Great Models... I love and hate them!

I had one baffling experience. I ordered one item plus a preorder. I received the in-stock in about 12 days. The preorder took some time to get in. No problem, except they charged me shipping again. The original order was $6.75 for two items, but they shipped me the one item for the full $6.75. I thought they wouldn't charge me for the second, but they did. I hinted at overtures about the second shipping charge and they asked me if I still wanted it, without an explanation as to why I was charged twice. Being the mouse I am and the fact it wasn't available at my LHS, I gave in. I'm so ashamed. I won't order preorders again. Yes, service isn't bad, but sometimes they seem confused.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

I've never ordered from them....Not saying I wont but I havent yet. If I do I'll be sure to keep the 10 dollar minimum in mind. When ever I order from a company I prefer calling them unless its overseas. Usually the first thing I do after I give them all the items I want and the quantities...I then ask if everything is in stock. If they dont know then I tell them to call me back but not to process the order until I know. If everythings not in stock I go with what the company has and move on to another for whatever the previous didnt have in stock.
Theres been a couple times Ive not gotten clear answers as to whether something is in stock or not...or they dont know when it will be in. May sound bad but I simply tell the person on the other end Thank You, but no thanks I'll get it from somewhere else. I do have some patience and dont mind waiting for things. My thought is if a company is going to get my money for an order and know when they are going to get it, then I better know when I am going to get everything I have just paid for. I dont like paying for an order and getting a few things and waiting a month for the rest to come in. They have all of my money I should have all of my order. With a few companies Ive noticed its just a sheer matter of laziness by someone not wanting to pick up the phone and find out for you. They rely to heavily on what that little computer screen says and thats only as good as the person who entered the info.

Often companies just aren't willing to go the extra mile. Then they wonder why sales slump or why they loose accounts. For Joe Schmoe who spends $25 versus GOLIATH HOBBIES who spends $5000 Joe often gets the short end of the deal and gets the run around. Why, well he's not spending as much. SO...Ole Joe just went and told 50 of his fellow club members what crappy service he got...Then Joe went and posted it on a BB....read by thousands. How much money did the company in question just loose? ALOT!

Sorry for being so long and a lil off topic....
Chris

To be fair-- I should mention Barbara at Customer Service is usually very good about replying to your emails and she did disregard the $10 minimum for me once-- although I still don't care for that policy.

I've been ordering from Greatmodels for years. Never had any major problems. What's funny is that some people say they are slow and hold back partial orders, well I just had the oposite.
I ordered a 1/350th Missouri, tweezers, and a PE set. They had the Missouri and tweezers, but the PE set was not in stock. I expected to wait a few to several days, but they sent the Missouri and tweezers out right away. Now the PE set (which came in a day or so later) is sitting there and doesn't meet the $10.00 minimum. LOL! Doesn't really matter, as I will order more stuff soon. Anyway, I like Greatmodels. Will continue to use their service.

James

How's that for some sham rage!

Styrene, I hope you're buying these items for Christmas 2004!

I've been waiting > 4 weeks for a handful of items from Greatmodels.com. All were in stock except for two, and they've been holding up shipping out until they get ALL the stuff in. "How long is that?" I asked. "Sometimes up to 2-3 months" is the reply. "Hey, I'm trying to build a model here. Just send what you've got" But the response was VERY reluctant to send out anything. I basically had to threaten to cancel the whole deal if they wouldn't send me at least some of the things I had ordered that were collecting dust in their mailroom, waiting to go out.

If you ask me, that kind of customer service really is POOR. The standard nowadays is that once a reasonable amount of items are ready for shipping, YOU SHIP THEM! You don't wait around, hanging on promises from aftermarket manufacturers before shipping the items a customer orders from you. They should be grateful for our business! What happened to the notion that companies once tried to please their customers?

If anyone from Greatmodels reads these forums, please make a point of improving your policies regarding partial shipments. I think I'll think twice about ordering fro them ever again. I'll look elsewhere first, and only buy from Greatmodels if they're the last company standing, or if I've got about a year to spare waiting for a shipment of decals.

They have their moments of brilliance, as well as their down-side. The $10 minimum shipment can be a bit of a pain sometimes, as well as their policy of showing "availability." If you read their disclaimer, the availability scale is the percent of the time they have been able to get the part or kit in the past, not weather they have it in stock or not. Not exactly an accurate system, if you ask me.
They're great strength is that they have some really obscure kits, and they can get alot of the rarer items. If you don't mind waiting for items, they are one of the best.

demono69

Wow. Thanks for the heads-up. Are they really that bad? I was planning on ordering some Aber and Eduard stuff from them based on a recommendation, and maybe some stuff for Christmas presents.
Gip Winecoff