So as the admin of the forum I have to say I'm not very thrilled about the reception many of you who have posted on this thread have given this member's concern.
This is a long-standing member of the forum (joined in 2006) who reads the forum avidly but does not usually post.
As I understand it an issue comes up where this member buys an item, opens it up and finds three problems 1) the turret is a different color than the hull, 2) the hatches are a different color than the hull and 3) the machine gun pieces are missing from the box.
He contacts the manufacturer who says "No problem, send it back and we'll fix it." He sends it back and it is returned to him with the turret beautifully repainted--but with issues #2 and #3 unresolved. He figures they must not have read the note he enclosed with the vehicle so he calls them up again. They tell him "No problem, send it back and we'll fix it." He does, and it returned to him with the hatches repainted but not a color that matches the picture...and without the missing machine gun pieces.
He makes a rare post here asking you, his fellow forum members if he is being too picky.
Your answers range from making fun of his spelling (rude, and not the point), two of you hijacking the thread to argue between yourselves about another issue (not the point, not helpful and not appropriate), ignoring the issues he raised and instead telling him the manufacturer does great work and gives great service (he already knew this, he started his whole post saying this himself--he's a fan, he has ordered for years, loves the product and has never had a problem until now - the point) and also telling him he should have tried to work it out with the manufacturer (he tried and felt it failed-again, the point).
MY point is that if a guy who rarely posts actually does post, maybe it would behoove the other forum members to encourage said member to continue to post more in the future by actions such as actually staying on topic, reading the question being asked thoroughly before popping off an off-the-cuff answer and actually being helpful instead of turning it into a critique of spelling and syntax or an opportunity to rah rah a manufacturer.
We are always encouraging collectors to join the forum as well as encouraging them to post and if this is the sort of response you see when you see someone giving it a try, why would you want to?
Now I'll answer the question as well, since I'm already posting anyway. This is my personal opinion as well as business opinion.
So there are three issues, two are dealt with already, and the third is easily resolved. Seems to me the place where this all broke down was someone missed the note outlining the details of what the problems were. Easy to do, easy to fix.
Personal opinion:
At minimum popping the missing machine gun pieces in the mail with a "Sorry, we must have missed the note you enclosed, here are the missing pieces," would no doubt satisfy the long-standing customer and lead to a happy ending. Done.
Better, would be also to refund the return shipping for at least the second return. Done and done.
Best would be to refund all the return shipping for the hassle the customer has experienced and send the missing pieces.
Professional opinion:
I don't know the CS's policies but Treefrog customers know that in this situation you would have gotten a choice to return or replace (we aren't a manufacturer so we don't have the expertise to repair) with a return tag sent to you for the 'not as expected' item either way.
All the above make for a happy customer-the goal of manufacturers and dealers alike.
