Do all Bee Keeping Suppliers give rubbish service?

[666bees]

Buy one off hivemaker, I did. Great service, great hive. Now just waiting for my bees to put in it.

 

[Tom Bick]

Nobby sorry but never referred to you as a novice just tried to iron out a possible misunderstanding.

Nothing wrong with wanting good service and communications. It would appear that you have had a bad experience and that’s not good and frustrating. If the supplier you are dealing with continues to mess up they will in time suffer.

 

[*ZhG*StGeorge]

I'd stick up for Th**nes as well - slow yes, but generally very willing to put things right when and if they go wrong. Phoning them seems to be the best way of resolving problems.

Having said that, where is the order I placed a week ago??????

My family spent a few quid on me at the end of last year. My wife bought me a skep, Tho***s sent me two and charged me for two. Not a good start.

When I buy anything they send it to my son, who bought me some foundation for Christmas. I rang to query that an order for some parts had not arrived, it was 8 days later and I wanted some of the order to go on a course. I was told the side bars on the frames were not available and it could be another couple of weeks before they are made! so why not let me or my son know?

I ordered these parts by phone. Asked for them to be sent to my work address, that seems to have been missed. Rang and they said they would call me back, i told them O2 was down and gave my landline number at work. When I rang back later they said they had left a message, ah, it was on my home phone number and they asked for my son!!

In the end told them I would accept standard BB size frames and I would cut them to length, the lady asked me if I would be able to do that!

Now some tasks are difficult and others not............... Getting an order right and handling customers is definately one of the difficult ones for some and cutting a bit off a stick shouldn't tax me too much........

 

[MAZ]

This is my first year and i have bought 2 hives plus extras from National beekeeping supplies, very good and fast service.
They will also give beekeeping advice.

 

[NoBBy]

Nobby sorry but never referred to you as a novice just tried to iron out a possible misunderstanding.

Nothing wrong with wanting good service and communications. It would appear that you have had a bad experience and that’s not good and frustrating. If the supplier you are dealing with continues to mess up they will in time suffer.

I know you didnt Tom but was trying to give a general answer to 3 peoples posts. But thank you for replying.

I have dealt with 3 suppliers and had problems with 2 of them. Currently having problems with a supplier that sells on EBay and via a web site from Frome in Somerset.

 

[Ulsterfry]

Ordered Kieler mini-nucs from Modern Beekeeping 2 days ago... arrived today, well packaged... excellent service.

 

[iamduvern]

I recently brought a cedar hive on ebay from some one called Beejoiner 4 weeks delivery and when it arrived the bood and super sides were missing along with all of the fixings
It was advertised as having metal runners and a cedar roof I got plastic runners and a compressed wood roof and due to the poor packaging the metal roof cover was damaged
I complained to ebay and paypal but with no luck as the vendor would not answer e-mails
So moral of the story buyer beware!!

 

[drstitson]

"I complained to ebay and paypal but with no luck as the vendor would not answer e-mails
So moral of the story buyer beware!!"

provided you started a case within 45 days you do not need contact from vendor to claim via ebay/paypal. in fact it helps if they do not respond.

1. contact seller and ask for response in say 5-7 working days. copy message to self.
2. no response - start ebay case.
3. nothing after 10 days escalate case - prompt refund follows.

 

[Tom Bick]

Wow that’s not good. Having looked at ebay recently the amount of beekeeping products compared to a couple of years ago is staggering and as it is ebay it is open for abuse.

 

[hallshoney]

bad suppliers

I must be lucky in the past i have used thornes, national bee, fragile planet, ebay and hivemaker and never had a problem. some have rubbish web sites. But for excellent advice you will never beat hivemaker!

 

[susbees]

Making websites that are intuitive and fully functional for the web savvy and the not so is not easy and expensive. National Bee Supplies site is done by a friend of mine...yet even that ain't perfect.

Thornes try to run their website like their paper catalogue...they produce one biannually and a price list more often...more cost effective. Otherwise stuff would cost more.

Wynne Jones (was within breathing distance grafting larvae today but no time) are extremely pleasant to deal with but keep their prices down. The website is new and done to a basic budget......but if you email them the response is quick and courteous.

Had orders in from Thornes, Maisemore, Wynne Jones and Buzzy Bee Shop this season, ALL arrived within a week and apart from a packaging issue where some thymol had got squished all in order.

 

[itchyhives]

Nobby there was a guy on the forum last year in Frome making hives although from memory he wasn't really a beek just a joiner....maybe your man who knows. Really dont think you can go wrong with using some of the people recommended on the forum though, they are all experianced beekeepers that know about what there selling you and they are about on the forum for future help or advice.

 

[NoBBy]

Nobby there was a guy on the forum last year in Frome making hives although from memory he wasn't really a beek just a joiner....maybe your man who knows. Really dont think you can go wrong with using some of the people recommended on the forum though, they are all experianced beekeepers that know about what there selling you and they are about on the forum for future help or advice.

I now understand this but like all thinks in life you learn by your mistakes.

Yes this your guy from Frome is the same person goes under thejoineryworkshop. Not got the hive yet, it may be very good quality but the delivery time is a problem.

 

[eric]

Hi nobby
Try www.beekeepingsupplies.org.uk he is based in Preston and if you ring him up he will tell you if its in stock and its cheaper if you pick it up also he is a good down to earth beekeeper you can ask him a question and he has the time to explain to you.
Hope it works out for you.
Regards
Eric

 

[BBG]

I am a novice Bee Keeper just starting out. But my experience of suppliers has been very poor never had these sorts of problems with other hobbies.

Ahh, so you haven't got to the bits missing, computer's gone down , stock taking at present, staff on holiday, carrier is new, reshuffle, held up in customs............................

Try asking for quotes for something really expensive, I mean really expensive. IF somebody gets back to you, you'll get the same treatment, so at least you know it's not because you're only spending a few pounds.

 

[JC Bees]

Yo Nobby. Equally a novice bee keeper but we're lucky in having a shop near by where we can browse and ask questions at our leisure. Our real bug is the quality of the wood used for beehive and the uppers and the frames. We thinking of going to a joinery to make them up. Any body knwo what's the best wood to use?

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

General consensus re Th**nes, which I wholly agree with, is that their customer service is very good (appreciate that Winker seems to have been the exception that proves the rule). They even opened up the shop for me once when I turned up not realising it was closed. Personally had no bad experiences re their delivery of non urgent stuff, and I'm fortunatly close enough to pick up anything I need urgently.

Other suppliers I've tried have all been good - Wynne Jones, Beehivebits, KVC, Mais more, Paynes, Park, Cheshire.

No, they dont tend to have good websites, but so what? This is a relatively small cottage industry, comparing it to JLR or any other multi million pound enterprise is unrealistic.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

My first thought when I took up beekeeping was how poor all the suppliers websites are. It is not that difficult to set up a decent, functional and aesthetically pleasing website. To be honest I reckon I could do better myself with a template-builder than most of the beekeeping companies out there.
However, the most important thing is the service, and I find Wynne Jones win hands-down for good, honest, helpful service - despite their poor website.

 

[victor meldrew]

Ten days have passed, since placing an order with T****es .
Just telephoned to inquire the whereabouts .
Answer " post code please" on receipt being asked "Is your name W****son ?"
"yes" was my response .
"Hasn't been dispatched yet, maybe in a couple of days or next week , usually takes a fortnight "
No apology, so matter of fact it was toe curling !
Ok the total spend was only £50 but as their bumph say's next day delivery by our own courier or by parcel post , you would have thought 10 days and still counting would have merited at least an apologetic grunt ?
As I said in an earlier post , complacency will be their undoing .
It goes without saying I shall be voting with my feet !

VM

 

[Beezy]

I have just received awful service from fragile planet. Got my order through and the roof was so shoddily made: bits fallen off in transit; one side of it nailed in at an angle so very wonky. Crownboard also snapped. When I rang them, no hint of apology or admission that they'd produced sub-standard service.
I acknowledge that companies are busy at the moment, but it's how they rectify mistakes that proves what sort of customer service they give. I'm going away on holiday Sunday and really needed this stuff before I left. When I asked them to arrange collection on Saturday (as they won't refund/replace before they get the goods back) they simply said they don't do Saturdays and offered me 9-5pm tomorrow - hopeless for someone who works full-time.
First and last time I order from them.