[proxops-pete]

Hi everyone...
I was wondering if you had similar bad experience with such unprofessional seller as this one from Handmade.com. Here's the chain of e-mails... keep in mind that you have to read it from the bottom up. In short, he won't be getting any business from me with such rudeness and unprofessionalism!
Granted that I didn't know everything about ordering (and who does?!), all he had to do was point me in the right direction... sheesh...


Peter

EDIT: deleted the e-mail correspondence I had trouble with per request of the mod.

In summary:
I being a newbie made a careless mistake. But from the getgo, he made remarks that he should've kept to himself. I have bad days too... esp. now that I have two babies, lack of sleep and fatigue is everyday part of life for me. If he deals with lots of customers, that is fine. No reason to fly off and explode on me. He didn't have to be such a smart *** about the whole thing... And then to top it off... he just keeps on insulting me... over SEVERAL e-mails! Granted that he doesn't know I am an aero engineer at Boeing with NASA (though that shouldn't AND doesn't give me any privileges whatsoever), it doesn't matter who your customer is. If you can't handle it, get out. Or just keep the mouth shut and keep it to yourself. Sheesh... Professional courtesy is all I ask.

 

[kloan]

well, his very first reply makes him sound like a knob.. but at $5, why did you go 'ouch'? it's only $5... but still, he sounds like a turd and i certainly dont like giving my business to turds.. thanks for the warning.

edit: i realize now why, because he only ships via UPS, which is notoriously expensive.. and if you want to get it shipped to canada, good luck with customs.. your $5 order would probably end up being $45..

 

[gsferrari]

Thanks for sharing. I'll be careful if and when I deal with this seller.

 

[rayofsi]

i have ordered a few times from him, but my orders were over $100 each and i've had no problems with him, very professional. I see that you edited your post, did you take something down or add something new?

 

[proxops-pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ufokillerz i have ordered a few times from him, but my orders were over $100 each and i've had no problems with him, very professional. I see that you edited your post, did you take something down or add something new?

No, I just simply re-formatted the lengthy e-mails so that it would be at least easier for you guys to read... trying to lessen the pain.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Wow. I would never deal with a guy like that. That's ridiculously bad customer service.

 

[Wodgy]

Sounds like you caught the guy on a bad day.

I'm not going to excuse the guy for being rude, but it's par for the course in dealing with this kind of vendor. All of the smaller parts vendors (Handmade, Angela, Percy, Welborne) are a pain to deal with for various reasons. I think they're just overloaded, get too many emails, and get angry/irritated if you don't read the information on their websites carefully. Percy just doesn't respond to you at all if you don't do this. Welborne has his own problems with responding to emails. At least the Handmade guy provided links to the information you need when he first responded to you. He probably expected you to go and read that information. When you didn't, he should have been more friendly and explained that he doesn't answer those kind of questions by email because he's just too busy, rather than getting angry at you. However, you've got to realize that basically all the smaller parts vendors get kind of ticked off when people ask questions that are answered on their websites. Just reading Angela's "ordering information" page makes them seem like colossal pricks about this:
http://www.angela.com/catalog/ORDERING_INFO.html

I dunno, there must be something about the nature of these operations that makes them particularly prone to poor customer service by email. Most of these guys are friendly by telephone. My guess is that they just get too many emails and can't cope.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Hm, that's true! I dealt with Percy before and felt like my phone call wasn't particularly welcome. My order took about a week to ship and he sent the wrong parts. Oh well. He did mention on his website to avoid calling him...

Btw, he made things right asap by sending me the right parts at no charge.

 

[proxops-pete]

Just to make clear, I am not complaining about the cost here.
I am complaining mainly and primarily on his business etiquette!
Here on the NASA side of business, it's all about being patient and treating the customers very professionally. To the letter.

 

[djwkjp]

i think i should put in a good word for ron at welborne labs. the first order i made from him was relatively small, around $30 or so, but i recieved 2 wrong capacitors. i emailed him and received a prompt reply apologizing for the mistake and to let me know he sent out 2 new capacitors. i would recommend them.
dan

 

[Wodgy]

NASA contracts are a whole different ballgame from boutique retail service. None of the small parts vendors will give you the kind of customer service you expect. If you'd like that kind of service, the best place to order from would be PartsExpress. They're pretty good, and they actually have customer service people staffing the phones and handling the email, but you pay for it in the prices. e.g. Hammond transformers are literally twice the price at PartsExpress as opposed to Handmade and Angela. The small parts vendors are generally good if you read all the information on their sites carefully, figure out the cost yourself from the info they provide, and then submit the order.

I think where the email exchange went wrong was the word "Ouch." Sometimes it's hard to read people's emotions by email. You meant it as a figure of speech, as a small joke, and he probably saw it as a criticism of his pricing structure. He also realized that you hadn't read his shipping page thoroughly, since you stated he only ships by UPS (when in fact he also ships by USPS), so he must have (wrongly) concluded you were being a rude, critical dumbass and responded accordingly. It was a misunderstanding. Sigh. These things happen.

 

[rickcr42]

Hey pete.

If i could make a suggestion you might want to try Antique Electronic Supply tubesandmore.com

i have always had good luck with them and some of thier products are unique and found no where else.Good prices,easy ordering page and shipping times are good

just a suggestion man

 

[proxops-pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy NASA contracts are a whole different ballgame from boutique retail service. None of the small parts vendors will give you the kind of customer service you expect. If you'd like that kind of service, the best place to order from would be PartsExpress. They're pretty good, and they actually have customer service people staffing the phones and handling the email, but you pay for it in the prices. e.g. Hammond transformers are literally twice the price at PartsExpress as opposed to Handmade and Angela. The small parts vendors are generally good if you read all the information on their sites carefully, figure out the cost yourself from the info they provide, and then submit the order. I think where the email exchange went wrong was the word "Ouch." Sometimes it's hard to read people's emotions by email. You meant it as a figure of speech, as a small joke, and he probably saw it as a criticism of his pricing structure. He also realized that you hadn't read his shipping page thoroughly, since you stated he only ships by UPS (when in fact he also ships by USPS), so he must have (wrongly) concluded you were being a rude, critical dumbass and responded accordingly. It was a misunderstanding. Sigh. These things happen.

Sure NASA is a whole different picture... but still, I'd pay more for good service than Handmade.com anyday. Like they always say, "good help is so hard to find these days."

 

[proxops-pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 Hey pete. If i could make a suggestion you might want to try Antique Electronic Supply tubesandmore.com i have always had good luck with them and some of thier products are unique and found no where else.Good prices,easy ordering page and shipping times are good just a suggestion man

Thanks Rick.
And good suggestions are ALWAYS welcome... I probably should've asked here first ...

 

[jamont]

I've never had a problem with Handmade, but all the boutique dealers are a PITA. I'll only order from them if I can't get what I need from a real supplier.