Getatrowel II

[drpeterwardle]

I note that there is a thread on Britarch about getatrowel. This thread contains second hand complaints about getatrowel.

Peter Wardle

[garybrun]

I posted a link over to here Peter.

http://www.ukdfd.co.uk
Recording OUR heritage for future generations.

[drpeterwardle]

I/we have made a test purchase from getatrowel so that we can see just what the service is like for ourselves.

What I would like to report is that I have not recieved the trowel within their normal despatch service of 2 days plus time for postage.

I have emailed them......

I will let everybody know what happens

Peter

[drpeterwardle]

I have been doing a bit of research about trowels available on the net. There are lots of suppliers of "archaeology" trowels and it is often unclear if they are the real thing.

The best bargain can be found at http://www.norgeo.co.uk and I think they are in fact a Marshall Town. It is described as a one piece forged trowel so should be OK.

I suspect that in fact the price of this trowel will be increased very shortly .......

Peter

[BAJR Host]

Have jsut had an email from GaT. I have asked them to post here.

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[drpeterwardle]

Sorry guys at getatrowel: nice idea but, as often the case, delivery is another matter.

Regret I have to report my order has not arrived within the 14 days that getatrowel quote. Neither have they responded to my emails asking when it will be delivered.

At present the page http://www.getatrowel.co.uk/bajr says the trowel is out of stock. On the main pages the trowel is indicated as being in stock.

I cannot therefore recommend that anybody buys from this company because:
1. They do not give their postal address
2. They are not contactable by phone (it has not been possible to contact them by phone since 1/6/2007 – but today I was actually able to leave a message!)
3. Their terms of business contradicts what they say in the pages when you actually buy the product ie allow 28 days as opposed to 14 days for delivery.
4. They do not respond to emails.
5. There appears to have been a general problem since Christmas.

I have done some investigation about the economics of trowel sales and I have to say I am not happy about paying a premium when there is such poor service.

We do still have Cotswold Archaeological Tools but I always think competition is healthy. So would anyone like to fill the void …..

Alternatively getatrowel could contact their customers and post something more on BAJR so we might have confidence in them.

Their last post said on 15/5/2007

“Hi

We are replying to every user individually now and about to update the site to explain things. There is no availability to call us; we cannot receive calls and voicemails are not being received, this will be resolved too.

All orders up to the end of April are dispatched now and the May orders are being sent out tomorrow.

Those of you who have requested refund will get them if still required.

Personal problems have caused the dispatch issues but the lack of communication is abhorrent and I apologise profusely. The dispatch and stock management is being handed over this week as our current situation has not been managable. A number of personal events have caused massive disruption here and impacted on customers too much. We dont want this sort of thing to impact upon you, so we are investing in a faster, more efficient solution.

I apologise unreservedly and ashamed at how disappointed our customers are, we have prided ourselves on speed and honesty in the past, and it pains me to read this thread.

As I said, all orders are coming out now and should be with you any day.

Thanks,

Ian”

Its such a pity ….
Peter Wardle

[uncle andy]

recieved this today:


Apologies from getatrowel.co.uk
July, 2007
This email is being sent to you from getatrowel.co.uk, as you have ordered from our website in the last month or so.

An explanation
Why we let you down
As you may be aware, getatrowel.co.uk has been going through a difficult time of late. First of all, let me apologise wholeheartedly for the distress and discomfort you have experienced in trying to purchase your archaeology tools. It is painful to write this email because we have prided ourselves on fast, efficient turnaround as well as quick, reliable and friendly customer service.

Well, there are no excuses. Only explanations, which I hope goes some way to you understanding our plight of late.

As a small business, we have been massively aggrieved by a number of major setbacks.

Certain manufacturers have let us down with supplies and this has had a knock-on effect to you. However, this could have been communicated much more clearly to you.

With only a few of us working on getatrowel, a number of personal problems and a house move ended up causing chaos and discomfort here- particularly with the end of the company internet connection which we expected to be back on within a few days. We have also had major problems with our phone service.

So what now?
All of the this doesn't help you get your goods! So, we have made some massive changes to getatrowel.co.uk to improve reliability and customer service:

* A new dispatch unit - we have a dedicated resource for postage & packing which will hugely increase the speed of delivery;

* New shopping cart coming soon;

* Many more website features to make ordering easier.

Many of you will now have received your orders, please accept this email as our sincerest apology. However, there are still a number of you who have not and do not want to wait any longer for your orders and understandably so. Therefore, we are happy to offer full refunds to you.

We expect all of our stock levels to be replenished within 12 days and all orders to be delivered within 3 weeks - hopefully sooner. If you do not want to wait, please email refunds@getatrowel.co.uk and we will give you your money back ASAP.

Again, many apologies to you for this lengthly inconvenience. Archaeology customers are the best in the world and have been so supportive of us since the very beginning. Very soon, we will find a way to pay you back. For now, please stick with us!

Kind Regards ,

Ian

Manager - getatrowel.co.uk

getatrowel.co.uk - supplies for archaeology


I suppose that it remains to be seen whether GAT can recover their reputation. It seems though that I have heard this story before.

[drpeterwardle]

I too recieved the email from getatrowel today. I have to say I am not totally convinced by it.

The suppliers cannot be totally blamed - yes they are out of stock of some types of trowel but not the one I ordered. If my trowel arrives with the time frame stated it will have taken six weeks.

I find an irony in their timing however - the suppliers are based in Sheffield so it remains to be seen what happens.

It is clear that getatrowel have been taking orders when they could not supply them within the 28 days they quote.

Peter

[BAJR Host]

I do think this is a lesson that Past Horizons Tools has looked at ... where you pay ONLY when the tool is ready to send... and you make an order THEN you get told exactly when it will arrive...

I feel quite bad about GaT... however there are people who need equipment now... not in some possible future

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[drpeterwardle]

28 days have now lapsed since I ordered from getatrowel the maximum time they say should be allowed for delivery.

Be warned!

Peter