TARTANWEB Disappointment

[Alan H]

This thread has resulted in several people writing things along the lines of..

"I'm sure glad I saw this thread. I was going to order a kilt from Tartanweb, but now that I've seen what happened to you, I won't be giving them my business."

If I were the owner of a business that was being discussed in this manner, especially after having sold and serviced entirely satisfactory merchandise to other people on the forum, I would be interested in having my voice heard, as well.

I don't doubt your story, but the owner of the company should have the opportunity to respond, don't you think?

[Jock Scot]

This thread has resulted in several people writing things along the lines of..

"I'm sure glad I saw this thread. I was going to order a kilt from Tartanweb, but now that I've seen what happened to you, I won't be giving them my business."

If I were the owner of a business that was being discussed in this manner, especially after having sold and serviced entirely satisfactory merchandise to other people on the forum, I would be interested in having my voice heard, as well.

I don't doubt your story, but the owner of the company should have the opportunity to respond, don't you think?

That sounds fair dinkum to me Alan and like you, I don't doubt the story either.

[GG]

but the owner of the company should have the opportunity to respond, don't you think?

Of course he should. I just wonder, that he has not until now found out what problems he has to face from now on.

The pictures, Den has published here, very clearly show the problem, and it is certainly not a minor one from a difficult and pedantic customer, claiming over a detail, which can only be seen through a magnifying glass.

Here we speak of a kilt that is unusable.

The clever decision by Peter Reid as well as Scott, having seen the pics, had been to inform Den that a new kilt was already on its way.
That they missed.

They also missed having the kilt rebuilt – not difficult to understand when looking at the pictures.

After that they missed the opportunity to immediately not have just offered a refund but to give Den all his money back. I myself should not be satisfied with less than a 100% refund. Because what should I use a kilt as bad as his one for?

How could a company that wants to be taken seriously risk having a customer walking around in this kilt, even if he had been given a refund, and he then told people that this monster of a kilt had been made by Tartanweb?

I really wonder what Scott, whatever he is going to call himself, shall be able to say. I think the pictures say it all.

Of course it is to suppose that he now eventually offers Den all his money back. But shall we not still be left with a feeling that he shall only do so, due to pressure and having his reputation at risk?

Greg

[denmcdough]

Greg, thanks for the post. And, well said!

I'll welcome anything that Scott has to say, as I'm a reasonable person. But he's only responding, more than likely, due to pressure from so many having seen this thread. Had I not posted, would the problem have been rectified? Yes, as I was already told, by Peter Reid, that I'd get a refund. I mean, come on, the kilt should have never been sent out that way in the first place. And to screw it up a second time???? Unconscionable!

Yes, Tartanweb has built me one kilt that was satisfactory, and others have had good dealings with them, but the proof is in the pictures. So, those insisting that Scott should be given a chance to respond, give me a break...look at the pics!!! What more can he say?

If the refund comes through, then I'll just have to be satisfied and move on.

[Jock Scot]

I don't think anyone is "insisting" that the owner of Tartanweb should reply to your unfortunate situation. On the face of it there does indeed seem that there is very little he could say. Nevertheless, at the very least he could, perhaps, offer an apology, but it is not for me to put words in any one's mouth; that is entirely their affair. However it is only right and fair that the "other side" should be allowed the space to speak if they so choose. As far as I am aware that space is available, should the owner of Tartanweb wish to take advantage of it.

[CDNSushi]

This thread has resulted in several people writing things along the lines of..

"I'm sure glad I saw this thread. I was going to order a kilt from Tartanweb, but now that I've seen what happened to you, I won't be giving them my business."

If I were the owner of a business that was being discussed in this manner, especially after having sold and serviced entirely satisfactory merchandise to other people on the forum, I would be interested in having my voice heard, as well.

Absolutely. I mentioned this in another thread, and I will clarify again here. The fact that Den wasn't able to get the kilt fixed and therefore earned a refund is only second to the fact that it happened in the first place.

Before I ordered from Tartanweb, I would want to know what kind of assurance they might offer to prevent it from happening to me. I know I can get a refund if I'm not happy but I'd prefer not having a screwed up kilt in the first place.

[MacMillans son]

BoldHighlander,

Yes, I do think this is gonna work out. Peter Reid is an upstanding gentleman! I trust he'll do me right.

And, the jonesing does start anew. I'll post pics of the new and improved kilt, when all is said and done. Hopefully in February!??? The wait will kill me!!!

In my mind, that should be the end of the story.

Should the kilt have been made this way ? Of course not. Is it reasonable to expect a better quality assurance process than this ? Of course. And I am confident that the folks at Tartanweb would agree.

This is a merchant, in a family of merchants (Tartanweb, St. Kilda et al) that has a reputation for providing good products at a fair price.

But, businesses are run, and supplied by, humans. Humans make mistakes. The best that we can expect is for them to promptly remedy them when they do. It seems that Tartanweb has agreed to do that.

No amount of ranting and indignation is going to make this situation any better, nor get the OP any better satisfaction than a complete refund, which the merchant has agreed to do.

The damage that a thread like this does to a business, depending on the business’ size, can be considerable. And I would argue unjustly so. That is why the sponsoring merchants on this site always ask that you contact them first to resolve any problems, BEFORE POSTING an unhappy experience with their company.

If an auto mechanic that you have used for twenty years with complete satisfaction hires a new mechanic, and that new mechanic does a less than perfect job on your car, one time, does that negate the twenty years of good service you received ? Of course not. Do you immediately picket the business and run adds in the local newspaper describing your terrible experience ? I would hope not. You contact the business manager/owner and seek reparation first, right?

I’m sure some will argue “They deserve it, that kilt was inexcusable!!” I would hope in the future we would remember what it is like to be human, and how we would feel if each of our mistakes was publicly advertised, PRIOR to us having an opportunity to remedy them.

I know this sounds a bit preachy but it’s the way I feel about it. I’m not justifying the product, just suggesting in the future we practice some compassion prior to conviction.

Cheers!

[Lyle1]

If an auto mechanic that you have used for twenty years with complete satisfaction hires a new mechanic, and that new mechanic does a less than perfect job on your car, one time, does that negate the twenty years of good service you received ? Of course not. Do you immediately picket the business and run adds in the local newspaper describing your terrible experience ? I would hope not. You contact the business manager/owner and seek reparation first, right?

Cheers!

My personal philosophy is that everyone is bound to make mistakes, and what a person does to make up for that mistake is usually more important that the mistake itself. So, yes, I do generally give people a chance to correct a problem, particularly if I have done business with them before.

That said, in this case the vendor failed to correct the error. To send the supposedly repaired kilt back to the customer without having totally corrected the mistake is inexcusable. Had I been the vendor, the repaired kilt would have been checked and double checked before it was shipped; it would not have been shipped if the mistakes were not corrected. One could also question whether the vendor checks the quality of his kilts at all before shipping them.

I am glad that the OP shared his experience. I find it helpful to know how various vendors handle problems.

[denmcdough]

The damage that a thread like this does to a business, depending on the business’ size, can be considerable. And I would argue unjustly so. That is why the sponsoring merchants on this site always ask that you contact them first to resolve any problems, BEFORE POSTING an unhappy experience with their company.

MacMillian, wow! What can I say? Yes, I agree that everyone is human and makes mistakes. We all do; myself included!!!. So, I'm a very compassionate person. I always go out of my way to give people the benefit of the doubt. But I don't see your reasoning here. Your comments are taken rather offensively. Contact them first to get their opinion on posting a thread like this??? How would you feel if this kilt was yours? Tartanweb had two chances to get it right, and failed. How can a kilt be sent out that was NEVER checked? I have inexpensive kilts that hang better than my, supposed, Robertson tank!

I don't entirely disagree with your comments, especially if they (Tartanweb) were NOT given the opportunity to get it right. But they WERE given the opportunity. All I can do now is wait to see how Scott responds. They are a decent company, and I've already stated that in previous posts, but this time they got it wrong. So, how can you say what you did? It just doesn't register with my way of thinking. Of course, we're all different. You have your opinions and I have mine. And since it was MY money, and not yours, I feel that I had the right to post this. It keeps vendors honest! After all, isn't that part of this forum?

Now, if I had gone ballistic, without notifying Trartanweb, and just doing a thread out of hate, then I might see the point of your post. But, again, they WERE contacted.

[Alan H]

IMHO.....just my opinion....

This has been beaten into the ground quite enough.
You've expressed your frustration with Tartanweb several times on the biggest kilt forum in the world.
You've let us know that Peter Reid is a good man.
You've shown us pictures of this disastrous kilt.
You've made your point quite a few times, and informed us of a very large issue with Tartanweb and/or their kiltmaking subcontractor(s).
We've all been informed that Tartanweb messed up, bigtime.
A number of people are now "alerted" to Tartanwebs problems and Tartanweb 's business will deal with the consequences.

We (not just you, denmcdough, ALL of us) can continue to comment and re-comment and re-re-comment and drag the whole sad issue through the mud yet again...OR... we can choose to be patient, let Scott have his say...you get your refund.... and move on.

Personally, I won't be checking this thread any more.