why cant they answer emails

[Guest]

hi

i got a 1/32 trumpiter avenger some time back. i noticed as i got into it, it had the wrong cockpit film for the control panel, i called hannets who i got it from, they took the details and said they'd get back, a number of emails later, none they have answered. i'm not wasting another phone call.

if these firms want the trade they should provide the back up. the internet is a wonderful thing If you use it.

[John]

When I say your post in this forum I thought it was me not answering your emails, I deal with Hannants quite a bit and even as a trade customer I very rarely get a reply back from them.

[Gern]

Only one thing to do if you're not happy with their service. Take your business - and your money- somewhere else. Sooner or later, theyll get the idea and start doing their jobs properly or they'll go bust.

Simples!

Gern

[Guest]

When I started modelling about a year ago I had a problem with ordering from them & rang them.

First they were not helpful which I thought was strange. They also asked what I thought of their re-vamped web site. I said that I thought it very difficult to use. Also as I was new to modelling I wanted to browse to see what was available & you cannot with their weird system. Their reply was that they were only geared up for the professional & experienced. So cancelled the order & have not purchased a thing from them.

By all accounts from the above I did the right thing.

Laurie

[mossiepilot]

Mmmmm...I've been suggesting Hannants to other modelers in some of my replys.

Guess I'll think twice before doing it again.

Tony.

[Dave W]

I've bought a few things from them and always had good service.Although many years ago when they had a shop next to Colindale underground station,One of their staff was rude for no apparent reason.I put it down to it probably being his 'time of the month' and not a reflection on rhe company.

[Guest]

I refuse to use Hannants. I bought a kit from them about two years ago. It had a missing part. I sent several emails but no reply. In this day and age these organisations ought to think about customer service rather than profit. And speaking of profit, have you seen their postage and packing charges? Exorbitant.

Avb

[stona]

I must have missed this thread first time around.

I do use Hannants simply because they tend to stock things that I can't find anywhere else. Their shipping has become better in the last couple of years or so,it used to be terrible. I waited weeks for in stock items! This improvement is probably a response to competition. I've had orders from John at the Scale-Models shop delivered within 24 hours and always within 48 hours,for which he deserves great credit.

I do agree that the Hannants search function is difficult and probably inpenetrable to many. Telling potential customers they only cater for the "professional and experienced" seems daft. They obviously and understandably lost Laurie's business. Even though they are geared to trade customers as well as we mere mortals surely any business is valuable business,particularly in these difficult times.

There are plenty of options out there and we can all vote with our wallets

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

well i got the wrong part i wanted, it took near on two months, turned up taped to a large bit of card. no comp slip. letter, any thing. i wont use them again.

but where else can we get decals from.

bob

[Ian M]

I think that you will find that as hannants are also a wholesaler, if they have some thing you want, most other good modelshops will buy it in for you.

For several reasons I do not buy from them directly. The minimum order for overseas orders is/was ridiculous. There was a time I just wanted one sheet of decals and they would not post them due to the low value of the order. They have done some thing about that and have a special limit for decal order. Anything else in the order and you have to reach the minimum. Before the postage charges naturally.

If ever I need some thing from them, I ask John to order me one with his next order with them. John gets the custom, I get a fair postage charge and I can order for as little or as much as I need.

Every ones a winner!

Ian M

[Guest]

I used them for a kit many moons ago and it turned up ok but knowing what i know now (places to get stuff etc)... i probably wouldnt have got it. They can have it back, its in the loft un-touched hehe

[Gern]

Just to let you know not everyone has 'lost the plot' when dealing with customers.

I bought an old Airfix 1/24 Hurri off ebay. The tyres were missing so I emailed Hornby (the owners of Airfix) last Saturday night. They emailed back on Monday saying they'd sent the parts and they arrived on Tuesday morning! Free!

That's the service we should be looking for from online shops. It can be done 'cos our John does it regularly. I've given him 4 or 5 orders so far. Every order has been correct and every one has arrived within 48 hours of my order.

Gern

[Guest]

One thing is worth remembering; Hannant's is a retailer, not a manufacturer, so do not have piles of spare sprues lying around the warehouse floor, just in case something goes missing.

Looking at it, from a complete outsider's point of view, we have a missing part, which was reported, meaning the stockist had to a/. get a replacement, or b/. ignore the complaint.

The spare part has turned up, which means that option b/. does not apply, so we have a retailer who went to the effort of ordering the part from the wholesailer, who probably had to order it from China, wait for it to arrive, then send it to Hannant's, who sent it on to you, all in the space of about 8 weeks, including a week+ of holidays (in China, as well,) and you're complaining?

I note the complaint about how it arrived, but failed to see how much postage they charged for it; after all, such a thoughtless company must have charged you something, surely?

[stona]

Nonetheless,there are clearly some people who feel let down. An email from Hannants (or any other retailer) to a frustrated customer explaining the situation doesn't cost much. A dialogue,even by email,will make a customer feel valued and much more likely to return with further business. This is all the original poster really wanted.

Good luck to any business that feels it can afford to dispense with anyone's custom!

According to SWMBO who knows about there things it costs at least five times as much to obtain a new customer as it does to retain an old one.

I have to repeat that my own recent dealings with Hannants have been pleasant and trouble free and I can usually find what I want via their search engine (after a bit of practice )

Others seem to have been deterred which is a shame.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I'm not condoning poor customer relations (Lord knows I've been on the receiving end of enough during my life,) but whingeing about it on a non-Hannant's-related website, is a complete waste of time. If you have a grievance, send a letter (remember them?) to the M.D., laying out your problems, asking for a response, and enclosing a S.A.E. for said reply. A letter (sent Recorded Delivery, so they can't say that it hasn't been received,) written in fairly acid, but not rude, terms, will shake them up, since they realise that they're not dealing with some peasant from the sticks, and bad publicity travels fast.

Bosses don't like having dissatisfied customers, and, having met David Hannant many times, I can assure you that, hard-nosed businessman he may be, but he remains a gentleman. Somebody at Hannant's received E-mails, and didn't respond (possibly because he/she knew that it had been dealt with, which is no excuse,) but sending increasingly irate E-mails is unlikely to make him/her feel any more inclined towards responding.

Courtesy is a two-way thing, of course, so Hannant's have naturally been informed of, and thanked for, the arrival of the part, haven't they?

Edgar