alan gibson

[TonyG]

Hello all

does anybody know what has happened to allan gibson. I phoned him a large order 10+ days ago and have not heard anything i have tried phoning him and sent nunerous e-mails. The phone has an automated message saying were still taking orders. Then why does he not answer his phone. Does anybody know

Tony

[Blandford1969]

The best bet is to leave a voicemail. He has called me back of an evening as he has not heard the phone during the day when he is in his workshop. I did find email was not as effective. He is just a one man band and is aware he is not keeping up at the moment.

[TonyG]

That is what i have done 4 times now. no replys

Tony

[PMP]

It may well be that Colin is too busy at the moment to return your call. In the past I’ve placed an order and Colin has subsequently rang me to take payment. With increased demand from the ‘modelling season’ now in progress, it might be taking longer than usual to address new orders. Obviously that’s not ideal and it’d be nice if (all), our cottage industry suppliers could give an immediate response to orders and queries, but realistically and practically they can’t. Sometimes the customer has to live with some inconvenience.

[Penlan]

When I order things from Alan Gibson, I write a letter, enclose a cheque, as per the costs from the online Catalogue, and get my order back around a week later, no problems.

[figworthy]

6 hours ago, PMP said:

It may well be that Colin is too busy at the moment to return your call. In the past I’ve placed an order and Colin has subsequently rang me to take payment. With increased demand from the ‘modelling season’ now in progress, it might be taking longer than usual to address new orders. Obviously that’s not ideal and it’d be nice if (all), our cottage industry suppliers could give an immediate response to orders and queries, but realistically and practically they can’t. Sometimes the customer has to live with some inconvenience.

 

Whilst I wouldn't disagree with the general argument that you've made, I placed an order in August (I left an answer phone message, which was promptly followed up), and have made phone calls since to chase it up (none of which have resulted in a call back), the question I find myself asking, is how inconvenience is reasonable.  I certainly wasn't expecting the stuff to appear the following day, but 3.5 months is probably stretching things a bit. 

 

Adrian

[Compound2632]

On 22/11/2021 at 18:04, Penlan said:

When I order things from Alan Gibson, I write a letter, enclose a cheque, as per the costs from the online Catalogue, and get my order back around a week later, no problems.

 

That's the way to go. Never had a problem. Distracting Colin from the sisyphean task of keeping up with the demand for his products with such idle timewasting activities as answering the phone helps nobody. 

[ianmaccormac]

I sent two emails a couple of weeks ago, one with the order and half the payment details, and the second with the rest of it. I received my goods four days later. No issues at all. Excellent service. Thanks.

 

[Gordon A]

37 minutes ago, ianmaccormac said:

I sent two emails a couple of weeks ago, one with the order and half the payment details, and the second with the rest of it. I received my goods four days later. No issues at all. Excellent service. Thanks.

 

 

How did you split the payment details please?

[Compound2632]

54 minutes ago, Gordon A said:

How did you split the payment details please?

 

In the 18th century it was common practice to cut a £5 or £10 note in half and send the halves by different posts.

[ianmaccormac]

one email had the expiry date and security numbers as well as the first 8 numbers. The second email had the other 8. I wrote them in groups of 4 and not in the correct order but put what sequence they should be, ie 1st group of 4, third group of 4 etc. No issues.

Cheers

Ian

[Nigelcliffe]

16 hours ago, ianmaccormac said:

one email had the expiry date and security numbers as well as the first 8 numbers. The second email had the other 8. I wrote them in groups of 4 and not in the correct order but put what sequence they should be, ie 1st group of 4, third group of 4 etc. No issues.

Cheers

Ian

 

Such actions are breaking lots of rules by both parties.  The rules the consumer has agreed to from their card issuer, and the rules (PCI) covering how the retailer should and should not handle card payments.  
 

I'd advise against emailing card details, even in fragments. 

Find another way to pay small suppliers.   And small suppliers need to find payment mechanisms that meet basic standards. 

 

 

- Nigel

[Katie87006]

On 22/11/2021 at 17:01, TonyG said:

Hello all

does anybody know what has happened to allan gibson. I phoned him a large order 10+ days ago and have not heard anything i have tried phoning him and sent nunerous e-mails. The phone has an automated message saying were still taking orders. Then why does he not answer his phone. Does anybody know

Tony

 

I sent alan gibson an email a couple of months ago. I got a response within an hour. The owner of the business was extremely rude and completely unhelpful. 

 

What seemed to tick him off was a small grammatical error I made in my tired state after a pretty long day. I will avoid doing business with them. I got the same wheels that I required from a supplier half way across the world for half the price. 

[Crosland]

4 hours ago, Nigelcliffe said:

 

Such actions are breaking lots of rules by both parties.  The rules the consumer has agreed to from their card issuer, and the rules (PCI) covering how the retailer should and should not handle card payments.  

 

It's also completely pointless. If someone has intercepted AGs e-mail they have all the details.

 

[barrowroad]

I've never had a problem with Colin and he's always chatty and very helpful.

I email him with my order and say I will pay by card over the phone once he confirms the items I want are available and in stock.

He has been operating on his own during covid so on occasions I've had to contact with a reminder.

 

Robin 

[Rowsley17D]

Colin really on the ball. Order was phoned in on Wednesday and delivered Saturday morning.

[MJI]

I email, wait for him to reply then call him with card info.

 

Spent well over 100 in last year

[Compound2632]

Letter with cheque still producing satisfactory, no fuss results!

[Crantock]

How do you price up an order? I dont assume he is sticking to 2018 catalogue prices so is it a case of email and call back for what’s in and credit card details?

[Compound2632]

54 minutes ago, Crantock said:

How do you price up an order? I dont assume he is sticking to 2018 catalogue prices so is it a case of email and call back for what’s in and credit card details?

 

I have been using the Spring 2018 catalogue prices for recent orders, stating in my letter that that's what I'm using, without any problem. That is the catalogue currently on the website.

[stewartingram]

I emailed an order back in Feb, about a week later I got a phone call and made the payment. It was a small order for loco frames and an 03 conical chimney, he amended the frames to make it simpler for me, and closed the call by saying that he would get them made. I've heard nothing since and have sent 2-3 emails with no response.

[Compound2632]

Listed as a trader at the York show over the Easter weekend. Were they there?

 

 

[BoD]

12 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

Listed as a trader at the York show over the Easter weekend. Were they there?

 

 

Yes

[Compound2632]

6 minutes ago, BoD said:

Yes

 

Good. Still alive then.

 

I have the impression that attending shows takes up a lot of time and energy. Evidently it's commercially worth-while but it must impact on the mail order side of things, to say nothing of production.

Edited April 5 by Compound2632

[Siberian Snooper]

Colin, gives a good service, but shows do impact on delivery times, especially if he needs to produce the item, he doesn't normally take the money until the item(s) is/are ready to post.