stealth916

I'll be brief:

- Been a customer since 1996
- Tower has sent me three packages in the past month, every one of them packaged improperly.
- First item was a die cast semi truck, birthday present for my son. It was packed with no cushion in the outer box, got beat around in the huge box they sent it in, and arrived with the cab busted off the frame and all the screw bosses that held it on, were split.
- Second item was a Flyzone Fokker Micro, arrived in the same way but the factory packaging saved the airplane - wonderful little bird.
- Third item was a Flyzone Nieuport Micro, arrived with the motor gear train bound up and not turning, spur gear damaged.

The problem is that they take no care or pride in their packing. Then to make matters worse, when you receive the invariably defective product - you are now on the hook for the cost of return shipping, you are on the hook for the WAIT for them to get it before they replace it, etc. All of that might be fine if they took ANY pride in the warehouse and kept these problems to a minimum. Instead, they ship 100% defects, then expect their customers to subsidize their crappy quality control.

Over the years I have spent thousands of dollars at Tower Hobbies. There is no circumstance where I will ever patronize Tower Hobbies or *any* of their brands again. I will go out of my way to avoid Tower, Hobbico, et al. If you like a no hassle shopping experience, perhaps you should too...


SW
FAA Certificated

joehervey1984

thats about how long i been with them i have had same issues but my stuff never where broken. good luck, i just placed a order yesterday i have my fingers crossed my BIG box comes in fine.

Bill Vargas

My Feedback: (5)

I just have to ask,,, did you file your complaint to them?,,, and what did they say?,,, are they going to make it right?

BV

P-40 DRIVER

I've been buying stuff from Tower since 1987 and and never had an issue that was not taken care of. In that lenth of time, I have received one damaged item and it cost me nothing to send it back and get it taken care of. I think their customer service will resolve this issue for you.

Bill G

They sent me a landing gear assembly for a large scale plane, instead of a GP 30" Hellcat cowl. They took care of it quickly however, and sent the cowl in a few days with Priority shipping, and didn't want the landing gear returned. The packer should do a better job, but at least they took care of it free of charge. The person I contacted at Tower was polite and took care of the problem.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

I had some shipping issue's with them a few years back and when I called them they made it all right. Now when I order, my paper work is flagged for extra packing material and I have not had any issue's with them at all. Good Luck, Dave

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Just be thankful you didn't order it from China. While a few Chicoms will make it right, most others you are stuck or have to spend a lot more to send it back and then wait weeks,months or never to get it resolved. No one is perfect but at least with Tower they will make it right .

jayjay283

they always do that to me @ tower. A HUGE box with my purchases all rolling around, spray paint cans rolling on the new body etc. I live a few hours from tower so they must not give much of a crap about the giant boxes they send me. Put some of those damn inflated air packets in there

Silent-AV8R

FWIW, I just ordered two small items from Horizon. They came in a 10x8x8 box with two of those plastic air bags inside. Nothing was broken but my purchase (servos) were rattling around inside the box.

topspin

I wish they would do a better job of packing, they use way oversized boxes and stuff does rattle around inside. However, Tower will make good on it if you call them so before you say they suck try getting resolution first. That usually takes one phone call and it's settled.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

A company that size,, Time is money,, the S&R guys are running a sprint, they throw that stuff into a box asap, bag, tag and kick it down the conveor, they couldn't care less.

Obviously there are enough guys willing to tolerate the occasional broke part or Tower would change it.

Myself I've been lucky,, I placed a lager order a couple years ago, Had some Monokote covering a bunch of building material stuff, glue, hardware, a few servos, etc. but I also ordered a 7mah Gell cell battery. Of course the same thing they did nothing to secure it in or to the box, it was just banging around in there bouncing of everything else. Truth be told I'm surprised it didn't break through the box.

My last order from them http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11172583/tm.htm

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

Whatever the mess, Tower will fix it. If nothing else, they have great service....

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

Tower's shipping does make some bonehead mistakes, but the CS department always makes it right. It took them two tries to get me a couple 7ah gelcells with some other stuff - they broke out of the first box. Took THREE tries to get me a Giant Big Stik wing - finally got them to double-box it AND ship it from Reno, so UPS only had a day to beat it up.

They are always anxious to make it right. Too bad the shipping guys aren't as anxious to do it right the first time.

stoneenforcer

My Feedback: (23)

mistakes happen, period. ive done biz with tower since the early 80's when previous owners were at hand. takes a minute to call them and explain your issue to a rep and they are always quick to fix a mistake. sounds like you only want to rant and not give them the opportunity to right a wrong.

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

...quit shopping, and simply buy whatever your local hobby shop has in stock. You'll pay a little more, but you can inspect it before you buy.

FAA Certificated what?

AlmondRancher

I have been ordering from Tower Hobbies for several years. I had placed one order that was missing a MAS wood series propeller and some Dubro hardware and another order that had a damaged fuselage. These things happen. I made a phone call to Tower Hobbies and the problem was taken care of. I will continue to do business with Tower Hobbies.

- Allan B

AlmondRancher

Dave,
The extra packing material is not a bad idea. Did Tower Hobbies charge you for the extra packing material?

- Allan B


Edited for grammer.

impulse09

My Feedback: (3)

In my experience, they don't suck.

103/17

Had been buying from Tower since 1988. stopped doing business with them 4 years ago for the same reasons. Warranty is great once you get it solved and the parts sent. problem with warranty is I dont want the issues to begin with and tower has a consistent issue right now with these types of problems. I deal with horizon a lot lately and not only are the products of higher quality, ( hangar 9 vs great planes ) but I have never in the last 5 years had an incorrect or damaged shipment from Horizon. Thats a big deal for me. When Great planes used "chinakote" on their models a few years back and it all fell off, you would call and the customer service folks would swear it was monokote. finally I got in touch with an engineer on a chat board and he confirmed Great Planes had cheaped out and was being less then truthfull.........get me once shame on you, get me twice......I dont think so. It was the last straw for me. Tower lost a really good reliable customer, sounds to me like the culture hasnt changed. too bad.....

Boeing

My Feedback: (145)

IMO, Tower DOES NOT SUCK! I have been using Tower as my main supplier since there was a Tower. Over that time period, I have had almost no problems. The minor problems I have encountered were resolved quickly and to my satisfaction.

Perhaps you are like the Peanuts character that has the little black cloud following him where ever he goes.

oliveDrab

I have never ever been unhappy with Tower Hobbies products, packing, shipping, anything. I am always confident that when I order something from Tower, I'll receive it in a timely manner and I'll be satisfied.

poison

I have ordered many things from towerhobbies and never had any problems or damaged orders. I just got a shipment from them some wheels and tires and ya it came in a big box strange but it had bunch of bubble airpocket things for padding so TOWER DON'T SUCK!!!!!!!!!

PropsnWings

My Feedback: (9)

Hear that?  Thats me knocking on wood......... never had any issues here either.  Always great CS and great shipping.  

german67

How about patronizing your local hobby shop?
We use tower, gp, horizon and others, can match there prices and can help you avoid these problems

larrysogla

The last time I ordered from Tower Hobbies was about 3 years ago..........they were order after order in the span of one year and all the orders came in correctly itemized and accounted for and the shipping containers/packing were very well done and secure. Those multiple orders totalled around $5,000+ and I was a happy camper. I don't know why some orders are not being packed securely. If this is a recurring issue............Tower has to fix it quickly or else customers will flee to Horizon, etc. I guess when you have a business it is always quality control, quality control and pricing and pricing. 'Nuff said.
P.S. I am still a loyal Tower customer. I like their prices and their great catalog with the technical specifications. Can't beat it.