Poor quality nuc from supplier with queen cells

[Pennyfold Bees]

Excellent Customer Service

Thanks to everyone that commented on this thread. It helped me to be clear that the state of the frames were no acceptable and I should ask for a replacement.

Paul at EH Thorne has been great about resolving this situation. He agreed the nuc was not acceptable and this week has provided a replacement nuc as well as the credit note for 50% of the cost. I think we'd have ended up with this resolution eventually, but I gained confidence from this forum's feedback which enabled me to be clear about how I wanted the situation resolved.

Communication from Paul was very good as I was called back the same day I reported the issue and he had followed up to my mails quickly. Also when I said on Monday that I'd like the replacement nuc quickly due to some planned travelling with work, this was available for me to collect on Thursday. BTW I was happy to collect the nuc as I wanted to buy some other equipment.

With regards to someone suggest that naming suppliers should perhaps not be allowed on this forum, I don't agree with that at all. Of course people need to report any problems to the supplier and attempt to resolve directly. In my case that had happened, but if you need a comparison a forum like this is so useful to anyone that hasn't been in a particular situation before. I personally wish I'd not been so explicit this was the "largest" equipment supplier in my OP, but I think it is important that the public can name suppliers when the get poor service and also, as in this case, when they get great customer service. Problems sometimes occur and it is down to the way a company (or specifically the individuals in the company dealing with the issue) handle the situation, their communication and how they respond to what the customer ask for, which results in great customer service.

I'm very happy with how this has been resolved and I'll be a regular customer of EH Thorne even after my credit note has been used up.

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[Swarm]

Very happy for you, a fantastic outcome.

 

[galileo]

That's wonderful news Pennyfold and I'm delighted to hear it.

My own dealings with the company in question have never been anything other than highly satisfactory; indeed, they've often gone the extra mile to assist. For that reason, I had every confidence that your unfortunate experience at the hands of a third party, would be resolved to your satisfaction, as it clearly has.

Now, enjoy those bees!

 

[Luminos]

Great news, Pennyfold Bees

 

[pargyle]

Excellent result and what I would have expected from a firm like Thornes. I think naming and shaming poor service is not a good idea as it does leave firms open to abuse from the subjective opinions of their customers and people can react impulsively before giving an opportunity for a company or individual to react to a problem. I do, however, think that a supplier who goes out of their way to provide good service beyond what one would normally expect should be rewarded with a public accolade for their efforts. Whilst there could always be circumstances where such feedback was 'seeded' I think there is less chance of a system that only allowed positive reviews to be abused.

 

[lilybetbee]

I agree with the service from Thornes, I mistakenly selected the wrong hive parts and they rang me to check that I really wanted parts for a Smith hive as they are not common in my area of the country. I had no idea what a Smith hive was and confirmed that I did have nationals. I was so glad they didn't just send it because that's what I selected.

 

[thebhoy]

It is good news that it was resolved to your satisfaction and in a timely manner.
Many lessons to be learned from this....customer and supplier....

1) Quick communication to report the issue.
2) Clear information on what the problem is (Good to backed by supporting evidence...photos, independent report /analysis etc)
3) Being clear about what outcome you require to resolve problem ...(acceptable level as opposed to unreasonable demand(s).
4) Clear deadlines (reasonable) for when you expect it to be resolved.

For a supplier...
1) Ensuring they QC or have a process in play to ensure their standards are met.
2) A QC specific check-list for their suppliers to meet.
3) Random QC inspections of their suppliers.
4) To quickly respond to customers complaints and act on these accordingly.

It is in their interest to ensure they give a quality service all of the time and that their sub-contractors adhere to the same criteria as it is their good name that may be damaged.

 

[yeogi75]

well done thornes for speedy result after all that's all that counts

 

[VEG]

good result and as you have found out well worth giving the company a chance to sort the problem out.

 

[BeeJayBee]

That's really good news. I'm glad it's been sorted out for you, and quite nicely too.

With regards to someone suggest that naming suppliers should perhaps not be allowed on this forum, I don't agree with that at all. Of course people need to report any problems to the supplier and attempt to resolve directly. In my case that had happened, but if you need a comparison a forum like this is so useful to anyone that hasn't been in a particular situation before.

It's quite an odd thing, because one supplier has been named and shamed several times, and at length. Other supplier's names are generally asterisked out no matter what anybody wants to say about them. I think we should be able to write about good and bad buying, selling and aftercare, but it would have to be carefully managed otherwise it could be taken over by people touting their wares (under either a pseudonym or using a company name) or trying to trash their competitor's reputation.

 

[psafloyd]

Well done, Thorne. Not surprised, mind, as it only takes a second to ruin a reputation.

Not in favour of name and shame unless legal position watertight. In this case, supplier let down by agent and have behaved admirably.

 

[steve1958]

Well done Pennyfold.
I am glad things turned out well.
Now the challenge... Go be a Bee keeper.
And enjoy

Maybe we could make you the Forum negotiator.
Most of us would have gone in with all guns firing.
Gaining absolutely nothing.

You got new Bees
Half your money back
and a named contact at the suppliers that will remember who you are because of your reasonable approach.

I am impressed

 

[GrumpyBunny]

A bit of trauma but in the end an excellent outcome!

One of the benefits for paying a premium price with a large supplier should be peace of mind and customer support; very important for a noob. The feedback on the standard of the nuc from the forum was exactly what Pennnyfold needed to resolve the issue.

As a noob myself I had to be patient and keep my enthusiasm in check as the availability and price of nucs is not great this year. I was lucky enough to get a swarm which took a lot of care to build up, but I got there in the end.