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Author Topic: Great Customer Service  (Read 85041 times)

Holmsey

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #75 on: December 08, 2006, 03:50:11 pm »

How about ringing up for an Order at 16:30 Thursday afternoon and an envelope of detail wire turns up Friday 10:00


www.little-cars.com

And no postage!!!!!!!

Excellent 

Many thanks

Holmsey
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OneBladeMissing

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #76 on: December 29, 2006, 12:52:05 pm »

Not really in the model boating arena, I know, but a good example of fantastic customer service.
Pendle Slot Racing of Colne, Lancashire. I 'phoned in an order at 1.30pm yesterday, and the parcel arrived at 8.14am today. Can't say fairer than that, and that is typical of the service provided by this business.
They update their website regularly, and don't take money for things they don't have in stock.
If they can do it like that, why can't everybody.
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Seaspray

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #77 on: December 30, 2006, 06:43:10 am »

Hi All   ;)

I've been very very lucky with my dealings with models shops. I know its going to run out sooner or later.Some get a good deal some don't, Lady Luck I guess.

Also the people I've meet or posted to on the forum have been great to me too.  :D   :D   :D

I also like to personally thank Martin for installing the spell checker...saves me getting slated by correcitees.

Martin
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BarryM

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #78 on: January 04, 2007, 10:55:17 am »

Giving up on trying to find a UK supplier of a small quantity of quick connect/release 1/8" hose couplings, I turned to 'Battler's Connection' in the USA. I could not have asked for better service; prompt response to my queries, rapid dispatch (even before I had paid the final delivery charge) and  good quality. Dispatched from Florida on 26th December and delivered to me in West Lothian on the 29th December via normal airmail!!! Given the £/$ rate of exchange, the cost overall was very reasonable.

Thus, I would certainly recommend  www.battlersconnection.com

On a sour note, Prop Shop provided me with two beautiful bronze props which were just what I wanted but it took too many phone calls and listening to too many lame excuses, before they arrived. If they read these postings, they should be getting their act (at least) into gear.
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Bunkerbarge

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #79 on: January 04, 2007, 01:11:13 pm »

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the Model dockyard comments.

I used to buy my stripwood from them until they decided there wasn't enough money in it so they now charge three pounds for a cardboard tube that probably costs 50p, on top of normal postage costs, which are also inflated.  I wanted less than five pounds worth of wood and the last time I bought from them it cost me ten pounds.

When I said I didn't need full lengths and could he cut them up and put them in an envelope he said it is not worth his while to do so.  I find that attitude disgracefull and I won't buy anything from there again.
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anmo

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #80 on: January 04, 2007, 01:26:12 pm »

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the Model dockyard comments.

I used to buy my stripwood from them until they decided there wasn't enough money in it so they now charge three pounds for a cardboard tube that probably costs 50p, on top of normal postage costs, which are also inflated.  I wanted less than five pounds worth of wood and the last time I bought from them it cost me ten pounds.

When I said I didn't need full lengths and could he cut them up and put them in an envelope he said it is not worth his while to do so.  I find that attitude disgracefull and I won't buy anything from there again.

I'm not taking sides in this particular case, but in the interest of fairness and accuracy, a point on the cost of postal tubes. My own source of office supplies charges about £1.70 for 910mm tubes bought in packs of 12, and the price only comes down by about 10p if you buy 50. I'm a mail order supplier myself, so I'd say that even at £3.00 plus postage in this instance, Model Dockyard aren't exactly ripping customers off with their charges. Also as most business people will know, small orders are often disproportionally expensive to handle.
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Seaspray

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #81 on: January 04, 2007, 01:51:26 pm »

Formby Models have done a good service two things not in stock ordered early December and here for Christmas.  :D
It was not model boat items and the postage was aceptable.

Wells done I'll be getting my R/C bike and car parts there.



Martin
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Bunkerbarge

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #82 on: January 04, 2007, 05:41:21 pm »

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the Model dockyard comments.

I used to buy my stripwood from them until they decided there wasn't enough money in it so they now charge three pounds for a cardboard tube that probably costs 50p, on top of normal postage costs, which are also inflated.  I wanted less than five pounds worth of wood and the last time I bought from them it cost me ten pounds.

When I said I didn't need full lengths and could he cut them up and put them in an envelope he said it is not worth his while to do so.  I find that attitude disgracefull and I won't buy anything from there again.

I'm not taking sides in this particular case, but in the interest of fairness and accuracy, a point on the cost of postal tubes. My own source of office supplies charges about £1.70 for 910mm tubes bought in packs of 12, and the price only comes down by about 10p if you buy 50. I'm a mail order supplier myself, so I'd say that even at £3.00 plus postage in this instance, Model Dockyard aren't exactly ripping customers off with their charges. Also as most business people will know, small orders are often disproportionally expensive to handle.

If that is the case he is obviously making considerably more profit on the tube than he is on the wood plus making a profit on the postage.  I'm afraid I still see this as ripping people off.

That is one thing but then to inform me it is not worth his while to cut them up made me realise that he basically could not be bothered to go out of his way to offer any sort of service.

When this is compared with some of the excellent traders mentioned above who do go out of thier way to offer a service I'm afraid Model Dockyard would seem to fall a long way short.

I now buy my strip wood from a different supplier which quite possibly originated from the same tree and it costs me a lot less.
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FullLeatherJacket

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #83 on: January 05, 2007, 12:10:48 pm »

Bunkerbarge

TMD's website clearly states that a £3 surcharge will be added to any order which includes timber. There must be a genuine commercial reason for this e.g. the likelihood of damage in transit and the cost of replacement. If you'd checked it out beforehand then you would have had the choice whether to order from them or not. This would have avoided the possibility of any "unreasonableness" and subsequent bad-feeling from either party.

Who's to say that TMD can get their tubes as cheap as Anmo can? Then there's the cost of wrapping paper, bubble-wrap, adhesive tape, an address label and the stamps - not to mention the time it takes to collect together the order and packaging materials, make up a parcel and take it to the Post Office. I used to pack and post model kits as part of my first job so I know a bit about what's involved. The usual delivery term "P+P" means what it says i.e. post AND packing. Not all of the associated costs of packing are immediately visible to the customer, and no business ever got rich by trying to overcharge for postage - we leave that to Royal Mail; they're experts at it.
 
TMD seem to be a specialist supplier of kits rather than smaller items. Like Anmo says, little orders can be more trouble than they are worth. It may well be that your new supplier specialises in timber and has costed P+P into his prices, in which case everyone should be happy.

No offence intended but, in respect of "ripping people off", please let's keep it in proportion. I wouldn't say that sticking to their stated policy on postage surcharges (or perhaps showing an unwillingness to waive that policy for your order) constitutes poor customer service on the part of TMD. I'm afraid that the feedback ref The Model Dockyard on this thread puts you firmly in the minority.
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DickyD

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #84 on: January 05, 2007, 12:37:34 pm »

I really take exception to the idea that The Model Dockyard give bad service. :(
I have used them on numerous occassions sometimes for only a small item and I have found them very helpful, efficient and competitive.
One thing we have to remember is that with the new postal rates its not only the weight of the parcel but also the size that is now taken into account.
We also have to remember that if your cardboard tube only has a small amount of timber in it or a lot of timber in it , it is still the same size tube.

Richard ;)
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herrmill

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #85 on: January 05, 2007, 02:01:58 pm »

I'm fairly new to the hobby so I can't really comment on everyone like some of the people here, but can only comment on my actual experinces...

Having said that, I do have some past experience of buying from Chinese suppliers

TJ Models in Guangzhou, bought a kit off them to build myself. Slow going due to lots of problems with lack of build instruction details, missing parts, wrong parts supplied etc etc etc. TJ's have re-issued the drawings and instructions and replaced most of the wrong parts, but also have ignored a lot of the questions and queries (with regards to parts) that I have asked them. That build is still continuing but EVERY step reveals new problems with the kit for me to resolve.... I've also heard that there are a few people in the west waiting for their delivery LONGGGGGG after they'd ordered....

ARK models nr Shanghai, bought a completed kit off them. Now I don't want to go into any detail at this time as we have supposed to have come to a resolution to our dispute (enough said??). We agreed an arrangement in Dec but am still awaiting ARK to uphold their end of the agreement, all I get is delays - delays - delays!!! Think that if I'm honest I don't ever expect them to come good to their word!

I have pictures and documents of the build of the ship supplied by Paul, my build of the Sovremenny from TJ's, and the item supplied by ARK if anyone wishes to see any more details on what I have already spoken about.

Cheers to you all and happy building   ;D


I've had similar experiences with Feng of Arkmodel.  He promises great service but never seems to be able to fill what he gaurantees for delivery & quality.  Have given him two simple commisisons back in July to build wtcs & parts for sub conversions I was planning to have completed by October - here it is January & he still hasn't resolved the botched work on one kit that is now broken & worthless.  You can't get him to confirm anything & at this point, he doesn't even give one the decency of a simple reply. 

For more details of my issues & photos of his "excellent quality" , visit: http://www.subpirates.com/viewtopic.php?t=2052

What part of China do you live?  I'm in Shanghai & always looking for other modelers to get together with.

Best regards,

Chuck Miller
Shanghai
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Bunkerbarge

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #86 on: January 05, 2007, 05:47:38 pm »

There seem to be a lot of people missing the point I am making here.

The cost of postage is one thing and I agree I had the choice. Whether the cost is a rip off is obviously open to personal opinion and would never be agreed upon in a wide forum. 

My main concern though when I spoke to the gentleman in question on the phone was when he told me it wasn't worth his while to cut the wood up.  That is where I still maintain he is not providing a service of a standard I would like.  Obviously these opinions are always as a result of personal experiences and I am simply relating my own.

I notice there have been a number of negative comments in other threads on here regarding JJC however my own personal experiencers with Jim have always been extreemly supportive and he always goes out of his way to help.

It is when I compare such vendors as Jim, Scoonies and the like with the attitude "It is not worth my while" that I feel that TMD is falling short.

There will always of course be people who take exception to comments regarding poor service but, to me, the issue of service only occurs when vendors actually go out of thier way to offer some. 

As I said this is all based on personal experiences and mine was not a positive one.
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kayem

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #87 on: January 05, 2007, 08:24:10 pm »

There seem to be a lot of people missing the point I am making here.

The cost of postage is one thing and I agree I had the choice. Whether the cost is a rip off is obviously open to personal opinion and would never be agreed upon in a wide forum.

I was going to keep out of this sad little argument, but feel I have to stick up for traders.

If bunkerbarge feels that Nick Tonkin at Model Dockyard was rude to him in some way, that's not acceptable of course, but it isn't really what we're discussing here is it, and I for one would very much like to hear Nick's side of this particular story. I don't agree that "A lot of people seem to be missing the point", I'm pretty sure that most of them will get 'the point' only too well.

Let's think about the economics Bunkerbarge. You saw the terms in Dockyard's advert or on their website, you placed a small order for £5 worth of wood, and then you complain when you're charged exactly what the trading terms made it perfectly clear you would be.  Presumably you have no problem with Dockyard making a few pence profit on £5 worth of wood, so let's concentrate on the £5 charge for P & P. From that we have to deduct the cost of the mailing tube that you knew about when you ordered. I think that FLJ's estimate is on the low side, but we'll say £1.70. Add the cost of postage, which will be around £1.50, the cost of bubble wrap & other items, and that takes us to something like £3.50. And there's another charge you can add, if bunkerbarge paid by cheque or credit card, an inescapable bank fee of something like 45p has to come off Model Dockyard's 'profit'. That means that you think by being charged one pound or less for all the labour involved, modellers in general and you in particular are being 'ripped off'. As has been pointed out earlier, there is rarely much profit in small orders. You started by accusing Model Dockyard of overcharging, 'ripping customers off', and you were wrong about that, so I'm sure you're big enough to apologise. I don't know Nick personally, but I know he runs a good operation, and the service he provides has often been praised on this forum.

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Bunkerbarge

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #88 on: January 05, 2007, 10:21:32 pm »

When I purchased a Hitec receiver from Scoonies it didn't work in my model.  I tried a number of combinations of receivers, crystals and radio's to no effect.  When I phoned Scoonies to discus the issue they spent a long time on the phone with me trying to get it to work.  When it didn't they sent me another asking me to try the same procedures.  They didn't wait for the old one to be returned, they didn't want postage up front, they simply sent me another and asked me to return whichever one was appropriate.

When I purchased a sound unit from JJC and I had problems with interference Jim led me through a number of options on the phone which didn't work.  He sent me a replacement immediately and asked me to return the faulty unit to him.  He didn't wait for the faulty unit or postage up front he simply forwarded a new unit.

They, to me, are examples of excellent service.

To be told "it is not worth my while" over the phone by a vendor, to me, is a lack of service.

That is my point

and thanks Kayem for the apology.



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Seaspray

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #89 on: January 06, 2007, 01:19:43 pm »

Most model shops do say what the postage is on the item.  A lot have free postage if you spend over £Xs. It is the small things urgently wanted that costs a lot to post.
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DickyD

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #90 on: January 06, 2007, 01:28:13 pm »

Bunkerbarge

Your experiences with Scoonies and JJC were not examples of excellent service but unusual service .
However I will agree that Scoonies and JJC offer very good service.

Richard ;)
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BobF

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #91 on: April 24, 2007, 10:05:14 am »


MODEL SLIPWAY.

I phoned them yesterday afternoon for a Club 500 motor, and it arrived this morning.

20 hours from order to receipt.

Very good.

Bob
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BarryM

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #92 on: April 24, 2007, 10:16:52 am »

Bunkerbarge

Your experiences with Scoonies and JJC were not examples of excellent service but unusual service .
However I will agree that Scoonies and JJC offer very good service.

Richard ;)

If only JJC bothered to answer emails he might not be at the bottom of the heap for me.

Barry M
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kendalboatsman

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #93 on: April 24, 2007, 10:24:33 am »

I have purchased one full kit (Celia) and two semi kits (both Sirmar) from The Model Dockyard, they all arrived safely and quickly and when I later contacted them for advice on a motor for one of them the reply was prompt and helpful.

I will certainly be using them again.

Clive :)
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DickyD

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #94 on: April 24, 2007, 05:58:01 pm »

Boater ordered a set of plasticote sprays from www.paintsprays.co.uk  yesterday afternoon and they arrived this morning. Super service.

Thank goodness I recommended them. ;D

Richard ;)

PS This site is well worth a visit as their range of paints and dyes is quite extensive
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kendalboatsman

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #95 on: April 24, 2007, 10:20:11 pm »

You on a commission then Richard  ;D

Clive :)
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DickyD

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #96 on: April 25, 2007, 07:59:48 am »

I wish.
Just a satisfied customer who got fed up with fruitless visits to Halfords Clive.

Richard ;)
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kendalboatsman

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #97 on: April 25, 2007, 08:25:36 am »

Speaking of Halfords, they specialise in poor customer service. In December I purchased a bike through my company on the "Cycle 2 Work" scheme. I kept getting punctures, on inspection the wheel rims are badly machined inside and they were piercing the inner tubes. I took the rear wheel back and showed them the problem, their solution was to wrap insulation tape around the rim tape to protect it more. Then the same happened on the front so instead of wasting an 1 hour and 1/2 gallon of fuel I wrapped the rim tape myself. Anyway said Bike is still suffering internal punctures, meanwhile I now find out a colleague at another branch has the same bike and same problem, however his local branch of Halfords replaced the wheels without being asked. I now have to go back on Saturday with my bike and request the same service.

Upshot of this is that I no longer shop at Halfords and will only be returning with my bike whilst it is under warranty.

Clive
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BarryM

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #98 on: April 25, 2007, 08:59:59 am »

Your bike is obviously not of "satisfactory quality" as defined by the Sale of Goods Act 1979. You (not Halfords) have the right to choose a repair, replacement or full refund. If you complain within 6 months it is down to Halfords to prove the goods were not faulty; if you complain after 6 months it is down to you to prove the good are faulty. I wouldn't think the latter was difficult and tape is hardly an acceptable repair. If the branch staff are ignorant of consumer law (not uncommon) get on to Halfords head office and complain to the MD or Chairman. Don't bother with Customer Relations - annoy the top banana and he will kick a**e asking his staff why he is being bothered with problems they should sort out. You will get the result you want.

Barry M
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kendalboatsman

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Re: Great Customer Service
« Reply #99 on: April 25, 2007, 10:55:42 am »

Hello Barry,

I had planned to fire the Sale of Goods act, in particular the fact that the bike was sold for a purpose which it cannot fulfil. Ie it was bought on the cycle2work scheme and I can't cycle to work.

I had dismantled and stored my previous bike which I have now reassembled. Despite being in the loft for 4 1/2 months the tyres are still as hard as I left them.

Ah well, off to ring the store manager and arrange for my bike to be serviced and repaired at the same time.

Clive
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