Rutlands wood planes

[studders]

I finally got a reply! They've given me the same offer - at the sale price with free delivery

They're still ignoring my last email so I've given up. They can stick their goods where the sun fails to shine; this whole episode has been a total farce. In future I shall only deal with companies that I consider to have a reasonable reputation.

 

[Noel]

Rutlands had many problems in it's early days, most notably having a habit of debiting your credit card as soon as an order was placed without any concern as to the level of current stock and there were many such complaints here about the company.

In response Rutlands came on the forum and posted this in Dec 2004 in reply to a member having issues with a purchase:

" factual response from Rutlands Limited.

The two items ordered and received the next working day by this customer were offered for sale in the Transit Damaged Products section of the Rutlands website. The goods were one off’s and were reduced in price by up to 80% of the normal selling price.

Unfortunately, the Sjoberg bench top was mis-described as the top for the 1530BS and not the top for them the SJ1422 which the customer subsequently received. Under the Sale of Goods Act, the customer was offered a full refund, which he chose to decline. To say that the customer received goods that were of a lesser value than those he paid for, is a little unfair. The retail value of the top the customer received is £193 and we consider the £29.95 paid by the customer to be reasonable. A pair of bench dogs was missing from the parcel and these have now been sent.

With regard to the Rout R Lift, this was damaged more extensively than had been realised and as such is unusable. Again, we have offered the customer a full refund for this, which has been accepted.

Due to the nature of these goods and the circumstances under which they have been offered, we were unable to supply alternatives and therefore offered full refunds with no financial loss to the customer.

During September of this year Rutlands Ltd moved into a new purpose built distribution centre and at the same time installed a specialist mail order computer system. Our new system ensures that funds are now only taken from customer’s accounts after the despatch of goods. This facility was not offered by our previous system and Rutlands apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused. Today 96% of Rutlands orders are received by customers the next working day. Rutlands is committed to developing its level of customer service.*

We are happy to advise that this unfortunate incident has not deterred this customer from ordering other items from Rutlands range of products, and look forward to being able to continue supplying him in the future."

*my underlining.

Sad to see that their efforts to improve customer service has not gone quite to plan considering this thread and the Rutlands clamp thread elsewhere. It takes very little money (if any) and very little time for a company to take an interest in their customers other than simply taking their money. As has been said so many times in the past take a leaf out of Lee Valley's book and see how customer care really works and how it can only improve and enhance a company's reputation.
Maybe 95% of Rutlands customer's are satisfied but ignoring the needs of the remaining 5% may prove costly.

 

[ste_5150]

The latest reponse (only edited to remove my personal details) is below. I'd suggest anyone who hasn't had a reply copy this post and email direct to the address at the bottom (I assume direct contact won't be a problem as they need to address their lack of contact so one central contact point will help them do that). Proof is in the pudding, but at least the intention is stated - that's a start. We can't exactly complain if we don't do what we reasonably can to help them sort themselves out, so let them know if you've posted in this thread about your problems with this item....


Dear Mr XXX

Thank you for your email – I will action the order immediately, I have reinstated the previous order so no further action will be necessary on your part. This should arrive with you tomorrow.

Once again I apologise for the missing emails which were sent – I am investigating with our internet providers to see if there is a reason why the replies weren’t received. Your email has caused me real concern by adding that other people are too not receiving direct communication back from ourselves. It is our policy that we try to respond and resolve any queries on a 20 minute turnaround.

I can assure you that our customers satisfaction and our relationship with all our customers is our main priority. We do appreciate your feedback and will endeavour to use these constructive comments to improve our service to you.

Once again please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience and anything we can do now or in the future please do not hesitate in contacting me directly.

Kindest regards

Dawn Carter
Commercial Manager

Rutlands Ltd
Deepdale Business Park, Ashford Road,
Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1GT
Tel: 01629 815 518 - Fax: 01629 814 170
Email: [email protected]
www.rutlands.co.uk
Vat No.: 737567201
Registered Number: 3769933

 

[ste_5150]

Plane arrived yesterday - the latest laugh.........they overcharged me for it!!! Now got an email in to get them to refund the difference.

Will it never end?? :roll:

Haven't had time to actually try the plane. Better be good..... :lol: