[Thunder]

Asked to leave because you were 12? Pull the other one.
I can't recall anyone being banned

Oh dear, did i say i was banned? i don't recall saying that, if i did i sincerely appolagise, but I was asked to leave the shop, and yes I was 12 and the year was 1961, Mainlining? at 12 I thought that was a fast train going north from the cross, cans of paint, solvents, and any other dubious activities, I was totally unaware of at that age.
May be you were the gentleman who asked me to leave, any way what does it matter, it was 45 years ago.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE (Branchliner @ 29 Oct 2006, 02:47) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Neil

I was about to contact the manufacturer, however the supplier has just informed me that they had at last responded and are shipping a new sound chip. I think I will stick to buying more familiar products and installing the chips myself.

Brian
Sometimes you get better results dealing direct with the manufacurer yourself. Sometimes you don't it depends on the company.

 

[papamikepapa]

Thunderer, my apologies, I hadnt arrived by 61! I guess in 61 they may have done things a little differently twenty years before I was there! I've mistaken you for someone else

Certainly a short sighted 'policy' if that occurred.

When I was there the street life around KX was a little more ah.... 'entertaining' shall I say, resulting in some very quick growing up to deal with it and its side effects!

 

[Ozzie21]

Customer service from the USA is probably the best I've had but only from the more reputable dealers. Two spring to mind CAboose Hobbies and the C&O shop. In both cases, one was the wrong order and the other two locos went missing, a phone call solved the problems and the response was very quick. A big tick in both cases. A bad one was an internet supply and a broken loco that was sent back and two years down the track it's missing in action and the company no longer listed. From the UK and Europe I've found it's much the same, buy from a reputable shop and it's okay buy from a dodgy brothers concern and let the buyer beware. In oZ well it's much of a muchness. I'd only buy from one Melbourne shop, two in Sydney, one in Newcastle and one in Brisbane. I've never bought from any shops in Perth but as I've found one that has a much sought after DJH kit I'll be giving them a go. I've found that the shops that generally charge a bit more for a product give good service and the ones that don't don't want to know you after you've bought something.

Ozzie21

 

[neil_s_wood]

Just as a footnote to this thread, I emailed ESU on 4/10/06 with some enquiries about the Ecos. I got a response from them last night! Just as well it wasn’t important.

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 28 Nov 2006, 00:43) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Just as a footnote to this thread, I emailed ESU on 4/10/06 with some enquiries about the Ecos. I got a response from them last night! Just as well it wasn't important.

I've found ESU (& other companies who speak a different language to English) vary a lot - I think it's all down to whoever looks at the initial e-mail.

 

[7113]

QUOTE (dbclass50 @ 28 Nov 2006, 07:40) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I think it's all down to whoever looks at the initial e-mail.

I have to agree with you here, with two examples from opposite ends of the spectrum. The first case, a query to Vollmer, came back with a reply after thee weeks, the other a request to Faller for a sprue missing from a kit via e-mail resulted in the miising sprue being to my home within 3 days - now that's what I call service!

Regards

John

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE I think it's all down to whoever looks at the initial e-mail

Yes thats true. I have found most German companies usually have a person who deals with overseas orders/issues and if they are on holiday you have to wait a bit. Having said that I've found Maerklin/Trix usually takes two months too. Modellbahn Kramm tend to be the next day as do Modellbahn Hildesheim.

 

[60134]

In my own experience both Faller and Fleischmann are outstanding in their spares and replacement part service. Gaugemaster do well with Marklin (allowing for the hiatus there this year) but Kibri and Vollmer can be iffy.

60134

 

[neil_s_wood]

It's strange how you have this degree of variance between companies. You'd have thought that customer service would be a priority. It can make or break a sale.

 

[Branchliner]

Following on from my earlier post, I have now had complete satisfaction regarding the chip failure to my Broadway GE C30-7, thanks go to Broadway and Ken at M G Sharpes.

On another matter I contacted Bachmann Europe regarding some minor spares, I received a positive reply to my E mail within 12 hours, I have sent the required dosh and eagerly await results. More later.

Brian

 

[60134]

In the last year I have become aware of a practice that is pretty shoddy, if not downright deceitful. There is an element within this hobby that places multiple advance orders for new items and wait to see which supplier gets them in first - they then cancel all the other orders. Possibly because of this some retailers list stock as soon as it arrives in the UK (or even before!) even though they do not have the stock at their premises. This means that the punters sometimes end up paying more and still not getting the stock at once!

Any thoughts?

60134

 

[darobi]

QUOTE (60134 @ 22 Dec 2006, 13:08) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>In the last year I have become aware of a practice that is pretty shoddy, if not downright deceitful. There is an element within this hobby that places multiple advance orders for new items and wait to see which supplier gets them in first - they then cancel all the other orders. Possibly because of this some retailers list stock as soon as it arrives in the UK (or even before!) even though they do not have the stock at their premises. This means that the punters sometimes end up paying more and still not getting the stock at once!

Any thoughts?

60134

Difficult one as the retailers are fighting the multiorder crowd and the mulitorder crowd are fighting the retailers. I usually wait and see the item first either on the web or my local shop and then decide if I want it or not and then purchase from my chosen retailer.

Darren

 

[Gary]

Simple answer to that. Retailers who take pre-orders should request a small non returnable deposit for all pre-orders placed. If this is a serious issue for retailers who list items for sale ahead of actual delivery of stock there is little option but to do this. Both parties then have a comitment to each other.

The games console industry takes a pre-order deposit so why not the model railway industry?

The fact is given the unreliable delivery dates offered by manufacturers/stockists it seems only reasonable that those who take deposit based preorders should offer those customers who do preorder the option of cancelling the order and getting their deposit back if the promised delivery date passes. The law might take a dim view of any company who does not offer this cancellation option in the event of a failure to deliver.

Happy modelling
Gary