A word of caution...

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Shortstuff

Feeling the Heat
Jun 5, 2008
461
Southeastern MA
I ordered a new igniter for my stove on Tuesday from Woodheatstoves.com and within a few hours got a confirmation of my order. I then received another email from them on Wednesday informing me that the part is not in stock so they have to order it. I replied to their email asking how long this might take and they never replied. I called their office yesterday and spoke with a young man who was putting 2 stoves away (warehouse worker?) who said he would check on it right away and call me back in 15 minutes. He never called me back. I then emailed their company again last night to find out what was going on with my order and still no reply. So I just called them and talked with another young man who looked into it and found out that my order had been canceled. I asked him how that is possible if I never canceled the order and he didn't have any idea. He checked and found both emails I had sent and found that nobody there had replied to me.

So the order was canceled by somebody so now I'll go out and purchase it locally. Just a word of caution for anyone who may decide to do business with this company.
 
So did they give you a credit back? Assuming you used a card or paypal. :roll:
 
I'm not sure, but I think a Mr Gault from Wood Heat Stoves is a regular on these forums. May want to look him up. If it is him, Im sure this is not the kind of experience he wants his customers to have.
 
bad business practices
 
More than likely an automated system that wasn't up to date, I've seen several that acknowledge having received an order. However that doesn't always mean the part is in stock.

In fact none other than Home Depot sent me an order receipt acknowledgment yesterday afternoon but today they discovered that my Home Depot Card had expired due to inactivity late last year. I just got off the phone with them and the order is back in.

Dave has always tried to help folks here.
 
smilejamaica said:
bad business practices

Better to assume bad business practices than an honest mistake by what obviously is a small, customer service oriented company doing their best to succeed in e commerce. Typical whiny negative assumption from this new America who'se name is "entitlement"
 
Frank, you must stop stealing my lines.
 
Yup, Gio. I'll see you on the bread line soon, comrade. Too many years in retail for me I think. I got a call today from someone who gets fuel oil via DSS HEAP programs. He was a friendly guy and we got to talking. He was describing his new home theater, fishing boat and vacation home down south. I also get HEAP customers showing up to get their free wood pellets driving $40,000 trucks and talking on $400 cell phones. Drives me nuts. I work just hard and good enough to not get any of the free cheese....if this thread continues like this it will end up in the ash pan. My primary concern is that Dave from Wood Heat Stoves keeps his excellent reputation sterling by attending to this customer (OP)
 
Franks said:
smilejamaica said:
bad business practices

Better to assume bad business practices than an honest mistake by what obviously is a small, customer service oriented company doing their best to succeed in e commerce. Typical whiny negative assumption from this new America who'se name is "entitlement"
umm ya . entitlement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entitlement bottom line is ........customer service is key .
 
I have sent several friends, coworkers and family members to Dave for stove repair items. I haven't heard anyone complain about bad service or defective items. What most like is his helpful videos and tech tips on the repair items. Not to mention the free manuals and service bullitins he has offered for free to us. I am sure Dave is on it and will remedy the issue what ever it was that went south.
 
I'm only posting exactly what happened in my effort to purchase a product online at what I thought was a reputable dealer/store. Most online stores that I do visit and make frequent purchases from do indicate on their website whether or not the product is in stock. Had I known that they did not have any in stock before I purchased the item, I would have found an alternate source. It's no big deal only because my igniter hasn't failed yet, but I want to replace it as soon as possible. What bothers me is the customer service side of the story. My first email I got no reply. I made a phone call and was promised a call back in 15 minutes (I gave him my cell phone number) and no call. Another email and no reply. Then I made another call today to find out my order was canceled and I wasn't even notified about it.

From what I'm reading, this is a reputable company and my purchase turned out to be a bad experience, but this is still not a good way to treat a customer. A little courtesy can go a long way. And yes I did use my credit card and have already notified my credit card company about this purchase so I'm not worried about reimbursement.
 
Shortstuff said:
I'm only posting exactly what happened in my effort to purchase a product online at what I thought was a reputable dealer/store. Most online stores that I do visit and make frequent purchases from do indicate on their website whether or not the product is in stock. Had I known that they did not have any in stock before I purchased the item, I would have found an alternate source. It's no big deal only because my igniter hasn't failed yet, but I want to replace it as soon as possible. What bothers me is the customer service side of the story. My first email I got no reply. I made a phone call and was promised a call back in 15 minutes (I gave him my cell phone number) and no call. Another email and no reply. Then I made another call today to find out my order was canceled and I wasn't even notified about it.

From what I'm reading, this is a reputable company and my purchase turned out to be a bad experience, but this is still not a good way to treat a customer. A little courtesy can go a long way. And yes I did use my credit card and have already notified my credit card company about this purchase so I'm not worried about reimbursement.

This sounds just like the local dealer I purchased my stove from, takes way to many calls to get anything done from him and I get none of the promised return calls from him with the information I was looking for. This is why I use web sites like Woodheatstoves.com and have had great service from these web sites.
 
I bought blower gaskets from Dave for a Quad and Mount Vernon Service was excellent was half the price of local dealer including shipping. Sorry you had problems
 
Shortstuff,

I think you should send a PM to "wood heat stoves" (aka Dave Gault) and explain the problem. I doubt he is even aware of the problem. Give him a chance to explain, or make it right to you.

He seems to be a very nice & helpful guy. Gives discounts to hearth.com members if you contact him about something you need, and even sends out service books for free to people who ask for them.
 
imacman my intention was just to find out how long it might take to get my igniter in hand. As you may know I made a post last week about how my igniter was appearing weak so I thought I would throw a new one in before it got any worse. But as you see I didn't get the courtesy I think I should have gotten. Again, I'm sure they probably are a good company but for some reason they already canceled my order so I already called and can get one locally for the same price.

I'm almost sure it was an oversight on their part, but as a paying customer and even though it was only $70, a little consideration can go a long way with me.
 
Yes it's hard to get good customer service some times. I agree.
Pride is something we learn just like courtesy, and common sense.
Some don't like to learn.
Hope it all worked out for you in the end.

Hey Franks, looks like you live just south of me(actually I'm just over the lake on the north shore near Belleville, Ontario)
Sounds like we all have some of the same problems and thoughts about them too.

Happy Burning.

~Stan
 
marine5068 said:
Yes it's hard to get good customer service some times. I agree.
Pride is something we learn just like courtesy, and common sense.
Some don't like to learn.
Hope it all worked out for you in the end.

Hey Franks, looks like you live just south of me(actually I'm just over the lake on the north shore near Belleville, Ontario)
Sounds like we all have some of the same problems and thoughts about them too.

Happy Burning.

~Stan

Yeah Stan, we're just trying to catch up with the rest of the socialized world..then its New World Order time baby! Hey, if your ever shooting down 81, we're just 1.5 miles off the road before you hit Syracuse. Feel free to stop in and say hello.

Also, Imac, I did send a PM to Dave when this thread first started, hopefully he's all over it.

To the OP. I was not criticizing you at all. You just told your story. I was shooting at the one liner trolls who responded to you.
 
Oh I know Pyro and I wasn't taking anything personal.
 
There has NEVER been a product or establishment which I have dealt with that has not had some negative reviews on the internet...never! You can find negative reviews on Amazon for every product made.......

Here's the deal - but before I get to that, those of you with the "entitlement" BS, please shut your mouths! I mean it. If you need to go to your rightie forums or any other web site and spout the same old chit, do it.

If you want to be deleted as a member here, just let me know. In fact, you don't even have to do that - just go away! Your rightie rants have absolutely NOTHING to do with a stove company being crazy busy and behind the eight ball in the middle of the season. Nothing. Nada.

So, a company or person dropped the ball on a part. On a single transaction. Big deal. Maybe shorty wants them to go out of business and live under a bridge? Maybe he wants to make sure he takes food out of their mouths? Maybe folks want to make sure no mom and pop businesses are left, because these business are not "six sigma" and sometimes mess up....

Either way, I think all that needs said is said. These boards are not really for the complaint dept - and definitely not for the rightie "complain about entitlements" dept. That's fox news....turn it on and leave the board please.

:vampire:

Oh, did I mention you make more work for me and the moderators.
Thanks!
 
FYI, in case I was misunderstood.....

1. Political comments don't belong in a regular thread.
2. Basic everyday complaints are certainly OK, but it seems to me that unless someone takes your money, calls you a A-Hole, and then refuses to refund it......that basic understanding and communication will go further toward settling the matter than trying to ruin a businesses reputation.......

I could find plenty of stuff to complain about everyday. For instance, my hot tub circ pump broke the other day. I could have bought one online for 150 and replaced it in 1/2 hour, but I decided to call the company I bought the spa from. I told them I had diagnosed it (definitely needed a pump), and asked the service dept how much said pump cost. They said $200 and that they would be out later in the day.

When they installed it, the bill was $350 with tax, etc.
Turns out the pump only was a little over $200.

Now, why would the service dept.....at the same exact moment when they were scheduling the visit, tell me it was $200? I didn't tell them I want to replace it myself, and 95% of their customers surely would not be able to do it?

Maybe it's me....but I didn't complain about the bill. The company has been good to us during the warranty period and I know that they are not getting rich even at the 350...when the truck and everything else is figured in.

Maybe the holiday season is over and "good will to all men" has ended?

Anyway, my main point was about the entitlement BS finding it's way into serious threads. This has nothing to do with that. It probably has more to do with the way hearth business operate - they can easily do 10X as much business in one month than another. Stuff falls through the cracks......it always happens.

As to the boards being used for product and merchant complaints, I'd rather solve problems (in general). The stove rating area let's people complain ONCE about their stove or fireplace or dealer, etc....

Sorry for blowing off steam......
 
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