Axminster customer reviews

[Froggy]

Hi All,

I recently bought something from Axminster which I wasn't happy with. I didn't send them back but did give the product a bad customer review. A couple of weeks later I noticed that they had been reduced in price by 35% which didn't surprise me as they were very poor. I decided to read the reviews to see if other opinions matched mine, but to my surprise it said there were no customer reviews. I emailed Axminister and they said they would pass my comments on to purchasing!! I replied saying that what I actually wanted to know was why my review had not been published. They haven't replied! I wandered how many other people may have had a similar experience. If this common then the reviews are a nonsense. I know there are some negative reviews there, but do they pick and choose?
I will balance this piece by saying that I am a big Axminster fan and have been a customer for a long time now and I have infact placed another order last week despite this issue. One of the main reasons that I'm a fan is the good customer service, which is why I am surprised at been blanked over the negative review.
Yours comments would be appreciated.

Cheers Froggy

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Froggy,

I was very surprised to hear that your review wasn't published by Axminster. I haven't heard of anything similar happening before.

Neil

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

That's a really interesting story. I've noticed various "warts n all" reviews on Axy and always assumed they didn't "tickle" them in any way. I also believe they place a very high value on their customer service which has been superb for me over many years. I would insist on a response to that and go all the way. I'd be quite unpleasantly surprised if I thought they were doing that. Feedback that isn't genuine is completely useless.

 

[Rhossydd]

I can say that my only review so far on Axi's site was a one star critical review and it's still there, along with another one star review too.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/metalguard-u ... st-coating

I'd guess that a lot of people unhappy with goods either get a refund or can't be bothered to write a review.

 

[Smouser]

It is sad but true that lots of online companies choose to remove or not publish bad reviews at all. I have personally seen it on other websites. I guess they have people do "damage control" on the review and make a decision based on how much it will hurt their sales

 

[MIGNAL]

Give it time. I posted a negative review of a product and I kept checking to see if it appeared on their website. I gave up after about 4 weeks. The cynic in me thought it was deliberately overlooked. I checked again after a couple of months and it had magically appeared. Absolutely no prompting from me.
I suppose they have to do some checks just to make sure the review has some credence.

 

[Froggy]

I agree there may be an explanation other than Axminster supressing reviews, it's the fact that they didn't respond to my request for an explanation that started making me cynical.

 

[Graham Orm]

Had the same with Wickes. Customer bought half a dozen sets of door handles that took longer to get out of the packaging than to fit. They also had manufacturing problems which meant that only 2 sets from the 6 were serviceable.

I posted the details as a review and checked a couple of weeks later to find the invitation "to be the first person to review this product".

 

[PAC1]

I gave something a one star review it took several weeks to appear. However they scrutinised the review in detail and asked questions of the defects I believe for the purpose of improving the product.

 

[Rhossydd]

I suppose they have to do some checks just to make sure the review has some credence.

I'm not convinced they bother too much. I'm more inclined to think that posting up the reviews to the web site only gets done when someone has time to get round to it. They do need to check that anything isn't libellous, grossly misleading or has any other malicious intent (eg web links).

There's also a possibility that some manufacturers might try to get them to censor bad reviews, but if that was the case and became public knowledge it would be even worse publicity.

Other dealers have more suspiciously good reviews on their site than Aximinster.

 

[Froggy]

This particular product was so bad I can't imagine anyone being happy with it and would expect to see a lot of negative reviews, but there's nothing. Perhaps they are 'stalling' to give the price reduction a chance to clear some of the stock?

 

[Rhossydd]

This particular product was so bad

and it was ?????

 

[MIGNAL]

If you look at some of the Axminster reviews you will find products that do receive poor feedback - one or two stars. They aren't that difficult to find.
You then have to explain why they aren't censoring the reviews of those particular products.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

don't forget that the negative review door actually swings both ways. Its not in Axy's business interest to stock truly awful product and a pile of negative feedback 8 feet tall will surely educate them to stop stocking that particular strain of excrement.

So its a way for their own quality control to accelerate its decision making.

 

[Self Taught]

Hi All,

I am in the States, so can't comment on that store, but, run in to a lot of that over here. I also feel that both reviews, can help with a purchase. I wont trust a company with all good reviews, as from past experience, no one can have a perfect track record. I personally, would welcome bad reviews, as this would help to provide better quality, and service, for all concerned. Jamey

 

[Ian]

I purchased an item from axminster and it was very poor - sent it back after a bit of "haven't had any trouble with this item" and I send the guy some reviews I found on the net (as this was also sold by others)

I wrote a 1 star review and it seems to have disappeared!!

Very disappointed

 

[Froggy]

Hi, This was the product http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-al ... y-815mm-32
You can see they are on offer and it says 'last few'. If that is the case perhaps they are aware of the products deficiencies and don't want to publish the bad reviews until they have got rid of them. It would make sense but for them but not good for the people who are going to waste money on them, as in my opinion they are not worth the new reduced price, or any price for that matter as they are completely useless.

 

[StevieB]

In what way were they useless Froggy? I have 3 of those clamps, bought as a set several years ago. They have been fine for light clamping duty, which is what they are specified as being for. They are never going to pull in warped timber etc, but for holding cabinets together while putting together my kitchen recently they were a godsend.

Steve

 

[Graham Orm]

I've had half a dozen for at least 7 years. The only negative is that the clamp face is so small. They will bend if you wind them tight enough, but if you have to do that there are other problems that need addressing.

 

[woodfarmer]

I don't interact much with online sellers but some years ago discovered that if you buy a return ticket on LD lines ferries by going out on one route and returning on another they charge for two singles. Brittany ferries don't. My review disappeared in 24 hours and I was then blocked from their website.