Today i called Accurail about a car i ordered about a year and a half ago. they told me to call walthers. So i called walthers. They won’t help unless i ordered directly fomr them. i ordered the car from my LHS. if i want to know where the car is i have to call my LHS so they can call walthers. i also ordered a CNW Bi-level Cab car. still not in. it was even the walthers sale catalouge. Has anyone else had thiskind of service from ANYWHERE/ANY COMPANY. or am i just have a bad day?
Bachmann took 8 monts to replace my 44 tonner after it destroyed itself.
Parcel Force, or Parcel Farce in the UK have really got on my wick!
A few weeks ago I put a question out on this forum as to how good internet hobbies were - well, I found their service very good - although a little slow, they kept me informed, the trouble started this side of the pond. Customs got hold of my parcel ( Rivarossi 60’ SP 4 car set and a Spectrum SP Hicken Tender) and decided to charge me £14.06 custom duty - I don’t have a problem with that - but what really got on my***was the fact that Parcel force have charged me a STANDARD £13.50 administrational fee for releasing the parcel! THE BUGGERS! On top of that the letter they sent me gave a telephone number that did not answer and the help line was about as helpful as a bag horse crap. To make matters worse, if I want to get my hands on my parcel before the middle of next week I have got to drive 20 miles to pick it up!
To say I hate Parcel Farce is an understatement! On the positive side, my partner has got herself a new job (more money!), I won about $20 playing cards on the train on the way home this evening and I have been given tickets worth $100 to a race meet and meal with my bosses tomorrow night…
Guess you just got to take the rough with the smooth!
I have always recieved friendly and courteous service from Walthers. I ordered about 50 bucks worth of stuff from them priority mail, and after about 2 weeks I went to the post office to inquire about it and they said too bad. I called Walther’s about the situation to inquire if they insure shipments, and they said no. Without asking, and on my word, they shipped a new order out at no cost to me. The only thing they asked is if I did eventually recieve the original order to return it to them, which I would have gladly done. I have called them several times and talked to several different departments, and came away with a smile each time.
Hi Jay. I hate that you haven’t gotten your order but it is a stretch to expect Walthers to get involved between you and your LHS. Why don’t you cancel the order and reorder direct from Walthers? I bet they’d do their best for you if you did.
I can’t cancel to order and reorder it becuase its sold out already. know the order was placed becuase i ordered 6 cars at once. i got all of them but this one. same as my Bi-level cab car. it was ordered with 6 other cars.
Cancel the Walthers one and get one of the new Kato Bi-level cab cars.[:D][:D]
Walthers is expecting the CNW Bi-level Cab car’s to be in-stock on July 12, 2005.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/big/932-6261
Hope this helps,
Sean
Athearn took 1 year to replace a 2-8-2…
Sam[xx(][V][censored][|(][tdn]
Why would anyone pay full price by ordering direct from Walthers ???
I did as a new modeler, but have stopped because:
- A car I really wanted and pre-ordered from Walthers (on their web site - at full price, of course) was never delivered - even though I ordered it the SAME WEEK it was announced on the web site! When I called Walthers (after I never got it), I was told that it was sold out, despite the fact that I was one of the first people to order it - seems that NUMBERS have priority over DATE !!!
AND
- I find that I can get the item much cheaper thru various internet dealers.
When ordering from my usual dealers (Modeltrainstuff, for example), I have never failed to get the item AND I have gotten it CHEAPER than Walthers - or my LHS !!!
Wathers isn’t going to deal with you because you aren’t their customer. The LHS is their customer, and you are his. The LHS will have (should have) copies of the order forms, as well as any invoices.
It’s entirely proper to start there. If you want customer service direct from Walthers, you pay Walthers prices.
Just to repeat comments by others… I have also always received nothing but prompt, courteous service from Walthers.
-Jack
From the tone of the original post I can see where there might be a problem. Definitely the local hobby shop is where you need to negotiate. Walthers is one of the very best to deal with - maybe paying list price isn’t to your liking, but don’t complain about the service if you are not willing to pay for it.
I made a Walthers order over four months ago with a local LHS for some detail parts and Atlas N scale NKP NE-6 caboose at full list. I was told approx two weeks. After a couple months of inquirys, I was told by the LHS the Atlas caboose is still in production. I found out later Atlas shipped them last fall. OK, so Walthers is sold out. Just tell me this so I can look elsewhere. GEEESH! Here it is four months later and still no detail parts. Recently, I began looking for a MT GN woodside caboose which MT announced is sold out at factory level. I called the same LHS store and asked if they had one in their display case because I thought I saw one. “No, but if you come in, we can order one for you”. LMAO!!
I’ve gotten much better service over the internet.
I always check the Terminal Hobby Shop page (www.walthers.com) before I order anything from my LHS to determine availability. If your hobby shop uses Walther’s as a distributor, they should be able to verify availability as well.
When I worked at a hobby shop, we always checked with WKW on anyone’s order. We could check availability, price and approximate shipping dates for them, before they decided to order or not.
I think it has more to do with the phase of the moon, day of the week, wind direction, and presence of tropical disturbances than anything else. Sometimes the person on the other end is having a bad day… so they pass it off to you. If you break the chain, you’re stuck.
As to the length of time replacing anything, I have no issue with that as long as they eventually came thru. It they haven’t got one, they absolutely can not give it to you. I just realized I have never had anything replaced in over 30 years. I have ordered many parts. Maybe they like that, I don’t know.
This is why I usually buy stuff at my LHS, and when I do mail order something, I only do so if they have it in stock. I never backorder anything. This way I don’t have to wait eight months just to find out that it’s out of production.
I NEVER had a problem with Walthers in the past 8 years.
I’ve never had a problem with Walthers either. Years ago I used to order a lot of electronic stuff by mail order. I learned to say “no back orders” on the order forms and I still do that. That said, I’ve always received my full order from Walthers. One thing I do with them for some of the items is give them an alternative if my first choice isn’t in stock. Even then, so far they’ve never had to go with my second choice. So I maybe pay a bit higher price from them than from others, but it’s worth it for the service I get from them. Much as I like my LHS, I haven’t had much luck with him ordering something for me, but I still go to him first. I believe in supporting my LHS.
I could never understand the statement that you have to pay for good service. Does that mean we should all go looking for the company that charges the most? I don’t think so. Good service should be expected from EVERY company you deal with, regardless of price. A good price should be an added bonus. Higher prices don’t get you any better service, but it puts a bigger smile on the owners face. I am sure that the part-time sales clerk at the LHS gets paid the same low pay regardless of the prices the shop charges. If I order something and don’t have it within a week, I start checking with those involved. If they don’t fix the problem right away, they lose my business and I tell every one I know. Same goes with good prices/service. I tell everyone I know.