Experiences with CHT

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:shock:

Hello everybody - a Classic Hand Tools response!

I do value this forum as a barometer of what is going on and with 89 pages of members listed I thought I should at least offer some explanation as a right to reply.

This order was received by phone on Fri 22nd at my shop and was relayed to me and my shop manager whilst we were attending a show in Austria. My man in the shop (Sam) was a little unsure about an item and I told him to wait until myself and Alex Primmer, my shop manager, returned on the Monday so that Alex could take over the order.

Alex phoned on no less than 6 occassions to try and clarify the position over one item between Monday and Wednesday pm - he was unsucessful in making contact even though he tried in the evening as well.

Alex sent the parcel on Wednesday 27th and this arrived and was signed for (not by the customer himself) at the destination address on Friday 29th (before the forum posting).

We have apologised for the delay in sending the partial delivery but we were acting in good faith.

I will take on all the constructive comments made in your postings and we will of course try harder. Some of the comments are misplaced I feel - for instance it is certainly not our policy to harvest money before sending out orders which may be delayed - we take payment when the order is ready to be sent.

Classic Hand Tools are 3 full time people, Mike Hancock, Alex Primmer & Mary (accounts) and one part timer (Sam). We try and give best service and will hold our hands up if we get things wrong.

We try to promote sales through our catalogue, shop and at several shows throughout the year. Often we bring in demonstrators to support what we do at shows and this has included the likes of Rob Cosman at the recent show at Westonbirt. We enjoy meeting our customers whose suggestions to us have resulted in us bringing in various tools that are not offered through other retailers in the UK (Hock plane irons, Adria saws, Brusso cabinetware etc). It is a different approach that is appreciated by customers who actually get to look, feel and genuinely decide whether they want to spend their hard earned cash on the tool rather than being reliant solely on the internet or a catalogue. As an example the hand tool buyers amongst you would have had choice between between Ashley Iles, Sorby & Lie Nielsen chisels; Lie Nielsen, Veritas & Clifton planes; diamond, oil, water, ceramic and Tormek sharpening mediums; Adria, Pax, Japanese & Lie Nielsen saws: plus dozens of other hand tool goodies at nearly all the venues we attended this year (9 shows in total). That is just a little about what we are about and hopefully this approach will be appreciated in the long term.

Well I hope that completes the circle and that you good people will give us another chance! Regards, Mike
 
Good grief, who is that masked man?! :shock:

Welcome to the forum, Mike. Sorry it took a blip to get you de-lurked :( , but hopefully we don't have to keep being rude about CHTs to get you to post again... :wink:

Cheers, Alf
 
More power to you Mike, and welcome to the forum! =D> :D

Cheers
 
Hi Mike and welcome!

Hopefully you'll get time to post more often!

I think it was me that made the point about taking money before fullfillng the order, in which case I apologise as your reply has explained that is not the case.

On a positive note, I think this thread has actually worked out quite positively, and I think you'll be getting more business from it, i'll definitly be making a few orders with yourself, and might even drop into the shop in the next couple of days.

Do you have most of the items in the store to try?
 
Mike

I think your response on behalf of Classic Hand Tools is admirable.

Although I've never had occasion to buy anything from you in the past, I'm now actively looking for an excuse to do so. You've made a convert!

Regards.
 
Long live the small, specialist toolshops

second that

Mike...what a fantastic response...I havent dealt with Classic Hand tools yet but will do soon....just awaiting your catalogue.

Glad you werent put off by the posting title and addressed it with profesionalism. I am sure you will get your fair share of business from here.

regards

Ian
 
I've been lurking in the back ground reading this post and although I have dealt with APTC I haven't dealt with CHT. I'm glad that Mike has cleared the air as it once again displays the power of the messge board and that we all forget sometimes that shopkeepers are human also. It also shows that we normally only hear one side of the story, not having a go at anyone, but they say it as they see it.

With being old enough to see the demise of the cornershop and being guilty of helping the it along the way by not supporting the local green grocer or butcher, it is refreshing that people like Mike can compete with the likes of APTC and DM. Therefore I would like to thank Tony for bringing this to our attention as well as Mike for facing the possible flak.

Phil
 
There plenty to try - of course I haven't got everything in stock (that's already been highlighted :roll: ) but you can try Konrad Sauers A6, a good selection of planes from LN, Clifton, Veritas, HNT Gordon, Kunz, lots of chisels, rasps, Japanese saws etc etc etc. Also you can browse the book section which is pulled from over 60 publishers rather than the usual one. We open at 10 and actually I am still here but I am going home now. Let us know when you might pop by. My shop manager has dared take a holiday this week so I am minding the place. Regards, Mike
 
Hi Mike

It will probably be in a couple of weeks now, as the Missus has got my next lot of free days booked up for some DIY :)

Nice to know you have a good collection of books, i'm after a few at the moment.
 
Philly":2m7n25h5 said:
I reckon this is just Tony's way of coming up with a new form of gloat :lol: :wink: Obviously he HAS to show the goods once he takes delivery.........
Philly :D

How right you are :lol: Here are the CHT tools that I managed to liberate form our post room today. The 'Gold' japanese saw cuts stunningly and a few more will be ordered :wink:

Beware, this is a direct result of the Big Bash!!!!

New_stuffl.jpg
 
Tony - I was thinking of trying out one of the gold saw's, if you get time, it would be great to see some test cuts and a mini review. I have some of the jap saws from axminster, I initially liked them, but have going off them as they seem to have diminished in quite a short time.

My Ryoba has been demoted to tree and shrub cutting, and my Dozuki has mostly been laying in the bottom of my bag.

I also like the look of that little mallet - quite an attractive tool!
 
Hi Mike - a belated welcome to the forum.

Recently I was in Suffolk on business, and just 'happened' to drive through Needham Market. Your colleague very patiently dealt with all my questions while I kept changing my mind! It was great being able to pick up and handle the tools, some of which I saw 'in the flesh' for the very first time. Having thought I wanted a LN medium shoulder plane (gorgeous to look at) I ended up buying the Veritas one mainly because it fitted my hand more easily. It was difficult resisting the temptation to buy a whole armful of tools! Mind you, it was more difficult getting my new plane past SWMBO (it's an advance birthday present, Dear) :oops: . Thanks for providing a great service. Now, when do I next need to go to Suffolk?

Les
 

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