Just ordered a new 5 Yard Casual

[unixken]

Just ordered another nice wool kilt from Scotweb. I opted for a 5-yd casual in 16oz Locharron Strome, in Aberdeen District.

I already have an 8-yd Balmoral Buchanan also in Locharron Strome, from Scotweb, and love it. Along with that 'tank', these two tartans honor my paternal grandfather's parents (he a Cormack, she a Sangster.)

Fed-Ex, I've got my eye on you...

[Grizzly]

It's not fedex that you need to worry about. Have just received an email from Scotweb saying that a sporran belt I ordered on 4th July is anticipated to be dispatched on 10th august . That will be 5 weeks and counting for a belt!!!! Don't think I will be ordering anything else from them anytime soon.

[unixken]

I won't try to assume I know what the particular issue is with your belt. Having had to wait for items myself in the past from multiple vendors, I understand the frustration. I myself had a particular pair of shoes repeatedly delayed, to the point where I'd chosen to replace them with a more readily available style. But Scotweb's people kept me informed of the delays. They were proactive in notifying me, and very helpful in selecting an alternate shoe when I decided to change the order. Customer Service means a lot to me. And often, that can't be showcased until there is a snag. Unless Scotweb is now slaughtering cows to process their own leather, I'd suspect the delay is at the supplier, not the retailer.

Nick's people have proven themselves to me in the past. Their kiltmaker (Balmoral) produces an outstanding product. Lochcarron Strome is a wonderful wool.

Despite the FedEx/Customs issues I've documented regarding two back-to-back orders, here in this forum, I've no reservations about this order. My order is estimated for dispatch in 7 weeks. We'll see.

[MacGumerait]

Unixken , I agree . I too ordered an 8 yd Balmoral kilt from Nick at Scotweb in Montgomery Blue Green Modern back in February . The estimated time for completion was 8 weeks and I got it 7 weeks . The quality was superb , all the right elements under the back lining , meaning a proper transition panel , stabilizer , pleat stitching , etc. ( I did check )

Also , I have ordered common items from many different companies such as belts , clan crest patches , etc. that have taken far longer due to " out of stock " or other " availabilty " issues that the retailer had no control .

Sometimes a simple item can take longer than a custom made 8 yd kilt .

It kind of reminds me of what my grandfather ( Scottish ) used to say about situations like this when I got frustrated over something that I thought was taking too long , he would always say the following just to make a point :

" A whale is the largest mammal on earth and it's throat is only a mere two inches around . Do you know why that is lad ?"

Of course , I said no , and wondered what does a whale have to do with anything . His reply was " because , that's just the way it is " .

Sometimes simple items can take longer than complex items , because " that's just the way it is ".

[Grizzly]

I am pleased that you both have had excellent service and that does give me some comfort that I will eventually get what I ordered. My main issue would be that on the website when I ordered it informs me that I would receive the belts within 1-2 weeks. I appreciate that they are reliant on suppliers but it is misleading to withhold information from the buyer if they know it will take longer.

I had the same issue last year with them when I ordered the same product in a different colour. That too took longer than expected but was assured that they had now resolved the supplier delay issues. It would appear that this is not the case. The product I ordered was of good quality and was not at all disappointed when I did receive it.

No doubt I will be just As pleased when this one arrives.
Ation

[Nick Fiddes]

Hi Grizzly,

I'm very sorry about the delay, and understand your frustrations. Unfortunately this is the kind of situation that we sometimes find ourselves in, due to our insistence on working only with authentic local suppliers, who genuinely care about the quality of product they supply.

We've been in regular discussion over this issue with the sporran maker, who is Scotland's most renowned producer, making everything by hand on his premises. But he himself has recently had a problem sourcing brown leather of the standard he insists on. It's the sort of temporary supply issue that can affect small scale producers depending on other artisanal producers, rather than those who simply order the cheapest materials on the bulk markets.

So it's with regret that your anticipated dispatch date has now been pushed back twice. We've tried to do our best by keeping you informed of the delay. But regrettably, since we don't want to compromise on quality ourselves, and certainly not by supply the second rate factory produced imported copycat products you'd find from so many other outlets, there's little more we can do meanwhile. I'm truly sorry it's undermined your confidence in our company.

[Grizzly]

Nick

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to explain things from your side. It is precisely for the reasons that you state above why I placed my order with you. It is a top quality product and I was very pleased with my previous belt. I have no doubt that I will also be as equally impressed with my latest order. I am also aware that Scotweb provide service of the highest quality which has been regularly expressed on this forum.

My only concern is that I think that you should make it more clear on your website that where an item is made to order that it may be delayed for reasons beyond your control.

In the meantime I will continue to jones for what I know will be worth the wait.

[Nick Fiddes]

Thanks for your understanding Simon. We do of course have that sort of thing in the Information area. But when it comes to estimating dispatch times on specific products, we've a difficult balancing act to achieve as so many factors can come into play. And situations like this are rare and unpredictable. So our aim is usually to estimate realistically but conservatively, so that we more often than not deliver early. But any number of factors can affect this...

In fact the worst situation we've ever been in was a year and a half ago, when Scotland was hit by the worst winter weather for about fifty years. Not only did our supply chains grind to a total halt for a couple of months at our peak time just before Christmas, but it took even longer for the backlog to clear. This was of course way beyond our control, and our own team did brilliantly to get in to work at all, to at least be here to advise. However, we lost a huge amount both directly and in goodwill, as people who either never see deep snow, or else see it so often their countries are equipped to deal with it, just couldn't understand how a modern nation could come to a standstill for so long, and of course blamed us. My point is... should we add beside our dispatch time estimates that this is subject to extreme weather that might happen every few decades? In the end, we'd only confuse and alarm unnecessarily.

The bottom line is that it's not in our own interests to let people down, either through delays, or by poor advice. So we try to find the best compromise, and to be as open and honest as possible in the hope of building confidence. But of course this does mean sometimes we fail. Sorry it's affected you on this occasion.

[unixken]

I've just received a note from Stewart, regarding my 5 yd casual. LOL He's put my mind at ease about FedEx (he remembers my past debacles), by letting me know he'll ship my order via DHL.