Need some help/vendor help

[737NUT]

I placed an order with opencockpits on the 8th. Added another item on the 9th. I have sent 6 e-mails between the 9th and today asking for verfication of the order and status updates. I have gotten ZERO resonse from them!! All the site shows is the order in processing. It was paid via paypal. I'm getting nervous and pissed all in one.
Ideas how to handle?
Rob

[paulj]

Hi Rob
This is very unusual for OpenCockpits.
I've purchased a number of things from them and never had anything like what to are seeing.
Their service has been first class and I've even had deliveries to Australia within 7 days of ordering.
I wonder if they have been trying to contact you by email and it's bouncing back???
Hope you hear something soon.
cheers
Paul

[737NUT]

Hi Rob
This is very unusual for OpenCockpits.
I've purchased a number of things from them and never had anything like what to are seeing.
Their service has been first class and I've even had deliveries to Australia within 7 days of ordering.
I wonder if they have been trying to contact you by email and it's bouncing back???
Hope you hear something soon.
cheers
Paul


I'm with you Paul. I have order many times from them with great service. Hence the reason for my concern.

[737NUT]

Update: Finally getting communication with OC thru my yahoo mail account. Now they are being picky on the order. I initially placed my order late in the evening, the next day i e-mailed them saying i wanted to add onto the order. I then sent them an e-mail asking how do i need to make the add-on order online w/o incurring additional shipping charges which are automatically added. Since i got no response, i paypal'd thier account the correct amount, AND put a note in the comment field saying what it was for and the prior order number for reference. They STILL want to place another order online. I said refund my 39euros and i will. Now it is turned into a BIG debate match!! I don't understand why they are making this so difficult.

[Michael Carter]

It's getting to the point where I'm scared to transact FS buys on the internet. The rash of customer complaints with various suppliers has me trusting only those from e-Bay who have a feedback reputation to uphold.

Too bad the vendors don't have a feedback section on the site. I'd like to read some of those comments.

[pdpo]

I have ordered many times from opencockpits and I was very satisfied. Some days later it was deliverd without hickups. One they send me the wrong item. I told it to them. They asked me
what was wrong... they send the correct thing and they did not want me even to send back the wrong item.

Greetz Peter

[Matt Olieman]

I haven't had any problems with them either. Wonder what's going on?

[dodiano]

It might be a common evil amongst Cockpit parts Suppliers... Very simple they are making money these days and they are no longer focusing in the costumer as they should! So these things tend to happen!

Regards,

[JBaymore]

Very simple they are making money these days and they are no longer focusing in the costumer as they should!

I'm thinking that it might actually be exactly the OPPOSITE going on. That pit hardware / software suppliers are maybe discovering that selling high development cost, limited sales potential niche market items has proven that it is VERY difficult to provide the kind of customer service that is EXPECTED from consumer's experiences with mainstream mass market items.

They might tend to "nickle and dime" people to death because those nickels and dimes have actually turned out to BE important in the cash flow picture. And when they find the the old adage, "Time is money." is far more true than they want to admit.....and the "time" part is becoming all consuming.

When a "hobby love" turns into a "business venture"...... there are often many "shocking reality lessons".


best,

...................john

[Matt Olieman]

Good point John. It's amazing how this hobby has grown. It is unfortunate there is not enough vendors to meet the demand......

[dodiano]

Have to disagree John, most of these guys nowadays have charged the development costs into the builders that is us and the real money is being made with the PRO market... So that is the reason they cannot focus into this market which is logical but then again there is a commitment towards the builder at least that is what I think.

Regards,

ROberto



I'm thinking that it might actually be exactly the OPPOSITE going on. That pit hardware / software suppliers are maybe discovering that selling high development cost, limited sales potential niche market items has proven that it is VERY difficult to provide the kind of customer service that is EXPECTED from consumer's experiences with mainstream mass market items.

They might tend to "nickle and dime" people to death because those nickels and dimes have actually turned out to BE important in the cash flow picture. And when they find the the old adage, "Time is money." is far more true than they want to admit.....and the "time" part is becoming all consuming.

When a "hobby love" turns into a "business venture"...... there are often many "shocking reality lessons".


best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

......the real money is being made with the PRO market...

Roberto,

Most pit suppliers seem to me to be either smaller ops or are "hobby turned business" sidelines to the real money makers...... which might even be in other fields. Such is the nature of this kind of obscure pursuit.

The fact that the "real" money and business commitment lies elsewhere has nothing to do with the fact that the home simpit market is VERY SMALL (as much as we all like to believe that it is huge.....to prove our sanity if nothing else). So one has to decide how much time he/she can AFFORD to devote to a limited income/ labor of love "business". Keeping the wolf from the door obviously comes first.

From what I've seen... too many people expect too high a level of support .... particularly in the form of "instant solutions" ........ for a product that on a relative scale compared to the features offered.... costs very little to the end user and makes the company very little money. That level of support is fine if the company selling the "widget" is selling 20 million of them at $1 a pop. But if they are selling a few thousand at $200 a pop...... the 24/7, "at the drop of a hat" support model does not work.

best,

...................john

[Garys]

I understand what your saying but in this instance its more about stubborness than anything else. How difficult would it be to just add the item to the list of other purchases and send it along with them. Its already been payed for. If the shipping cost goes up then send a friendly email asking for more cash to be tranfered to the account to cover the difference. Not hard really. I have made purchases from different vendors and alot of the time the need to use the online ordering system is not required to make changes to the original order. I think this company is being ridiculous about it.

Gary

[dodiano]

Roberto,

Most pit suppliers seem to me to be either smaller ops or are "hobby turned business" sidelines to the real money makers...... which might even be in other fields. Such is the nature of this kind of obscure pursuit.

The fact that the "real" money and business commitment lies elsewhere has nothing to do with the fact that the home simpit market is VERY SMALL (as much as we all like to believe that it is huge.....to prove our sanity if nothing else). So one has to decide how much time he/she can AFFORD to devote to a limited income/ labor of love "business". Keeping the wolf from the door obviously comes first.

From what I've seen... too many people expect too high a level of support .... particularly in the form of "instant solutions" ........ for a product that on a relative scale compared to the features offered.... costs very little to the end user and makes the company very little money. That level of support is fine if the company selling the "widget" is selling 20 million of them at $1 a pop. But if they are selling a few thousand at $200 a pop...... the 24/7, "at the drop of a hat" support model does not work.

best,

...................john

The thing Here John is that some people are paying up to $2000 or more in panels and stuff which basically they have payed for developing costs for certain companies... And people are not receiving support or worst they ask a question they are publicly hushed or driven away!! Also you pay for a product you are right you might not have an overnight solution but at least a way to work with your proble, or a realistci deadline or goal for it!! I have been around in this hobby since 1996 and have seen the developments since day one **** I´ve been trying to setup my own company since 1998 and been failing but keep trying but still the aim is the builders!!! Whether the money is or it is not on the builders you pay for a service or a product and you expect to receive support for it and someone to respond for that! Again we created this place so that this type of things could be publicly addressed!!

Take care,

Roberto

[737NUT]

Roberto,

Most pit suppliers seem to me to be either smaller ops or are "hobby turned business" sidelines to the real money makers...... which might even be in other fields. Such is the nature of this kind of obscure pursuit.

The fact that the "real" money and business commitment lies elsewhere has nothing to do with the fact that the home simpit market is VERY SMALL (as much as we all like to believe that it is huge.....to prove our sanity if nothing else). So one has to decide how much time he/she can AFFORD to devote to a limited income/ labor of love "business". Keeping the wolf from the door obviously comes first.

From what I've seen... too many people expect too high a level of support .... particularly in the form of "instant solutions" ........ for a product that on a relative scale compared to the features offered.... costs very little to the end user and makes the company very little money. That level of support is fine if the company selling the "widget" is selling 20 million of them at $1 a pop. But if they are selling a few thousand at $200 a pop...... the 24/7, "at the drop of a hat" support model does not work.

best,

...................john

Keep one important thing in mind. 90% of what is sold to us is 'made to order' hence notice the "lead times" on all these sites. 4-6 weeks min. to as much as 4-6months. When doing business that way, it is ALLOT less complicating and cheaper versus keeping a stock of items. I have owned my own business and the consumer dictates what and how we do and act, period! If you can't live up to or hold those standards then you shouldn't be in business. I am a very patient person for all but simple things. It's those easy to remedy simple problems that drive me nuts. Language barriers make it even harder for us all in this hobby. We all have a common goal, common means, and expect the same in return. I appreciate all the vendors and choices we have but i wish the lead times were allot less. At least the communication could be much better while we are waiting on the parts. :)

[JBaymore]

When doing business that way, it is ALLOT less complicating and cheaper versus keeping a stock of items.

Actually that is one of the most expensive ways to manufacture things.... as one-offs. Mass production is the cheaper way to go. Just-in-Time manufacturing works for BIG companies because of the mass production tooling. Just-in-time for the small guy drives labor costs thru the roof. And purchase of materials is smaller lots keeps their cost high too.

The long lead times likely have more to do with finding the EXTRA time AWAY from the real money producers that support the business (and feed the owner's kids) to devote to supporting the hobby at what is likely a far reduced profit per unti time...... than any strategic business profitability plan.

Don't get me wrong here... I think the added shipping cost thing on the original concept of the thread is absurd.... but the conversation veered away from THAT topic and got into sort of a "general bashing" of the flight sim suppliers. THAT is why I responded.

best,

.................john

[Michael Carter]

The thing Here John is that some people are paying up to $2000 or more in panels and stuff which basically they have payed for developing costs for certain companies... And people are not receiving support or worst they ask a question they are publicly hushed or driven away!!...

Take care,

Roberto


Gee, I wonder what site that has happened on? :roll:

[dodiano]

Gee, I wonder what site that has happened on? :roll:

LOL!! No Idea !!! :)

Regards

Roberto

[737NUT]

Probably the same place i bought a s#######e set of pnls that looked like they were painted in a dust storm and had razor cut marks everywhere. Again, this is NOT about the screw-ups as they will and do happen. It's about HOW they are handled. :)

[dodiano]

Dude could you PM me what the S##########e means on your post? LOL!! :) I couldn´t agree more!

[737NUT]

Here is another example, Over a week ago i e-mailed Captain Sim support as i'm having trouble re-installing 3 aircraft i bought from them. As of today, 8 days later, no response!!!

I wish i could have acted this way in the "niche" market i was in. I owned a high performance auto shop. This crappy service wouldn't cut it in that small market.

[Matt Olieman]

OK, I think enough is enough... I think there are different points of view, let's leave at that.

I certainly have not been immune to bad business practices, BUT, also as it may, I've received excellent service from other vendors. I agree, there are limited services available, but keep in mind, new and adventurous businesses are appearing. Most of them are started because they experienced bad service.

This topic can go a long ways and get nowhere fast, so let's leave it be and focus on helping each other with what we have :) :)

[Michael Carter]

Dreamfleet support is much better, even when they can't help.

Sorry Matt we posted at the same time.