Bad Apple Hobby Shops

[howmus]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NYC56

The one botth that was very busy was my new LHS, and this fellow had GOOD Prices and very GOOD Service before, after and during the sale. He has the Internet savy side covered, and he reply to e-mails very quickly. Of course he's new to the Shop side of things and he's trying to build his business, but his enthusiasm and care for his customers makes him worthwhile to seek out and buy from. As long as he continues with this level of support and care for the Hobby, how can he fail?

Chris

Bet his name is Tim. If it is who I think it is, he is a very bright spot in the hobby!

[Anonymous]

This is always a toss up when it comes to our Hobby. In my area, for the longest time there was only one or two real "Players" in HO and if you delt with them you paid full retail or maybe 5 % off list. I did frequent these shops and spend my dollars with them because I thought it was good for the local economy and the local hobby.

I took a slight break from Modeling and came back to it a few years ago just after I found this Forum. Being internet savy, and then travelling around the East Coast, I make it a point to check out some of the LHS where I'll be staying. Some of these shops have been in business a long time and advertise in MRR. One that comes to mind is MRPO. GREAT folks to deal with on the Phone and in Person! Can't say enough for them. But on the internet side of te house they are slightly lacking. Their Website never seems to get updated, and they have been slow to reply to e-mails. So when I buy from them, it's at the Store Front or via the phone, and in those cases, I've been 100% pleased with all my transactions.

This weekend I went to a Trainshow in Batavia NY. One of the older shows in my area. For me....it was a waste of my time, and even my wife that went with me thought the same thing. Seemed like too many vendors either had mark ups on stuff or ancient stock that was too highly priced for what it was. The one botth that was very busy was my new LHS, and this fellow had GOOD Prices and very GOOD Service before, after and during the sale. He has the Internet savy side covered, and he reply to e-mails very quickly. Of course he's new to the Shop side of things and he's trying to build his business, but his enthusiasm and care for his customers makes him worthwhile to seek out and buy from. As long as he continues with this level of support and care for the Hobby, how can he fail?

Chris

[Anonymous]

Over the weekend I went to five different LHS's trying to buy some Atlas N Scale 5" straight track. Not a one had any in stock. I've been dealing on the internet with N Scale Supply and they always respond very quickly. They answer my emails almost always on the same day or the next at the latest. They will order items for me that they don't usually carry and everything is always well packed.

IMHO I usually have better luck with N Scale Supply than I do locally.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

fritzvb

[Philcal]

In general, I've had very good experiences dealing with both internet and LHS. The thread contains some great advice concerning E-Mails. I have an established account with Walthers, and have recieved excellent service. I have dealt with smaller, almost mom and pop operations, and been very satisfied as well. The great majority of suppliers want our business, and will bend over backward to get it. I have had some very enjoyable and helpful phone conversations when the rare need for that arose. Yah, be careful of the E-mail route, for all of the reasons stated.

[Virginian]

Because it is free, email has become a major pain in the butt to a whole lot of people and businesses because of spam. Any attempt to deal with the issue by charging for over a certain number of emails a day (usually 300 to 500) has been buried by screams of indignation and rightgeousness from people who usually do not know what they are talking about, and of course the spammers who are the source of the problem. Until we suck it up and start charging the problem can only get worse. If they can send out 5 million emails for free and make $5, what do they care how inconvenient it is for the rest of us.

[radio2]

Hey Earcam:
Consider your self lucky that the did notify you of a out of stock item. I recently purchased items from a well know and large internet store and all they did was send half the order without an invoice or any written explanation as to what was going on, the only way I knew was they subtracted the cost from my charge card. they never responded to my e-mails asking for an explanation, and I doubt it was because it was kicked out as a suspected spam . When you put the order number in the subject ( as per their instructions) it should go through. Also they give you a timeline on thier web site which the do not adhere to, consider, orders shipped monday thru friday (5) days , additional 5 days shipping time (now 10 days) counting weekends (2)14 days,E-mailed asking about order with tracking number (no reply) half the order recieved 22 days from california, sometimes I think these internet companies are overwelmed and should put on more people to handle the volume or at least give you a viable explanation as to the delay, needles to say I will give a lot of thought before ordering anything from them again. and I do patronize my LHS frequently, but some things can not be purchased there, This probably sounds like a rant and it is somewhat, so thanks for the opportunity[:D]

Radioman2

[SilverSpike]

Yep, and ditto on the email issue. With all the Spam and email filters out there on both ends of the spectrum it would be a good idea to followup with a phone call.

I work in technology and part of my job was to monitor the email filter server at my previous employer and it is amazing how many false positive emails get stuck and flagged as spam or otherwise "non-business" related. On average at this company we would receive over 25,000 emails a day, and of that about 95% would be silently discarded because the filter rules determined they were spam or non-business. Out of the other 5% that were not discarded, about 1% were actually legitimate and were sent along for processing, the other 4% were stuck in the filter and isolated for various reasons. It was my job to sort through the 4% that were isolated each day and either forward, delete, or keep in isolation pending further review from the higher ups.

[Anonymous]

I would have to agree with the e-mail thing. Make a Phone call.

[jsoderq]

From 9 years with major American HO manufacturers I can tell you for a fact, almost every one of them gets more email than they are able to handle in a cost effective manner. Some are legit, some are inquiries, some are "why don't you make xxx", many are "your xxx is wrong because", some are just flack or "my 9 year old emgine doesn't run - what are you going to do about it."
Now, if you want to get an answer - be direct. Tell them exactly want you are asking. Make sure you are dealing with the correct company. If you want to know about Kadee couplers, ask them not Atlas.
Spelling and grammar are important!
Attitude is most important - if you come off ranting like a jerk - guess what!
If you email looks like it was written by a first grader - guess what.
Also it is important you don't already havea bad reputation. I had a whole list of names I just automatically deleted because of prior bad experiences with the sender.
Remember, every computer has a delete key.
The last thing, it helps if you really are a customer. This is one reason I deal with Walthers. I am an established customer and get an answer in a day or two. Many people just spend the day writing emails and not buying anything.

[Anonymous]

I never thought about spam filters being a problem with businesses until just recently. I sent a message to Dremel using my preferred e-mail address of Hotmail. I got an automated message back telling me the message had been rejected because of the Hotmail name. At least I knew what happened, so I sent them the message again from my ISP e-mail, and it got through OK.

Bob Boudreau

[Anonymous]

I have two LHS's one of which responds generally the same day to any email questions I might have.

Usually the item IS OUT OF STOCK and or discontinued and my hunt then turns to walthers web page with it's list of hobby shops that recieved an item Im looking for. A day of emailing each of those stores usually turns up one willing to send me the item including shipping at a good price.

I had one LHS on the east coast that treated me like dirt when I pulled in to visit and will not be back. They lost a 50 dollars worth of sales the moment they grumpily greeted me at the door as if I was a major interruption to thier routine.

To me the LHS is alive and well and feel thankful for such a blessing in a hobby filled with hard bargins and limited runs.

[Don Gibson]

'IN stock' can become 'OUT OF stock' very quickly.

LHS' generally sell what they HAVE. You see, touch, and test what you're buying (I do).

Mail order requires a phone call - and even that is subject to prior sale.

QUESTION?

Do you think all "Bad apple" Hobby Shops are rotten to the core?

[stokesda]

QUOTE: Originally posted by simon1966

I have always felt that if a business could not respond to me in a timely manner when I was looking to purchase, how would they respond when I need support post purchase. However, in this world of e-mail spam filters, if I don't get a reply within 24 hours via e-mail, I will always phone. So many times e-mails just vanish into the ether it seems.

I'd say they don't respond for one of 3 reasons:

1. The anti-spam filter on their e-mail doesn't let you e-mail go through. I actually had this happen to me once. I recommend following up with a phone call and asking if they ever received your e-mail.

2. They are too busy and understaffed to reply to all the e-mail they get (not likely)

3. They created the webpage once a long time ago because they felt they had to in order to compete, and since then have not updated it and aren't checking their e-mail on a regular basis. This typically happens to some "mom and pop" stores. If they're not savvy enough to maintain their website and e-mail, you might want to avoid conducting any non-face-to-face transaction with them.

[simon1966]

I have always felt that if a business could not respond to me in a timely manner when I was looking to purchase, how would they respond when I need support post purchase. However, in this world of e-mail spam filters, if I don't get a reply within 24 hours via e-mail, I will always phone. So many times e-mails just vanish into the ether it seems.

[Anonymous]

There are always Bad Apples in any business. This includes LHS. In an age when the LHS is struggling to compete with the large internet store, the bad apples only muddy the water for the excellent ones.

Why do stores that enter the Internet field post Email addresses when they do not respond to inquires or take 5 days to tell you that a product is out of stock?

I would include their names and URLs, but I would probably be sued.

Vist and buy from your local stores if you can. If they a a couple of dollars more, use them. It will return to you ten fold.