FINAL UPDATE: Island Hobby Nut Customer Service is Much Better Than I Thought

[Diem Turner]

I don't understand establishments who react like this to a valid customer complaint. I had ordered a pair of SAGA Kevlar battery straps in the 300mm length because the 250mm I already had are not sufficient to hold my G-Ace 15000 & 11000mAh cinder blocks. They arrived yesterday and what did they send me? 250mm straps. So I emailed them explaining the mix up and included an image of the sent straps laid out next to a tape measure. I got no response from them. So I decided to contact them via chat on their website. This was their reply:

I mean, it's not even ambiguous.

Seriously...WTFork is wrong with these people? I sent another half dozen messages over the course of the day and they're just not replying. No apology for screwing up my order, no indication whatsoever that they intend to fix the issue that they created. So at this point they leave me no recourse but to open a case with Paypal. I just don't get it. This would have been so easy to fix but instead their answer is to tell me that, "no, what we sent you will work just fine" when it just won't.

 

[ChrisC]

WOW! Was there a price difference in the two?

 

[Diem Turner]

WOW! Was there a price difference in the two?

Yes. $0.50.

 

[morrjr71]

50mm is quite a difference - like close to 2 inches. Obviously they haven’t got a clue. I will put them on my “do not order from” list.

 

[Diem Turner]

50mm is quite a difference - like close to 2 inches. Obviously they haven’t got a clue. I will put them on my “do not order from” list.

Yeah. In this case it's the difference between "will work" and "won't work" lol

 

[Tex Koder]

I'm guessing their company policy is - "the company" knows Better than the customer...

 

[Diem Turner]

I'm guessing their company policy is - "the company" knows Better than the customer...

Apparently. I mean, sheesh, talk about tone deaf...Gene Wilder in See No Evil, Hear No Evil had a better handle on customer interaction.

 

[joshludden]

Apparently. I mean, sheesh, talk about tone deaf...Gene Wilder in See No Evil, Hear No Evil had a better handle on customer interaction.

Wow, hadn't thought about that movie in a loooooong time!

 

[Engineer]

Maybe they just have no idea what “mm” are.

 

[LicketySplit]

Wow that's horrible. I've ordered from them a bunch and never had an issue since my orders were correct. That being said I have sent them a few emails with questions about products and never received a reply.

 

[Diem Turner]

UPDATE:

Ok, after threatening to open a case with Paypal they did finally respond after many hours...though it is readily apparent that they didn't even understand what the issue was. This was their response:

"Really not an issue. Your getting more for your buck that's why we said feel free to keep those. Feel free to return if you don't want them"

So I reiterated that they had sent me straps that are too short and apparently I now had someone on the line that actually understood what I was saying, to which he responded:

"No problem we will check in store tomorrow for the 300mm ones. If we don't have them we will refund you and you can keep the ones we sent you."

Which is totally fair on their part so thank you to whoever I was talking to this time at Island Hobby Nut and thank you for stepping in to correct the issue.

I'm not trying to on a company. I just found the previous responses ridiculous.

 

[ChrisC]

So .50 isn't anything to worry about but the time wasted is a big deal. You order something you need to be able to run, wait patiently and get the wrong stuff. Even if they send you the correct straps it's time wasted. I have never used them before and I have them on the blocked list now. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Robbbbbb66]

I don't understand establishments who react like this to a valid customer complaint. I had ordered a pair of SAGA Kevlar battery straps in the 300mm length because the 250mm I already had are not sufficient to hold my G-Ace 15000 & 11000mAh cinder blocks. They arrived yesterday and what did they send me? 250mm straps. So I emailed them explaining the mix up and included an image of the sent straps laid out next to a tape measure. I got no response from them. So I decided to contact them via chat on their website. This was their reply:
View attachment 224484
I mean, it's not even ambiguous.
View attachment 224491
Seriously...WTFork is wrong with these people? I sent another half dozen messages over the course of the day and they're just not replying. No apology for screwing up my order, no indication whatsoever that they intend to fix the issue that they created. So at this point they leave me no recourse but to open a case with Paypal. I just don't get it. This would have been so easy to fix but instead their answer is to tell me that, "no, what we sent you will work just fine" when it just won't.

I have been to their store front before and the customer service is garbage there too.

 

[Diem Turner]

I have been to their store front before and the customer service is garbage there too.

That's a cryin' shame because they have a great selection of kit.

So .50 isn't anything to worry about but the time wasted is a big deal. You order something you need to be able to run, wait patiently and get the wrong stuff. Even if they send you the correct straps it's time wasted. I have never used them before and I have them on the blocked list now. Thanks for sharing!

It's certainly an annoyance but I'm not unreasonable. I've worked in retail/freight dispatch in a vape shop and I've made mistakes too. I don't fault them for that. What I was faulting them for was the nonsensical responses and, in retrospect, their inability to read and understand what my issue even was. We all make mistakes, but when we do (particularly when dealing with a customer who has left almost $1000 in your shop) we do our very best to make it right. This of course presumes the ability to understand the customer's problem. I'm happy that someone finally understood the issue and immediately corrected course. A little frustrating that it took so long but, as they say, better late than never. I wouldn't go so far as to put them on the "no fly list", but they are on notice.

 

[Doom!]

Just for future reference, you can link two straps together to make them work. I understand your frustration with poor customer service.

 

[Diem Turner]

UPDATE:

I have to take back what I had written. They're really going above and beyond to make this right now. In addition to sending me a set of straps, they're throwing in a set of titanium drive shafts for my Infraction free of charge (that's a $90 piece of kit).

If my initial post threw you off of ordering from Island Hobby Nut, I would implore you to, at least, reconsider. This is far more than would have been necessary to make it right with me.

This is the first time I've been wrong since 1974 but...I'll be the first to admit it.

 

[Engineer]

Good to hear you got a satisfactory resolution. But it still shows that they let someone "face the customer" who hasn't had sufficient training on how to resolve customer issues and/or a solid grasp of the English language to comprehend the problem at hand and it ended up costing them way more to fix the issue in the end.

 

[Diem Turner]

Good to hear you got a satisfactory resolution. But it still shows that they let someone "face the customer" who hasn't had sufficient training on how to resolve customer issues and/or a solid grasp of the English language to comprehend the problem at hand and it ended up costing them way more to fix the issue in the end.

Absolutely. My internal optimist hopes that cases like mine will help illustrate how important all of those points are and that they will implement measures to address the issue. As I've said in another thread, humans learn more from mistakes than they do successes so here's to hoping that this wasn't all for naught and they react differently to future complaints . Yes, that's a lot of hopium but...I can dream, can't I?

 

[grihn]

Glad they made it right. The person who initially responded either needs some training or needs to be taken out of the customer service role. Not only did they not pay attention to what you actually said, but their responses sound like they were written by a teenager.

 

[rotauq]

I am glad it all worked out. From as a EU speedrun enthousiast perspective, Island hobby nut has the best inventory of all the stuff we can't get here and there shipping is reasonably fast. I would have been sad if i had to find a new prefered supplier.