Vendor experience forum?

[Kilted KT]

Does anyone else find that it would be benificial to add a forum dealing with customers views on different vendors? I know there are many threads in the general kilt talk and off-topic forums, but I think it would be very benificial ( especially to the newly kilted ) to have one spot where they can go to read up on different vendors..

Anyone else have any input on this?

[chasem]

there's a forum specifically for that, but I can't remember exactly what it is right now...

[Iolaus]

We used to have one, but there were problems with the posts not necessarily being objective. The powers that be decided to pull it.

Yes there is another site called Kilt Review that was started up; their by-line is "A forum for the peer review of kilts by those who wear them." You'll see a lot of familiar names over there, but it's nowhere as busy as this forum is.

[Kilted KT]

We used to have one, but there were problems with the posts not necessarily being objective. The powers that be decided to pull it.

Yes there is another site called Kilt Review that was started up; their by-line is "A forum for the peer review of kilts by those who wear them." You'll see a lot of familiar names over there, but it's nowhere as busy as this forum is.

hmm...with the exception of outright debasement of a vendor for no reason other than personal satisfaction ( meaning no actual purchase from a vendor ), wouldn't a forum describing the customer experience with a vendor have to be subjective? It is the experience that is most important, as in "It was great working with <insert kiltmaker here>. The kilt was exquisitely made, fits perfectly, and delivered early" or " This vendor is horrible. The kilt was the wrong tartan, wrong size, and three months late. I never once got an e-mail or phone response to my countless inquiries into the whereabouts of my kilt!"

that is the kind of stuff I am talking about. Some of the threads may not be good. Some may be fantastic. It is the individuals experience with the vendors that can help others make more informed decisions when making a kilt purchase.

I know it would have helped me when I bought tartan kilt...that was a nightmare.

[Iolaus]

I don't really remember all the details - I think it was something to do with things getting too personal; remember, a lot of the vendors are also active members here.

I just remember being in favor of keeping the section.

If you really need to know, maybe one of the Mods that were privy to the inside reasonings could chime in here?

[Jerry]

There were a lot of problems with the review topic, and although I did like it, I do think it was starting to cause some dissent among members. Now, most newbies have the good sense to ask, "what do you think of this kiltmaker or vendor". and they get a quick answer as well as good advice. There is only one vendor which I ever had complaints about, and I make sure to PM the details to anyone I see who is contemplating purchasing from them. The review thing might work better if it could be set up with just a company name, and a selection of yes or no, with no place to editorialize about them. Then members could look and see a rating similar to Ebay's system

[Riverkilt]

What there is on the kilt review site is pretty tightly controlled...or so it seems to me. Would be nice if there were more posts there - particularly the negative information.

The stories of bad experiences....like paying big bucks for a kilt in advance and not getting it for a year and not getting answers to emails and phone calls are the things that help us know which vendors to avoid.

Helps to know the inconveniences too....vendors who advertise, or imply, stock on hand, but are really just jobbers who pass our order on to the factory and have them drop ship us weeks later.

That kind of stuff helps me make buying decisions...yes, I'm willing to wait for it....no, I'll find it somewhere else.

Right now, best we got is what is allowed on this board and what is over on Kilt Review.

Ron