will keep you posted if i hear anything on the hobie mate
DP
"Shaun Van Poecke" <shaunvanpoecke@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:sZDaj.25992$CN4.17493@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> They are cheap.
> The prices start out pretty reasonable already for most things (at
least,
> in
> boating terms!), then with the 10% discount they get a bit cheaper
again.
> But the postage is the real savings. Admittedly my order was mostly
deck
> hardware, but it also included a fair bit of rope, waterproof dry sacks,
a
> 3.5kg anchor, and a couple of lifejackets. For $45 thats one of the
best
> postage rates I've seen.
>
> Any news on that 18 foot hobie? As another aside, do you know anywhere
> that
> can do mail order epoxy resin? I've seen plenty of places doing poly,
> even
> on ebay there's a guy selling poly and glass. Nobody seems to sell the
> epoxy though....
>
> Thanks,
> Shaun
> "D Parker" <nospamozskipper@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:476afec7$0$20611$5a62ac22@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> $45 ... Bargain. As you said. Particularly with an anchor...
>>
>> I would send a copy to Whitworths though.. Even if it was only a
watered
>> down version. If it was my business, I would want to know. Similarly, I
>> would want to know all that, if I was an employee who worked with
David.
>> Lets face it, if he destroyed the business, I would be out of work too.
>>
>> Whitworth's Head Office
>> Phone: (61 2) 9907 3344
>> Fax: (61 2) 9907 3187
>> Address: P.O. Box W52 Warringah Mall
>> NSW 2100 Australia
>>
>> DP
>> "Shaun Van Poecke" <shaunvanpoecke@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>> news:TTCaj.25958$CN4.6887@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> Just venting,
>>> I wouldnt know who to send it to anyway. Thanks for the links to the
>>> other stores, I will be looking into them in future. Definitely not
>>> interested in buy from whitworths again after this experience. I dont
>>> think they'll ****p before christmas, so maybe I'll get my order mid
>>> January or something. I've done pretty good buying fromt hem in
>>> store... they have good prices and do stock a lot of stuff. Plus if
you
>>> spend over $1000 you get the 10% discount, and ****pping is cheap. $45
>>> sydney to Mount Isa, and my order was a fair size, including an
anchor!
>>>
>>> Mail order seems not quite as good! Will keep you guys posted on the
>>> fun to come ;-)
>>>
>>> Shaun
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "D Parker" <nospamozskipper@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>> news:476af5ed$0$20614$5a62ac22@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>> omg... thats funny.... . Not laughing at your pain. Laughing at the
bad
>>>> service. Perhaps david could now move on to Customer Service for a
>>>> phone or Internet Co. He could be in charge of keeping people on hold
>>>> and never calling back.
>>>>
>>>> Have you tried Bias Marine in the past. I have a feeling they
actually
>>>> own Whitworths now. But if you call any of there stores I think they
>>>> can ****p direct from the store. I know if i was the store manager I
>>>> would want the sale to add to my budget.
>>>> http://www.biasboating.com.au/
>>>>
>>>> Also Sturrocks at Rushcutters. I know the service there is
impeccable.
>>>> If you faxed them and order they would be happy to take your money.
>>>> http://www.sturrocks.com.au/
.
>>>>
>>>> Btw, did you actually send that letter to Whitworths or are you just
>>>> using the net to vent?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> DP
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Shaun Van Poecke" <shaunvanpoecke@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>>> news:Vlraj.25835$CN4.10601@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>> Dear Whitworths,
>>>>> Please give David a holiday. Due to the stresses of work and the
>>>>> demands of fussy customers, he has become such a short tempered
>>>>> conceited bastard that he is in danger of hurting your business.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yours sincerely,
>>>>> Shaun Van Poecke
>>>>>
>>>>> I was ordering some parts for my cobra cat about 11 days ago. I had
>>>>> the whitworths marine catalogue at home, have bought from them many
>>>>> times in past so i thought that would be the way to go. This was my
>>>>> first mail order experience though. Reading through their catalogue
>>>>> was reassuring; apparently they ****p all over the world so i figured
>>>>> they must do ok. After my experiences of the last 2 weeks though, i
>>>>> think the mail order department must be limited to David.
>>>>>
>>>>> I compiled a list of all the items I would need. Not one to do
things
>>>>> by half measures, I did it in an excel spreadsheet with part
numbers,
>>>>> names, quantities, unit and total prices, and colors. There were 47
>>>>> items coming to a total of about $1200. Not a huge order i guess,
but
>>>>> enough that i felt i ought to get some level of service. It's not
as
>>>>> though I was ordering 2 x 16 gauge screws.
>>>>>
>>>>> I compiled my list with all the relevant details, contact
information,
>>>>> address, phone number and then faxed it to whitworths. I called up
>>>>> about 10 minutes after i sent it to make sure it got through. I got
>>>>> David. He was pretty curt, I had a couple of queries (and this is a
>>>>> *regular* couple, meaning 2, not 3) about a bracket for a signal
horn,
>>>>> and a fairlead for a cleat. I got the impression from talking to
him
>>>>> that i was more an annoyance than anything. I was ready to send
>>>>> payment through that day, but he said he would need to confirm my
>>>>> prices and get back to me. No worries. I sent the fax through early
>>>>> morning so i figured i would be fine.
>>>>>
>>>>> Next day at close of business I gave him another call to see if he
had
>>>>> forgotten me or not. After all, this was a pretty straightforward
>>>>> thing; everything laid out in black and white and here i am ready to
>>>>> pay. This time i really got a serving. Did I know that this was
one
>>>>> of the busiest times of year? Did i know how many orders he had to
>>>>> get through? No I didnt. Sorry
>>>>>
>>>>> The same day, I placed an order with Binks marine. This was my
first
>>>>> time dealing with them, and the first time I've ever even heard of
>>>>> them. It was a straightforward order for a gooseneck. Whitworths
>>>>> didnt stock it, and were unwilling to order it in for me. 3 days
>>>>> later, it arrived by express courier. Not a bad effort since i live
>>>>> in Mount Isa. Packages take 3-4 days to get here from Townsville
>>>>> sometimes!
>>>>>
>>>>> the same day this order arrived i called whitworths again. What a
>>>>> pleasant surprise; I got David. No he hasnt had a chance to check
my
>>>>> prices. No i shouldnt give him another call in a couple of days, he
>>>>> will call me when he has it sorted.
>>>>>
>>>>> A couple of days later, I realise I forgot to put the boom fitting
for
>>>>> my gooseneck into the order from binks. Slap myself in the
forehead,
>>>>> get on the net and order it same day. The part was worth about $20.
>>>>> I figure ordering it so late in the year i probably wont get it
before
>>>>> christmas.
>>>>>
>>>>> 2 days later I get a call from binks marine. They are terribly
sorry,
>>>>> but my order got delayed slightly. They were unable to ****p it the
>>>>> day after I ordered, because they were unable to find the part, but
>>>>> have found it that day and ****pped same day. Once again they are
>>>>> sorry, and it should be arriving within 2-3 days. How much markup
do
>>>>> they make on a $20 part that they can afford to call customers like
>>>>> this?
>>>>>
>>>>> 3 days later the part arrives. I'm impressed (again) and wish that
>>>>> binks stocked as many items as whitworths do.
>>>>>
>>>>> The next day, about 10 days later now, I get a call from David. He
>>>>> has priced my parts and sent a fax through to me with the quote. I
go
>>>>> to check the fax. It is signed, by hand 'looking forward to
receiving
>>>>> your payment'. How touching. I make payment same day by EFT.
>>>>>
>>>>> Today I go through the quote, and discover that they have left 2
items
>>>>> off the quote and supplied me with 1 of something where i ordered 4.
>>>>> I call up whitworths again. David answers the phone.
>>>>>
>>>>> 'Hi David, It's Shaun Calling from mount isa here'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'yes'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'do you remember me?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'I get hundreds of orders here, I cant remember them all'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'You sent me the fax yesterday, 47 items.... mostly for sailboats'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'yes'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'I put the payment through yesterday, but today Ive been going
through
>>>>> your quote and having a look and i think you might have missed a
>>>>> couple of items'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'I dont think so'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'do you have the quote in front of you?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'yes'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'do you have my original order that i sent through with it?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'yes'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'item 11 on my order, part number 5101 a small block is missing from
>>>>> the quote'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'that part number no longer exists.'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'I see.... Do you have something you might substitute? It's just a
>>>>> small block, 5mm rope. The type with 2 holes so you can screw or
>>>>> rivet it to a deck'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'I dont have time for this sort of stuff, you'll have to have
another
>>>>> look through the catalogue'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'ok. Item number 20, part number 180392, 5mm red spectra cord is
also
>>>>> missing'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'thats a duplicate line. Item 19 also has the same part number'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'item 19 was 5 meters, item 20 was 3 meters of same. Im trying to
>>>>> re-rig my catamaran here'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'but they were duplicate items. It looked like you made a mistake'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'There were several other items also duplicated in the same way, and
>>>>> they were all included in the order.'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'yeah, anything else?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'item 42, 4 x 100mm nylon cleats was on the order, but you only put
1'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'Yes, i see that. Whoever keyed the order must have made a mistake'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'ok, so what can i do to get the extra stuff?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'well, it's too late now. I'll call head office to see whether
you've
>>>>> deposited the money or not. For the other items, you'll have to
just
>>>>> do it by credit card or something as an extra order.'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'ok, so can i check up on the catalogue for those blocks and give
you
>>>>> a call back in about 5 minutes?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'no, I'm too busy for that. I'll give you a call'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'will that be today?'
>>>>>
>>>>> 'no, not today. Maybe tomorrow'
>>>>>
>>>>> end of call
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear Whitworths,
>>>>> Please give David a holiday. A long holiday. He sounds old and
>>>>> tired. About mid 50's, with no particular achievements in his life,
>>>>> which makes him very irritable. Give him the next 20-30 years off
so
>>>>> he can get out and go sailing or something. He needs a break, and
so
>>>>> do we.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear Binks Marine,
>>>>> Please stock as many items as whitworths do so i can buy them off
you.
>>>>> And if you get too busy from all your increased business, please
hire
>>>>> pleasant, competent people so you can continue getting my business.
>>>>> Dont hire David.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Yours Sincerely,
>>>>> Shaun Van Poecke
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The day my binks
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
|
