I started working on a Branchline Pullman kit this past weekend, that I picked up on eBay a year or more ago, and quickly discovered that the sprue with the brake gear was missing (although I did get two sets of diaphragms. Yeah). I called Branchline Monday morning, and had a replacement sprue yesterday. No hassle, no questions about where I bought it or how long ago. Great customer service, and fun kits to build, too.
Greg
Greg,
That’s always good to hear. Sylvan Models (http://www.isp.ca/sylvan/is) another company like that.
One instance I was missing a single tire from one of their truck kits and they sent me a complete set of tires - free of charge. The other instance I broke a part during assembly and was willing to pay for a replacement part. I contacted Sylvan and in the mail came the replacement part - FREE!
Needless to say, I have a few Syvan kits on my layout.
Tom
[Edit: Funny how the “complimentary” threads get far less contributions than the “complaining” ones.]
Yes, they treated me very well, too. That is refreshing in this day and age - though I must admit that SONY replaced my malfunctioning eReader (much more expensive than a kit!) in just a couple days with no hassle. Maybe corporations are realizing that alienating customers doesn’t work any more - if it ever did.
Branchline seems to be one of those good companies that actually wants return customers. I got two of their Heavyweight PRR sleeper kits as Christmas presents, and both were missing parts. The first one was only missing the air conditioner parts. The second one was missing the wheels, couplers, grab irons, laser etched windows, bearing inserts for the trucks, the screws, and maybe another one I can’t remember. I e-mailed them about the parts, and they sent all of them to me within a couple weeks.[:)]
Tom - “kvetching” is a lot more fun! [swg]
We take good service for granted, but are usually not prepared to pay for it.
I’ve also had good service with branchline.
I once bought a pack of 100 semi-scale wheelsets, but it only had 97. I contacted them and they sent me 3 RP25 ones. I contacted them again thanking them for the wheelset and offering to send the 3- mis-matched ones back or purchase a single set to have another full set. They sent the right ones my way, alothough I still have the 3 mis-matched ones.
Um, the only things left on that list are the walls, the roof, the instructions, and the box it comes in.
(There, this thread has its fill of sarcastic kvetching. I just couldn’t help myself)
Branchline did the same for me when I messed up the steps of a coach I was building. They also replaced the instructions to a laser kit that I lost.
I bought a Branchline “Weimer’s Mill” kit for my layout.
There was nothing wrong with it at all, and all the parts were there. When I finished, I had a beautiful model that was much easier to construct than I had feared.
Sure, customer service is important, but not needing customer service because they got it right the first time? Priceless.