heliworld.com?
 

has anyone bought from here? if so would you say they have good cutomer service/shipping times/quality for their products?

RE: heliworld.com?
 

That goes to some german website.

http://www.ronlund.com and http://www.heliproz.com are two of the top retailers for customer service and good prices in the business.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

sorry here is the link http://www.heli-world.com/default.aspx

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Alwys been happy with my Purchases form all three....except the Maverick blades from Heli-Proz (they caused a lot of flutter in a Rappy I had many years ago) but the FK's I got from Heli-World solved the problem.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

I got all of the repair parts and mods for my Schluter Helistar there but that was awhile ago. I had great service and they always had the parts i needed in stock. Again, that was awhile ago but they were my only supplier. Never needed to go anywhere else. Course, sometimes things change. :eek:

RE: heliworld.com?
 

I'd avoid them, personally. I ordered some parts on the 26th of Decemeber and still haven't gotten them. I've emailed just about all their contacts (with read receipts) and I get back the receipts that they're reading the emails, but no one is replying! I've checked and I'm not getting any emails dumped into my spam filters. I just ask them what the status of my order is, and I guess they can't be bothered to tell me.

They don't have any way to track packages other than emailing someone and asking them... and that seems to be fruitless. They initially had a temporary charge on my card when the order was placed, but it hasn't been charged since... and the order is still in their system. I can only imagine that something must be backordered, but it's simple spare parts that are in-stock and available in every online e-tailer and LHS in my area right now. I guess I could call them, but I shouldn't have to.

They were reasonably close and I was going to use them to buy all my parts (since they have a storefront and an online store), but I have no intention of ordering from them again. There are just way too many other places that offer better customer service and immediate tracking info.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

They have an 800 telephone number - why not try that. You do have a telephone I would imaging?

I have had similar things happen even with Heli-Proz and Rick's. But a telephone call always got it all sorted out.

Remember to err is human..etc.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

I could, and I will... my point is I shouldn't have to. I've gotten 2 read receipts from 2 different people at their location. Neither one took the time to answer me.

That's really all I need to know about their customer service skills.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Torqustar,

I hear you - but sometimes human error creeps into the equation.....even at HeliProz.

See this thread:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6901536/tm.htm

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Panzer,
I just ordered some upgrade parts from them because they have free shipping over $49 (This changes to $75 starting 1 Feb 2008).
I'll let you know what kind of service I get. I've been curious about them since I've been perusing the web looking for deals on the parts I want. They have a nice website. They are actually owned by the company they spawned 21 years ago; Century Helicopter Products. For some reason, as you are finding out, Century products aren't held in very high regard by a some frequent posters on RCU. Do more research beyond RCU and you'll find you get more objective advice.
Regarding HeliProz, I've only placed two orders with them, but based my experiences, I would recommend them to anyone. They were easy to order from, my orderd shipped within 24 hours and I had my orders two days later (They are just over in Billings, MT). They are just what I would expect from a reputable vendor. You'll find that they are talked-up quite a bit on RCU.

All IMHO,
Jeff

RE: heliworld.com?
 

As it turns out, the day I posted this I got an email from one of the people who I got a read receipt from (that ignored my original 2 emails). Coincidence? Hmmmm...

They said their system couldn't match the billing/shipping addresses. They emailed me a form that I needed to fill out to FAX to them to get them to proceed with the order.

Needless to say, I bought the stuff through Horizon Hobby, which ships out of a California warehouse and had the stuff in 2 days.

I don't need to be bothered by such an inept company. If they had told me right away that there was a problem, I'd have gladly worked with them to resolve it. Don't leave me hanging for over 2 weeks, ignoring emails, and THEN tell me your CC system wouldn't process my order.

So I stand by my original statement... I'd avoid these people.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Syclic,
I'm curious what that thread was. Just out of curiosity, I clicked on your link and got:

"This message has been deleted or moved, and therefore not available."

It guess it must not have been too complimentary of HeliProz. It is mysteriously gone. That is very troubling. I'd sure like to know why.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Torque,
I agree with you. 2 weeks for a response is ridiculous and unacceptable. I'm thinking (hoping, LOL) it was an isolated incident. No company can expect to stay in business if that is the norm. Was that your first order with them? Or have you had prior (better) experience with them?

RE: heliworld.com?
 

That was my first order with them. Obviously also my last.


EDIT: Something came to mind right after I clicked "submit" so I wanted to edit this... I had just, for the first time, ordered some parts from ReadyHeli.com a few days ago. Coincidentally, I was using a different card, but their system gave me an error about an address mismatch. It was about 8 or 9pm my time, and I emailed ReadyHeli and asked them what the problem was. Much to my surprise, someone named Jennifer emails me within 5 minutes telling me they recently changed some settings to accept some American Express cards which likely was causing me trouble. She told me to try again and let her know. I did so, and it didn't help. It was probably sometime between 9-10pm and I emailed her back letting her know it didn't work. There was a an automatic IP block in effect for fraud purposes at this point, and she told me to try again in an hour. I decided to go to bed and just try in the morning. I did and it worked... I emailed her and thanked her.

THAT'S service...

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Torquestar, good post, thanks!

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Well, as i had stated, unfortunately some times things change. I had very good service with them but that was early nineties. People retire i guess and new folks take over. What a shame.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Viper, I have found that heliworld/ century has good customer service if you know what you want. If you don't and ask questions they get a little lost most of the time. They've been that way for the 15 or so years I've delt with them. You must be a man that knows what he wants....:D

Ever then they did seem to make mistakes in shipping and often it seemed like something was lost in translation. They always did me right though.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

I always gave them part numbers. ;) Seemed to work for me.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Well, I said I would relay my first order experience with Helicopter World. I just got a UPS Ship Notification in my e-mail that the order I placed last night has shipped complete and I'll see it on Friday. So far so good by me.
They haven't run the charge on my credit card yet. I hope they don't forget...[sm=shades_smile.gif]

Jeff

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Well, I'm sure satisfied with Helicopter-World. On Friday, I got my order that I placed Tuesday night.
The order was correct, complete and well packed. I didn't have any CC/address problems, however.
I suspect that the root of your online ordering problems is your credit card/address issues.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

The true measure of an online retailer is how they handle problems. It's much easier when items are in stock or if the CC processes perfectly fine... But what if it doesn't? It's ok to ignore the customer for a couple weeks? Not in my book it's not.

I got a firsthand look at 2 different online retailers in one week, both of them with me being a new customer. Heli-world.com & ReadyHeli.com. Heli-world ignored me for 2 weeks when the CC didn't process... which I should note was NEVER mentioned during the ordering process. Usually you get an order confirmation, or some sort of email if the order is declined, etc... They're ordering system is a little "lacking."

Then we have Readyheli.com. Even though it was 8pm at night in California, meaning it was 11pm-12am at night where they are, I got an email back in 10 minutes letting me know what happened, when I emailed their support to find out why it wasn't working. Jennifer resolved it all that evening! I could have waited and placed the order, but I chose to just do it in the morning. When I did, everything was fine.

So, armed with that information, who would you rather go with?

RE: heliworld.com?
 

The one that has the stuff I want.

I expressed my view on the 2-week delay, etc. But there's always two sides to every story. I agree with you 100% that their ordering system is not as sophisticated as other e-tailers; No order confirmation e-mails (however, you can check status online). And no online tracking (however I got a UPS Quantum View e-mail w/tracker as soon as it shipped).
None of this posed a problem as I was in no hurry for what I got three days after my order was placed. A week or two wouldn't have bothered me.
If what I wanted was time critical, I would have handled my purchase differently. And possibly with another vendor.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Fair enough... But since it was my first experience with them, and they flubbed it pretty good, I won't be going back.

And it wasn't the week or two that I was bothered by. It was the lack of communication for a two weeks I had a problem with. I sent them 3 e-mails, asking them to please update me on the status of my order, since it was my first order with them and I wasn't sure how their system worked (if it provided tracking, etc). I got a read receipt showing they read it, but no answer. A few days went by and I tried again, this time emailing their sales email (since it was different than their "check status" email). Again, I got a read receipt, from someone else this time, and no reply. I then wound up sending an email to their tech support email, but never got a read receipt or a reply from them.

I just let it go because I wasn't in a hurry and just assumed the stuff was out of stock and I'd get it when I got it. At this point, though, I knew I wouldn't order from them again. Then I see this post about someone asking about them, and I said what I said.

That day, i got a reply from one of the people that had ignored me previously, saying they had an issue with my CC and I had to fill out a form and fax it to them for address verification. Being ignored for 2 weeks and then being told you have to jump through hoops to order from them was a bit much, I think. I ordered the stuff from another online vendor (with the same card mind you!) and it got processed just fine. Had the stuff 2 days later.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

Given the same circumstances, I would probably have made the same decision you have.

RE: heliworld.com?
 

I agree with Torquestar. My first order to Heli-World was processed fine. My second order though was not and I find their customer service to be very poor.

Of several items on my second order, a battery was out of stock, so they decided to just wait for it to come in without notifying me. After two and a half weeks, I sent two emails politely inquiring about the status of the order. Two days later I got the info about the battery being out of stock but was due in that same day. Three days later they emailed me to say they couldn't get the battery and should they send the rest of the order. I politely replied YES. Two days later they emailed again saying that they had received my money via PayPal (back when I placed the order on 12/27/08) but couldn't ship to me until my address was Confirmed on PayPal. My address is Confirmed on PayPal. I replied to cancel my order and refund my money. They replied that my order was cancelled, but I have not received any refund. I have filed a PayPal dispute to get my money.

This has been a real hassle and I will not order from them again.