Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Has anyone else had problems getting in touch with Great Northern Models? I ordered some replacement tires last Sat. (2/9) and have sent E-Mails asking if they have been shipped and get no response. I have also called about 20 times this week and they NEVER ever answer the phone. What experiences are the rest of you having?

Bob

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I had a very very bad experience with them and would never use them again.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

heck , i am waiting on parts since aug of 06'

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Might be a Canadian thing since our dollar has shrunk.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Please do not associate Greath Northern Models with the rest of us. If you want service from a Canadian vendor, try Altecare, or Helijet.

"a Canadian thing" geesh, what a way to troll.

Dale

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Bob,
I have a set of brakes on back order with them since Sept 07. I inquired via e-mail in Oct 07 about the status of my order. They responded that they would know something the next day and would get back to me. I havent been able to contact them or get a response since.

Cody

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

i shot them an email last week about their propane regulator valve, asked if they had it in stock and if so could they get it shipped out that day. about 10 min later i got a reply saying 'We MIGHT have one and we MIGHT be able to ship it out today'.....................so I've got one on backorder from Todd at Dreamworks and it's very likely that i MIGHT not bother with GNM again.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I'm obviously incredibly sorry to hear this. I have been preaching these guys for a long time......... I hope whatever is going on gets resolved.

I do know they owners have had their fair share of personal tragedies, maybe the juggling just became too overwhelming. I hope outstanding funds get resolved to the extent that they can.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

It was your comment on their regulator why i inquired with them first.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

long time ago i mail them asking some goods...after a time of no feedback they just didnt make me feel safe...i also try to call them!

..from greece this cost a jet!:)...they just didnt care..

i add them to my black list since then.them and the OMP guys for other goods(i payed plane never arived)!


after i gaved a go with dreamworks...my money where always safe there and ill never let go this shope!

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Hum... Something is not rigth. I got my pst panther from them about a year ago. Of course I also make sure the guys of helijet knew the deal. But I never got any problem at that time. I heard few times they were having some personal problems, but the bussines was not badly afected just got a bit slower.

Alex

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I agree with Alex, I received my Panther from Ed and also numerious sets of wheels and brakes. All over several transactions, never a problem and all came in promptly.

Ed and his wife run this business as a side job, perhaps they are having a problem????

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I have placed orders with Ed myself for some time. My first set of wheels did take a long time to get here. Then again they were being shipped to him from Australia. Wasnt Eds fault they had back orders there too. I have not had an issue with GNM. There was the fact that they were burried under snow not too long ago. So I shot him a fax with my questions and he promptly return my email and calls. Great guy and Im sure like the rest of us depends on others for his supplies also. I would not hesitate to order from him anytime.


" Success in everything we do will always be in direct proportion to the intensity of our effort.........SAFETY FIRST".....

Albert Flores
General Manager
Comertex Corporation
Brownsville, Tx 78520

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I just received my order from Great Northern. It took a little longer than usual due to some family problems for them. But, I'm stiill a happy customer!!!


Wayne

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Ed has always been great to deal with. It might take a day or two to get a response, but a reply you'll get.

I'm a happy camper with my dealings with ED.

Dave

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I also had some problems with them, But Sean,, Chewed my ***** about it then another guy did also .Sean then offered to LEND me the parts i needed:( maybe he can do the same for all of you?:D

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Chewed ass?? Me?? [X(]

What do you need? I've got a lot of chit here for sure!

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Good Evening

I would have replied to this thread a couple of weeks ago, but was pre-empted by the death of my Uncle.

As Terry said, GNM is a home based business that is run by me with the help of my wife. The last six months or so have been trying due to projects around home needing completion and the ever increasing demands of our now two year old son(How time flies!). Both my wife and I have full time jobs as so we are not always able to answer phone calls during the day. I do try to return phone calls/e-mails the same day, but I don’t always get to them before late in the evening. I am arranging to have a service that can take calls for me during the day and relay the messages to me electronically, but that is still a couple of weeks away. In the meantime I am filling the orders that are coming in, reviewing/clearing up outstanding orders as quickly as possible and working on some product development projects. I need to continue to work at being more prompt in my replies to inquiries though.

In response to some of the comments made here:

Cody – Please send the wheel set back and we will give you a full refund.

KC36330 – I replied to your e-mail at 1:30 or so from my Blackberry. Since I wasn’t in the office and very close to the UPS cut off time, I didn’t know if I could get back to get it out. As for not having any valves, I had 30 in stock ready to go, both with and without gages.

Bob1393 – I’ll call you shortly

Kerr Jr. – Couldn’t find any backorders for you. Please let me know what was missed.

For reference, the best way to get hold of me is via e-mail([email protected]) which is forwarded to my Blackberry. When I get the answering system up and running, that will go to the Blackberry as well. Orders can always be placed though our website at www.greatnorthernmodels.com and there is a field for any special instructions during check out. We process all our orders off line and we do review each order and advise if there is a shortage. Over the summer we will also be adding stock counts for items so that you can see what and how many of those items we have in stock.

I hope this clears things up some what. We will continue to work at getting better a supplying quality items at the best prices.

Sincerely,
Ed

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

i do realize personal problems arise and delay things for any small business but it's now over 30 days from when i inquired about the stock of the valve so you'll have to forgive me if i back ordered it from Dreamworks and although it took 3+ weeks i got it last week.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

No Problem. That is the nature of the retail world.

Sincerely,
Ed

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I have written a lot of emails during the last 3 weeks but nobody answered me. I also called by phone.... answering machine.... and I'm calling from Italy.

Please cancel my order
Order ID: 1822

Alessandro

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

This is my 2 cents. I started in jets in the spring of 2008. I built my jet that winter. I needed wheels and brakes for my model and was directed to GNM by someone (I forget who) on this board. So I went to the website and found what I needed. The website did not indicate whether they units were in stock or not so I assumed that they were. Order placed. At this point I have no idea what the size of the company is. But really, that should not matter. Service is service.

So, 4 weeks go by. No wheels, no communication, no nothing. I was getting ready to maiden so I fired off an email to GNM. No response. I send a second email. No response. I called and left 2 messages over a 2 day period. Nobody returns the call. Then, like the OP'r, I posted a question in the jet forum. Most of the responses were of a negative nature. One of the responders was Todd from Dreamworks. I called him the next day and he hooked me up. No drama.

Then I emailed GNM to cancel my order. Mrs Ed (Ed's wife, I don't remember her name) called me back within 15 minutes. She told me that my items just came in from Australia and that Ed was at UPS sending them to me as we speak. I told her to please cancel the order as there was no communication from them and due to that I had gotten my parts elswhere and she better get ahold of Ed to stop the shipment. Well, it was to late and the wheels arrived a week later.

I wound up eating the UPS to send the parts back. But that doesn't really piss me off. What pisses me off is the lack of communication. I don't care if the business is part time, full time, 1 person or 600 people. If you want to be in business, act like it. There is NOTHING that pisses people off more than not answering their emails or phone messages. Nothing. And what does it take to do that? Nothing.

I could understand a small business and a family problem. Once. Maybe twice. But that is the way that GNM operates every day. If they have the parts in stock, they get shipped. GREAT! But, if the parts are not in stock, you get no email, no phone call, no answers when you email or call in enquire. All I wanted to know is that the parts were not in stock but that in week, 2 weeks or month I would have them. That fine! What am I going to say? Just tell me.

You know, I own a business too. Not as small as GNM. But not big either. We have 17 people. My company manufactures custom furniture. And yes, we do have a screw up or delayed delivery once in a while. If that happens, the FIRST thing that I do is call the customer personally and say "I am SO sorry but we made a mistake and screwed up your fabric and you won't get the sofa for another month". What is the customer going to say? They usually say "oh, that's alright, we understand". It actually gets to the point that they are telling me not to feel so bad! That's what they say. But if I duck them and don't tell them whats going on, they get pissed. Real pissed. And I deliver the sofa and they never order another thing from me. Niether does their kids of their friends or neighbors.

Obviously, reading this thread got me going. Sorry to rant. Everyone have a Happy and Safe New Year's Holiday!

Jim

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Oh yeah, one more thing. Ed's statement saying "That is the nature of the retail world" is totally off base. The retail world is bending over backward to retain customers, not alienate them. For someone to make a statement like that means that they just don't care. Ed should say I'm sorry I dropped the ball and I will fight for your business next time. What can I do to make this right. And the statement about the Blackberry and answering service is the same malarkey I got when I had a problem last spring.

Jim

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

I believe his quote "That is the nature of the retail world" is in response to KC36330 saying he got what he needed elsewhere.

RE: Problem contacting Great Northern Models
 

Thomas,

I am sure that it is in response to KC36330. My point is that if retailers or any business for that matter had an attitude like that, they would be out of business. If every time you lost a sale to a competitor you said "it is what it is" or " that's retail" you would never make money or be successfully. You have to fight for every sale. And if you lose one, you have to figure out why you lost it and never let it happen again.

Now, I know that GNM is run as a side business. But that is no excuse for incompetence. Ed is making a profit on the items they sell. He is not doing us a favor and giving us parts at cost. And he aggrevates a fair number of potential customers causing orders to be lost to the competition and then just justifies it to himself by saying "that's the nature of retail".

You know the saying " if it's worth doing it's worth doing right". All he has to do is return emails. Even if he said "I am having a personal crises, I will get back to you next week" that would have made me a happy customer. With email and Blackberrys today it isn't so difficult.

Bottom line. GNM is not run like a business. It is run at a level that is something less than a hobby. If you have had good experiences with them, then continue to do so. If you are asking "what's up with GNM", you have some opinions in this thread.

It is New Years Eve. I am going out and having a good time!

Jim