Is the hobby shop doing the right thing? I want your opinion... (SOLVED)

[rexhea]

Fellow MR's,
I have been following this thread each day since it was posted and now believe it is time to make a comment.

I have been dealing with Tony's for over 11/2 years buying several thousand dollars worth of locomotives and DCC equipment and have always received a courteous and helpful service. Shipments have been immediate and accurate. The few times that I was not quite satisfied with MY order, Tony's Trains was always willing to make an adjustment, exchange, or refund. Yes, they did have to receive the returned item first before they could take any action. No problem! One BIG PLUS is the staff of Tony's willingness to help you solve locomotive or DCC problems without any sales pitch.

What I have read in this thread has been a lot of hindsight, but lets not cast blame on either party. What exactly went wrong may be as simple as the package is hung up in customs or on a "slow boat to China" all compounded by a procedural misunderstanding from one country to another. Frustrating? Yes! But, give it some time and patience and let us learn from this experience and hope the outcome will be satisfactory to both parties involved.

[:)] REX [:)]

[ham99]

I may be mistaken, but a Post Office tracking number only tells them [or me] if it has been delivered. Unlike UPS or FedEx, it does not tell us where the package is at this precise moment. And, yes, packages do simply disappear. Earlier this year, and entire day's shipment [four packages] simply disappeared. They have never been found [they had tracking numbers, too]. Why? One reason could be because of something like this local happening. Fourth of July weekend. Someone dropped a firecracker in the outside letter box. Fire destroyed all the mail. Who knows what was still in there. A couple of years ago, I mailed a check -- airmail. It was never cashed. Explanation -- a plane crash. Have you seen the TV commercial with the elephants in the plane? Strange things do happen.

[Anonymous]

With all due respect IRON: you should read my post nowhere in there did I state who was the quilty party or parties.

I am only looking at the possiblity that the shop in question may or may not have made the error as well as the customer, Since nither of us have been involved in the actual conversations I do not have all the facts and I feel I can not place any blame on either party. If my post made you feel guilt I aplogize for that openly here in my reply.

I do not feel any person or company no matter how good are unable to not make mistakes.

[electrolove]

Just want to inform you all that my problem is solved. Ken at Tony's emailed me today. And they will send me the right track. My 140 USD is back again. I'm very satisfyed with this solution. Will I buy from them again? Maybe... End of story...

[SpaceMouse]

Great! All's well that ends...

[railroadyoshi]

thats good to know

[SilverSpike]

[:D] Great news electro! [:D]


Glad to see this issue is finally resolved.

[Anonymous]

Funny thing .......

much talk here about how poor and dishonest the US Post Office, is especially compared to those of Sweden and Germany

The New York Times recently had an article about the world's nation's post offices ........ they stated that the US Postal Service is *by far* the best in the world for service and security, and close to being the least expensive (ounce for ounce).

And the New York Times is often an America basher, too, just like many Europeans.

I can't figure this stuff out.

My 2 cents ..... I've dealt a few times with Tony's on different matters ....I like them. And I blame no merchant for not sending out replacement product until they recieve the incorrect stuff back first, unless you have a real personal relationship going on.

Jim

[Virginian]

The US Postal SYSTEM is the world's best, bar none. US Postal Service employees are most noted for shooting each other up.
IF one follows the official protocol for doing something, the system probably works 99.99999999999999999% of the time. If you were to call a Postal Employee for them to do something, unless they were a personal friend, I wouldn't give you a 0.0000000000001% chance of success.
I happen to believe the US has the best of everything, but those trying to create a "New World Order' by giving it all away are winning. May they populate hell.

[Anonymous]

I've bought many things from Tony, have delt with Ken and Tony, had them ship it by USPS and received everything in good shape. This is not their regular way to do business, they've always been very helpful and courtious. I WILL CONTINUE TO DEAL WITH THEM AND HOPE THAT OTHER PEOPLE WILL ALSO

[Anonymous]

Jim,

I heve NO idea about how good or bad the USPS is; they heven´t let me down yet, so it is not up to me to critisize them.

There seem to be some differences in, like, how to track a parcel, whom to contact if things screw up, stuff you need to know if you are only familiar with the way things work in Europe.

But nowhere have I stated that the USPS is "bad", or "screws up things".

[Anonymous]

Personally I greatly appreciate what the topic starter did. He brought up a problem and we were able to see it through and how it was solved (or not solved for awhile). Tony's service is good, better than your average itnernet store, but things happen. In the day and age of Internet it can take very little to ruin your reputation if you screw up but the other side of the coin is true - if you keep up good business people will find out and with all the other businesses screwing up you'll come on top, which is what happened to Tony's. Let's face it, Tony's prices are not much better than everyone elses, but he does a lot more business due to his good name in the community.

If more people would post bad experiences about their online train shopping than a lot more of us, especially newcomers would not get burned. I, as a newcomer got burned several times (HobbyCircle was the worst, that guy isn't even capable to be a cashier) and if it lasted a little longer, I would've probably dumped the hobby. No one would miss me but then again, I hear last thing this hobby needs is high attrition.

[peterjenkinson1956]

i was down at the beach reading the latest copy of M R and i noticed the ad for TONYS store... thanks to this forum i read the advertisement for the first time... (i had never noticed it before).... i even looked at his web page when i got home... SO someting good did come from this forum...peter