Hi all. I am so disappointed with the service I recieved from a very well regarded model shop in Germany today.

There is an item that I need quite urgently, and so I went to their website and I saw that the item is showing as sold out. It is an item from a small manufacturer (Green Line from Fredericus Rex) and is not sold very widely so I don't know where else I can buy it. The store has an FAQ section which I did check, explaining that they cannot tell when items will be in stock, but I thought they may be able to at least indicate if they will be reordering this item.

I filled out a customer service query form asking if the shop will be restocking the item. Not an unreasonable request I think?

A few hours later, I checked and my request had been marked as 'closed' by the model shop, so I politely emailed them back, explaining that I know they can't give me specifics but please could they tell me if they are intending to restock the item. I received a very rude, arrogant reply from the shop owner, directing me to the FAQ section and telling me I will not receive any 'special treatment'for queries covered by their FAQ.

I have spent probably 600 Euros with his store and am a loyal and regular customer, so the above service was really distasteful.

I don't want to mention the shop's name but just wanted to see if my fellow modellers think that this type of response was justified?

That response was certainly unacceptable,whether you were a long time customer or first time inquiry.

Mike going by what you have said here the service was found to be wanting. The way to get their attention is the way you have done here, and you have kept your post polite which is a plus. I would simply go elsewhere and spend your money.

You're lucky you got an answer. Some of the German shops don't bother answering any mails. Once I had to put in a complaint with Paypal because one showed an item in stock when I ordered, then listed as on order after payment and wouldn't answer how long it might take, so I wanted to cancel my order. No response at all for 2 months. This isn't exclusive to Germany, I've noticed some of the UK shops are wanting as well. I don't know why e-shops bother to list contact info if they never answer anything?

Kimmo

What I don't understand is that if the owner (who was the one I dealt with) could take the time to write me an arrogant reply to my polite inquiry, why could he just not have used that time to answer the question I was asking instead? It would have taken the exact same length of time and he would still have a customer, even if he politely said that he is unsure of when he intends restocking.

That is no way to do business and I understand your trepidation of buying from said store. While customer service seems to have been going gradually down hill, anybody with any semblance of common sense would know that the customer should be treated, with the utmost respect. I can also agree that you are going about this, in the correct manner. However, without knowing which store is in question I do not believe others will know who to avoid.

No point in trying to figure out how some minds work, or don't work. He clearly isn't interested in keeping you as a customer so move on and try to find what you're looking for from some other place.

Kimmo

I suspect some business managers feel that with the explosion of internet commerce they can upset the odd customer now and again and still maintain a hefty customer base. But what they may be overlooking is the fact that the same internet that brings all those customers to their site also makes it infinitely easier for ones they have mistreated to share their experience with the rest of the world.