AVC Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Good evening Recently I bough a second hand Roto 25cc. It has never been used came without the prop mounting plate and the four prop bolts. I sent an email to J Perkins, as they are the distributors of Roto in UK. After two days, I still didn't have an answer, so I decided to send another email directly to Roto in the Czech republic. I sent this email last Thursday night, on Friday at 07:15 I had a reply from Veronika, confirming that the had both the plate and the bolts, 8 € all, and free shipping. I confirmed that I wanted them, and five minutes later I had paid with paypal. Today, Tuesday, I have received the parts here and the engine is ready for break in tomorrow. I am still waiting for J Perkins to reply to my first email, at least to confirm that they have received it. I'm planning to buy a Roto 85 Fs within the next year or so.Obviously, when the time will come, the likelihood is that I will contact Veronika again, and I'll buy it directly from them. I know that this affect the shops that are directly fed by the distributor (and I hate it), but in the end this is the only ammunition that we have as customers against a bad service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hi Alejandro Funny enough I sent 2 e-mail enquires to JP in the last 12 months. Good job I did not hold my breath for an answer I would be blue in the face by now, still waiting. Fully agree with your last sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil67 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hi Guys, Same poor response from JP. Managed to get them on the phone - complete waste of my time......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingKade Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Didnt someone on here have an issue with buying from overseas from the manufacturer? I think it was a dji phantom spinny cornered thing....there was an issue and the postal costs... or sum tin....? But again i agree, would not be buying from JP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Webb 2 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Email communication is always poor in the UK. Many businesses advertise an email address but rarely answer. Ive had to sort something out with CML and despite sending emails ive always had to ring to confirm whats going on. Coming from the model railway world its even worse over there! Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 It's not just the model retailers - I sent a request for details on a car advertised by a local high-end car dealer and two days later they have still not replied. If they don't want to sell the car that's ok, but why advertise it and why supply email contact details? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prop Nut Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 That's a very broad generalisation, Richard, and not my experience. I prefer to use email because I am slightly 'Mutt and Jeff', and send them to suppliers in various parts of the world. In fact, I find UK businesses above average at replying, though emails to German and French suppliers, even in their own language, often fail to elicit a response and I have to follow up by 'phone. Even US companies can be very poor at replying to email, in my experience. Edited By Prop Nut on 22/10/2014 12:11:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Webb 2 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 In my own experience of emailing companies i get around 25%. I dont bother now so i use the phone where i can. Some companies are better than others but size doesnt seem to make much difference. I have to say i find the opposite with germany as i normally always get a response within 24hrs. I can recomend in the UK 4max as ive always been able to get a response normally within a few hours. I do wonder if its because they have sensitive spam filters and some emails never get through. All i do know is when it was discussed on a railway forum there was no consensus reached. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denis parkinson Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 On a brighter note, I have recently emailed Ben Buckle, and D B Sport And Scale, and I have received replies in less than an hour. Now that is top class customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVC Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 In my experience, I have found a sort of mix in terms or responses to emails: last April I asked for a quotation to tide up my garden to a gardening company, and I'm still waiting for an answer, at least to say "we don't give a monkey about your garden". On the other hand, I have had some very good experiences with other businesses. Just to mention some examples, King Lynns Model Shop, Giant Shark or Just Engines are among them.>> What is really fuming of this attitude is that local and European businesses, especially in our area but also in many others, must compete against prices totally unachievable here (at a cost of quality in some cases...), so they have to compete in service, pre and aftersales, but it seems that the message hasn't come across for some.>> I do prefer to leave my money in Europe instead of sending it directly to a chinese business, and I have no problem by paying a bit more, but in return, I expect a good service, i.e. feedback, support, etc... If we miss this bit, we'll lose the battle >> Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 23/10/2014 13:11:47 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prop Nut Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I couldn't agree more, Alejandro. Kings Lynn and JE are first class, in my experience, as are many other suppliers across the UK and the rest of Europe, but some haven't yet got the message that they have to compete on service. I'm very happy to pay a reasonable premium to keep the business here and it often frustrates me that so many suppliers don't seem to give a 'monkey's' (as you so eloquently put it!). Edited By Prop Nut on 23/10/2014 16:49:45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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