C&L to have new ownership

[Nimbus]

...and Standard 6/7/8.

I didn't want to seem greedy!

 

It'll likely come down to who puts their money where their mouth is soonest.

 

The Nim.

[Jol Wilkinson]

I purchased some tender wheels at the S4 AGM yesterday to fit a particular model where space between the tender axleguards is very tight. Phil had brought his trade stand and had put in the two boxes of Exactoscale wheels, bearings, etc. that he had. Apart form my shock at the price (Pete L had apparently recently increased the prices and as I have used Exactoscale coach and wagon wheels, I know they are not inexpensive) I noted that there didn't appear to be much stock of many items. Presumably Pete ran down the stock, so I expect it would take some time for Phil to identify what's needed and to restock.

 

I have to admit that the cost of the wheels I bought rather took me aback. While these are excellent products, they do add considerably to the cost of a kit build, in this case three sets of wheels costing more than the tender kit itself. I suspect that would put some people off using them.

[Rowsley17D]

Any news on when the C&L website is likely to be open for business? The date seems to be constantly slipping.

[martin_wynne]

Any news on when the C&L website is likely to be open for business? The date seems to be constantly slipping.

 

Posted on there yesterday:

 

"Thursday 20th July

 

Hopefull it should be days now before we go live with the website but still some changes to make.

 

Phil"

[hayfield]

NEWS UPDATE as of Monday 17th July

I have been experiencing access problem with C & L website which has meant that I have not been able to post any massages directly, this hopefully will be resolved soon.

The plan for the opening of the doors for the business is linked to application for accounts with the Royal Mail and Courier for the larger parcels.

Being one man band as you would say my priorities will be orders, stock ordering and business admin before I can deal will online tech queries, I would prefer that these are sent in by mail for the time being.

The main changes to the way orders are process on line are that you will not be ask to pay when you place an order, as their is a follow up process which is being driven by stock management.  Payment instructions will appear on the invoice which will be sent to you via e mail.

C & L has two homes it will not possible to come and collect goods directly from workshop however as a work round on this, I can arrange for goods to be collect on a Monday evening from My local Model Railway Club or as before orders in advance of shows that I am attending.

Regards

Phil

[Vistisen]

NEWS UPDATE as of Monday 17th July

 

I have been experiencing access problem with C & L website which has meant that I have not been able to post any massages directly, this hopefully will be resolved soon.

 

The plan for the opening of the doors for the business is linked to application for accounts with the Royal Mail and Courier for the larger parcels.

 

Being one man band as you would say my priorities will be orders, stock ordering and business admin before I can deal will online tech queries, I would prefer that these are sent in by mail for the time being.

 

The main changes to the way orders are process on line are that you will not be ask to pay when you place an order, as their is a follow up process which is being driven by stock management.  Payment instructions will appear on the invoice which will be sent to you via e mail.

 

C & L has two homes it will not possible to come and collect goods directly from workshop however as a work round on this, I can arrange for goods to be collect on a Monday evening from My local Model Railway Club or as before orders in advance of shows that I am attending.

 

Regards

 

Phil

 

E-mail or snail mail?

[3 link]

Hi Phil or John,

 

Will you be attending the Telford O gauge show in September?

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

[hayfield]

Phil has it listed in the shows he is attending

[RBAGE]

I wonder if this means Phil is open for business by telephone only, for the time being?

 

I hope so, I'm desperate.

 

 

C & L Finescale Track Building Systems Ltd

125 Reaver House12 East Street Epsom KT17 1HX Phone 01372 748490 - No phone messaging service

 

Update Sunday 23rd July

Edited July 23, 2017 by RBAGE

[hayfield]

 

I wonder if this means Phil is open for business by telephone only, for the time being?

 

I hope so, I'm desperate.

 

 

C & L Finescale Track Building Systems Ltd

125 Reaver House12 East Street Epsom KT17 1HX Phone 01372 748490 - No phone messaging service

 

Update Sunday 23rd July

 

 

 

On Test  Please do not place any orders at this time

 

The new owner will be making alterations to the website over the weekend as their a number of areas showing product lines which are no longer going to be stock.

 

Phone line is now active but has no messaging service as this will be linked to mobile number which will.

 

Hopefully it should be days now before we go live with the website but I still have some changes to make.

 

Phil

 

I think it has been quite a challenge for Phil in taking over the business, there were a few unexpected things Phil had to achieve prior to going live, some of which were out of his hands, plus quite rightly he wanted to be completely sorted prior to switching on the mail order side. 

 

I can understand the frustration of not being able to obtain items mail order, but we were warned about the temporary shut down well in advance, though it has taken a lot longer than anticipated to get going, however efforts have been made to honour previous show commitments. Still only a few days to wait now

[Stephen Freeman]

Things have moved on today. Hooray!! I've just placed an order. As it will probably involve a Courier due to length, I don't anticipate it will arrive for a little while.  

[peter220950]

Likewise, for collection at either Railwells or Telford, I'm just happy that he appears to have the stock I needed. Site seems user friendly, good to see it up and running, I hope the venture goes well, congratulations to all involved.

 

Peter

[hayfield]

Things have moved on today. Hooray!! I've just placed an order. As it will probably involve a Courier due to length, I don't anticipate it will arrive for a little while.

 

 

Its the old website which has been cut back to the items Phil is selling, what will be interesting is the new payment method

[Stephen Freeman]

Its the old website which has been cut back to the items Phil is selling, what will be interesting is the new payment method

Well yes I know he has modified the website to suit, as for payment methods, not ideal but it will no doubt take him a little while to bring back the other options.

[hayfield]

Stephen

 

I know the reason Phil has decided to go down this route, glad he has most things sorted.

 

Phil has been running the small stand for some time, but running the business is completely different. Overtime his stand has altered as to what stock is kept and how he ran it, no doubt as time goes on Phil will adapt the way he works according to customer demands/requirements.

[Stephen Freeman]

Seems to be a bit of foul up - re Guildex. On the C&L website it says they will be there but according to the Guild he hasn't asked for any space. Problem is now in the process of being sorted out.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Stephen Freeman

[chris p bacon]

Seems to be a bit of foul up - re Guildex. On the C&L website it says they will be there but according to the Guild he hasn't asked for any space. Problem is now in the process of being sorted out.

 

Why make this common knowledge ? Could be the Guilds fault anyway.

 

At our own show we have booked traders that haven't turned up and had others come when they've confused dates/years, that's a matter between the 2 parties not for Joe public.

[Stephen Freeman]

Why make this common knowledge ? Could be the Guilds fault anyway.

 

At our own show we have booked traders that haven't turned up and had others come when they've confused dates/years, that's a matter between the 2 parties not for Joe public.

I suspect that if I said nothing, nothing would have been done to resolve the situation. I know whose fault it was but I'm not telling, wouldn't be right. In any case it was already common knowledge as they weren't on the published list, if nothing was said most people would assume they were not attending. At least people who read this now know they are.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Stephen Freeman

[RBAGE]

I'm so pleased that C and L is up and running again and I wish Phil all the best in his venture.

 

I can imagine that, following the formal resumption in operations, Phil's workload has hit a sudden spike and I hope the initial rush isn't too stressful.

 

My order was placed yesterday so will not be at the front of the queue, I expect, and the new billing method being to issue an invoice once the order is picked doesn't give any indication of progress. Has anyone got any indication of the initial demands and expected delays?

 

It is not my intention to pile on more pressure and I'm sure I'll get much criticism for even thinking about it but we are all used to placing an order and then just waiting for it to arrive.

 

I accept that it's very sensible to not bill customers until product is ready to ship when you first set up but it does suggest delay.

 

 

PS Is it possible to amend an order once it has been placed or just raise a new order for additional items?

Edited July 31, 2017 by RBAGE

[Stephen Freeman]

I'm so pleased that C and L is up and running again and I wish Phil all the best in his venture.

 

I can imagine that, following the formal resumption in operations, Phil's workload has hit a sudden spike and I hope the initial rush isn't too stressful.

 

My order was placed yesterday so will not be at the front of the queue, I expect, and the new billing method being to issue an invoice once the order is picked doesn't give any indication of progress. Has anyone got any indication of the initial demands and expected delays?

 

It is not my intention to pile on more pressure and I'm sure I'll get much criticism for even thinking about it but we are all used to placing an order and then just waiting for it to arrive.

 

I accept that it's very sensible to not bill customers until product is ready to ship when you first set up but it does suggest delay.

 

 

PS Is it possible to amend an order once it has been placed or just raise a new order for additional items?

Hi,

I would imagine that my order will be fairly near the front of the queue but as it will involve a courier, I don't expect it to arrive until he's sorted that out. If you use the payment by Bank Transfer (I did), I don't think you have to wait until it's ready to ship before paying, I have paid. I'll keep checking.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Stephen Freeman

[hayfield]

I would expect that after a few weeks things will be sorted out and everything will work smoothly as the system Phil has put in place beds in. I would assume once payment is taken goods will be sent out as quickly as possible. One tip is to keep an eye out for shows he is attending, for instance next Friday (11th Aug) will be spent travelling to the show and setting up etc, like all things try to order before you desperately need items.

[RBAGE]

Thanks John but not easy to have ordered in good time on this occasion.

 

Also, living in the frozen north, it's not easy to take advantage of many of the shows.

 

Anyway, there's always plenty of other stuff to do on the railway.

[hayfield]

Sadly it took Phil a lot longer than he anticipated to get up and running. Not only the time to sort the stock into order but lots of other things like insurance etc which on the face of it should be quite simple.

 

There was quite a long lead in where the temporary closure was announced, I and many others made sure we placed orders prior to the move. The closure was several weeks longer than anticipated, as it happens the building works at my home have taken far longer than expected and are still rumbling on.

 

Still all back up and running now with C&L and once bedded in the new ordering system will be fine

[Stephen Freeman]

Sadly it took Phil a lot longer than he anticipated to get up and running. Not only the time to sort the stock into order but lots of other things like insurance etc which on the face of it should be quite simple.

 

There was quite a long lead in where the temporary closure was announced, I and many others made sure we placed orders prior to the move. The closure was several weeks longer than anticipated, as it happens the building works at my home have taken far longer than expected and are still rumbling on.

 

Still all back up and running now with C&L and once bedded in the new ordering system will be fine

Am now eagerly anticipating arrival in a few days time as order has been picked and ready for dispatch (already paid for). Unfortunately, it isn't possible to keep absolutely everything in stock due to the wide variety of stuff that I do. Chairs in 4mm were never a problem as I could always get those from EMGS, Just some of the 7mm stuff and HiNi rail in both scales were the main things.

 

Anyway, I have a selection of somersault and slotted signals to keep me busy in the interim, so I'm not twiddling my fingers.

[RBAGE]

I'm still not sure of the expected method of payment.

 

I placed the first order and realised that it wasn't complete so I've submitted a second. I have received order confirmation for both.

 

I'm a bit confused that my account order history indicates that both are being processed but each confirmation indicates that the orders will not be processed until payment is confirmed.

 

Should I make payment by cheque now?

 

Can anyone help?

 

Bob