Dear Matthew
Thought you might be interested to hear about the surprising lack of support I’ve had recently when trying to get a manufacturer of colour bonded frames in South Oxfordshire to rectify defects in the brown painted windows they supplied. Upon unwrapping the windows on site, we discovered that several of the bead corners were clearly showing white where the bead had been painted in one long length and then cut to size. There was a touch-up paint pot supplied, presumably for us to finish off such manufacturing sloppiness, but was the wrong colour, so I embarked on a mission to get a rep out to paint the exposed areas.
After repeatedly being fobbed off by MD’s son I pushed him for an actual time, day or even week when they would send some one out, he mockingly replied, “Well it should be this year!” -this was in mid-November, some four weeks ago, and it appears that even that derisive promise was a lie. That has been the most extensive support I’ve received from the company to date.
As a last-ditch effort to get some sort of assurance for my customer, I emailed to the three company directors demanding an actual date that they would send someone out and stated that failure to respond would leave me no option but to seek assistance from elsewhere and pass on the costs to them. That was two weeks ago, with no response from any of them. What kind of company treats it’s customers with such contempt?
Now, all this is frustrating enough as you can imagine, but the real kicker is that all the while my customer is refusing to pay for any of their windows, but the company supply me COD, so I’ve already paid for them, a cash-flow discrepancy which caused a great deal of stress and extra costs in managing, and that is why I’ve felt compelled to write to you and spread the story – we have enough headaches managing non payments from difficult customers, we don’t need sabotage from our suppliers as well.
In the end I gave up trying to get the company to care and bought the correct colour paint and a spray gun and fixed the problem myself, resulting in a happy & paying customer and no more business from me for the colour bonding company in South Oxfordshire.
Perhaps my story could serve as a warning to anyone else considering paying COD for supply of painted plastic windows in South Oxfordshire? As a regular and previously un-troubling customer to the company, I was disappointed (to say the least!) by their attitude and I’m sure my treatment can’t have been an isolated case.
If anyone out there can supply WHS Esthetique with painted finish, please contact me as we have another order to supply as an add on to previous work supplied to us by the company.
Regards,
Mike Harvey Rice
Paragon Windows
Tags: brown sprayed windows, colour bonded windows, paragon windows, sprayed windows, whs esthetique
Try SWC Trade Frames and ask for Mark Catchpole. They have their own in-house facility and are a very good company.
Regards
Iain McInnes
McInnes Communications Ltd
Try Kolorseal in dewsbury, we deliver many frames there for customers and I am lead to believe that their spray work is very good !
Same old story !!!
Should have used U.K’s leading colour coating specialist….KOLORSEAL
Or better still, KOLOR TRADE FRAMES
Regards
Gary
There’s a company in Tamworth who will paint any profile if you supply the frames.
Frameforce tel 01827 260880.
Regards
Richard Hall
Nick Gray polycarbonate
Sprayed frames are a great idea … until, these problems occur (and then you run out of trim on a job) … I am sure the processes have improved greatly but we experienced horrendous problems a few years ago now when I was actively promoting ‘any colour conservatory’ …
The company we used, rather like your supplier, provided little help and shocking after sales service… won’t mention the name on here
Sorry for not providing any constructive help… hope you resolve your issues OK.
Oh by the way I am still suffering expensive service calls sorting painted problems out .. we now use a specialist car spaying company based locally (seems to work OK for our small requirements – normally guttering and a few trims)
If anyone requires Colour matched trims I recommend KOLORSEAL, (Dewsbury)..(KOLORTRIM) They have a full stock of trims, rooflines, guttering, downpipe and conservatory components ex stock. They even do colour matched composite doors including Oak and Rosewood BOTH sides….Or buy completed coloured frames and trims from KOLOR TRADE FRAMES.(Mirfield), Guaranteed to offer full customer support and back up in the unlikely event that something should go wrong !
Neither of us are ‘CHEAP’ but then again neither of us give you cause for complaint. Did i read ….”car paint”………recipe for disaster eventually, trust me, I know !!! Both companies deliver nationwide.
Thanks to all for your help, I am sure we will get our painted windows from 1 of the firms reccomended.
thanks for heads up … I’ll also contact you in future …
A very well written piece from Mr Harvey Rice. some parts not true ie witten/ mailed three directors. Our company prides itself in it’s customer care and service, as with all companies we will experience problems, and when we do we rise to the occasion. It hurts me to hear of the problem Mr Rice experienced. All be it the white end cuts of beads. even if the touch up which we supply to all our customers was the wrong colour. we could quickly supply the correct touch up. The problem here was the fact Mr Harvey Rice required someone from our company to attend site to touch the cut ends of the beads up. We were happy to do this but not the same day unfortunatly. Not once did Mr Harvey Rice contact me, had he have done i can assure you i personally would have attended site to satisfy his needs. i can give names of other customers i have carried out this personal service to.
I will say again the above story hurts me as a man who takes great pride in what my company produces and delivers. And in return provides as after care. We are the longest colour coating company in our industry, since 1992 in fact! and one of the largest. we pride ourselves with the product in what we put on the window from hardware through to finishing coats of colour.
I find it sad that for the sake of a few pieces of bead that required darkening on where they join together Mr Harvey Rice felt the need to write on here rather than pick up the phone and talk to me
I am still here Mr Harvey Rice Phone me please.
David Wanless Managing Director
Well Mr Wanless, I have tried to telephone you 15.50 23rd December but I did not get a reply, perhaps you all finished early today, your son Gary has my phone number as I left it with him many times but he did not get back to me.
I sent you Emails through your website contact page which had your name on the top and if you did not receive them, than perhaps you should look within your company.
I did not ask for same day service, I did ask many times just to be given a date to pass to my customer but even this could not be done, what I did get from you son, co director, was ’should be able to do it before the end of this year’. If you can work with that from your suppliers than you run a easier going ship than me.
I have Emailed you again today, so lets see if you get this one.
I truly am here if you wish to phone.
Mike Harvey-Rice. Partner
Hi Mike
yes we did leave midday 23rd am back today.
our web page e-mail i am sorry to say does not work so hence no reply.
you have my number please ring it
regards
David Wanless
My company had all sorts of problems with the South Oxfordshire firm being discussed here – poor paint finishes, trims and sundries going missing when delivered to their factory (and hence not being painted), and terrible customer service when trying to sort these problems out.
Mr Wanless tells us that he is hurt by accusations of poor customer service from his company. But if his own attitude is “call the director to gets things sorted out”, what faith does he have in the rest of his staff? If a company is good at customer service, its customers should never need to call the director.
Anyway, as a result of poor service we received, we (like others it seems) moved to Kolorseal. Their product is good, there prices are noticeably better than Mr Wanless’s firm and – best of all – their staff are helpful and efficient, all the way through from quote to after-sales. All in all, they seem to be a much better company that the one in South Oxfordshire.
thankyou for your comment Mr Rayner. Poor paint finish is one comment we dont receive, well that is until now and from you, But like every other company one does from time to time have a service issue. if we do i like to be advised so i can react.
I must say i dont know who you are, but i wish you and who ever your company are the very best.