Bespoke business attitude

[storeynicholas]

I have been a customer, on and off, for 30 years of a particular shop. They are one of the oldest of their kind. Never mind the name or the product. They are not members here and cannot reply. I am dealing direct too. On 9th September, I asked for a quote for a specification of a simple and not at all unusual bespoke item. They replied on 26th November to say that I should look for the item in an antique shop as they (presumably) can't be bothered to make it as I have described. I also asked about another item and they might be able to do that - but today I told them that I am going to their competitor for both. Not just this but they had also, heedlessly, made a serious misstatement about their competitor. It is a pity that such businesses might not survive but they shall have only themselves to blame if they decide to be so careless, rude and uncivil.
NJS

[culverwood]

So you have been upset by someone you won't name about a product you won't name, their service and bad mouthing another company you won't name.

Teaser.

[storeynicholas]

I am not doing it to tease - I just say that the manager and staff are the same but they choose to behave like this today. Before they didn't. Has anyone else had similar experiences?
NJS

[sartorius]

Difficult to comment without knowing more about the company, the product and what exactly you were asking them to do.

I would agree however that it is a general fact of modern life that you don't very often come across people or businesses prepared to go the extra mile to deliver something which is in any way out of the ordinary. These days, it's all call centres staffed by vacationing students or those without a talent for anything else who simply read from a script and tick boxes on a screen. Ask for anything else and the whole damn system just grinds to a halt!

[storeynicholas]

Thank you sartorius - I don't think it right to go into the minutiae of my complaint. It should be fairly clear, from the strength of my feeling, that the incident is genuine. As you say, if it doesn't come within the manual, they end up by putting the'phone down. However, although one might expect this from banks and similar institutions, one does rather expect a little effort from firms that boast of their expertise and world-wide renown. But don't fear I have told them exactly what I think of them. Thirty years of regular (if not frequent) business is a long time and a lot of business - now forfeited in a trice.
NJS

[Sator]

I presume you are dealing with a certain well known SR firm? I am curious what you asked for that was so difficult for them to accommodate. In their defence, I must say that if what you asked for was, say, a Norfolk jacket, then the real problem is that cutters don't know how to cut them any more and tailors don't how to make them up any more. All of this is just another way of saying that the general level of skill and expertise amongst cutters and tailors is not what it was when you first started to order coats from this firm.

In a busy, large firm, the disruption caused by doing something that is just a little off the beaten track can be too much. That is why it is often better to go to a smaller independent tailor. In the old days, there were cutters and tailors skilled enough to cut a huge variety of garments in every firm. Alas - no longer. People are hired just because they know how to use needle and thimble.

http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum

[storeynicholas]

I don't give too much away to say that it is not a tailor, against which my complaint lies but, sator, your general thoughts are, I fear, across the board, right - and all the firms need to be careful of not alienating customers.
NJS

[sartorius]

I am not clear why you are so reluctant to name and shame the company. Who knows, perhaps other members are customers also and would actually value the feedback or have insights of their own?

[storeynicholas]

I am not clear why you are so reluctant to name and shame the company. Who knows, perhaps other members are customers also and would actually value the feedback or have insights of their own?

First, I should feel it only right to advise them that I was going to make a public complaint about their manners and then let them have a right of reply (the right of reply is out of the question). If it were just a case of being fobbed off with a piece of rubbish for a hefty charge, it might be different, as I could say 'look at this' and just post a picture for comments on the item; also they don't owe anyone a duty of helpfulness or civility and so all that I can do is raise it as an example of short-sighted rudeness by a firm that actually does know better.
NJS

[sartorius]

they don't owe anyone a duty of helpfulness or civility

Perhaps, but we exist as a forum to share knowledge and experience for the benefit of all. If a company with a reputation for helpfulness and civility is providing neither then I'm sure most of us would be interested to know who they are.

and so all that I can do is raise it as an example of short-sighted rudeness by a firm that actually does know better

Which is absolutely your prerogative. Unfortunately, raising an example only in the abstract is virtually meaningless unless you can provide some more terms of reference: for example, type of product, nature of request, special requirements etc...

[storeynicholas]

deleted by NJS

[storeynicholas]

substituted
NJS

[storeynicholas]

It was a wooden item, finished with a small amount of metal. They said that they did not have any current stock of the particular wood (no hint of any offer to get some for a firm order) and, anyway, if I wanted it finished in a different metal from their usual metal (almost certainly finished by out-workers to whom the type of metal would be irrelevant), I should seek the item out in an antique shop! They also ventured the heedless misstatement that they and not a competitor had made a similar item for a famous dramatic production, whereas the competitior had also made such an item for the same production, in which multiples were used as they frequently are (Cary Grant's most famous suit is an example). I'm close to giving it all away, unless I stop ....now.
NJS

[DFR]

You tell us nothing of the nature of your request whatever - its reasonableness in the tenty first century cannot be considered.

Perhaps you have an over imaginative view of how your custom should viewed. The vendor may have determined that after making a nuisance of yourself for thirty years enough is enough.

[storeynicholas]

You tell us nothing of the nature of your request whatever - its reasonableness in the tenty first century cannot be considered.

Perhaps you have an over imaginative view of how your custom should viewed. The vendor may have determined that after making a nuisance of yourself for thirty years enough is enough.

This attitude would be understandable (and, indeed, tolerable) in one's wives - but scarcely in one's tradesmen.
NJS