An Efficiency Deficiency

(We have a drop-shipping contract with one of our suppliers, and they will process some of our orders for us. Part of that contract is to get the orders out in a maximum of five working days. We have recently had a lot of snow, and their office closed for two days, which caused some delays. Some orders have now been waiting for nine working days due to the backlog. A customer has just requested a cancellation, as they want different items. As this is a drop-ship order, I need to call them to stop it from going out.)

Me: “Hi, could we please cancel [order]? The customer has just requested a cancellation.”

Supplier: “Sorry, it was shipped out a couple of hours ago.”

Me: “Really? The order was only placed about five hours ago.”

Supplier: “Yeah, we are just very efficient sometimes.”

Me: “Has all of the backlog been fully cleared, then? We have had a few people calling this week to ask what is going on with their order, as they are well outside the five-day limit.”

Supplier: “Not quite, sorry.”

Me: “Then, why are you shipping orders placed today, instead?”

Supplier: “We like being efficient, sometimes.”