RUTLANDS - WARNING - POOR ATTITUDE!

[doctor Bob]

So, are they refunding your postage.

I don't quite get the anger Rutlands threads generate, I've used them for years and never had a problem.

Is it possible they changed the description to make it correct long before you rang, what were they supposed to do "not change it".

How do you know the person dealing with you didn't know it was detailed wrong originally. So many possibilities and so much animosity.


I believe there is a UK workshop bandwagon because some verbose members shout loudly about a company people just go along with it (emperors new clothes and all that) whether good or bad.
Listen fellas, it's OK to have your own thoughts, don't be sheep. There are hundreds of woodworking shops out there, many are better or worse than *x******* or *u****** . It will be OK honest, you can do it, you'll all individuals.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QereR0CViMY

 

[stuffimade]

I think you may be missing my point, they, rightly or wrongly, by the tone of the response, having misleading content (not the first time i have experienced it) and there accusatory attitude that i was at fault does not make me want to deal with them again. When i compare the no nonsense slick approach of Axminster, where there is no quibble.

The change of information only happen as a consequence of me bringing it to the chaps attention and then he asked me to provide evidence of how it differs from what i have purchased. I doubt that it was purely coincidence that the item description changed within 10 minutes of my email.

Search Rutlands on this site and see the volume of underhand issues.

It is every persons choice to shop where they want, fortunately for you, you have not had issue with them, so fair play, i and many others on the other hand have.

So, are they refunding your postage.

I don't quite get the anger Rutlands threads generate, I've used them for years and never had a problem.

Is it possible they changed the description to make it correct long before you rang, what were they supposed to do "not change it".

How do you know the person dealing with you didn't know it was detailed wrong originally. So many possibilities and so much animosity.


I believe there is a UK workshop bandwagon because some verbose members shout loudly about a company people just go along with it (emperors new clothes and all that) whether good or bad.
Listen fellas, it's OK to have your own thoughts, don't be sheep. There are hundreds of woodworking shops out there, many are better or worse than *x******* or *u****** . It will be OK honest, you can do it, you'll all individuals.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QereR0CViMY

 

[Richard S]

I had a delivery from Rutlands last week, there was a fault on one of the items, quick call to customer services, polite and helpful chap, very apologetic, replacement part sent out and received yesterday. No fuss no hassle, I've dealt with them for years and can't recall them ever giving me cause for concern.

 

[shed9]

I believe there is a UK workshop bandwagon because some verbose members shout loudly about a company people just go along with it (emperors new clothes and all that) whether good or bad.

But why is it always Rutlands and no other company gets the same treatment.

 

[doctor Bob]

I believe there is a UK workshop bandwagon because some verbose members shout loudly about a company people just go along with it (emperors new clothes and all that) whether good or bad.

But why is it always Rutlands and no other company gets the same treatment.

That's the bandwagon bit.

 

[Inoffthered]

I had a delivery from Rutlands last week, there was a fault on one of the items, quick call to customer services, polite and helpful chap, very apologetic, replacement part sent out and received yesterday. No fuss no hassle, I've dealt with them for years and can't recall them ever giving me cause for concern.

I must admit that I too have always found Rutlands to be a good outfit to deal with. They have always delivered extremely quickly, something that Axminster have failed to do to such an extent that I will no longer buy anything from them online.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

So, are they refunding your postage.

I don't quite get the anger Rutlands threads generate, I've used them for years and never had a problem.

Is it possible they changed the description to make it correct long before you rang, what were they supposed to do "not change it".

How do you know the person dealing with you didn't know it was detailed wrong originally. So many possibilities and so much animosity.


I believe there is a UK workshop bandwagon because some verbose members shout loudly about a company people just go along with it (emperors new clothes and all that) whether good or bad.
Listen fellas, it's OK to have your own thoughts, don't be sheep. There are hundreds of woodworking shops out there, many are better or worse than *x******* or *u****** . It will be OK honest, you can do it, you'll all individuals.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QereR0CViMY

Rutlands do sell some decent tools. It is quite possible to buy from them for a lifetime and have no issues, HOWEVER my personal experience is that when there is a problem they have not been at all helpful. I bought some rulers and the 1m one was bent and tapered (nearly 3mm wider at one end than the middle then getting wider toward the other end0. they did offer to take them back after I sent them pictures but would/could not answer my question which was are they all the same or was my one a freak. It would have only took someone a couple of minutes to discover this, probably less time than they spent on the phone telling me they wouldn't do it. I ended up keeping the ruler, using it for curves etc. If this was their intention then good for them however they have lost countless other sales as I have voted with my wallet and discovered Workshop Heaven. As of yet I have had no reason to have tested their customer service as everything has been perfect but the anecdotal I read here suggest that it is excellent.
It is not surprising that smaller retailers like workshop heaven and wood workers workshop are more attentive to their customers, but Axminster, Tooledup and even screwfix have given me excellent customer service in the past. Rutlands are missing a trick as they could be an excellent shop.
Paddy

 

[Inoffthered]

[/quote]

I sent them pictures but would/could not answer my question which was are they all the same or was my one a freak. It would have only took someone a couple of minutes to discover this, probably less time than they spent on the phone telling me they wouldn't do it..
Paddy[/quote]

So on the strength of your faulty item, you wanted someone to go into the warehouse and open every box of rulers (they could have had hundreds) just to check to see whether yours was a one off?

If they did this I can imagine the howls of outrage from others on here about how they bought something from Rutlands and the box had been opened so they were selling seconds (or some other conspiracy theory).

You were offered a replacement but YOU chose not to accept it, it was your decision to keep the ruler not Rutlands. It sounds as if your gripe was because they didn't dance to your tune and do an immediate product inspection. If you bought something dodgy from Tesco would you demand that they opened all similar products to satisfy your curiosity as to whether it was a one off fault?

 

[Rhossydd]

So on the strength of your faulty item, you wanted someone to go into the warehouse and open every box of rulers (they could have had hundreds

He didn't suggest that. It wouldn't be unreasonable to ask if an item met it's specifications and they might only have to look at one or two to see if it was a bad batch.
It would have been in their best interest to see if they had a faulty batch of products.

It's this sort of poor service, along with some dubious sales practices of only publishing favourable reviews and continuous 'sales', that has given them such a poor reputation here. It must have lost them sales.

 

[stuffimade]

It was not in a box, it was in a zip lock plastic see through bag, the item was nothing like the pictures, they dont actually have a product that resembles the picture. Why not use actual pictures of the product they are selling? My gripes is that actually they have mislead me (once again) about the product they are selling. Supposedly a premium product at a premium price, but the reality of a cheap looking inferior piece of rubbish. Then changed the description and challenged me to provide evidence (in a very dubious manor). They would accept a return of the item at my expense, only after much conversation and then finding evidence of the original description did they begrudgingly accept to send me a return slip, stating that only a refund would be offered if they inspected the item and it was unused. The state the item, when it arrive, was peeling stickers, scuffed metal and broken plastic ruler, which gave me no confidence that they would honour the refund. I have opted not not deal with them any-more (as have many many users on here). There attitude to me as a customer has made me feel negatively about them. Many people gripe about them as they have similar experiences. You don't hear people with similar amounts of grips over other companies as other companies deal with problems much better!


I sent them pictures but would/could not answer my question which was are they all the same or was my one a freak. It would have only took someone a couple of minutes to discover this, probably less time than they spent on the phone telling me they wouldn't do it..
Paddy[/quote]

So on the strength of your faulty item, you wanted someone to go into the warehouse and open every box of rulers (they could have had hundreds) just to check to see whether yours was a one off?

If they did this I can imagine the howls of outrage from others on here about how they bought something from Rutlands and the box had been opened so they were selling seconds (or some other conspiracy theory).

You were offered a replacement but YOU chose not to accept it, it was your decision to keep the ruler not Rutlands. It sounds as if your gripe was because they didn't dance to your tune and do an immediate product inspection. If you bought something dodgy from Tesco would you demand that they opened all similar products to satisfy your curiosity as to whether it was a one off fault?[/quote]

 

[Steve1066]

I have neve used Rutlands or Axminster for the simple fact, if you search the Internet there are two many bad reviews.
If it was just one or two I would quite happily uses them but it's not. No smoke with out fire.
Fine local is what I say. Most local hard were stores will have a Tool bank catalog which you can order from, just ask.

 

[Rhossydd]

If you bought something dodgy from Tesco would you demand that they opened all similar products to satisfy your curiosity as to whether it was a one off fault?

Why exaggerate by using the word "all" when no suggestion of that has been made ?

Tesco actually take problematic products VERY seriously. They also take a HUGE amount of care over product quality control before allowing it on their shelves and fine suppliers if items fail to meet their specifications.
If they have cause to think there may be a problem with a product batch they'll immediately withdraw it from sale.
Maybe Rutlands should take some lessons from that.

 

[AJB Temple]

It is interesting to see Tesco held up as a paragon of virtue after the recent revelations about how they treat suppliers and falsify reported results. I am almost tempted to use Rutlands for something just to get an experience of them myself. The negativity about them here is quite overwhelming. I suspect all suppliers screw up periodically. I don't tend to set much store by on-lien reviews as very often people only post negative comments. Most people who have a satisfactory experience tend not to report it - this is the phenomenon that only bad news gets attention.

 

[Doug B]

Personally I've had far worse service from Axminster than Rutlands, yet Axminster are held up as the standard to be judged by particularly on this forum.
I've only had one reason for complaint with Rutlands & they sorted the problem very swiftly, whilst I'm happy to admit that their Dakota range is on the whole pants, I've found their casters excellent & never had a problem with branded gear I've had from them, I wish I could say the same for Axminster who I've not shopped with for years.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have neve used Rutlands or Axminster for the simple fact, if you search the Internet there are two many bad reviews.
If it was just one or two I would quite happily uses them but it's not. No smoke with out fire.
Fine local is what I say. Most local hard were stores will have a Tool bank catalog which you can order from, just ask.

Don't forget also that quite often the the consumer has bought an unsuitable product or is simply inexperienced in its use.
I read a one star review of a chainsaw that was slated ... because the guy was upset "with all the faffing about".
Said "faffing about" was having to go out and buy petrol and chain oil.

 

[Rhossydd]

It is interesting to see Tesco held up as a paragon of virtue after the recent revelations about how they treat suppliers and falsify reported results.

I'm not holding them up as a 'paragon of virtue' by any means, just pointing out the error of the quoted poster that suggested Tesco wouldn't care if they were selling products that didn't meet specification. They do.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I sent them pictures but would/could not answer my question which was are they all the same or was my one a freak. It would have only took someone a couple of minutes to discover this, probably less time than they spent on the phone telling me they wouldn't do it..
Paddy[/quote]

So on the strength of your faulty item, you wanted someone to go into the warehouse and open every box of rulers (they could have had hundreds) just to check to see whether yours was a one off?
[/quote]

Intothered, that's not exactly what I wanted them to do, actually they would only have to check the one they were sending to me, what would be the point of sending mine back if the replacement was to be the same (by the way they didn't offer to pay postage) I'll bet a pound to a penny that Matthew at workshop heaven would have done it, he would have probably wanted to know if they were all faulty. Of course they don't HAVE to. I didn't take them to court or brick their windows, I just spend MY money elsewhere, it's no skin off my nose, it's more of a problem for them as I run a busy business fixing boats and they have lost £1000s. This is the second time I have mentioned it on this forum, but did not start a post about it, just responded to an OP about Rutlands. I explained what happened, if you do not see it as important for a shop to know if their goods are faulty you are unlikely to be swayed by my trivial story. You pays your money you takes your pick


Paddy

 

[Steve1066]

I have neve used Rutlands or Axminster for the simple fact, if you search the Internet there are two many bad reviews.
If it was just one or two I would quite happily uses them but it's not. No smoke with out fire.
Fine local is what I say. Most local hard were stores will have a Tool bank catalog which you can order from, just ask.

Don't forget also that quite often the the consumer has bought an unsuitable product or is simply inexperienced in its use.
I read a one star review of a chainsaw that was slated ... because the guy was upset "with all the faffing about".
Said "faffing about" was having to go out and buy petrol and chain oil.

I like that.
You do have to read between the line. For me there just to much negative writing on customer service about said company's,there price are not that good, and they never have anything in stock.
It's just easier to go somewhere else.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I agree with Steve1066. If Rutlands were my local shop then I would put up with a lot more. When you're buying online it is no problem to go to another shop. To compete online then lowest price is a good start point. However there are many folks like myself who are regular buyers that see customer service as being at least if not more important than price. A QS plane from Rutlands is considerably cheaper than from WH, but from WH I know that if there are quality control issues they will be sorted without a struggle.

 

[RobinBHM]

Its a shame really, rutlands have an excellent website, really well designed (much easier to navigate than axminster) and they have an interesting product range. Unfortunately some of products, whilst great ideas are budget made Chinese imports that are poorly constructed and finished. I guess their leadtimes for ordering with a Chinese company is quite slow so probably indicates why they are often out of stock.


I havent had any problems with orders, delivery has been quick. However Ive not had any reason for requiring customer service, so can t comment on that.