I have contacted this company by email several times because I’m interested in their DVD’s but I never get an answer.
http://www.railfanvideo.com/catalog/categoryview.aspx?catid=004
Have any of you managed to contact them?
It seems that most companies do not respond to e-mails. Some companies will respond after several e-mails. I always thought it interesting when a company does not want to use e-mail, yet posts their e-mail address on their site. There have been a few companies that lost my potential business because of this.
It’s also true that many modeling business are mom-and-pop’s, so there’s only one person that’s “office staff” and they may have a day job besides.
It’s also true that many such business have a web presence because it’s “the thing to do” in order to sell more product, but that web presence is an add-on to their normal mail order operation and as such isn’t constantly monitored by any part-time help.
If they don’t answer emails, send them a letter by regular post and in the letter tell them how you tried to get ahold of them via their email and got no answers, which left you wondering if they were even still in business. And if you could get a human to answer something online, you’d be happy to order from them – and that you bet there’s lots more potential business online if they’d answer emails. Also tell them you are a regular poster on the MR online forum which has over 50,000 members and if they will respond, you’ll let 50,000+ model railroaders know about their good response.
If they are a going concern at all, that ought to get their attention! [swg]
If it doesn’t, then let the rest of use know so we can steer clear of them.
I have not tried to email them since most of their offerings can be purchased at the LHS. They have some nice DVD’s and are worth the money.
There is a firm currently with an ad in MR offering something I was interested in. I tried to order it on their website and there was a problem with their order form, it did not have an option for me to list my Canadian address. I sent them an e-mail inquiring if they do indeed ship to Canada. No reply, so I send a second similar message a week later. Still no reply so I ordered the item for the same price with a more cooperative dealer. No more business with the first firm, and I certainly won’t promote them to others either. Why even bother to list an e-mail address if you do not intend to use it?
This is interesting, because I prefer emails for my mrr electronics business. It gives me the flexibility to answer when I want to (or have the time) rather than having to interupt what I’m doing.
I’m not sure why a business would simply not answer an email, though I must admit there have been one or two I hesitated to answer.
Similarly at shows, there are a few times I’ve felt like saying “Sir, put the electronics device down and s-l-o-w-l-y step away…” LOL
Mike Tennent
With all the virus and spyware out there today, its possible they have a spam blocker, and something from your email address could be snagging and sending it into a spam folder that may not be getting opened. Now I know this is not typical for a buisness, But it is a possiblity. I saw on the web site they have a toll free number. Just give em a ring on their dime. You have nothing to lose but a little time, but could gain some great videos at good prices.
Some FACTS about email: Many spam blockers block free sites such as hotmail and yahoo, so your mail may never get through. Firms are inundated with email, especially useless ones like “Do you have…?” "Can I get parts for my Toyotas?"In small business it is hard to pay someone $10 an hour to deal with this stuff. If you make a pest of yourself with email, you will be met with the delete key. I had a whole list of usernames I automatically deleted. Spelling and punctuation DO count. If your email looks like gibberish, again, the delete key. Have a real question, one that can be answered easily and directly. Fishing for vague information will get little results. Lastly, lose the attitude. Many emails sound downright unfriendly, threatening etc. You are not the only one with a problem. As a last resort, as others have said, spend your dime and use the PHONE!.
I have seen the arguments on behalf of the vendor as to why e-mails are not replied to. Although I have some sympathy, I am not really impressed. To paraphrase Railphotog, if you are not going to respond to e-mail, don’t put an e-mail address in your ad or on your site.
Although I have not run into this situation in model railroading yet, I certainly have with real estate agents as we try to relocate. Based on my experiences with real estate companies and agents over the past 3 months, I estimate less than half answer their e-mail within 2 weeks, and over 2/3 of the Internet links provided have never been tried, and don’t work. And this is a response rate from a group that is supposedly seeking new business. My e-mail queries were specific, and came from a local ISP, not a world-wide web mail address. Needless to say, I now deal only with those agents that follow-up promptly on my queries. They seem to be top notch, and a pleasure to do business with.
Not responding to an advertised e-mail address or posting broken links or not returning phone calls just sends your potential customers elsewhere. If there is no e-mail address advertised, then I know to use the phone. Of course, if you don’t prominently list a phone number either, I have to conclude you really don’t want my business. And