Long overdue Great Scot report

[hospitaller]

Well, finally the wife and I went today to Nashville, IN to enjoy one of the many local festivals and to visit the Great Scot kilt shop.

Mind you, the drive from home to the place in question is roughly 2 hours.

So we arrived at Nashville, IN, which is a tourist city, meaning there's plenty of artisans, historic places, shops, etc.

In order to find info about a store you have to go to a visitor's center, which we did in order to find the exact location of the Great Scot....only to find out the Great Scot no longer has a physical brick & mortar store and it only does business online, despite what their website states, displaying an address and several photos of the store.

We were told that the website still shows the address and working hours and it sure would have been nice to know about it before driving all the way...and once again we were told that we were not the first nor the only people to find out the same way, several other people had shown up asking about the store only to find out it doesn't exist anymore.

We were also told that most of the shops are rented and this particular store (The Great Scot) one day decided to stop paying the rent so it was evicted.

So, for what this is worth....be aware that The Great Scot no longer has a physical address, hasn't had one in months and the photos of the store and everything else are no more, and seriously misleading.

It is an online business only, and for the simple fact of misleading the public I changed my mind about ordering stuff from them, even with their payment plan.

So, the rest of the day was lovely as we enjoyed the town and the festivals just the same.

[Bugbear]

Thanks for the warning. I think I have seen their web site before. Doesn't sound good if they wern't paying their rent...

[Riverkilt]

THANK YOU!!

I love this board! A sad tale of warning - but it is what it is and we dollar holders are entitled to know the truth up front.

Ron

[TartanTangent]

I wish I had read this before I placed an order!

I have long been interested in Don McKee's beautiful pewter belt buckles & kilt pins. Great Scot seemd to be the only "shop" that had them. (I have since found out from my trusted friend, John, at A Wee Bit of Scotland.com, that McKee has a website at scottishregalia.com)

I called & placed an order in September for a specific delivery date in October when my husband would be in Virginia for a 3 day business trip which would entitled him to bring them home duty free. Ms MacDonald (Och, the shame of it! My own clanswoman!) said that would be no problem, they were happy to comply with my wishes.

5 days before my husband was due to arrive, I called to inquire if my purchase had been sent. I got a message saying the shop would be closed for several days, but there was a pager option which I chose & left a message.

I called for the 2 days he was there & was still not able to get through to a person & left a message both times. It had not arrived by the time my husband checked out so we instructed the hotel to return it if it ever arrived & I called & left yet another message that the items would be returned & would she please call or email with an explanation. I have not received any communication whatsoever.

I find the actions of this vendor reprehensible & irresponsible. From my experience, I would not recommend this "mail order" business to anyone as they have clearly proven they can not be relied upon.

[HeathBar]

I was in Indianapolis for business a couple of weeks ago. On the way I picked up a Brown County brochure. They had one for 2007 and 2008, so I got both. I had seen that Nashville was in Brown county, so I picked it up knowing that the shop was in Nashville. When I got to my hotel and was looking through the brochure, I didn't see Great Scot listed anywhere. I saw all kinds of other shops, but not this one. It wasn't listed in the 2007 book either. Now I know why. I'm glad I didn't make a side trip on the way home to find it.

[pdcorlis]

Very helpful post - thank you for the heads-up.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Unhappy? Report them to the Better Business Bureau-- I know it sounds hokey, but it is just about the only way to seriously voice your displeasure. Likewise, if they have an eBay presence, complain like hell to eBay-- believe it or not they really don't want dodgy businesses on their site. Finally, a letter to the State of Indiana Department of Consumer Affairs, pointing out that the business is operating from a non-existent address will introduce the proprietors to the scrutiny of the state franchise board, with all of its attendant consequences.

GET EVEN!

[Cat]

I have long been interested in Don McKee's beautiful pewter belt buckles & kilt pins. Great Scot seemd to be the only "shop" that had them. (I have since found out from my trusted friend, John, at A Wee Bit of Scotland.com, that McKee has a website at scottishregalia.com)

Order directly from Don's website. I met him at the Rocky Mountain Scottish Festival a couple months ago and chatted with him for a few minutes. Really nice guy and he does awesome work! (Did you know he's also the model for the current Dewar's logo?)