your own conclusions about shopping with this company but I would stay away from them.

I started as a temp then was hired on to be part of the team. I started here with no prior warehouse skills and over the course of almost 2 years did my best to learn everything I could learn. I volunteered most of the time when asked and participated in projects like inventory and merging companies. I worked in all areas of the warehouse while most did 1 job. Management is extremely nice but they have a hard time staying on the same page with one another. There are 5 of them for the warehouse. It is extremely hot in the summertime even with fans. You are expected to make the same rate in the summer as in the winter months despite the fact that the extreme heat would slow anybody down. They go through two different temp agencies Huntington and Staff Mark. If you are going to work here don t go through Huntington you need more hours before you can get hired. The warehouse do not offer a place to move up to a higher position only a place to learn the business then move on to something else. I worked there almost two years and never got a raise. The jobs are so repetitive and there is so many problems with the way things are ran, the way product is ordered (constantly waiting for simple things to be ordered to make kits) parts, boxes, etc. The company makes a great profit and has warehouses all over the world yet they can t give decent raises or even a raise for that matter. I will say they are taking proper precautions to ensure the safety of the employees during this pandemic.

The first review I see is of a (possibly former) employee? That belongs on Indeed or some other hiring site. This outfit provides all manner of laboratory equipment - to put it very simply. We are a unique operation and I really only place spot orders with Cole-Parmer - things I can't find with some of my other contracted vendors. Every single time I place an order, it arrives before it even becomes a thought. Most recent order was placed at the end of the business day. By the time I got in to the lab the following day, I received an emailed invoice and shipment notification. The order arrived the following day. And that has been my experience with every order. We've ordered some obscure reagents for ITLC, and even with their "sensitive" and "hazardous" nature, they arrive quickly. Here's a tip for one-star reviews complaining the order took too long: if it doesn't say "in stock" consider ordering elsewhere or call. If the lead time is unsure or a range of time longer than a few days, order elsewhere. Supply chain is a guessing game. If you need something from them, and website says "in stock," prepare to be impressed. I love this place and will use them as often as possible. Again, I place small spot orders. They are not receiving large amounts of me. Maybe I'm just lucky. But the handful of orders I've placed over the past couple years have all been the same. Thank you!

I paid almost twice the amount for a part from Cole Palmer as I could have from my own distributor because I was given a 16 day lead time from Cole Palmer vs 5 weeks from my distributor. And then a week later Cole Palmer sends me an email saying the part will actually take 5 weeks and they wont give me any discount for being ridiculously late. The rep. told me "it just happens sometimes"

Love the convenience. The will-call desk isn't very clearly marked but they had my order ready and waiting quickly.