Rob Keeble
Member
- Messages
- 12,633
- Location
- GTA Ontario Canada
I have wrestled with this problem for a few days now and just keep going in circles so i was hoping the collective brain trust here can help me break free.
This problem involves a product i have need of for a new venture i am getting up and running. Its key to my venture. I can source alternatives but they limit my idea and flexibility so i am not keen to go down that route yet.
The product is supplied by a US company and they in turn have plastic parts of it outsourced to China.
So here is the problem. I ordered and recieved the largest unit this company has of this particular product. Started testing and found a bunch of issues.
Prior to even recieving the item i had written and explained my purpose for purchasing their product and my intended application and future need and got to be provided with a contact point one up from CSR. Even after i requested contact with the owner.
Anyhow i subsequently brought to their attention the issues involved and got a response which at the time was that they had so many issues they had decided to suspend sales and refunded my money telling me i could keep or throw away their product.
Well that did not make me happy but thats not the point. I had still lost in the deal shipping and brokerage had cost me $200 which was not being reimbursed.
So this happened last year and later i check to see their site once again offering the item. In fact they never suspended sales.
Well at the time i left it with the holidays and other things taking priority but decided a few days ago to follow up with them.
I had subsequently used my knowledge of plastic part manufacturing and resolved the issues that matter and was keen to see if they had done the same meaning i could go ahead and order more of the product.
Well sadly i got a response which to put it mildly blew me over. Turns out management of the company decided they were not going to be doing anything to the product and were merely going to deal with issues on an as and when basis and resolve them as they come up.
So i can get my hands on more of the product, then spend time to take each unit apart and file and fix and go ahead with my own use but my brain says this is totally stupid.
The problems involve "flash" and tooling issues which i know are relatively easily fixed. Heck i have had enough involvement with plastic tooling in my time to know this blindfold.
By the looks of this companies range of products this is the first one that has involved tooling of this kind. Its not complex tooling just clamshell stuff but most of their stuff in the past has involved cutting and drilling not actual molding.
The conundrum is i have considered sending them a detailed report with the neccessary fixes and even recommendations on what needs to be done and would happily do so for free just to be able to get product in future with no issues. But the other side of the coin is i would hate to have done all that work and find it falls on deaf ears like appears to be the case with the first time i raised the problems.
Swimbo says dont give them anything, just fix the ones you buy. This is near impossible for me to accept its so far from my business nature i cannot grasp doing it. I would do it if it were a temp need and have done things like this in the past but for a new business on an ongoing basis i just cannot see myself working with a company with this mentality.
So any thoughts on how you would approach resolving it.
My nature says get on a plane go to see them directly after having tracked down the real owner as opposed to the General Manager. But problem is right now i am not in a position to cut a deal for large quantity to make getting attention meaningful.
I simply cannot get passed their shortsightedness. Sorry i know there are no details here about the product and the company but its the behavior i am trying to tackle. So far i have not been aggressive. I really like the product, think the world of it and cannot see the competitive ones in the same light.
Thanks for any input or ideas. This one has me flummoxed.
This problem involves a product i have need of for a new venture i am getting up and running. Its key to my venture. I can source alternatives but they limit my idea and flexibility so i am not keen to go down that route yet.
The product is supplied by a US company and they in turn have plastic parts of it outsourced to China.
So here is the problem. I ordered and recieved the largest unit this company has of this particular product. Started testing and found a bunch of issues.
Prior to even recieving the item i had written and explained my purpose for purchasing their product and my intended application and future need and got to be provided with a contact point one up from CSR. Even after i requested contact with the owner.
Anyhow i subsequently brought to their attention the issues involved and got a response which at the time was that they had so many issues they had decided to suspend sales and refunded my money telling me i could keep or throw away their product.
Well that did not make me happy but thats not the point. I had still lost in the deal shipping and brokerage had cost me $200 which was not being reimbursed.
So this happened last year and later i check to see their site once again offering the item. In fact they never suspended sales.
Well at the time i left it with the holidays and other things taking priority but decided a few days ago to follow up with them.
I had subsequently used my knowledge of plastic part manufacturing and resolved the issues that matter and was keen to see if they had done the same meaning i could go ahead and order more of the product.
Well sadly i got a response which to put it mildly blew me over. Turns out management of the company decided they were not going to be doing anything to the product and were merely going to deal with issues on an as and when basis and resolve them as they come up.
So i can get my hands on more of the product, then spend time to take each unit apart and file and fix and go ahead with my own use but my brain says this is totally stupid.
The problems involve "flash" and tooling issues which i know are relatively easily fixed. Heck i have had enough involvement with plastic tooling in my time to know this blindfold.
By the looks of this companies range of products this is the first one that has involved tooling of this kind. Its not complex tooling just clamshell stuff but most of their stuff in the past has involved cutting and drilling not actual molding.
The conundrum is i have considered sending them a detailed report with the neccessary fixes and even recommendations on what needs to be done and would happily do so for free just to be able to get product in future with no issues. But the other side of the coin is i would hate to have done all that work and find it falls on deaf ears like appears to be the case with the first time i raised the problems.
Swimbo says dont give them anything, just fix the ones you buy. This is near impossible for me to accept its so far from my business nature i cannot grasp doing it. I would do it if it were a temp need and have done things like this in the past but for a new business on an ongoing basis i just cannot see myself working with a company with this mentality.
So any thoughts on how you would approach resolving it.
My nature says get on a plane go to see them directly after having tracked down the real owner as opposed to the General Manager. But problem is right now i am not in a position to cut a deal for large quantity to make getting attention meaningful.
I simply cannot get passed their shortsightedness. Sorry i know there are no details here about the product and the company but its the behavior i am trying to tackle. So far i have not been aggressive. I really like the product, think the world of it and cannot see the competitive ones in the same light.
Thanks for any input or ideas. This one has me flummoxed.