Unfortunately people here can make posts in haste which then are attributed to this site or the company they work for when the opinion is personal.

Yesterday's flap over the original supplier of the Hero’s rifles is another example of different posting styles.

I wanted to let people know the reason we had not delivered or made any statements about progress.

After I was told by one of the recipients the mfgr would call me right away and did not, I sent a fax to them that they acknowledge getting but not responding to.

Here is the text of that fax sent 2-20-02:

XXX: We have sent numerous requests on behalf of ourselves & our customers concerning our purchase orders, 110601JS1, 110601JS2 & 111401JS1.
One of our customers spoke to XXXXX the other day & told us she knew nothing about our order. It’s possible she didn’t know. I’ve sent faxes on Dec. 3 & 10, 2001, Jan. 17 & 24, Feb. 1, 10 & 14, 2002. I also called on Dec. 12 & 19, 2001 & Jan. 7, 2002.
Our customer called because he was concerned about our inability to give him any answer. I know my partner spoke to XXXX several times about the presentation AR rifles for NY City police officers that are members of AR15.COM. Hundreds of members of AR15.COM contributed money to this project to honor fellow members who gave so much of their time & were effected so personally. Thousands of members watched as the forum raised money to honor fellow members. That money was sent to us and an order was given to you. The rifles are to be presented at a dinner when they become available. Members of AR15.COM have asked us what happened to their money & we can only reply an order has been placed with XXX and we are waiting for a response.

We can not wait much longer. I will be out of town from this evening until next Wed night. Fax me a message concerning delivery of our orders or leave a message in our voicemail while I’m out of town. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.

X
Castle Arms

...continued

Every week my partner receives many inquiries about backordered accessories, on-order rifles or new rifles and for months he has had to give evasive answers because we could not get any replies. No replies and unfulfilled promises of shipments resulted in lost sales, which was bad business for everyone & certainly frustrating for the person stuck in the middle, my partner. The post he made concerning the mfgr was personal, he is through trying to sell their product due to inability to get answers.
The problem here is our company & particularly my partner was the taking the heat & the image of being unable to supply. In the mean time other dealers were telling us they were getting the same items & had ordered after us!

The other side of the story is the mfgr has told me they never got the Hero’s order but did have the other 2 I constantly inquired about. The mfgr told me they did not get the Heros order or my first 7 faxes inquiring about the orders. This despite my receiving a verified confirmation that the fax was transmitted without error. While this could be possible it’s highly unlikely. We were operating under the view that they did make unfullfilled shipment promises to us & told a customer they would call us Feb 19 & did not. When they didn’t call, I sent the fax above & they admit getting it but not responding.

I told my partner if we did not get a firm response by the time I returned from FL we would have to find a supplier/mfgr that could act in a professional businesslike manner & supply the rifles the members of AR15.COM had bought to honor their own.

We have cancelled the orders with the original mfgr for the Hero Rifles and placed it elsewhere. The new mfgr has told us they will rush it through in honor of who is receiving them & the spirit of the project.

I also indicated to the original mfgr we needed to work with suppliers that we had better ability to communicate with. They may in fact have a internal problem that allows them to receive selective faxes & keep them from picking up the phone.

I want to make it clear that Castle Arms wants to have professional, ethical businesslike relationship with their suppliers. We want consumers to make their own decision upon which mfgr's product to purchase based upon whatever critera is most important to them.

That may be clear, but it is still disappointing.

I hate to see what should have been a good relationship go bad over poor communication & followup.

We were very disappointed to constantly tell customers & potential customers we had no info & could not get any.

We covered up as long as we could until too many members started emailing & posting regarding their contribution. It seemed, let me stress that, [u]seemed,[/u] we were intentionally being ignored.  More so after customers would call us saying they got more info than us.

It would be nice if RRA were to supply their side of the story here.  So far they've been silent on this issue here.  Wonder why?

Grin said:



The key words in my book are: "act in a professional businesslike manner".  Business *is* personal, doncha think?

I hope it all works out...

edited for clarity...