great service at Scotweb.com

[celticpride]

i recently made a order a scotweb.com that ran into a inventory problem of a product that was sold but wasnt there. this item was an essential piece of the attire i needed for a family event. after expressing my disapointment to nick, he responded very quickly and on a weekend too. and within a day my issue was resolved. it is understandable that all companies make errors, but is how they fix them that makes the difference. nick was very professional and took time after hours to fix this and now scotweb has a customer for life...

[BCAC]

i recently made a order a scotweb.com that ran into a inventory problem of a product that was sold but wasnt there. this item was an essential piece of the attire i needed for a family event. after expressing my disapointment to nick, he responded very quickly and on a weekend too. and within a day my issue was resolved. it is understandable that all companies make errors, but is how they fix them that makes the difference. nick was very professional and took time after hours to fix this and now scotweb has a customer for life...

You were lucky. I had some communications problems with them for my last order. They sorted out the problems eventually but I had to push them regularly. I was left in the dark as to how my order was going and when I would be delivered. Like I said, everything was sorted out eventually, but I didn't like being left in the dark.

[Nick Fiddes]

A couple of quick things...

1. Thanks, celticpride. But can I just point out it's www.scotweb.co.uk and NOT .com ! (Unfortunately the owner of that domain got in about a week before us in 1995, and has refused to sell it to us ever since, even though it's not being used for much.)

2. BCAC, I'm sorry if you were let down, but I'd say it was you that was unlucky, rather than him being lucky. Like any small company, we of course go through periods when we're overstretched, whether due to extreme weather (e.g. the pre-Xmas crisis due to the worst conditions here since the 60s, the supplier-chain backlog from which we've only just recovered from); or staff sicknesses (we had a nasty bug which took out almost eveyone in the office one week, while another team member was in hospital); or technical issues (we've had some big problems with our phone systems, which we're hoping will be resolved with a new system being installed right now.) I'm not making excuses, because I recognise and regret the very real hassle and frustration when this occurs. But please remember that you're dealing with a family company, not a mega corporation call centre. And for the great majority of customers we do normally manage to respond to all emails within hours, a working day at the most, and we usually pick up the phone personally within a few rings. It would be business lunacy for us to let it be otherwise. And in the last resort, any of you can PM me from here and I'll chase your problem for you!

Cheers

Nick

[MartinGrenoble]

we of course go through periods when we're overstretched, whether due to extreme weather; or staff sicknesses; or technical issues (we've had some big problems with our phone systems....) I'm not making excuses,...

That does sound like excuses!
Not often on Xmarks these days, but since I saw this after being quite unable to get any sense out of your employees as to whether they were going to make my kilt the length I asked for or going to send something else, I can't see how the weather should affect communication to that extent.
It appears that the kilt was made before I gave the go-ahead, and it's already on its way here. I'm hoping my next message will be a vote of thanks and not an irate venting of wrath.

Martin in Andalucia

[Nick Fiddes]

That does sound like excuses!
Not often on Xmarks these days, but since I saw this after being quite unable to get any sense out of your employees as to whether they were going to make my kilt the length I asked for or going to send something else, I can't see how the weather should affect communication to that extent.
It appears that the kilt was made before I gave the go-ahead, and it's already on its way here. I'm hoping my next message will be a vote of thanks and not an irate venting of wrath.

Martin in Andalucia

Where an effort to explain by being open with honest information ends, and excuses start, is for everyone to judge. My point was actually intended to acknowledge that yes there are times when we find it hard to meet the standards we set ourselves. I don't think we're alone in that. But with the best will in the world, sometimes it's simply not possible.

But since you ask, and say you don't understand how the weather can affect things so badly, let me explain. I posted a blog item a while ago, setting out just how bad it was here, for several weeks on end, at our peak business time of year:
http://blog.scotweb.co.uk/journal/20...er-winter.html
The result of such severe conditions is that not only we, but every one of our suppliers and couriers was suffering similarly. As was every company in the country, so it's not just us alone. We were lucky. Most of our staff made it into work, unlike those of many of our suppliers. (For a while, the national average of staff getting to work was around 50% as I recall.)

When absolutely nothing moves in a supply chain for weeks on end, and the staff can't even get in to their workplace to do the work that they could be getting on with, the result is chaos. Even in this age of electronic communications, for a kilt to be made you need dye to reach the dyer, yarns to reach the weaver, fabrics to reach the kiltmaker, the kilt to reach the retailer, and then a courier to pick it up for dispatch. None of this was happening. Our main next-day courier had to close its doors for pre-Xmas deliveries weeks before Xmas, even from areas they could still reach to pick up from, due to their warehouses having no more room. You also need phone lines and power lines to be operating, when many weren't. A massive backlog builds up, with some companies simply closing the doors. Each company in the network is beseiged by its customers asking similar questions (especially in the run up to Xmas). This takes up a huge share of the time they'd prefer to be spending actually solving the problems. And no one can get clear answers from the next supplier in the chain, because they are suffering similarly. It is only now, two months later, that as an entire industry the situation has now largely stabilised.

So I apologise if you did not receive the 'sense' you were looking for. But I can promise you that we were giving out information to the very best of our ability, based on the best information that was available to us. Of course that's frustrating to you, not least since I imagine in Andalucia the weather rarely causes such problems. But to me telling you all this is not about making excuses, but giving you factual context. I'm sorry that you clearly feel my efforts to be open and to explain only condemn us more.

[seanachie]

I have not purchased anything from you Nick, but whether one agrees or disagrees you have made an honest effort to communicate your issues. That is commendable. I have had instances, not with X Marks vendors, but with others who never reply or provide any explanation.

[MartinGrenoble]

But since you ask, and say you don't understand how the weather can affect things so badly...

I can quite understand that everyone has had a very difficult winter and that that was a good enough expanation for delays etc. The irony is that I was complaining about a kilt being made too quickly (yes !!!), not about lateness or slowness. An email asked me to check the easurements I had sent (problem with cm -- inch conversion), which I did, and was than told that the kilt was already finished.

I'm sorry that you clearly feel my efforts to be open and to explain only condemn us more.

No, sorry, I was not trying to condemn anyone. Obviously, good open communication on all sides is essential.

It was mere chance that I logged on earlier and found your message, and I could not resist mentioning my case which was so at odds with things previously expressed.

I am just hoping that in a few days the postman will knock on my door and all my fears will vanish as I try on my latest acquisition.

Do please go on supplying kilts and suchlike around the world and keeping 95% of your custiomers happy, if not more.

Believe it or not, the rain in Spain can be quite devastating, and flooding has been a big problem in many places as well as impenetrable blankets of snow in the northern half of the peninsular (not that that has any bearing whaatsoever with the subject in hand!)

Martin

[Nick Fiddes]

Thanks Martin. Sorry if I sounded a little touchy! It's been a stressful couple of months, as you can perhaps imagine, which hasn't been helped by my own limited time available due to domestic illness, not to mention the wonderful British Telecom doing everything in their power to cut us off from the world at every available opportunity. But I do indeed hope and trust that everything arrives as you intended...

If not, please PM me! :-)

[MartinGrenoble]

The kilt has arrived -- the package was in a torn and sorry state, but the contents undamaged. After an evening of country dancing and a night on a hanger, the somehwat crumpled pleats have regained their aplomb, and I am relieved to be able to say I am satisfied with the purchase. I hope the waistcoat I am having made locally with the extra cloth will turn out as well.
Somehow, telepathy was sufficient for the kiltmakers to know what length was most suitable for my frame so I won't bother trying to convey my wishes by e-mail next time!

Martin
the fit is just fine.

[oldscubaguy]

I have purchased four kilts, and a tartan skirt for my wife and ran into a problem only once which was due to shortage of lochc 13 oz LC Braeriach Select Double Width in my tartan. The staff contacted me in a timely manner, ( as timely as possible considering the time difference), explained the situation, and offered me suggestions. The only delay occurred due to my lack of understanding concerning the difference between double width and single width and measurements. Yes my kilt came later than I originally expected, but when it came it was glorious! I never had the pleasure of communicating directly with Nick because his wonderful staff was fully capable of educating and calming an annoyed, sometimes crazy AmeriScotsman.
Let's put this in perspective: It's a kilt, not a kidney - my life was not dependant on its timely delivery. Mistakes and misunderstandings happen, it's a given because we are human. I make mistakes every day, say things incorrectly, and may the deity of your choice help you if you happen to confront me when I'm having a really bad day!
All that being said, Scotweb is the only place I will buy a kilt, I will never buy a kilt from anywhere else, so Nick that means that your doors need to stay open at least until I die.