Comment on varying standards of service

[Antonio J Carrasco]

My top companies in terms of service would be:

Fighting 15s (he has some kind of wormhole he sends his figures through - less than 24 hours delivery in one instance).

Front Rank - excellent service and super clean castings.

Calpe - only placed the one order but he sent the figures before I'd paid for them which was pretty incredible to me, and he was so helpful asking my ignorant questions about Prussian Landwher. And the figures were lovely when they arrived.

I agree about Perry and the flat rate postage - but they are also pretty sniffy when you suggest their metal casting quality could do with improvement, they simply don't see what the problem is.

Agree on Fighting 15s, Calpe and Front Rank. Service is top notch. Front Rank has the best castings in the market, bar none.

[FifteensAway]

So, the little manufacturer struggling to make a product stumbles on this thread and realizes that despite his (or her) best efforts, their response time isn't good enough and packs it all in.  And then you go to order their product you've coveted for so long and...sorry, over the horizon forever.  Then who is to blame?  I say give them all a break, big or small (with a momentary caveat), because they serve our needs.  And having commissioned and had molded and cast up my first figures (which may come to general market), I can assure those who haven't done it that their is considerable financial risk in producing anything for this hobby.  If my little venture never turns a profit, I'm okay with that but this is a vanity product, something I wanted that was very unlikely to be made otherwise.  If the experiment moves forward, my first goal is to allow any return to finance more items on my personal wish list.  That it might be able turn some profit is a bonus.  But that is not a 'real' business model.  (Though I will write up a proper business plan if I do go forward.)

Now, for that caveat: I have zero patience for the company that markets half-baked rules where you need six, ten, a dozen, two dozen supplements and you really should use their chosen range of figures, too.  I am okay with their sales tanking.  One set of complete and well-tested rules that will work with whatever brand (or brands) of figures the gamer wants is how it should be.  Sorry, but that's how I feel.  (A deceased friend had 23 unique sets of rules for one popular system - plus 3 duplicates.  That surpasses the absurd, at retail that would have been over $1,000 US dollars.  Just for rules!)

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

I'd like to put in a word for a chap in The Netherlands called Wienand Drenth.  He has written a series of three books entitled "The First Colonial Soldiers" about the British garrisons across the world between 1650 and 1714, in conjunction with a former British soldier and author named Jonathon Riley.  He replies to emails no later than the following day, usually the same day, and not only did the book I ordered from him arrive within 7 days, which is very good for a one-man band, but I find that I am entitled to a discount when I buy the other two.

It's also an excellent tome, which I would thoroughly recommend to anyone looking at British forces in the late 17th/early 18th Century.

[Littlearmies]

So, the little manufacturer struggling to make a product stumbles on this thread and realizes that despite his (or her) best efforts, their response time isn't good enough and packs it all in.  And then you go to order their product you've coveted for so long and...sorry, over the horizon forever.  Then who is to blame?  I say give them all a break, big or small (with a momentary caveat), because they serve our needs.  And having commissioned and had molded and cast up my first figures (which may come to general market), I can assure those who haven't done it that their is considerable financial risk in producing anything for this hobby.  If my little venture never turns a profit, I'm okay with that but this is a vanity product, something I wanted that was very unlikely to be made otherwise.  If the experiment moves forward, my first goal is to allow any return to finance more items on my personal wish list.  That it might be able turn some profit is a bonus.  But that is not a 'real' business model.  (Though I will write up a proper business plan if I do go forward.)

Now, for that caveat: I have zero patience for the company that markets half-baked rules where you need six, ten, a dozen, two dozen supplements and you really should use their chosen range of figures, too.  I am okay with their sales tanking.  One set of complete and well-tested rules that will work with whatever brand (or brands) of figures the gamer wants is how it should be.  Sorry, but that's how I feel.  (A deceased friend had 23 unique sets of rules for one popular system - plus 3 duplicates.  That surpasses the absurd, at retail that would have been over $1,000 US dollars.  Just for rules!)

Good for you - it is refreshing to find someone willing to put their money where their mouth is these days! Am I the only one who is fed up with Kickstarters for every little range of figures produced?

What is it you have had made?  My personal choice for a vanity project would be Leval's Division in 15/18mm - AB doesnt really cover it (although there are work-arounds within his ranges for everything but the Dutch) and the only other maker I can think of is Fantassin / Warmodelling / Capitan or whatever they are called this week - and I won't buy them anymore because every other figure in the range looks to be a duff sculpt or duff casting (with rock hard metal that defies clean up). Let's face I'm a lead snob and proud of it.

[wrgmr1]

Agreeing with some who have already posted, my two favourites are Calpe and Front Rank. I live on the west coast of Canada, put in a largish order to FR, eight weeks later no figures. I contacted them and they replaced all the figures free. Of course  three weeks later the second shipment arrived, the next day the original order arrived.  I offered to send the second order back they said no just keep them. I took the second order to our group and sold them for full price and sent the money to FR. Seemed the right thing to do.

[aphillathehun]

Agreeing with some who have already posted, my two favourites are Calpe and Front Rank. I live on the west coast of Canada, put in a largish order to FR, eight weeks later no figures. I contacted them and they replaced all the figures free. Of course  three weeks later the second shipment arrived, the next day the original order arrived.  I offered to send the second order back they said no just keep them. I took the second order to our group and sold them for full price and sent the money to FR. Seemed the right thing to do.

Well done, sir!

[aphillathehun]

I've been pretty pleased with service from everyone I order from.  Some are more communicative than others.  But the difference in response/delivery time seems far more gated on the post than on the companies filling the orders.  I've had orders from the Perrys (who generally get the order posted in a couple of days) turn up in a week, and others in a month.  That difference is entirely a function of the post.  That's to the US from the UK.

[Captain Blood]

Well, try to make a order today and after a month and a half the order doesnt appear.
Yup, that happens with some of the "big companies".
While others that make a effort with two jobs send stuff within a day or two.

I agree with this Rui. I'm afraid most of the time it's not about size - it's about caring enough to provide the sort of quick turnaround service we'd all like in an ideal world.
- I order something from Arcane Scenery and Models (a one man band - well one man and woman). It always arrives the next day, without fail. It's beyond me how they do it, but they clearly make it a point of principle to get the order out of the door as fast as humanly possible. Speed of customer service is clearly their absolute priority.
- I order something from Warlord Games... Last time it took six weeks to arrive. That, to be fair, was blamed on 'system problems'. But even without system problems, I don't think I've ever received an order from Warlord in less than 3 weeks. That's a big company with almost 100 staff and no shortage of resources. So either they're really disorganised, or they don't care about getting customer orders out as a number 1 priority. Or both.

Some people care about it and think it's important. Others don't. And as some customers don't seem to care either, perhaps they're right not to worry about it. But personally, I greatly appreciate it when an order arrives quickly. I appreciate getting my hands on my goodies fast. And I REALLY appreciate that someone has taken the time and trouble to provide a great service.
As ever, you pays your money etc...