I’d like to get feedback from anyone here who has received less-than-
favorable service from the parts dept. at Broadway Limited Imports in
Ormond Beach, Florida.
Recently I called to order some parts for one of my locos. I placed my
order with “The” parts person (lets’s just refer to him as “Bob”). Bob
couldn’t take the call so, I left the order on his voicemail. Two weeks
later, I called back for a status update. “Bob” told me that he didn’t
get the message, fair enough, so I gave him my order “live”, over the
phone. Another week and a half later, I called him again and was
treated by him as if my business wasn’t wanted. He told me “I’ll send
them to you when I get around to it”. Up until this time, I gave him
the benefit of the doubt, believing that my parts were not in stock. I
was shocked to learn that this clearly wasn’t the case.
Of course, I spoke to the president and informed him of the situation.
I told him that as a customer, I deserve to be dealt with respect and
compassion, like anyone else. Instead of apologizing, he gave excuses
as to why I was treated this way (job pressure, staff shortage, etc.)
What happened to customer service?
Is this the level of service we deserve and should come to expect from
Broadway Limited or any other manufacturer?
Are we, as mere hobbyists, not worth their time to deal with directly?
I look at my shelves and see literally thousands of dollars spent on
things that are not needed, but wanted. It bothers me to think that I
ever wanted something from a company that doesn’t care if I’m a
satisfied customer or not.
Would an all-out boycott of BLI products from those of us here make a
difference in the level of service I/we receive?
I humbly ask for the support of my fellow hobbyist at this time, to
whom I owe a great deal of thanks.
Well, I must speak as I find. About sis months ago, I lost a couple of the steps from my BLI F7 A&B units. So I e-mailed BLI. I got an e-mail back in a day asking me what parts I wanted, how many and shipping details. I e-mailed back the part numbers, the quantity and my address (I’m in the UK) and the guy at BLI e-mailed back to say they would be in the post. About 2 weeks or so later, there they were, free of charge.
Maybe I was lucky and it was a good day, but I was very satisfied and thought BLI’s customer service to me was very good. Maybe the success of the company is greater than they have anticipted and they are now short staffed. If so, I think that’s a shame. Let’s hope it’s just a glinch and you’ve been rather unlucky Ted.
Sorry to see that your first post is not a happy one.
No offense, I do hope that your story is legit and not trumped or exaggerated. We’ve had people posting complaints that were not on the level. But assuming you’re on the mark, most customers would be quite upset at the lack of professionalism in this case.
There have been BLI customer service related posts here in the past 3 years. THe majority of them were positive, if my memory is still intact.
Bob Grubba is the current president of BLI. He did make a post here recently regarding the new PCM SD40-2, so apparently he does visit this forum from time to time (as do reps from the other model railroad related manufacturers). He may see this thread here.
Don’t give up and try again. Let the customer service rep know that you’ve posted this thread here. That should get you some attention, especially since there are MANY BLI customers on this forum. [;)]
So I guess you don’t want feedback from those of us who, like me, have received GOOD customer support from BLI?
Sorry, but I’m not quite ready to support someone whose only post on the forum is a claim to have been abused by a manufacturer I have dealt with satisfactorily in the past. No offense meant, and I’m not suggesting that your recounting of events is inaccurate in any way. It’s just that my experience with BLI differs, that’s all.
My very first interaction with BLI was when I emailed them to ask about my very first purchase of a locomotive after I re-entered the hobby. The item is their J1d Hudson which I found to be much noisier in reverse than when running forward. I got a terse reply that the “…Korean drives are noisy in reverse.” In the absence of any further comment, I took it as, “Get over it…”
A couple of days later, I received a reply from the Service Manager, at the time Matt Williamson, who offered to have a look at it if I would ship it in. In subsequent dealings, always with Matt, he was friendly and helpful. On this, and the other occasion when I felt I needed their help, they fixed the loco for only the cost of return shipping.
So, I chalk the first experience to a cranky sub who probably should not have fielded the question. I am at a loss to explain your experience since I have never talked to them personally and been treated that way.
I have requested and received six different parts from Bob and BLI with no problems. He has been prompt. I always use email for my contact knowing they check it daily and phone messages can get lost. I received a part only two days ago from Bob after I had requested the connector for my PCM Big Boy. I am sure messages can get lost, but they will make it right.
It sounds like your message got lost, but they have always been responsive to email and have sent the parts no charge without any problems.
I for one am very happy with their service. My six problems are representative of over forty items from BLI/PCM including the Zephyr train. I would consider the small amount of problems with a great number of purchases and the fast service that I have received to be more representative of their great service overall.
Without getting into specifics, I have had a couple of very positive customer service experiences with BLI. Sounds like an isolated incident, IF there was an incident at all. There are two sides to every story, and the truth lies somewhere in between.
Ted, I am sorry to hear this. Having seen your message show up on other lists and boards as well it is fair to say that there are a great number of folks that have now read your story.
There is a huge lesson here for anyone in any business. One dissatisfied customer can effect literally thousands of other potential customers. You can have literally 99% success rate meeting the needs of customers and these satisfied customers will go on quietly. Upset one and they will tell the world. This is a fact of human nature. I for one have cost the shipping company TNT thousands of dollars in revenue as a result of an appallingly handled $25 incorrect billing that their customer service would not even respond to, let alone take care of.
Ted, in my experience with BLI, I have had superb service and support, including the outright replacement of a defective loco. I for one would be tempted to give them another shot.
Im sorry you feel the need to post a negative light as your first one.
I have had contact with BLI as a customer with a fairly large number of engines over the last few years since they came out with the Hudson. Sometimes Ive had problems with the engine and it got taken care of. Once I captured and netted a out of production PRR Duplex which was on thier outlet direct list and that experience was good.
Now BLI/PCM/FDT are all mixing up and have been giving us fair warning that they will only build to order. I would expect that there will be no surplus of parts. If you are getting bad treatment from a worker inside BLI then make a complaint and keep at it until you get it resolved.
It is very easy to spend the dollars elsewhere or leave out a potential engine order…
If we are getting increasing bad experiences with BLI then maybe we are seeing a meltdown of what was once a fine company making lots of noise and nothing done in silence.
Sorry to hear about your dealings with BLI customer service today. I Just talked to Bob in customer service this morning and did not have any issues. I was checking on some parts that he was sending out last week and he confirmed they went out on Saturday. I am still going to support BLI and their product.
Jeff
[quote user=“Ted Marshall”]
I’d like to get feedback from anyone here who has received less-than-
favorable service from the parts dept. at Broadway Limited Imports in
Ormond Beach, Florida.
Recently I called to order some parts for one of my locos. I placed my
order with “The” parts person (lets’s just refer to him as “Bob”). Bob
couldn’t take the call so, I left the order on his voicemail. Two weeks
later, I called back for a status update. “Bob” told me that he didn’t
get the message, fair enough, so I gave him my order “live”, over the
phone. Another week and a half later, I called him again and was
treated by him as if my business wasn’t wanted. He told me “I’ll send
them to you when I get around to it”. Up until this time, I gave him
the benefit of the doubt, believing that my parts were not in stock. I
was shocked to learn that this clearly wasn’t the case.
Of course, I spoke to the president and informed him of the situation.
I told him that as a customer, I deserve to be dealt with respect and
compassion, like anyone else. Instead of apologizing, he gave excuses
as to why I was treated this way (job pressure, staff shortage, etc.)
What happened to customer service?
Is this the level of service we deserve and should come to expect from
Broadway Limited or any other manufacturer?
Are we, as mere hobbyists, not worth their time to deal with directly?
I look at my shelves and see literally thousands of dollars spent on
things that are not needed, but wanted. It bothers me to think that I
Probably the more prudent post would be just a general question regarding BLIs customer (i.e. what is BLIs customer service like). This will prevent any unwanted rumors.
As a business owner, I wouldn’t want any unfounded rumors floating around the internet about my company and I sure would not want to have a boycott against my business based on those rumors.
That’s the fastest way to make me angry in any customer service situation.
It isn’t my problem that you can’t run your business properly. I don’t care if you’re short-staffed or whatever; all that matters to me is, I gave you my money and didn’t get satisfaction.
I keep careful track of places that use excuses for bad service instead of just apologizing and fixing the problem…and then I don’t go back to them.
I’m sorry you perceived poor service from BLI. For me, nothing but great service from BLI. Answer questions readily. replaced driver wheels and tires on an 0-8-0 at no charge. I wish other companies could approach their level of customer service. Ranks right up there with NCE for service w/o flak. I have not heard anyone around here complaining about BLI service, quite the contrary.
I have had to return a 4-8-4 Northern and a 2-10-2 Santa Fe Class engine to BLI for repair and the customer service was excellent. I also had some parts I needed and they shipped them to me at no charge. They have always been great over the phone and by e-mail also. I have no complaints and will continue to purchase their products.
My only problem with BLI was a sound equipped cattle car. They answered my e-mails within 24 hours - including on a weekend! I FIND THEM MORE THAN SATISFACTORY - EXCELLENT WOULD BE A BETTER DESCRIPTION. [angel]