People who dont listen..... [Archive]

RCRACER2471

12-26-2003, 08:48 PM

I was just coming in to my hobby shop at the same time as usual I go to work and after a minute I come in a guy runs inside with his Savage yelling at us that his truck is broke that he bought for his kid as his only Christmas and he wants to exchange for a new one. My boss was like we cant do that obviosly because any warrenty problems are covered by HPI. They bought the truck the day before Christmas. We told them to read the instructions and that if any breaks that may of not been your fault then contact HPI. My boss and I said that multiple times just to make sure they got it through there head and were actually listening to us. Because usually when we do there like sure sure I know kind of thing. Then of coarse the day after Christmas being today they come back in the second we open yelling a cursing at us saying that we ripped them off. We explained to them the reasoning like we did the first time but they keep yelling and making up excuses and reasons why we should give them a new one. Ive heard plenty of stories about Hobby Stores not giving the best but have you ever seen an angry person like this. I mean come on READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and LISTEN to what we say about the warrenty. It even says on our reciept about the warrenty concerns and issue that they are covered by the manufacterer. Now they want to call the credit card company for fraud and see if they can get there money back some how or another which I dont know how. My point is that people these days. They dont listen...:mad:

BritishRacingGreen

12-26-2003, 09:10 PM

what was wrong with the truck, you sure this guy wasnt just new and didnt know what he was doing??

nitroburner9248

12-26-2003, 09:44 PM

Hey Rcracer2471, was it derek? lol u know who im talking about? But im not suprised...too many people really dont take the time to take care of them....they think they are JUST LIKE real size cars where you can just drive them off the lot and not have to worry about idling for a tank, going slow for another, etc. What was wrong with it?

Breakin2

12-26-2003, 09:46 PM

If there was something legitimately wrong with the truck, I'd have given him a new one. It would suck having to go through the manufacturer, especially when it's a Christmas gift.

Krasi_5000

12-26-2003, 10:15 PM

lol whats broke? probably nothing they probably didnt even prime it or yank the PS fast enough whatever they probably thought just pull the thing and it should start!
if you find out what was wrong with it tell us...PLEASEE:p

TSR6

12-27-2003, 05:06 AM

Originally posted by Breakin2
If there was something legitimately wrong with the truck, I'd have given him a new one. It would suck having to go through the manufacturer, especially when it's a Christmas gift.

WRONG!

Giving them a new truck would cost the hobby shop the value of a new truck. Should something actually be wrong or defective, the company would just fix the truck and send it back -- it's still a USED truck, generating a huge loss for the hobby shop after "giving away" a new replacement truck.

The best thing to do in this scenario is to look at the truck and see what is broke, figure out why it broke, and sell ( yes, I said sell ) the parts to the truck's owner and either fix it in front of them so they know how to fix it next time, or explain how, or make sure they can fix it themselves. Should It be covered by a warrenty, then help them find the information to contact the right people ( HPI's website, instruction manual, ect.. ).

Some shops will replace the part, and send the broken parts in themselves, saving the customer some grief, but that is often to risky.

3xs

12-27-2003, 07:31 AM

AHHH yes the joys of working in retail,endless horror stories.LOL

Breakin2

12-27-2003, 08:39 AM

To me, it's simply good business to replace the truck if it was broken out of the box. You guys all seem to be blaming him, and that may be true, but like I said before, if it is legitimately broken the shop should replace it. All retail stores should stand behind their products and if they didn't, I'd never go there again.

RCRACER2471

12-27-2003, 09:06 AM

Well what his problem was is that he bought the truck the day before Christmas and then he came back the day after Christmas and said his servo burned out. How he did it I dont know. To me it sounds like a warrenty issue. To him it seems like we ripped him off and he wants a new one. Simple as that...

RCRACER2471

12-27-2003, 09:11 AM

Breakin2

12-27-2003, 09:41 AM

Well, if I bought a TV at Best Buy and it didn't work correctly, they'd give me a new one.

If I bought a videogame at Electronics Boutique and it didn't work, they'd give me a new one.

If I bought a DVD player at Circuit City and it didn't work, they'd give me a new one.

If I bought a talking Strawberry Shortcake at Walmart and it didn't talk, they'd give me a new one.

Etc...

Alex122488

12-27-2003, 10:29 AM

Actually, after visiting many hobby shops and electronics business', I have read on a reciept the open or used items will not be taken back for full refund.

This holds true for most of these stores and even more for smaller, locally owned business. They can't possibly replace a 400 dollar truck everytime your wreck it, which is why they are covered by a manufactuer warranty, not a LHS warranty(Altough some do, not many). They(the store) would be losing profit @ the cost of every "broken" R/C you brought back.

Now, if you get into the "BIG" bussiness' such as Best Buy and such, they will refund you. WHY? B/C, they generate enough profit and are able to replace your "damaged" T.V or computer. It's just like "survival of the fittest", a smaller LHS can't possibly survive if people return something everyday , as to a "chain" LHS who could exchange your item.

BTW, Breakin2, I don't think EB will replace your videogame once its open and exchange it for a brand new one, they'd only give you the "used game" value for it...Now if you're talking game console, that is different.

Hope this is "clear" enough for most to understand...

Alex

pirateman2

12-27-2003, 10:46 AM

What does LHS stand for {I forgot**?

Alex122488

12-27-2003, 10:47 AM

Local Hobby Shop/Store ;)

pirateman2

12-27-2003, 10:51 AM

O yeeeaaaa now i remember, thx, i think i have shortterm memory loss or somethin, LOL

TSR6

12-27-2003, 12:04 PM

Originally posted by Breakin2
To me, it's simply good business to replace the truck if it was broken out of the box. You guys all seem to be blaming him, and that may be true, but like I said before, if it is legitimately broken the shop should replace it. All retail stores should stand behind their products and if they didn't, I'd never go there again.

Good business, and staying in business can be a balancing act!

Originally posted by Breakin2
Well, if I bought a TV at Best Buy and it didn't work correctly, they'd give me a new one.

If I bought a videogame at Electronics Boutique and it didn't work, they'd give me a new one.

If I bought a DVD player at Circuit City and it didn't work, they'd give me a new one.

If I bought a talking Strawberry Shortcake at Walmart and it didn't talk, they'd give me a new one.

Etc...

Yeah, possibly, but I can tell you from working in a hobbyshop that it's a little more like this:

They will expect to bring a DVD player that they droped down the stairs Christmas morning for a replacement. Don't mind the dents! It didn't work!

They will expect to bring in the video game after thier dog got a hold of it. Oh, it was scratched out of the box.

They will expevt to bring in the Strawberry Shortcake ( it's a doll right? ) after thier the older sibling decided to pound it's head on a brick wall. Oh, the voice never worked!

I know this sounds aweful, but that is how it is. I remember people trying to return T-maxxes. The story usually went along these lines: "Oh, I don't want it anymore, it doesn't work, but we never ran it, it's still brand new, we just took it out of the box"

As any good hobby shop would do, we remove the truck and inspect it, laugh at the full fuel tank, and dirty chassis, then ask for the REAL story.

I don't mean to make this be the customer's fault, it may truely be defective from HPI, but more than likely, it wasn't.

TSR6

12-27-2003, 12:04 PM

AEcrazyT3

12-27-2003, 12:33 PM

I have about four hobby stores in my area. Each has its strong points and its weak points but Customer service is a must in my book.
I bought a mini z overland from one store. No joke I didnt even have the batteries in it, I set the truck down and a lower suspension arm broke. I was very POed about this and even though I knew it was not the hobby shops fault, I had to take it back there. I didnt know if it had been used or something but Im just not used to such frail rc stuff.
When I got there he took a good look at the truck and replaced it.. The whole thing... That one act caused a reaction... Customer loyalty.. Now I go there for all my rc needs and I spend a lot of money there.... (hey its an expencive hobby)
so in the long run even though this hobby store might have lost money on that transaction... They have definetly gained in the long run.

P.S. the overland is still a POS. I think that company uses cheap plastic or something because that truck has broken more parts then any other rc I own.. and Ive never abused it... now its shelved....

cretin

12-27-2003, 01:01 PM

screw that guy. you don't get a kid only one christmas gift. how big was his kid? 10?

anyway, the thing is that the guy came in the store cussing. that is a warning flag. that is how you try to intimidate the people into giving you service. start enough trouble and you get your way. i'd bet money they did something stupid and the breakage was their fault.

the most i'd have done is cut the guy a deal on a replacement part. the guy is obviously a jerk, so if you just send him away with "contact hpi" instructions, he's gonna make trouble, telling everyone your store sucks. the customer, unfortunately, is right. even when he is wrong.

i bet when your overland broke, you didn't go in the lhs with an attitude, did you?

wbralick

12-27-2003, 01:08 PM

You have to address these situations on a case-by-case basis. If they drove it into a tree and smashed it then they're on their own. If something was truly defective then I think it's in the hobby shop's best interest to try to get them up and running.

I'm new to RC so I don't know how warranty work is performed. I used to sell motorcycles and the factories encouraged us to make the customer happy. How does it work in the RC world? Do any hobby shops perform warranty work or do I need to send it in when something happens?

In my opinion, if I had a defective vehicle and the hobby shop couldn't help me then they really aren't providing me any more than the online stores do.

HauntedMyst

12-27-2003, 01:10 PM

Actually, he's right, if it was broken out of the box, the LHS should have worked to get him a new part or truck. With all the screaming of "WRONG" and "HPI covers it" what people don't understand is even though it's not the LHS's fault, the LHS is the one who will be blamed any way, the LHS is the one who will lose future business and the LHS is the one the customer will bad mouth. They may lose money on fixing or replacing that particular truck, but they will lose even more money down the road as a result of lost sales. Why aren't more LHS's "big business?" Because they don't act like a big business in this respect. Neither does HPI or most of the other manufactuers. They need to work out a system to fix this broken part of their supply chain.

Breakin2

12-27-2003, 01:10 PM

Well, the way I see it, if LHS stores can't afford to do things like give a customer a refund, maybe we need some national chain to open up and drive these shops out of business. I know everyone always defends the "little guy" in situations like these (ex- Home Depot and Walmart shutting down mom and pop stores), but if the "little guy" isn't going to go out of his way to please the customer, screw him.

If people go into a local hobby shop and get denied reasonable service and, in many cases it would seem, ridiculed for their requests, it's obvious why our hobby isn't bigger than it is.

TSR6

12-27-2003, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by Breakin2
Well, the way I see it, if LHS stores can't afford to do things like give a customer a refund, maybe we need some national chain to open up and drive these shops out of business.

Oh, HobbyTown USA? :p

Htown Dirty

12-27-2003, 01:29 PM

This is an interesting discussion. I do have to say that there is no way in hell I would say that wal-mart and home depot or any other national chain has "better customer service".

You see customer service is one of those phrases that can mean different things to different people. To one person it means getting friendly attention at the store, to another it means getting knowledgable information even if the person offering it is not the little blue haired granny smiling at the front of the Wal-mart entrance.

To me, I pretty much want to have a relationship with the store I go to. I want to know that bubba is going to take care of me and tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. Don't get me wrong I don't want the people to be complete jerks, but I would rather have someone steer me the right direction than be fake nice to me.

I agree with AEcrazyT3 on his position regarding service. I am spending money at your store, you take care of me and I am going to be loyal and take care of you. I will talk your store up and always buy my stuff through you unless I am in a pinch.

AEcrazyT3

12-27-2003, 01:35 PM

Originally posted by cretin

i bet when your overland broke, you didn't go in the lhs with an attitude, did you?

Nope I sure didnt... But it is a tough call for the consumer.. Sometimes being forceful is the only way to get things done.. In this situation my wife told me to go back there and be very forceful. I went in there with an open mind and a good attitude and the result was positive.
On the other hand I dont think anyone has the right to go to any store cussing up a storm... After all, 9 times out of 10 it was not the guy who is getting yelled at's fault....

Breakin2

12-27-2003, 02:26 PM

You see customer service is one of those phrases that can mean different things to different people. To one person it means getting friendly attention at the store, to another it means getting knowledgable information even if the person offering it is not the little blue haired granny smiling at the front of the Wal-mart entrance.

I would agree with this, but it's obvious that this customer isn't getting friendly attention.

Alex122488

12-27-2003, 02:49 PM

I would agree with this, but it's obvious that this customer isn't getting friendly attention.

How so? Seems more like the customer isn't giving friendly attention coming in screaming at the LHS employee's.

It's just, some people have a tendency to get angry and they'd rather make the store and employee's look bad, when really, he is the problem.

OR possibly, did the employee's do something to make him angry the day he bought the truck? (i.e, ignore him, etc...)

You have to review the story from both the customers' and employee's. Some questions to ask yourself. IS he the 1st to do it? DO the employee's "over-look" certain customers? And so forth...

Alex

djfinch

12-27-2003, 02:57 PM

I agree the customer was an ass, and if the truck was run and abused, or damaged by the customer's stupidity, then fine send him out the door.

However, if that truck was defective from the factory, then the hobby shop needs to replace it. And then you send the defective truck to HPI and demand a replacement or refund. They sold your shop the bunk truck first, so the shop desereves for HPI to make it right to them. If it were me (and I wouldnt have been a raving moron) and that truck were defective out of the box, I dont give a rats ass about your "contact HPI" disclaimers, you will replace my defective truck, or you will go to court. You see that is illegal breach of an implied contract. You, the shop, promise to sell him, the customer, X whole and complete trucks for XXX dollars. I'm sure the recipt says on it something like:

"1 HPI Savage 25 RTR....$500"

it does not say

"One chance at a possibly functioning rc vehicle....$500"

That is what a receipt is, a contract with extremely simple wording. So until you fuffill your part of the contract (a complete and whole truck) your contact HPI crap does not float. I'm sorry the customer was a dick, but if it was defective, you were in the wrong.

Flame at will.

HauntedMyst

12-27-2003, 03:23 PM

Originally posted by Htown Dirty
This is an interesting discussion. I do have to say that there is no way in hell I would say that wal-mart and home depot or any other national chain has "better customer service".

I don't think any one is saying that, in fact, I doubt you get any customer service at most of those places. What you do get is a better return and exchange policy. Most LHS's frankly suck at customer service. I'm lucky to have one of the few that is pretty good at it. It's one of the things that should seperate a hobby shop from a chain. They aren't being paid just to provide a product to the customer, the customer can turn to the net for that and receive the same stuff at a lower price.

Originally posted by djfinch

"1 HPI Savage 25 RTR....$500"

it does not say

"One chance at a possibly functioning rc vehicle....$500"

dj's post says it all. I agree if you see one drop of fuel or dirt, send him packing, but if the truck was new out of box busted, the LHS should work it out with HPI.

AEcrazyT3

12-27-2003, 04:27 PM

I would be really intrested to hear what a Hobby shop has to say about the return policy that is set between them (the vendor) and HPI (the Distributer)... I mean there has to be some agreement setup prior to HPI (or any other company) sending product to the vendors.... I know that not everything recieved by a hobby shop is in sellable condition... What happens with these defective products? They are returned. So why couldnt a hobby shop do the same for the jerk customer in this thread?

djfinch

12-27-2003, 05:14 PM

because the owner is too lazy to put up with the aggravation. Getting manufactures to live up to contractual service claims can be a real pain sometimes, especially for complex goods. BUT if you own a business you put up with hassels. If you pass the hassels on to your customers, you breed lots of ill will.

AEcrazyT3

12-27-2003, 05:37 PM

Originally posted by djfinch
If you pass the hassels on to your customers, you breed lots of ill will.

Totally agree! Ill will = less buisness...
There is one shop out here that looses tons of buisness due to the owners attitude... In fact I was warned about it even before I I got out here!

Rick Hohwart

12-27-2003, 08:22 PM

This is how it works..

You must understand the hobby shop did not buy the kit from HPI, they likely bought it from one of the two large distributors in the U.S. These two are HUGE companies each emplying hundreds of people.

The hobby shop should have given the customer a new kit or refund. This is just the way you do business. Then the hobby shop deals with the distributor. Being the customer, the hobby shop returns the defective product (the kit) to the distributor for credit. The big distributor has no problem with this because they will in turn return the defective product to the manufacturer for credit.

HPI or any manufacturer is small compared to the distribution giants, and will do whatever makes them happy and gladly credit them for the defective part.

RCRACER2471

12-27-2003, 08:36 PM

But what most people get is that it doesnt matter what other hobby shops do its what our policy says about defective parts under warrenty. It doesnt matter what we should be doing but its just our own rules and guide lines that have to followed if you have a warrenty issue. That the key point that people do not understand....

wbralick

12-28-2003, 09:15 AM

If your hobby shop's policy is that they can't do anything for the customer in those situations then please let me know where it is so that I can avoid going there. Like I said earlier, if the LHS isn't providing more service than the online retailers then I'll choose the cheaper option.

RCRACER2471

12-28-2003, 10:48 AM

Well I didnt decide or choose what the policy was. It was up to the owner and the owner he is doesnt want to deal with problems like these. I dont exactly agree with his guidlines but theres pretty much nothing I can do if I dont own the place. My owner is just one of those guys that down want to put up with peoples crap....

Breakin2

12-28-2003, 11:00 AM

My owner is just one of those guys that down want to put up with peoples crap....

Then perhaps he shouldn't be in the retail services.

djfinch

12-28-2003, 12:53 PM

Originally posted by Rick Hohwart
This is how it works..

You must understand the hobby shop did not buy the kit from HPI, they likely bought it from one of the two large distributors in the U.S. These two are HUGE companies each emplying hundreds of people.

Yeah, I left out the distributor for simplicity's sake, but you are right.

RCRACER2471

12-28-2003, 03:57 PM

Originally posted by Breakin2
Then perhaps he shouldn't be in the retail services.

I agree with that comment but if hes been in business for 16 years now he must be doing something right.....

cbr74

12-28-2003, 04:28 PM

Very eenteresting.... some good points made.

Here's my take... you should get as good as you give... if you as the customer purchase a product, and it IS defective through no fault of your own... yes you should be entitled to have that problem resolved...

HOWEVER... if you come in raving like a lunatic... guess what? You aren't gonna get the service you think you are entitled to... because you're a jackass.

Now... come into the hobby store and calmly explain the problem... ASK (not demand) what assistance the Hobby Shop can provide, if any, and see what happens.... more often than not, they will resolve the problem in a manner you find acceptable.

RCRACER2471... riddle me this... IF this person had come in, and in a calm manner, explained the problem he was having... would you have attempted to resolve the issue? I'm betting yes.

RCRACER2471

12-28-2003, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by cbr74
Very eenteresting.... some good points made.

RCRACER2471... riddle me this... IF this person had come in, and in a calm manner, explained the problem he was having... would you have attempted to resolve the issue? I'm betting yes.

I probably could help out the person on that but I wasnt in control of the issue. If the person come raging in a yelling at us then I would just tell my boss to deal with it. My boss isnt all that nice when it comes to liability concerns about whos going to pay for it no matter what the customers attitude is. Calm person I will help. Screaming person just leave it up to the owner so I wont be involved in the arguing discussion....

wbralick

12-28-2003, 08:18 PM

Your original post made it sound like your boss goes to great lengths to explain to people buying new RC vehicles that he's in no way responsible for anything that goes wrong. And he's certainly allowed to set the policy in his own establishment. What probably confuses people is that you'll rarely find that lack of support from any retailer and even though they heard you say the words they didn't comprehend the implications. You should probably finish the sales pitch with "once you walk out that door we are no longer responsible for ANY problem you have."

Was there something different about this guy or do you explain these rules to all customers?

djfinch

12-28-2003, 08:18 PM

Wow he would still be "not that nice" even if the person was?!?! I'll definatly wont go there

For others, the store in question is

Hobby Etc.
90 West Pearl Street
Nashua, New Hampshire 03060, USA

Web: hobbyetc.com

At least that what I gather from RCRACER's profile.

cretin

12-28-2003, 08:45 PM

i've been to a few hobby shops in my day, and the best ones have been hobby town usa. i have nothing against local hobby shops, but the prices in so many of them are outrageous. i know they are small dealers and all, but really, that doesn't matter to me. i'm not paying $40 for a motor i can get from tower hobbies for $25. no way. i originally got into mail ordering cause the local hobby shops where i'm from (jax, fl) were horrible. give me an attitude and charge me 30% more than tower? good bye! besides, most of the hobby shops i have ever been to were pretty much train or airplane shops, with just enough of a car/truck selection to tease me.

RCRACER2471

12-28-2003, 09:25 PM

Originally posted by djfinch
Wow he would still be "not that nice" even if the person was?!?! I'll definatly wont go there

For others, the store in question is

Hobby Etc.
90 West Pearl Street
Nashua, New Hampshire 03060, USA

Web: hobbyetc.com

At least that what I gather from RCRACER's profile.

Im not saying you shouldnt come here but just know that if have any warrenty issues it will be something that you will have to take care of. And this store is not to be in question..... :(

got_nitro?

01-30-2004, 06:16 PM

Originally posted by pirateman2
O yeeeaaaa now i remember, thx, i think i have shortterm memory loss or somethin, LOL

I forgot...uh huh. That's my bro and no he didn't forget he didn't kno wat it meant and doesn't want to admit it, **lier**

If ur in nitro, I really think it is impossible to forget.

djfinch

01-30-2004, 07:00 PM

http://www.student.smsu.edu/s/san232s/hardfunnypics/holythreadresbatman.jpg

got_nitro?

01-30-2004, 09:20 PM

ok that made a lot of sense....

boomski

01-31-2004, 12:25 AM

Now that was a good thread anyone into rc can no doubt relate to this thread in someway!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway I just had to post to say DJ I love that last post man just beautifull!!!!! got nitro I cant believe you didnt get that, tell me it isn't so!!!!!

Phil

got_nitro?

01-31-2004, 08:46 AM

I hate really fiction shows like that, I don't watch battman and Robinhood.

got_nitro?

01-31-2004, 08:49 AM

ok now I get the whole resurection thing, I brought the thread back to life huh.

nitroburner9248

01-31-2004, 09:16 AM

This is iffy. When i first wanted to get a dyanmite .26 conversion it..i called to get it ordered...they said they would call when it came in. A long-story short..they didnt order it....3 TIMES. (Yes this was @ hobby etc.) From what i see the owner wants to make quick deals...you buy your stuff..you leave. I wanted to open my own repair buisness (since i know of 2 lhs's that dont do it) and i asked if he would let me put a flyer up in his store. He said that he didnt want to deal with any problems if i did something wrong (such as break someones car) so that he wouldnt have to deal with people coming to him saying...you told me this guy could fix it..he broke it...etc. So i told him that i would CLEARLY state that his shop and my service were in NO way affiliated and that all problems should be sent to me. I still got a no. In my opinion HE should have sent the truck to HPI. IF it was actually a manufacturer error...since he could ha gave the new truck..or even JUST THE SERVO...sent it to HPI and told HPI that HE wants a refund. He thinks hes running a car wash..people go in get there get their car wash...pay...leave. But every once in a while someones truck accesorie will get stuck and break (fenders ladderracks, bug gaurds, etc.), and even though it says right before you come in that they are not liable. People are still going to complain and yell. You need to expect that as a store owner. The situation could have turned out better.

repete

01-31-2004, 11:11 AM

My dad owns my LHS and it really is weird what people would bring back to say it was a defect from the box...me and my dad will normally look at the mutilized truck that was damaged already and tell the guy that he can buy the parts to fix it or we can send it back to the manufacturer and see what they think...80% of the time a guy will ask for a replacement...simple answer NO. the cost of a tmaxx is around $3XX...thats a big hit for a LHS to take because a customer is stupid...multiply that by 100 for the amount of times that it will happen during the year....thats a huge fucin hit..Breakin2 do u really think any LHS can survive takin hits like that? NO..u obviously have no clue what u talk about when it comes to how a LHS is run...if something is broken..dont look at the LHS to blame..

boomski

01-31-2004, 11:56 AM

The hole situation kindof sucks, Before getting my goverment job I worked retail, and I can sympathize with retail shop owners. People are often to quick to hear what they want to and not what your saying. heck you can search this very board and find people who cannot (or will not) Read and follow instructions, comprehend simple principals, or take some personal responsibility for there own lack of ability in this hobby. As for a little guy trying to compete with the big guys warranty/exchange policy, there is no competition the big guys can do no qustions asked with very little sufferage, however the small buisiness has to be a little more picky, and as a consumer you have to know this!! now before anyone gets retarted, I think that customer service in at least my local little hobby shops is pi$$ poor, Whenever I go in that place The only advice I get is on what to buy off the shelf. Whats worse is they hardly even listen to what your saying before recomending crap to buy! Now given the situation, father buying present on cristmas eve for son. I think the hobbyshop probably could have done a better job of getting this man started, maybe opening the box with him in the store to check the truck looked ok, and to go over some points visually (even if they made him purchase it before opening) now I don't expect a hobbyshop to do this with every customer, but there are sertainly diferent situations and skill level customers and getting the newbies started right would go a long way to securing some store loyalty, not to mention its cristmas how dissapointed would you be if the bad a$$ gift you got was broke right out of the box on a day you couldn't do anything about it!!! now we don't know the hole story was it indeed broke in the box or was this a not quite satisfied with the product issue if its the later than tuff titty, however if its broke in the box the hobbyshop is certainly inclined to make it right for the man standing in front of him, even if it cost him money, Thats the cost of buisness. and when you don't pay those cost they come back to bite you in the long run (400$ today could mean your 40+K salary later) Back on the other hand storming into a buisness making a fuss is going to intimidate some,( certainly not the hobbyshop employees Ive delt with) but will just offend most and put them on the defensive making it that much harder to work out an amicable agreement, the man was wrong for doing that, but as a store owner its the difference between a guy who has (undetermined influence) ranting negativelly about your store no matter how in the wrong he was, or a man saying hay I was P/Oed when I went in there, and they took good care of me, those guys rock!!!!! So as the post is titled people don't listen I think thats acurrate but theres enough blame to go around to both parties!!!!!

I think this dead horse has has been beat into glue now don't you???????

Phil

robie6

01-31-2004, 01:15 PM

I know this post is over a month old but found it interesting cause about 90% of it deals with "money". As we all know most lhs are franchizes & are there to make a profit of course. But somewhere along the line "customer support" has fell into the catagory of "don't blame me, I just sell the stuff" There used to be a small lhs near me that if requested would take the r/c & customer out back & run it a few times back & fourth, show the buyer how to adj. things, break in the engine, drive it, bla,bla,bla. And the bonus was if anything was defective it was replaced by the lhs & they sent the part back for replacement. The lhs could also sell the buyer things like tools, a fail safe, fuel, bla,bla,bla. Now the customer feels he's been "personally" helped & will be the best customer you have cause he trust ya. Those days are long gone, now the snot nose kid at the counter doesn't even want to open the sealed box for fear of finding something a-miss or reveiling he hasn't the faintest idea what he's doing "well read the manual & call the manufacture if somethings wrong" No wonder company's dont answer the phone. The other day I broke a gear in my steering servo which I knew was gonna go cause it was a plastic gear set. So the lhs didn't have a metal gear set for this HiTech servo so I says "let me see a Siro #62 metal gear set" & the guy who didn't really want to look for it says "that'll never work" you cant go around mix matching parts, has to be the from the same manufacture" With my Hitech servo in hand the Siro MG set fit perfect. I didn't want to shame this guy & told him most servos can be interchanged between parts if you look.
Bottom line is your just about on your own out there. Sure there are always going to be some irate customers, & as a counter man you should be able to spot future problems with someone, get inside his better half, treat him with understanding & common sence & you'll have a customer for life, even if he's an idiot who drives his new r/c in the house off the stair case into a wall chances are he'll come back with his tail between his legs admitting his dumbness & ask for help. I need a job in a lhs-lol. :cool: sorry for the spelling

kitty

01-31-2004, 08:45 PM

RCRacer, one thing you didn't mention was if anyone took a look at the guy's servo. That aside, I see a few issues with the transaction, other than the customer coming in yelling and cursing:
1) He bought the truck on Christmas Eve. If that was the kid's only gift, why was the father buying it at the last moment?
2) Had anyone at the hobby shop explained that the engine would require break-in? Did anyone explain that the customer would need nitro fuel, a glow starter w/charger and a stick pack w/charger for the Roto Start?
3) The customer brought the truck back the day after Christmas with a broken servo. Either he didn't RTFM or he's awfully fast at doing the initial engine break-in before putting the thing on the ground. Did anyone at the hobby shop check to see if it was a broken servo or possibly a bad servo saver?

I see both parties at fault here. It was the hobby shop's fault for not insuring that the customer was fully educated concerning the purchase, as no mention was made in regards to selling the customer the necessary support equipment. The customer was at fault for coming in on Christmas Eve for a one and only gift for his kid. Why didn't he shop earlier, when he'd have more time to ask questions? If it was a financial matter, he would have been better off popping into Toys R' Us or Wal-Mart to get the kid a Nikko or something like it instead of a $400 nitro truck. We may never know the full story, but the way I see things, it was a bad mix from the beginning. There was an impatient buyer and a hobby shop with poor customer service policies. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

cretin, you're lucky that your H-Town charges less. The one nearest me charges more than a privately-owned LHS. There is no such thing as service at said HobbyTown either, and I mean none whatsoever. Since my first visit there, luckily I've only "had" to go there a few times for parts that my other LHS didn't have. Each time I had to find the part(s) myself, as the dipwad working there either didn't even acknowedge my being there, didn't know where the part would be or would be too busy yapping to his buddy about who he wish he could have nailed at the previous weekend's party. The owner is a total jerk who just sits there, hours on end, playing with his trains. He seems to know nothing about anything else he sells.

The LHS nearest me is heading in the same direction. They recently moved closer to where I live and the two idiots who are there most of the time are almost as bad as the guys at H-Town. The manager there used to be a great guy, but now doesn't ever have time to help out. I know him and can tell he's stressed out, but geez, hire some guys who actually know what an HPI Savage or E-Maxx is. Ask the idiot crew anything about a Mini-Z and they're on you like white on rice. Any other vehicle? Forget about it.

RCRACER2471

01-31-2004, 09:33 PM

Originally posted by kitty
RCRacer, one thing you didn't mention was if anyone took a look at the guy's servo. That aside, I see a few issues with the transaction, other than the customer coming in yelling and cursing:
1) He bought the truck on Christmas Eve. If that was the kid's only gift, why was the father buying it at the last moment?
2) Had anyone at the hobby shop explained that the engine would require break-in? Did anyone explain that the customer would need nitro fuel, a glow starter w/charger and a stick pack w/charger for the Roto Start?
3) The customer brought the truck back the day after Christmas with a broken servo. Either he didn't RTFM or he's awfully fast at doing the initial engine break-in before putting the thing on the ground. Did anyone at the hobby shop check to see if it was a broken servo or possibly a bad servo saver?

1) Has nothing to do with subject matter of a part being defective.

2) We explained to them that they HAVE to READ the INSTRUCTIONS before they actaully run the vehicle. Even though we explain this to all of our customers that buy nitro cars and trucks they still come back in, have a problem and want there money back. Only because they didnt read the instructions. We gave them all the items they needed to get the car which again has nothing to do with why the servo is broken.

3) We dont actually inspect the servo. If we sense if it has some kind of defective problem then we tell the customer to call HPI and see what they can do for them. If its broken because of user error then the situation would of been taken differently. Simple as that...

kitty

01-31-2004, 11:02 PM

Please try not to be so defensive. The part in 1) above was my way of demonstrating that the father was off to a bad start straight away.

re: 3) in your reply, if you guys aren't willing to even look at the guy's servo, then that is poor service, period. You could at least have looked at it to see if it was something as simple as a servo saver. The stock servo savers on the Savage are lousy.

Nonetheless, a big point I was trying to make was that the customer apparently didn't follow break-in instructions. Given a liberal time span of 48 hours, it's doubtful that he did any wheels off or on a stand break-in of the engine. To break the servo saver or the servo itself, he or the kid would have to had been driving it. Sure, there are guys around here who spend hours over a two-day period breaking in an engine, but I seriously doubt that the customer did that.

Still, I feel that you guys failed as well. Even though the guy came in fuming, turning him away like that is not good. People like that are likely to bad-mouth when they're dissatisfied. By not checking to see if it was something as simple as a servo saver, which you could have sold to him, you guys not only lost a sale but a future customer. Face it, the shop you work at has a poor customer service policy. You don't have to like it to work there, but why defend it so?

boomski

01-31-2004, 11:24 PM

RC

We dont actually inspect the servo. If we sense if it has some kind of defective problem then we tell the customer to call HPI and see what they can do for them

Thats like going to joe shmuckatellies ford dealership and buying a brand new F150 only to find out the stearing box is cracked, going back for warannty service ole joe tells ya to call ford mo. co. and fix the problem yourself.

I mean really, what service is the hobby shop providing to its customers if when they buy a new product there told to go directly to the manufacturer with any issues! when he wanted to purchase the truck and set money down on the counter nobody told him to go talk to hpi about purchasing it through them

Instead of looking at him for what you know him to be A P/Oed customer who is going to make your next hour of work unpleasent someone could have taken that same hour to calm the man LOOK (at least LOOK) at the truck, maybe put a 30$ servo on it for free at WORST and now have a thoroghly satisfied customer who will probably spend twice that 30$ in markup on hopups in the next month!! not to mention the positive plublicity a situation like that resolved can create

Theres no advertising like word of mouth, GOOD or BAD!!!!!!!!

Phil

robie6

01-31-2004, 11:41 PM

ok so we know that some lhs suck, whata we do about it. There not Bill Gates or Enron, so say we post these bad lhs with there url listed & maybe a few names & bring attention to these stores. Not some petty grevence, but an ligitment full out bad deal someone got. Same store pops up a couple times & somebody's going to fix things or have a yard sale. These lhs don't walk on water & if its just one or two out of alot of franchizes some big wig is gonna make some changes I hope

djfinch

01-31-2004, 11:46 PM

http://www.student.smsu.edu/s/san232s/hardfunnypics/beatingdeadhorse.jpg

boomski

02-01-2004, 12:05 AM

DJ

I love your style dude, Pictures worth a thousand words ay!!!

Phil

chuckwagon123

02-01-2004, 12:09 AM

Hobby Shops need a ton of customer service. More then many other type of stores. However the minimum I find is the store takes returns with a recipt. No questions. Doesn't matter how pissed the customer is.

I bet the owner of the Hobby shop in question would be pissed to know his employee bring this topic up in public, especialy on an RC board.

He he he

RCRACER2471

02-01-2004, 10:37 AM

He wouldnt care. Im not the only one who brings up these topics. I admit that our policy is somewhat bad but I have no control over it. Its my bosses decision to decide what to do with problems like these. If it was me I would take it somewhat differently but again im not the owner. If I was in control I would give them a new one and send the bad one back and see whats wrong with it but yet again I can do that because im not in control. But what they wanted to do is return the whole truck back which is something I would never so. Thats like buying a new BWM and bringing it back 2 days because its bad. Thats something you just cant do in any hobby store because of the loss of money from a manufacturer problem. Basically people just need to listen to what we say which they dont half the time because there so excited about using their new truck the outcome is problems later on. Every hobby shop could improve their customer service but trying to send back a new truck will never work...