On the way back from Boeing yesterday....I stopped off the freeway at Southcenter and thought I would finally take my birthday gift certificate that my daughter bought for my 70th birthday...LAST JAN! ::) into a so called "HOBBYSHOP?" DAAAAA!!!
While two of the ass-cocheeezhits' VD~ were arguing with a customer who just a week before had bought a new high tech' wonder battery for his RC airplane. He was explaining to them that after landing...HE NOTICED SMOKE pouring from the fuselage of his model. (Luckily it hadn't damaged the aircraft...except he needed a glove to pull the hot battery out of the compartment.
Long story long or the short of it...HE HAD THE NERVE TO ASK FOR A REPLACEMENT FOR THAT BATTERY..from the shop owner.
Bottom line:
They said that they could send that battery back to the mfg. but IN NO WAY were they going to replace that battery by the new one in their showcase?
The customer just shrugged his shoulders and said...WHATEVER! GUESS I'LL HAVE TO DEAL the MFG ONLINE AND SHOP ON LINE FROM NOW ON....THANKS FOR NUTTIN!!!
He turned on his heels...and OUT THE DOOR HE WENT!
CUSTOMERS SERVICE AT ITS FINEST HOUR...NOT!
The story doesn't end there.....(I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut to the store personel)....but the years of working in customer service related business's before my Boeing life, as well as my wifes life long career in customer service and returns at REI....
I thought they needed a little refresher course in handling customer complaints....
Needless to say:
These words fell on some very very very very deft-numb-n-dumb earballs that could care less.
Hummm?
I still have my daughters $50.00 gift card to this sad sad state of affairs hobby shop in my wallet.
Perhaps I too...need to deal ON LINE FROM NOW ON?
R%%%%
James Dean, Bill Dan, Randy, John, Allan and Kelly....and rest of you grunts... H^^
Thanks for takin the time to share your Hobby Shop stories...and James, I too in my younger 1960 Portland Oregon daze...
I too must admit that I was a DELTA PARK DUMPSTER DIVER...and often found some pretty great finds. In those daze days I attended college at Portland State and Pacific U and worked part time straight 7% commission at Sandy's Camera shops.
These were the reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaallly mean and lean years when it came to not only feeding my self-soul and long time addiction to control line. I laughed when James mention the Dumpster Diving thang thing? LL~
If it wasn't for the DELTA DUMPSTER, and folks like the late Tim Dunlop, Gene Matheny and other great gifted soul mates such as Leo Mehl , Ben Madsen, Bob Emmett, Joe Dill, George Lieb, Gary Letsinger Jim Parson.....n' a legion of other equally gifted and addicted flyers.
For certain...
I would have given up the sport soooo long ago.... How fortunate I was to have so many of these SELFLESS SOULS around me during those formative CLPA days and even more surprising JUST TO SEE THAT EVEN TODAY...SO MANY OF THESE FOLKS...NEVER LEFT THE SPORT THAT THEY HAVE ENJOYED FOR ALMOST A LIFETIME.
However FAR AND AWAY MORE IMPORTANT AND PRECIOUS TO ME.....was my friends and peers in both sports...that have given their support and friendship during my recent helping hand sad attempt to return to CLPA again.
Bye the way James!
My lovely young girl friend in those days...was MADLY IN LOVE with the late JAMES DEAN.
She once showed up at my one room apt. on NW Flanders with a large grocery bag with a photo of JAMES DEAN glued to the outside of the bag.
I think she might have been serious when she asked me if I would wear it after we got back from our "out to dinner and dance date?" Hummm?
Important message on this photo of Jimmy D.
DREAM AS IF YOU'LL LIVE FOREVER.....LIVE AS IF YOU'LL DIE TODAY!!!