Review - Scottish Tartans Museum's Accesories

[hospitaller]

Last Friday I placed an order for, among other things, a Clan Young Cap Crest and a Kilt Pin.

I was informed that those 2 items were in stock and the third item was not, so it would take a few weeks, and if I wanted to wait or take delivery of the 2 in stock items.

So I told them (not 100% certain it was Matt) that I'd like to get the 2 i n stock items mailed because I was counting on them for this weekend's Fort Wayne Highland Games.

So after a week of jonesing I got my FedEx package, inside there was a nice and cushioned bubble-wrap bundle along with a Museum Triptic, nice touch.

So not been able to contain myself I opened the bubble wrap bundle and sure enough, there they were, 2 gorgeous Clan Young items, the Clan Crest Badge and a Kilt Pin.

Problem is, even though the Kilt Pin is labeled as Young, the lion rampant is there but the motto reads 'Nobilis est ira leonis', which is the motto of Clans Buchanan and Inglis, a similar wording is used in the Stuart motto. The Young Clan motto is 'Robore prudentia praestat' and the lion rampant is holding a sword so the kilt pin was either mislabeled or at origin they simply placed the wrong pin under the wrong Clan (easily done since they all appear to have the lion rampant).

Next I take a look at th gorgeous and huge Clan Young which is correct so I was happy about that, and proceed to take it out of its backing....and what do you know....as soon as unclasped it, the circular lock attachment end broke up in my hands while the rest of the badge was still attached to the backing....

So in short, here I am, the day before I am to go to the games with a broken crest badge and with the wrong kilt pin.

So, while not exactly a review I would have liked to write, it is what it is, as this is the end result of my order and these are the items I was delivered.

I think the Kilt Pin issue could have been avoided by a simple visual inspection prior to shipping to make sure it was the right Clan.
Now as for the Crest badge...I don't know if the pewter quality is not all there or what to attribute it to, but the thing broke as soon as I unclasped it, the backing was not bent or anything that could suggest rough treatment during shipping, as evidenced by the nice packaging.

But all in all, I ended up understandably disappointed and frustrated.

A mix between the delay in shipping (that didn't allow for extra time to overnight a replacement set) and the surprising (given that it is after all a Tartan's Museum who I bought it from) lack of thoroughness when sending the wrong Clan Kilt Pin.

Photos below, taken from iPhone so excuse the low quality:

[McMurdo]

Hector
So sorry to read this, I wonder, even though I know you should not have to could you solder the pin back on to the crest? As for the kilt pin, for this weekend, perhaps just wear it and get in touch with Matt or Rowan at the Museum and explain what happened (hopefully Matt will see this one). Hopefully they can straighten this out for you. I know this does not get you what you ordered for this weekend, but I'd say it's the best thing I could come up with.

[hospitaller]

Glen,

thanks, and yes, I thought about re-soldering the broken piece, but I want to wait for Matt or should I say the Museum on this as I've already contacted them of course. I dont want to tamper or make a bigger mess of the badge without knowing what to do next.

I guess I could wear the kilt pin for the weekend as it looks similar (except for the missing sword and diff. motto of course) enough, specially when it is low in the kilt.

But as I said, other than the obvious, the items are gorgeous in real life, I've ordered a few Young kilt pins and badges from other vendors and these ones look so much better.

I'm sure this will get straightened out as I've also ordered before from the Museum and I've been satisfied.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Hector,

Sorry for the problem with this order. Of course when anything like this happens we are more than happy to correct the situation.

It appears that you are the unlucky victim of circumstance not once but twice in this situation.

Regarding the kilt pin being incorrect: as you may guess, we do not affix the pins to their backings ourselves in the shop. They come from our supplier already attached to the backings and labelled with the name of the clan.

Very rarely do they come mislabelled. And, I am happy to say, that I am familiar enough with the majority of crests that we stock that I usually am able to catch it as I am either pricing or stocking the product. However, I obviously did not in this case, most likely due to the fact that both crests feature a demi-lion and they are similar enough that it got priced and shelved without my notice.

Also, very rarely do the pins come apart from the crests. This happens occasionally, but by no means often, with pins from all three manufacturers whose crest pins we carry. The few times we have had a customer report an item like this arriving broken, or breaking shortly after arrival, we've always been more than happy to replace the damaged product.

And, of course, we will be very happy to replace both of these products for you. I'm just sorry that time does not allow us to get them to you before the Games tomorrow.

I know that this doesn't help you for tomorrow, but we will correct this order in as timely a manner as we can.

As for the "delay in shipping" not allowing time to overnight a replacement set, you placed the order on Friday and it was scheduled to ship out on Monday by our standard shipping method, which is FedEx Home Delivery, and would have arrived to you by the end of the week. I noticed on Wednesday morning that it had not been shipped on Monday and so I upgraded you to 2-Day Express shipping to make sure it got to you by Friday. I do not know the reason why it was not shipped on Monday, but I wanted to ensure that it got to you in time for your event.

You were not charged any extra for the rush delivery as this was our error. You were also not charged any extra shipping for breaking the order into two shipments so that we could get the stock part of your order to you sooner.

And, obviously, we will not charge you any shipping for the replacement items we will be sending you. But my point here is that, even if your order had left our shop Monday, as scheduled, it still would not have been likely that we could have gotten a replacement item to you before this weekend. The order was just placed too close to the need-by date. I don't think we can be faulted for that.

Again, I'm sorry for the double-mishap with this order, and rest assured we will get it corrected for you.

I'm also sorry that you felt the need to bring this complaint to us via a public forum. I know merchant reviews, etc., are a valuable part of X Marks, but this is really just a case of a mishap that happens occasionally in every business, and the test is in how the merchant decides to correct the situation. In the future, an email -- or better yet, a phone call -- to the museum will get your situation handled in a timely manner and allow us to do all we can to make sure your problem is taken care of to the best of our ability. As it is, this is the first time I am hearing about this problem.

In any case, we will certainly replace both items for you, and you have our sincere apologies for your troubles.

[ForresterModern]

Folks, you have just seen a fine example of customer service in action. Well done Matt.

Hector, I agree it sucks that things weren't right the first time, but hey shtuff happens, and it is how we respond that shows what we are made of. Things will work out for this weekend, just make sure you go and have a good time anyway. I am sure you will look fine. Enjoy.

[hospitaller]

All's good that ends good.

Thanks Matt.