Customer Expectations - A Quasi-rant

[bob the builder]

I do the best job I can.

I have a full-time job that keeps me busy not only at home, but on the road for a week at a time at least once a month. I have a family. I have a home. I have hobbies. Adding up all the hours that go into each of those areas puts me somewhere in the vicinity of 100 hours per day. Somehow I cram it into our allotted span of 24, though a bit more sleep would be cool, if I'm honest.*

That's why interactions like the one I just completed with a "customer" (let's call him Mr. Smith) via email really pisses me off. We corresponded via email about different kit offerings. We went back and forth for a while until he finally decided on one of my Alfa kits. I started getting things assembled for him, discovered that I was short the cylinder for the boat, and let him know I'd be able to ship in about a week. Then he went to a sub event, at which he emailed me and said he wanted to change his mind from the Alfa to the Blueback. Also cool. No problem. I let him know that, unfortunately, the Blueback kits are currently out of stock with a 2 week turnaround.*

Then, out of the blue:

Mr. Smith:
Bob,
So am I going to have this problem with you every time I place an
order for something?* I don't like that and there are European
sellers as well. SSY still has molds for production so I can
always go back to Lee if I keep getting a red light for you.* Just
letting you know I have other options.

Okay. No problem. Deep breath. My reply (which I feel exhibited remarkable restraint):

Baffled Bob:
Wow. Really?
Everyone in this sub hobby are small businesses. Most of us are
struggling to keep afloat while balancing real jobs. I'll put my customer
service against anyone in the hobby. I'm sorry that I can't offer
Amazon-like service. Just a few billion in sales to go...
I can only do my best. If that's not good enough, obviously you're
welcome to bring your business elsewhere.

And Smith's reply:

Your breaking my heart. I'm tired of giving my money up front and
getting excuses why an order can't be filled. I've delt with this with
loyalanna and just tired of it. Just refund my PayPal payment and
I'll find something else to spend my money on.


So.. this morning I refunded his money. I let him know that I understood his frustration and that I'd be getting my new stock of Blueback kits by the end of the month. If and when he decided to reconsider, I'd be happy to help him out.

I felt that was awfully big of me.*

So this leads me to beg the question, is it unreasonable for Mr. Smith to expect a supplier in this hobby of ours to hold inventory of every product offered for purchase? Certainly there are companies out there that do an exceptional job of being able to offer fast turnaround. Unfortunately, at least in my case, being able to hold physical inventory of hundreds of products at all times means not only a massive investment in time for management of inventory levels, but a huge drain on cash flow.*

You all understand that ours is not a big market. I'd be willing to bet that the number of people in the entire world with operational subs likely number between one and two thousand. If I were in this to get rich, I'd have to get my head examined. At this point, I'm basically working for $5 per hour. I do work, however, not because it will allow me to buy a Lamborghini or mansion, but because I love the community and the hobby itself.*

When someone like Mr. Smith above place an order with the expectation of immediate gratification, that expectation has been set by huge corporations like Amazon that are constantly teaching us what to expect. Don;t get me wrong... I love Amazon. I likely order 90% of all the things that I buy from that site. The challenge is that they're the one setting our own perceptions about what customer service is. You ordered the wrong thing? Don't like how it looks? Just plain ol' changed your mind? No problem! Just send it back, free of charge! Heck, we won't even wait for it to show up before we give your money back!

Yeah... I can't do that.*

Honestly, I'm half a hair's breadth from throwing in the towel and going back to worrying only about my own builds. I don't have the time or energy to educate people about why ours is a special hobby, why it's so expensive, why they need to wait for things to ship, why they're just so complicated.*

Then again... I love doing it. So where does that leave me?*



Bob

[secrtwpn1]

I've had nothing but excellent service from you. Please don't throw in the towel........most of us understand that this is a cottage industry......

Farlan Clutters

[secrtwpn1]

PS......so the Blueback will be available again?????? Hmmmm......

[sam reichart]

All the vendors that I knew and worked with over the years rarely, if ever, had a lot of stock kits just sitting around. At certain times, like before a Regatta (or right after), some of them had a few kits that they stocked up on in the event that sales at the Regatta were so spectacular that they sold everything they had. But that was the exception, rather than the rule. I do believe the regular consumer has gotten spoiled with sites like Amazon, with their second day shipping, etc. But this hobby has never been like that; there's always some sort of wait required, as what we typically build here involves multitudes of parts to complete, and many times they are from small, cottage industry types of vendors.
I am curious about the demographics of this particular customer. Younger? Older? First time boat? Seasoned vet? Those of us that have been around the block a few times know that waiting for components and kits is part of the deal with subs. This isn't Trumpeter, or DML or Tamiya you're dealing with.
Personally, I think you displayed quite a bit of restraint, and you did the right thing. Let this person see if they get any better response where they decide to spend their money next time.
I certainly hope that you continue to conduct business for this hobby. As I mentioned elsewhere, vendors for this particular branch of R/C models are few and far between. Guys like you, Matt, David and Bob (and I'm certainly not intentionally leaving out any names; there are the guys I know well and have done business with for many years) are what allow people to build and complete their models.

Hang in there. For every "customer" like this one, I'm sure there are many more that appreciate the time and energy that vendors spend in making their customers happy; certainly at the cost of family time and their own hobbies.

[JWLaRue]

There are always two sides to every story. It would be interesting to hear his. However given my experience with you and what you have shared with us I would have to agree with Sam. Some people just are never satisfied.

is this the first time ‘Mr. Smith’ has contacted you for product/services? I find his comment about ‘going back to Lee’ to be particularly interesting. Lee does not keep all of his hull offerings in stock, so what was ‘Mr. Smith’ expecting in that case?

-Jeff

[ccontrol]

Bob,

First, your customer service is excellent, not just by the standards of hobby businesses but by any business. I have been in this, or related hobbies all my life, certainly dating back before even the days of mailing order forms to completely unknown business from the back of Scale Ship Modeler magazine. Even then most folks at the other end were honorable and delivered what you asked for. Rarely was anything submarine-related “in-stock”. I have ordered hulls from you, parts and hulls from the UK and Greece and have always been very happy with the effort put forth from small vendors and manufacturers. And yes, all had lead times for production. This has never been a hobby for someone seeking instant gratification.

I do customer service for a living and I know quality when I see it and interact with it. You are a quality operation from website to your personal interactions. I am glad to see the state of the art in model submarine vendor take a nice step up from the already excellent level your predecessors provide.

We have a tongue in cheek saying that “The only thing worse than a customer is a repeat customer”.
Don’t stop providing such valuable services to the model community based on interactions with just one spoiled and frustrated modeler. Many of us are happy “repeat customers”.

Steve O'Connell

[apa-228]

Seems to me you encountered what we called in the antique car hobby "tire kickers". Folks that thought what a great idea having an antique car was until they found out how much time and money was required. The fact he wanted "A" until he went to a meet and then wanted "B" speaks for itself. Complaining about,
or praising, another vendor as better or worse than you is childish behavior at best. When I sold parts at car shows I was told that I was asking too much for the part, since "so and so" sold it for less. My response was "then buy it from him". The response was always "oh. he doesn't have anymore".
You are dealing with rare commodities, you won't please everyone, so just do the best you can. Those that have dealt with you know your reputation and that is what matters most.

[salmon]

You can't please everyone. That is for sure.

Bob, you may have been saved from a bigger headache. While in our head it may sound good to have inventory 9and to a certain extent it can be done), the amount of money output for the inventory turnover rate means a lot of cash collecting dust. All you can do is do your best.

I am glad you love this hobby. Please stay in it.

[Chuck]

I have been in the RC model world since the late 1960's, the model submarine segment of the hobby since around 1978 or '79. You are a blessing to those of us in the model submarine community. You are an honorable, honest, straightforward guy, based on the numerous orders that I've had with you. Tell the moron that complained to go ahead and try to buy his model submarine parts from Amazon or Walmart, because he clearly has NO grasp of the realities of doing business in a niche market. In the meantime, keep on with your good work.....please.

[wlambing]

Wait until he tries to get something from Lee!!! I once waited a year and a half for a set of Gato/ Balao bow and stern planes. Kept using the "I need to upgrade the molds" excuse. You, sir, are a saint by comparison!! Took almost a whole year for a DE kit I bought from him last year. Why'd I go back? Nobody else makes the things! Please stay put, we need you!!!!!

Bill

[tommydeen]

Lol maybe we should dig out some old threads from the late ninteys. That should bring back some memories

[sam reichart]

Lol maybe we should dig out some old threads from the late ninteys. That should bring back some memories

seriously. I was thinking the same thing. fun times then.

[subdude]

Oh yeah. I won't name names, but in the late 90's there was one vendor (now gone) who I gave a credit card # to for a purchase, then spent the next year + trying to get my purchase. Kept getting told "it's sitting here ready to ship", "UPS didn't come this week / month", "it shipped last week, you should have it any day" etc. After some 15 months I finally gave up and got my money back. Never did receive the product.

This guy can't wait a week or two? Get real. You're in the wrong hobby, buddy.

Bob, send his $$ back, ignore him, and keep up the good work!

[salmon]

Oh yeah. I won't name names, but in the late 90's there was one vendor (now gone) who I gave a credit card # to for a purchase, then spent the next year + trying to get my purchase. Kept getting told "it's sitting here ready to ship", "UPS didn't come this week / month", "it shipped last week, you should have it any day" etc. After some 15 months I finally gave up and got my money back. Never did receive the product.

This guy can't wait a week or two? Get real. You're in the wrong hobby, buddy.

Bob, send his $$ back, ignore him, and keep up the good work!

���� I hope the emoji stays put, but thumbs up if it did not.