Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Ordered a tower muffler for my engine... first purchase I have ever made with Tower Hobbies. I ordered only the muffler, nothing else. Well instead of a 46 size muffler I end up 60/75 size muffler. So I sent that back to them after paying for shipping on their screw up... Well it's back at their facility (tracking on package) so I called customer service. This is the second time I've called customer service and the second time I end up with a snobbish (sounds like they hate their job) representive. They tell me it takes about a week to process. So, basically it's gonna take 2+ weeks to recieve the part I ordered.

I will never place an order with this company again.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Very odd, I've had nothing but GREAT service out of Tower Hobbies.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Same here. They even once sent me an extra part which I didn't order and when I called to ask what they wanted me to do with it, they told me to keep it.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

I too have ordered a LOT of stuff from them and have had nothing but excellent service. However, I have not had to call them, so I cannot comment on their phone support. They took care of me the first time, everytime.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

/

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Wow - Sorry to hear that. I have been buying from them since the 70's I believe. I can remember when the were just starting. (At least that is what my old brain is telling me). I cannot remember ever having a problem with them.

It is worth noting that the bigger a business gets the more red tape gets involved;)

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

TOWER is the best! If you explain your situation to them thoroughly on the phone they will take good care of you. They do a very careful, item by item review of every phone order with me to make sure that I KNOW what I had just ordered. This check has revealed mistakes that I HAD MADE. They even inform me of better deals on bulk quantities that have saved me lots of money in the long run. They are here to please!

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Bummer you had a bad time with them. They have always been great with me too. The one time I got a crappy phone rep, I asked to talk to her manager and he took care of the problem. Not worth dealing with a $5 an hour person that doesn't know the answer and can't make a decision when the boss is one step away. Better luck in the future.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

2 months now and i'm still waiting for my order to come here in greece - i'll never place an order to Tower Hobbies



do u guys have a list of european hobby shops ?

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

just from curiosity i sent them another mail before 10 minutes and this is the reply

Ημε�ομηνία: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 17:56:41 -0500
Από: "Tower info" <[email protected]> Î*Ï�οσθήκη στο Βιβλίο διευθÏ�νσεωνÎ*Ï�οσθήκη στο Βιβλίο διευθÏ�νσεων
Î*Ï�ος: [email protected]
ΘÎ*μα: Re: problem with my order

Dear Tower Customer,

Thank you for writing Tower Hobbies. A trace on your package has
proved unsuccessful. We apologize for the inconvenience. We can issue a
refund for the order or send a replacement. Please note that if your
lost order was shipping to an International destination and you wish to
have a replacement, we must ship the replacement to an address in the
United States. The other option would be for you to pay the UPS charges
to have your package delivered to your country. Please let us know as
soon as possible if you would like a replacement or refund. Please be
advised that future orders can only be shipped to an address in the
United States or via UPS to an International address. Unfortunately, we are
no longer able to ship your orders via United States Post Office to an
International address. Please note that there is a $25.00 deposit for
all UPS shipping quotes. This is not the cost of the shipping, this is
the fee paid for us to find the cost of the shipment which will be
considerably more. This deposit must be paid up front on a credit card and
is refunded if you opt to use UPS and is not refunded if you chose to
cancel the order. If you choose a UPS replacement, please be aware that
UPS international shipping is only available on in stock merchandise. A
refund will be issued for any merchandise not in stock at our central
warehouse location at the time we issue the replacement order. Please
submit future orders via fax or email and request UPS shipping at the
time you place your order. Failure to do so will result in your orders
being canceled automatically. We appreciate your time and your business
with us.

-Tower Hobbies
http://www.towerhobbies.com

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Thats a shame ,your missing out on a very good company with alot of RC
related items ,but thats ok you can order from who you like and maybe pay more and still get the runaround .Just remember chit happens .As for myself i'll keep on buying from tower as long as i'm in this hobby.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

[:o]

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Put yourself in TOWERs' place, your overseas order is more trouble to them than what it is worth, [with all the possible ways that there are for it to fail]. I have had my own deliveries to foreign countries"lost" also. If I were you, I would go through RUSSIAN model suppliers, they are much closer to you.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

25 years with Tower and nothing but great service until this week. My priority shipment will take no less than 6 days. It took 3 days to process the order before it shipped. And now it appears another 3 days for USPS priority shipping. They did refund the fee for priority shipping. But, for an E-business that lives and dies on prompt shipping, and to the RC community which often needs parts yesterday, this type of delay is not acceptable. I fear I might be witnessing the beginning of the end of a giant that revolutionized RC in this country. The door is open. If another distributor should gain such a sterling reputation as Tower once had, then I can imagine their customers being loured away, one by one. It happens, ask IBM.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

I have ordered four kits and all the materials required from them since January... Nothing but great service.. the website is top notch and the prices are hard to beat anywhere... Can only say great things about them.. Sorry you had trouble, but it would be to your benefit to give them another chance...Fred1232[&:]

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Nothing but great service to me,,in many years Ive gotten 2 bad items, 1 was repaired and 1 was replaced AND the repaired item had nothing wrong with it,it was a rx that I hooked up to the only bad servo Ive ever gotten:eek: and the replaced item was a fuel pump that the handle was stuck on they sent another and told me to deep that one, turns out I just didnt crank it hard enough and it was just stuck....so actually no bad items except that one bad servo and it sat for a year or so before I tried it.....and I have sent them a lot of money...Rog
oh and if your online at your wishlist they are looking at the same screen as you are to make sure the order is right while taking the order..

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

orderd a tower HD 12v starter the one that came had a small

crack on th end cap, the phone rep said for me to keep it

"pefectly good starter" and they next dayed a new one at no

extra charge !:D

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

I bought a kit this winter and was short three of the cowl screws(did I spell that correct?). I called Tower and spoke to young man that told me I would have to purchase a bag of 25 screws for about five bucks. I explained to him that they were missing from the hdw package and felt that I should not have to buy 25 screws. He told me that it had been over 30 or 60 days since I had made the purchase and I would have to pay for them. At this point I was not going to be freindly with him anymore and told the little jerk how I felt. I explained to him that I had purchased over a $1,000.00 worth of product from them in the past year alone and that I would never give them another dime of my money. I can't believe that they were so willing to lose a customer over 3 screws. I have a hard time dealing with people like that. I am a regional service/warrant manager with a national millwork company and know that your better off giving someone a five dollar part that you honestly don't owe them rather that loose a customer for forever. I always look at it this way, if someone is going to argue with you over a nickel you won't have a chance when that nickel becomes a fifty dollar bill. They need to send there people Dale Carnagie training or something.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

How many orders would you say TOWER processes in a day? If they drop the ball one time in a thousand, you will undoubtedly hear about it here. Unfortunitely when it does happen, it seems to the individual involved that they do that sort of thing routinely. If you don't like the direction that a service rep is taking you, then calmly ask to talk to the supervisor. I know of too many cases where they made the customer happy even though the customer could have been at fault.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

basically one time I ordered a plane from them and it had two left wing panels I called them up and told them about it. two days later i have a new set of wings right and left. I didn't have to pay anything and they didn't care what I did with the pannels I had. they are a great buisness and I have been ordering from them starting from my first plane in jan of 99 I still to this day haven't had any other problems with them . in fact I ordered something from them two days ago and I will probably have it on mon. Anyway I'm sorry you had trouble with them .

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Quote:

---

ORIGINAL: dolsen

I bought a kit this winter and was short three of the cowl screws(did I spell that correct?). I called Tower and spoke to young man that told me I would have to purchase a bag of 25 screws for about five bucks. I explained to him that they were missing from the hdw package and felt that I should not have to buy 25 screws. He told me that it had been over 30 or 60 days since I had made the purchase and I would have to pay for them. At this point I was not going to be freindly with him anymore and told the little jerk how I felt. I explained to him that I had purchased over a $1,000.00 worth of product from them in the past year alone and that I would never give them another dime of my money. I can't believe that they were so willing to lose a customer over 3 screws. I have a hard time dealing with people like that. I am a regional service/warrant manager with a national millwork company and know that your better off giving someone a five dollar part that you honestly don't owe them rather that loose a customer for forever. I always look at it this way, if someone is going to argue with you over a nickel you won't have a chance when that nickel becomes a fifty dollar bill. They need to send there people Dale Carnagie training or something.

---

Spent thousands.. Not one issue to report. Like everyone else when something has happened to an order I have been taken care of.. Just remember this- (Never take a no from someone who can't give you a yes.) And next time just go to Lowes for three tiny screws..:D

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

Have to chime in with the others, they sent me the wrong crystal and when I called them they sent the new on with the correct freq the next day and told me to keep the wrong one. Still have that extra Xmit crystal and no rec for it, someday will have to buy it's mate.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

I once placed a rather large order with them. One of the items I ordered was some fuel tubing (couple of bucks worth). It was even on the packing slip--fuel tubing. But, there was no tubing in the box. Instead there was a 4.8 V 1200 MAH rx battery. Needless to say, I didn't complain!

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

kom- they want to use UPS so that they will have a positive tracking system to assure delivery or locate a lost part. All too often people, not necessarily you, claim they have not received merchandise sent to them that they actually have. This is fraud and Tower has to protect themselves from that. Yes, you and I and the rest of the modeling community have to pay for the thieves in society just as we have to make up for shoplifters and check bouncers and the like. Please don't take it personally, I'm sure it is nothing like that. The only time I have had a problem with Tower was over a credit card, mine was too full. My fault, actually my bank had not credited a payment in a timely manner. I just shifted the charge to another card and all was OK. They were very friendly at all times. I hope you can straighten this out and try them again.

RE: Warning about Tower Hobbies
 

i have been ordering from Tower and they are probably the best hobby dealer that i have come across. i have ordered everything from trucks to airplanes and.... nothing but great service.