Customer Care Survey 01 - Rutlands ***RESULT*** 5.63

[Newbie_Neil]

Neil can we do a poll on Lyndhurst next....

I'll add it to the list, Axminster is next.

One thing I would like to see is the company being given a chance to reply to a members comments

It is my intention to contact the company each month so that, if they wish, they can comment.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Mike.C]

Neil,

It is my intention to contact the company each month so that, if they wish, they can comment.

Wow that was fast thanks Neil.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Alf]

Hmm, I'm surprised there's so many votes above average - is Rutlands really "above average"? On that basis are we going to need a rating up to 20 for the likes of Lee Valley? :-k See, I voted on the basis of 5 being, as it says, average - whereas I get the feeling some are doing "marks out of ten" which is a bit different, isn't it?

Cheers, Alf

 

[Newbie_Neil]

The vote so far puts Rutland at 5.5

Cheers
Neil

 

[Rod]

Ihave only placed one order (online)with them and everything arrived a couple of days later ,well packaged and all correct so no complaints from me ,but it was only one order.

 

[Bean]

I have placed a few orders with rutlands, I have had problems with them but I gave them a 7 due to the way they sorted out the problems. Any company can have a problem with supply or the equipment they supply, the true mark of a decent company is the manner in which they sort out the problem.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Bean

...the true mark of a decent company is the manner in which they sort out the problem.

Absolutely, that's why I also gave them a seven.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Jake]

Interesting. I have used them a few times, and never experienced any problems, so I thought they were OK. Then I bought a compressor/nail gun package from them and they sent the wrong, smaller, compressor by mistake.

Their attitude really irritated me, they expected me to be around on a weekday, i.e. take a day's holiday, to allow them to do a swapover. They wouldn't gurantee a time slot because "our carrier doesn't do that" and they wouldn't do a weekend because "our carrier doesn't do that". I pointed out that they could use another carrier which could do a weekend, given that this was completely their problem and they said "we have a contract with this carrier". So I had to take one of my few enough annual days off to help them sort out their mistake. Throughout the attitude was dismissive, and there was no apology at all at any stage, even when I pointed out the inconvenience they were putting me through.

3 for me. Would have been 1, but for the other transactions which went through without a hitch, but as said above, that is no real test of CS.

 

[Buckeye]

The problem I have with Rutlands is that they don't say whether something is in stock on their website when you order whereas Axminster, for example, do. Major pain in the rear to order you long sought after tool only to be told it will be a month before they have it.

Apart from thie major fact I have found their website, catalogue and service to be very good especially their deals of the week.

 

[ivan]

Apears OK if goods in stock AND if correctly described. Have had to work too hard when when things went wrong, so no more than 4. By contrast, Ax's after sales has never faulted in over 20 years.

 

[martlewis]

7 from me.

Orders have always turned up on time and when c/s promised a delivery date on a back order, it actually turned up on the day they said :lol:

 

[johnjin]

A great idea Neil.
A poll is the best way of finding out what a company is like as most of the time you hear of a company only when they have screwed up even if that is in reality only one in a thousand orders.
An 8 from me as after several orders I have yet to have a problem with them. Of course you only really find out what a company is like when things go wrong.
All the best
John

 

[Dave S]

I have seen several polls of this nature, and in my experience they have never worked.

Firstly, the questions are usually not tightly worded enough so that, as Alf suspects, different respondents interpret the question and grade their answers in different ways.

Secondly, since the raw data is what is presented, there is no adjustment for, nor recognition of, distortion in the data. There will be an over-representation of those with fewer purchasing experiences.** An amateur may place a higher importance on price compared to a professional who may place a higher importance on meeting a delivery date. And there will certainly be an over-representation of negative experiences.

Thirdly, the reader who does'nt appreciate the distortions in the data may gain a very false impression, whereas the reader who does appreciate the distortions will realise that the data doesn't actually tell you very much at all.

Finally, everything here is in the public domain, and I have seen more than one website running this kind of poll give up after attention from a company's solicitor.

** Consider person A makes one purchase, has a bad experience and awards 1. Person B makes 99 purchases, all are perfect, and awards 9. Company gets a rating of 5, 'Average', even though 99% of purchases were perfect.

Dave

 

[Escudo]

I have always found Rutlands to be a good firm to deal with.

I have purchased a few things over the last year and they were all delivered promptly.

Their catalogue is well designed, clear and has lots of nice pictures.

I am going to give Rutlands a 8/10.

I have docked 2 points because;

1. I find the sale items are generally poor and mostly items I do not want.
2. I do not always believe they are the most reasonably priced.

Well thats my opinion.
Esc.

 

[Losos]

Dave,

Yes, statistics can always be tricky, especially to those of us who are not statisticians, however, lets give the mods 10 out of 10 for trying

I do hope it doesn't degenerate to the 'solicitors letter' status. That would be a shame, and if it does I do hope the mods will be allowed to tell us who is banging of 'solicitors letters' and we can them make up are own minds about who to deal with in future :wink:

 

[Mike.C]

DaveS,

I have seen several polls of this nature, and in my experience they have never worked

Well lets hope that this one is different. I certainly think that it should be given a chance.
IMHO the mods deserve a pat on the back for posting the poll, which no matter what anyone says is going to help at least someone choose where to buy their new toy in the future.

DaveS,

Firstly, the questions are usually not tightly worded enough so that, as Alf suspects, different respondents interpret the question and grade their answers in different ways.

If anyone is worried about the wording, then maybe the mods might change them in future polls, and it may help if these members come up with a few suggestions.

DaveS,

Thirdly, the reader who does'nt appreciate the distortions in the data may gain a very false impression, whereas the reader who does appreciate the distortions will realise that the data doesn't actually tell you very much at all.

If members think that the scores in these polls are distorted and as Dave states "The data does not actually tell them very much at all" then it might be a good idea to ask everyone who votes to also post a message explaining what score they gave and why they gave them. Because again IMHO I think that those who have left messages in this poll have explained their reasons for the score they gave very well indeed, and I am sure that if it is done like this in the future anyone reading them will be left in no doubt how the writer feels about the company
In fact if I was new to Ukworkshop or a lurker and read the few posts/rants about Rutlands in the last few years I would never shop with them, but after this poll things have changed considerably and I would say that they look like a far better company now.

Lets give these polls a chance and as I have said if you think the wording of the polls should be different, then tell the mods how you think they should be worded.

Cheers

Mike

 

[gidon]

<snip> ... but after this poll things have changed considerably and I would say they look a far better company to someone who has not had a dealings with them before.

Will be interesting to see the other polls - the results do seem better than I'd have expected from the comments in the forum, but as it stands even with all the aforementioned caveats - 1 in 3 people have still voted that the service is below average which is not something I'd imagine Rutlands would be proud of.


Cheers

Gidon

 

[Mike.C]

Gidon,

but as it stands even with all the aforementioned caveats - 1 in 3 people have still voted that the service is below average which is not something I'd imagine Rutlands would be proud of.

BINGO a hit on the very first go. That is exactly what I left the bait for. Even though "21" members have given a score of 8 you still noticed from the messages that these members think Rutlands customer service is not very good, and that is why IMHO each voter should leave a meassge, because as you have shown, this along with a score is the best way to get a real feel of what a company is like.

Cheers

Mike

 

[TonyW]

Gidon,

but as it stands even with all the aforementioned caveats - 1 in 3 people have still voted that the service is below average which is not something I'd imagine Rutlands would be proud of.

BINGO a hit on the very first go. That is exactly what I left the bait for. Even though "21" members have given a score of 8 you still noticed from the messages that these members think Rutlands customer service is not very good, and that is why IMHO each voter should leave a meassge, because as you have shown, this along with a score is the best way to get a real feel of what a company is like.

Cheers

Mike

I certainly agree with the above sentiments. In particular leaving a message. In my case I felt that I had very poor customer support and service this on my first net order to the company. On reflection I will probably give them another try - but this time by phone order.

BTW Is it Mr Rutland who gave the 1 Simply the best score

Tony

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi all

Well, after 79 votes the average came out at 5.63.

Interestingly, almost a third thought that Rutlands customer service was below average.

Cheers
Neil