It pains me to write this, since I really do not like speaking poorly of small businesses/people trying to make a living, but the time has come as I can confirm others' experience as well. They have been my "go-to" retailer for a number years; however, I've noticed over the past year that their customer service has nose dived. They say they take great pride in customer service, which used to be true as I feel this is now sorely lacking. It should NOT take four plus days, if not weeks, with multiple follow up attempts, to return a customers inquiry (becoming very RM Model Store -esque). This is not an isolated incident, but becoming more common. I've even had to check on the status of orders for models that have been in stock at other retailers for weeks, if not months. If an item is on back-order, then that should be communiated to the customer ahead of time so we can make the necessary decision to either wait or cancel and procure the model elsewhere so we do not lose out on getting it. While rare, every other retailer I’ve used responds within 24-48 hours when the inevitable question/inquiry/issue arises.
Also, their system may or may not update when they ship something, and when they do, I’ve also noticed the models are either packed like Fine China (yay!) or thrown in with nothing (nay!). Luckily no broken models, but we're certainly playing model roulette. Their policies state they are not responsible for lost/damage parcels and it's highly recommended to purchase Route Insurance for this (which is fine and their right to state this), but how can we know if something is lost when the system doesn't tell you it shipped with a tracking number? Additionally, why chance a damage claim and put a customer through an unfavorable experience when the parcels aren't properly packed? Yes, models can break even in the best of protection, but why risk it? Again, it seems like model roulette and a disregard for customers' hard earned money. While they have great discounts, it's not worth the headache anymore, especially when they charge up front for pre-orders (I know, a highly contested topic, but something I’ve been willing to deal to secure cheaper pricing).
Proper communication and respecting people’s time and money is the crux of good customer service. When it’s like pulling teeth to reach someone, the respect for customers isn’t there and the frustrations grow, which is quite unfortunate since it’s an easy thing to fix. If the delay in response times and warehouse packing issues are due to outgrowing their operational capacity, then that needs to be addressed and fixed ASAP as customers shouldn't bear that burden.
Finally, I'm an incredibly patient individual and I do give people the benefit of the doubt more often than not, and I don't feel that any of this is malicious or with poor intent, but as a paying customer, the net effect is the same as it's hard not to overlook these things and feel a bit slighted. The only true power a customer has it to take their business elsewhere. I hope they can take the feedback into consideration and actually implement changes for future customers.
Midwest Model Store, JetCollector, and ezToys are my go to now.
