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[Bradley]

On Thursday, 13/5, I ordered the special issue of Model Boats on line because my local WH Smith did not have it in stock.  On Monday, 17/5 I received an email from myhobbystore.com to the effect that the magazine had been despatched.  Having not received it I emailed customer services at myhobbystore on the morning of Friday, 21/5.  Result - no reply, not even an acknowledgement and I have still not got the magazine.  I wish now that I had not bothered - I could have got a copy at the Mayhem weekend.  As it is I do not know whether it is on its way, has been lost or whatever and my credit card has been charged for it.
I am leaving home with my caravan on Monday to eventually end up at the Mayhem weekend with no chance of getting the magazine - I am ANNOYED.
I have seen previous compaints about My Hobby Store and, sorry to say, it looks as though they are justified.
 
I shall be more wary in future.

Derek.

[asimmd]

Hi Derek

I understand your frustration,I would be exactly the same.

I did have some reservations about getting this special edition,and wondered why
it was only available through W.H.Smiths,yes I know they must have done a deal
to make it a Smiths exclusive but I can't help thinking they would sell a lot more if it was generally
available.

My nearest Smiths is 10 miles away in town centre,difficult to park then a hike accross town,sorry
Model Boats,it just wasn't worth the hassle.

Oh,and I didn't mail order it because of problems previously encountered.

Alan

[Mankster]

Its not uncommon for stores not to be able to respond to emails the same day they are sent. I wouldn't really call that poor service. They do have a Mon-Fri telephone number you can ring- I guessing that would put you intouch with someone straight away.

[Colin Bishop]

As the (Freelance, Guest) Editor of the Commemorative Special I am obviously sorry that some people are having problems in getting hold of it but I think it is fair to say that not all the fault is with MyHobbyStore.

This issue is one of a number that MHS are publishing from time to time in conjunction with W.H. Smith, (Best of Model Engineer is another). They are limited budget editions with much smaller print runs than regular issues, one reason being that with a regular edition it is pretty easy to set the print run based on the number of subscriptions and previous sales levels. With a ‘themed’ Special it is very much a shot in the dark. Print too many and you make a loss as virtually all costs are incurred up front. A low cost edition also means limited distribution with the idea that most copies will be sold on ‘shelf appeal’. Several hundred copies are retained by MyHobbyStore, mainly to meet pre publication orders, allow people with no access to W.H. Smith to buy them, and boost the overall sales total. This approach usually works well enough.

In this instance there was a problem in that for some reason W.H.Smith did not get the issue into its stores on the nominated publication date. It is also unclear to me on what basis WHS decided which stores would stock the issue. In any event most stores that did stock it received 5 copies, some bigger ones 10.

The delay in getting the issue onto the shelves did prompt a number of people to order direct instead. There had already been healthy pre order sales and the unexpectedly high demand resulted in MyHobbyStore running out of the remaining stocks they held within 48 hours which came as a bit of a surprise. I am told that high fixed costs make printing extra copies uneconomic.

With regard to customer service, most of the queries in the recent past have been associated with subscription problems both in the UK and abroad where the outsourced arrangements seem to have resulted in a rather variable response at times. This has been addressed by bringing subscription queries back in house and the response has been much better as a result. Emails are convenient but they don’t always get through (see discussion on another thread) and, as Mankster says, there is also a phone number you can call if it’s urgent.

There may still be a few copies on sale at Mayhem but some of those originally earmarked for Wicksteed have been used to meet outstanding website orders accepted before the issue was taken off sale.

I am pleased that the Commemorative issue appears to have been more popular than we expected and I do hope that everyone who wants to read it will eventually get to see it one way or another. All the indications I have had to date is that it has been well received. There is the possibility of a further themed follow up in due course and if this comes about then we will have a rather better idea of the likely demand and can plan accordingly. If people are keen to buy then pre ordering does help in setting the size of the print run and guarantees you a copy.

Colin

[Bradley]

Sorry, Mankster, but I considered the poor service to be that I ordered it on 13/5, on 17/5 myhobbystore said that it had been despatched and 5 days later it has still not arrived.  I don't think we can blame Royal Mail for this delay.  Why can't myhobbystore answer emails the same day?  If that is due to a shortage of staff then there is an obvious answer.  I paid for a magazine AND a delivery service which I did not get.  Also, so far as the phone service is concerned, I have a hearing problem which makes it difficult to use the phone and I prefer emails.
I suppose if it now turns up whilst I am away from home I am stuck with it.  It looks as though I will have to now go through the hassle of getting a refund on my credit card.
So far as I could see the WH Smiths in King's Lynn did not stock the magazine.
I STILL MAINTAIN THAT, ALL IN ALL, A POOR SERVICE.

Derek.

[Colin Bishop]

I too have a hearing problem Derek so I very much sympathise with you in that respect. But if they say they sent it out then I would have thought they probably did. As far as the Royal Mail is concerned, I sent a copy to one of my commissioned contributors first class and it arrived in a very torn and damaged condition for no apparent good reason. I hope you manage to get it sorted out one way or another anyway. The people at MHS will see this topic.

Colin

[Bradley]

Thanks, Colin.  Personally, I have never had a problem with Royal Mail.  Certainly, my subscription copies of Model Boats have always arrived on time and undamaged.  I was looking forward to having the magazine to read whilst away next week but it looks as though that is now highly unlikely.

Derek.

[Brian Roberts]

Bought mine from my local Hobby Shop, no problems at all.

Brian

[HS93 (RIP)]

I have to defend My hobby store I ordered a copy on the 13th may (overnight) and got a response the same day saying posted , did not check it but waited for the mag as many on hear have said they got theres the next day I thought it was strange after 5 days and seeing colins post that they where running out of them and I had not received it, I looked at the confermation to find all was right BUT the house number was missing, emailed again over night and got a reply from an Amanda lee the next day to say another copy had been dispatched and I received it the day after, so mistakes can happen, but the speed they dealt with matters was very quick.

Peter

[BoatyBoy]

Personally, I have never had a problem with Royal Mail.

You are very, very lucky. There's always a first time

[scout]

I went into WH Smiths in King's Lynn yesterday afternoon around 4pm there was three copys on the shelf Yours Scout

[asimmd]

Hi All

I would like to know how Brian got his copy
from the local model shop,when all the pre publication
advertising said it was only available from W.H.Smiths?

Alan

[The long Build]

The model shop probably bought the lot from thier local WHS.

[Peter Fitness]

I'm happy to say that my copy of the Commemorative issue arrived here in far off Australia at the same time as the June issue of Model Boats.

I have always found MyHobbyStore to be more than helpful, and have no complaints whatsoever.

Peter.

[Mike S]

Although the subject of this thread is 'POOR SERVICE FROM MY HOBBY STORE'  I would like to add my five pence worth, as it were.

I pre-ordered two copies of the 'Model Boats Commemorative Special 1950 - 2010' through the My Hobby Store website but only one copy was delivered. I emailled Customer Services, received a prompt reply, and the second copy was on the doormat the next day, good service, and a minor SNAFU dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Congratulations to Colin, as guest editor, for the superb content of the special issue, there's absolutely nothing like vast dollops of nostalgia. I was amazed to see 'Moonmist Revisited' on the front cover, as I built this model from the original Vic Smeed plan in 1972, mabuchi electirc motor and KeilKraft running gear, no R/C of course at that time, well out of my price range, happy days!!!


Mike

[Martin (Admin)]

Topic renamed on request - Admin.