Pretty poor show from Ray mear's office

[bert333]

It's Christmas and one would think the season of goodwill... where a tiny effort could be made towards a member of the bushcraft community but not at Ray Mears Buscraft it seems.

Having already lost a pair of parcels from elsewhere, I telephoned to ask if I could collect a new axe today from them as a courtesy- this was refused on the grounds that they operate on private premises and do not welcome visitors....
It is 'policy' chuckled the man I spoke to, who found it funny...
It's a 2 hour drive there and back for me and I did not want another item to go astray so I was willing to go fetch it. Looks like I was alone there.

Praise is given when praise is due- sadly, here it's the reverse.
A little thoughtfulness goes a long way but in its absence, I'm voting with my feet and shall not be shopping there again.

 

[Wayne]

Where are you based and what are you looking for? A

 

[bert333]

Hi Wayne - I'm in Kent so this was the closest- I enjoy carving and was going to treat myself to a new GB Wildlife axe.
I have other axes so this is not a major issue- what is, however- is the awful response I got from this firm.

 

[toilet digger]

oh dear, hope you're not out of pocket.

 

[tiger stacker]

Losing parcels is a pain, from their side though they may have a lot of stock on the premise and do not wish to sell stock in person. Hopefully you get the axe you are after.

 

[Retired Member southey]

So, your upset by a companies security policy? Are they in any way set up to sell on the premises? Do they even hold stock on site? Could they have a different disspatch premises?

 

[coln18]

Woodlore may be expensive, but there customer service is excellent, i have ordered dozens of things from them and it always impresses me how quick the items are delivered. I have also had cause to to ask them for things out with the normal and they have always came through for me. For me they are a top company, expensive yes but you know what you are getting from them and i have always found there staff very friendly and cheerful. If this is there policy, then thats fine, i you dont like it dont use them, but i dont really see what your complaint is, your asking them to do something that they arent set up for....and the guy did tell you they operate out of private property, this could be an insurance issue.

 

[toilet digger]

So, your upset by a companies security policy? Are they in any way set up to sell on the premises? Do they even hold stock on site? Could they have a different disspatch premises?

think he was more upset about the unhelpful attitude.

 

[Jock]

Sometimes it good to relax the rules & show a bit of humanity rather than hiding behind a policy I think thats the OP's point

At the risk of being accussed of being anti English (because Im not) I do find that English people tend to be more inclined to obey rules & regulations. I think this is true of a lot of more densely populated cultures eg Japan, whereas the Irish & Scots are bit more "flexible"

In my experience anyway.(Tin hat on)

Its always a disappointment when someone is aparently unwilling to assist a reasonable request

 

[dwardo]

"Stick it" would have been my response and my business taken elsewhere. Thats the right we all have and the more we exercise it the better businesses will become.

 

[coln18]

Sometimes it good to relax the rules & show a bit of humanity rather than hiding behind a policy I think thats the OP's point

At the risk of being accussed of being anti English (because Im not) I do find that English people tend to be more inclined to obey rules & regulations. I think this is true of a lot of more densely populated cultures eg Japan, whereas the Irish & Scots are bit more "flexible"

In my experience anyway.(Tin hat on)

Its always a disappointment when someone is aparently unwilling to assist a reasonable request

The chap that answered the phone may not have had the power to make these decisions and who ever does may have already stated that it is a no no for personal collections as it could affect the relations with the owners of the personal premises or insurance policy. Its fine for a small personal business that is run by 1 man to make these decisions, but woodlore are a bigger comany and i think you will agree that for the sake of 1 axe this chap shouldnt risk his job at xmas.

 

[MartinK9]

So, you had a pair of parcels from elsewhere not turn up and decided to berate Woodlore for sticking to their policies:

FAQ @ Woodlore:


Q: Is there an actual Woodlore shop that I can visit in person?

No. We only offer kit and courses for sale via our website, and over the telephone.

http://www.raymears.com/Woodlore/Frequently_Asked_Questions.cfm#delivery

Shouldn't you be slagging off the company that failed to deliver your goods or indeed the store you purchased said items from????

Merry Christmas to you too.

 

[rik_uk3]

"they operate on private premises and do not welcome visitors" seems reasonable to me.

 

[robin wood]

Seems there are 2 issues
1 you wanted them to do a retail sale from a mail order warehouse. This can cause problems for all sorts of reasons so entirely reasonable for them to politely decline, and reasonable for you to buy your axe elsewhere if you feel the need to collect in person.
2 sounds like you were offended by poor telephone manner. It's not hard to say I am very sorry sir but we are not set up for retail customers, don't have insurance for customers on the premises or whatever.
Personally I don't think this is "pretty poor show from Ray Mear's office" if you want a retail store go find one, I wouldn't have asked them for a ham sandwich either it's not what they do.

 

[demographic]

It's blackeye friday today, no doubt they will be working the morning at a snails pace then going on the lash like most building companies also do.
I reckon they don't want to remain open just for one sale.

Is it really that important that you can't wait a few days or is the coming Christmas/nuclear winter going to be too long a wait?

 

[Everything Mac]

Seems there are 2 issues
1 you wanted them to do a retail sale from a mail order warehouse. This can cause problems for all sorts of reasons so entirely reasonable for them to politely decline, and reasonable for you to buy your axe elsewhere if you feel the need to collect in person.
2 sounds like you were offended by poor telephone manner. It's not hard to say I am very sorry sir but we are not set up for retail customers, don't have insurance for customers on the premises or whatever.
Personally I don't think this is "pretty poor show from Ray Mear's office" if you want a retail store go find one, I wouldn't have asked them for a ham sandwich either it's not what they do.

^^That.

Andy

 

[salan]

Whilst I don't agree with the OP entirely, I am amazed at the 'nastyness; that comes out of some of the replies.
I thought that this group of'like minded people' were beyond that. obviously I was wrong.
For what its worth (which is nothing) in my opinion from what has been said (so nothing like all the info), the only thing the guy on the phone could of done better was to be more polite. But judging by some of the replies he seems to be in the majority with his apparent attitude.
Its Christmas. do we really need threads like this?
Alan

 

[coln18]

Whilst I don't agree with the OP entirely, I am amazed at the 'nastyness; that comes out of some of the replies.
I thought that this group of'like minded people' were beyond that. obviously I was wrong.
For what its worth (which is nothing) in my opinion from what has been said (so nothing like all the info), the only thing the guy on the phone could of done better was to be more polite. But judging by some of the replies he seems to be in the majority with his apparent attitude.
Its Christmas. do we really need threads like this?
Alan

Just my opinion, but i havent notice anything that could be classed as nastiness. Just a forum full of people sharing their opinion and explaining why they think the OP was in the right/wrong and why? Isnt that what a forum is for the sharing of information and opinion.

Anyway Merry Xmas mate

 

[salad]

I worked in retail management for 16 years , this is my first xmas of not doing that Job .
One thing that always happens at this time of year customers always expect the staff to able to bend the rules more than they can because it is xmas .
The woodlore staff member would not of been allowed to let you on the premises due to there liability insurance because they are not a retail outlet , if he had done this for you then he would of potentially be putting his Job on the line and putting the company at risk .
If one of my staff members had bent the rules like this and put us at risk and then told me they had done it because it was xmas my reaction would have been to take them to investigation .

The real problem I used to have in the 3 or 4 days before christmas is that all the blokes who hate shopping come out to grab things last min and they always seem to give the staff a lot of attitude because of the fact they find shopping a stressful experience.
I am not saying you where giving the woodlore staff member attitude but it may be worth bearing in mind that it is very likely that he has been dealing with a number of bad attitude customers today which may of lead to his seemingly indifferent attitude towards yourself .
That said if one of my staff members had made one of my customers feel like that without taking the time to fully explain why they could not do something then I would want to know about this.
Maybe as you feel strongly about this you should think about writing an email to state your concerns and give them an opportunity to respond to you .

 

[salan]

I worked in retail management for 16 years , this is my first xmas of not doing that Job .
One thing that always happens at this time of year customers always expect the staff to able to bend the rules more than they can because it is xmas .
The woodlore staff member would not of been allowed to let you on the premises due to there liability insurance because they are not a retail outlet , if he had done this for you then he would of potentially be putting his Job on the line and putting the company at risk .
If one of my staff members had bent the rules like this and put us at risk and then told me they had done it because it was xmas my reaction would have been to take them to investigation .

The real problem I used to have in the 3 or 4 days before christmas is that all the blokes who hate shopping come out to grab things last min and they always seem to give the staff a lot of attitude because of the fact they find shopping a stressful experience.
I am not saying you where giving the woodlore staff member attitude but it may be worth bearing in mind that it is very likely that he has been dealing with a number of bad attitude customers today which may of lead to his seemingly indifferent attitude towards yourself .
That said if one of my staff members had made one of my customers feel like that without taking the time to fully explain why they could not do something then I would want to know about this.
Maybe as you feel strongly about this you should think about writing an email to state your concerns and give them an opportunity to respond to you .

A very professional reply.
Alan