If you have a disagreement with a supplier it might be more useful
to take up the matter with them.
It seems that there’s a lot of bashing going on on this forum. Some
of which is found later to be misguided. Perhaps you feel better
after this exercise but have you acheived anything?
I have been using Hoover and Strong for close to 30 years and have
NEVER had a problem with either their customer service or their
product. I would strongly question whether a crack in a piece that
shows up in the end after some amount of working has been done to
the metal (I assume you soldered it or heated it for annealing) is
truly representative of their quality level. Perhaps you might want
to look at the quality level of your own work. Cracking in metal is a
common occurence when it is overheated, or sometimes overworked.
Their recent call to you about quantity purchasing was part of a new
program they were offering, which, quite frankly, sounded like a
good one to me. I’m sure, given their level of customer service, that
if you went back to them and said they had offered you a prior
discount that they would give it back to you. And as far as customer
service goes, I don’t think anyone, anywhere, is performing the way
they are now. Just last week I realized at the end of the day on a
Thursday that I needed some metal desperately for a job to be worked
on the following day. I called at 5:15, after their production
department had closed for the day (and 45 minutes before they closed
down entirely for the day) and still had the piece I needed in my
hands the next morning.
Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-234-4392
I agree with Kevin. If one has a problem, it should be taken up with
the supplier. Often it is a case of misunderstanding. Then, If one
feels, they they still need to publicize the problem, they might want
to consider inviting people to contact them off line for the details.
Just my opinion.
Alma
Continue from:
I agree with Kevin. If one has a problem, it should be taken up with the supplier. Often it is a case of misunderstanding. Then, If one feels, they they still need to publicize the problem, they might want to consider inviting people to contact them off line for the details.
I disagree. Especially given the nature of the particular problem
with Stuller’s pricing mechanisms. It is nonstandard and has caught
more than one of us unawares.
I don’t think there’s been much in the way of “bashing” going on at
all - mostly just a description of the problem, and I, at least,
have repeatedly said that once the problem is corrected, I would be
more than willing to reconsider buying from Stuller again.
But not until.
Sojourner
You are correct in all that you say and Hoover and Strong did offer
to correct the problem with the metal cracking. I do not appreciate
being squeezed by a supplier for whatever reason and I think the way
they handled this situation was bad. But I will stand by my final
statement that the silver sheet that they sell is inferior to what I
am buying now. There are many defects in the sheet goods that seem to
be from the rolling process they are using. My experience comes from
fabrication of over a 1000 pieces a year and currently since I
switched suppliers I am getting a much better finish without a lot of
extra work. I do not think that supplier bashing helps anyone buts as
long as it is going on I decided to comment. As far as Stuller’s
service it is bar none they may have some issues with thier metal
pricing right now but they are the go-to supplier for me when I need
help and I can not remember a time when I came away from dealing with
them with a bad taste in my mouth.
Rick Sindeband
Skystone and Silver
P.O.Box 4525
Pueblo, Colorado 81003
1-800-544-5960
719-544-5959
web http://www.skystoneandsilver.com
email @Rick_Sindeband
blog http://skystoneandsilver.blogspot.com
To All
I would like to clear the air about a few things about this message.
-Mine is a dissatisfaction and not a disagreement.
-this forum is for the benefit of the Metal/jewelry comunity.and is
here for just things like this to be compared and discussed amongst
your peers.
-as far as taking up the matter with the company itself, I would
hope that one would have tried their best to bring up and discuss the
problems/solutions with the company before bringing it to this
forum.
-and last resort would be to bringing it here. That goes with out
Saying.
-I am 100% sure that depending on where you are and who you are
dealing with in the company itself is the difference.
How is it possible that I am dissatisfied with the Comp. and I have
close friends who are so very Happy with them in other cities. and
vice versa where I am very happy with another company and people on
this forum/community are not.
It is a good Idea to air out problems, issiues,technical or
business on this type of Forum ;My reasoning behind that is it brings
these things to the attention of people that might have solutions or
better ideas to work with. As long as it is Kept in a positive or
Neutral perception; which is not easy to do at times;
Some times the companies themselves don’t know how their rules and
regulations are effecting all their clients until they see or hear
it from a forum.
-the Achievement is clarifying and understanding and hopefully
coming to terms with the issues and problems.
Hratch Babikian
Nowhere in this catalog - and I have looked hard - have I been able to find anything stating that those quantity discounts are PER LINE ITEM, not for all the silver you buy, as every other supplier in the country bills.
Ok, I’m a little confused about this. I too have the Stuller’s metal
catalog and I’m putting together my second order from them. I have to
say that at no time was I confused about their pricing. Different
items have different prices, nothing unusual about that. So why would
you assume that you’d get to lump it all together at the end and …
what, average the pricing out?
Obviously the manufacturing cost of different items is going to be
different. Where did you get the impression that there was a bulk
deal waiting for you at the end of it?
No offense but it sounds to me like you assumed something,
incorrectly, and ended up getting nipped in the wallet for your
error. And how is that Stuller’s fault? Frankly I can’t imagine how it
could be.
For what it’s worth I’ve dealt with other metals suppliers and they
mostly all follow the same “buy more of X get a better price on X”
structure. Again, no fault on Stuller’s part IMHO.
Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
Nowhere in this catalog - and I have looked hard - have I been
able to find anything stating that those quantity discounts are PER
LINE ITEM, not for all the silver you buy, as every other supplier
in the country bills.
Ok, I'm a little confused about this. I too have the Stuller's metal catalog and I'm putting together my second order from them. I have to say that at no time was I confused about their pricing.
Trevor, I don’t know where you live or with what metals suppliers
you have ever dealt, but every metals supplier I have ever had
dealings with adds up all the sterling that you buy and gives you the
same price discount BY WEIGHT for all sterling (ditto all gold, or
all Gold filled).
So if you buy 5 oz of sheet, 25 oz of round wire in (for example)
guages up to 24, 5 oz of round wire in guages smaller than 24, 10 oz
of half round wire, and 15 oz of square wire, you get to add up the
total weight (5+25+5+10+15 = 60 oz)
Then you would get the pricing based on the total weight of the
metal (which varies somewhat from one supplier to the next, but most
of the higher price breaks are at 50 oz, 100 oz, and 200 oz).
So all your silver would qualify for, say, the 50 oz price break
since you bought more than 50 oz but less than 100 oz total of the
silver.
So you pay for your 5 oz of sheet at the 50 oz discount price, your
25 oz of round wire guages 24 and smaller at the 50 oz price for that
wire, etc. etc.
Is there any supplier other than Stuller in the United States that
does not add up metals total to get your price break?
I’m not saying there isn’t, but I’ve never heard of or dealt with
one. Enlighten me if there is, so I can avoid them, too.
Sojourner
To KP Kelly, I would have to agree that thoughtless and unrestrained
bashing of a particular supplier’s products or services is
detrimental to the objectivity and reputation of this forum. On the
other hand, a prime function of any forum is to air problems and
share experiences with other participants. You must remember that
both sides have the opportunity to air their positions. It is
absolutely essential that transparency and accountability be
preserved. After all, a responsible supplier will always welcome any
feedback that will enable him to better serve his clients
and maintain his reputation. Ron MIlls, Mills Gem Co. Los Osos, Ca.
I agree with this as well. I have always said if I don’t know, how
can something be fixed. Thank you for the comments and stuller is
going to fix the problem.
Andy " The Tool Guy" Kroungold
Tool Sales / Technical
Stuller Inc
Phone 800-877-7777 ext. 94194
Fax 337-262-7791