mbroberg
IAP Activities Manager, Emeritus
Including complaining about a vendor's product or service.
Earlier today I saw a thread in the "Penturning" Forum started by someone who was unhappy with one of my blanks which he had purchased from Exotic Blanks. At the time I saw it the thread had around 350 views. Pictures were posted and many negative comments about the blank and the maker (me) were made.
As the thread went on Ed of Exotic Blanks weighed in and per his normal policy, offered a full refund on the blank provided it had not yet been machined. The purchaser of the blank declined the offer and ended up turning the blank. The blank looked great once it was turned and polished. The thread ended on a positive note with some of the negative comments being walked back by those who made them.
The negative comments (or as I like to think of them, the honest critiques) are appreciated. It's good to know how others perceive your work and to be made aware of areas in which you need to improve or at least be more careful. Also, the purchaser has every right to expect that the item purchased will meet expectations. I'm glad that in the end, the purchaser was (at least I think he was) happy.
What I do not appreciate is having the original complaint posted publicly prior to giving either Exotic Blanks or me a chance to address the issue. Ed was either told of the thread or found it himself so he reached out to the OP. It should have been the other way around. I didn't find the thread until the blank had been turned and polished and the OP was seemingly happy with it. What bothers me is how many of the 350 people who viewed the thread prior to me finding it viewed it early in the conversation, where all the comments about the blank and me were negative, prior to the happy ending?
There is a time for everything..............
The time to publically post complaints about a vendor's product and/or service is after the vendor has been contacted and given the opportunity to make things right. If the vendor is unwilling or unable to satisfactorily address the problem then post the complaint as a last resort and to alert others to the possibility of unsatisfactory products and/or service.
There is a place for everything...........
That thread did not belong in the Penturning Forum. It belonged in the Vendor Cheers & Jeers Forum. The rules for the Vendor Cheers & Jeers Forum state, in part,
"Think carefully before you make a negative post about a vendor. Post your factual experiences, but don't use this forum as a means to resolve your grievance. Work with the vendor to resolve your issue, then post your experience, good or bad. Negative posts proven to be factually incorrect will be removed."
I won't tell you that there have never been dishonest, unethical vendors who were just out to make a quick buck at the expense of IAP members. I will tell you that to my knowledge, all of the vendors currently associated with the IAP (including Ohio Penworks & Exotic Blanks) will bend over backward and do anything reasonably possible to satisfy an unhappy customer. Please, just give us a chance.
Earlier today I saw a thread in the "Penturning" Forum started by someone who was unhappy with one of my blanks which he had purchased from Exotic Blanks. At the time I saw it the thread had around 350 views. Pictures were posted and many negative comments about the blank and the maker (me) were made.
As the thread went on Ed of Exotic Blanks weighed in and per his normal policy, offered a full refund on the blank provided it had not yet been machined. The purchaser of the blank declined the offer and ended up turning the blank. The blank looked great once it was turned and polished. The thread ended on a positive note with some of the negative comments being walked back by those who made them.
The negative comments (or as I like to think of them, the honest critiques) are appreciated. It's good to know how others perceive your work and to be made aware of areas in which you need to improve or at least be more careful. Also, the purchaser has every right to expect that the item purchased will meet expectations. I'm glad that in the end, the purchaser was (at least I think he was) happy.
What I do not appreciate is having the original complaint posted publicly prior to giving either Exotic Blanks or me a chance to address the issue. Ed was either told of the thread or found it himself so he reached out to the OP. It should have been the other way around. I didn't find the thread until the blank had been turned and polished and the OP was seemingly happy with it. What bothers me is how many of the 350 people who viewed the thread prior to me finding it viewed it early in the conversation, where all the comments about the blank and me were negative, prior to the happy ending?
There is a time for everything..............
The time to publically post complaints about a vendor's product and/or service is after the vendor has been contacted and given the opportunity to make things right. If the vendor is unwilling or unable to satisfactorily address the problem then post the complaint as a last resort and to alert others to the possibility of unsatisfactory products and/or service.
There is a place for everything...........
That thread did not belong in the Penturning Forum. It belonged in the Vendor Cheers & Jeers Forum. The rules for the Vendor Cheers & Jeers Forum state, in part,
"Think carefully before you make a negative post about a vendor. Post your factual experiences, but don't use this forum as a means to resolve your grievance. Work with the vendor to resolve your issue, then post your experience, good or bad. Negative posts proven to be factually incorrect will be removed."
I won't tell you that there have never been dishonest, unethical vendors who were just out to make a quick buck at the expense of IAP members. I will tell you that to my knowledge, all of the vendors currently associated with the IAP (including Ohio Penworks & Exotic Blanks) will bend over backward and do anything reasonably possible to satisfy an unhappy customer. Please, just give us a chance.
