Coppercap Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I'm off work next week. I think I might go up to Ross on Wye to have a look and see if the shop's any different, and if the staff are the same, with the same attitudes from years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it's all pretty much as before.......... I recall that on Sundays they used to lock the door (it's locked all day Sunday now!), and only let who they thought would be customers into the shop. Browsers not allowed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenway Park Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Sorry should have posted this earlier. I was working in the area and called in and noted the Bachmann 3MTs. Having seen how popular the green version had become, I phoned and reserved one paid by debit card and collected it two days later. Excellent service. Since then have called in twice and picked up Presflos. Now I am known I receive a warm welcome. So perhaps a phone call to the shop would be more beneficial than dealing with the web site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted February 25, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2010 Since then have called in twice and picked up Presflos. Now I am known I receive a warm welcome. So perhaps a phone call to the shop would be more beneficial than dealing with the web site. The phone is fine, time zones permitting, but removing hopelessly out of date stock levels on the web site would stop people being misled into thinking they're as accurate as Hattons, or other suppliers who take the web seriously, manage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 The phone is fine, time zones permitting, but removing hopelessly out of date stock levels on the web site would stop people being misled into thinking they're as accurate as Hattons, or other suppliers who take the web seriously, manage. Well said! I was going to add that even living in the same time zone as the shop, I often find myself doing my web browsing at anti-social times, because of work. Their phones are also not answered outside of certain times on certain days. It boild down to the website being, at the very least, an advert for what they stock and sell. How disappointed would punters be if they shopped online from one of the big supermarkets, only to discover when the goods were delivered that less than half of their weekly shopping arrived because the supermarket couldn't be bothered updating their online site? I doubt it would enduce further custom. If TT are serious about being a big player, they do need to act like one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted February 25, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2010 The way I look at model railway retailers is that for the vast majority of items there are still a large number of suppliers to choose from, so why use one who can't be bothered to do things properly? Look at "bike2steam"'s experience a couple of weeks back, he emailed a potential 450 quid order to three suppliers, one answered within 24 hours, one within a week, and one didn't reply at all. Guess which one got the business? Is railway model retailing so lucrative that a 450 quid order isn't worth the bother of a prompt email reply? I think not! On the other hand, I'll cut the " cottage industry" suppliers a lot of slack, I appreciate many of them are fitting in running a small business round a day job or are doing it as much as a service to the hobby as a business, so fair play, I don't expect Amazon like web efficiency or service from those folks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan100 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Shop looks unchanged, but bright blue 'Commercial Property to Let' sign has appeared on the shop today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wibble Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Shop looks unchanged, but bright blue 'Commercial Property to Let' sign has appeared on the shop today. Also saw the sign yesterday, and the bloke behind the counter said the shop will be closing. The last day of trading from the premises (as quoted) will be the 1st of May, although it's uncertain whether the business will still be attending fairs / exhibitions, or still selling via the website. There's still a lot of stock in the shop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mr.S.corn78 Posted February 27, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2010 Also saw the sign yesterday, and the bloke behind the counter said the shop will be closing. The last day of trading from the premises (as quoted) will be the 1st of May, although it's uncertain whether the business will still be attending fairs / exhibitions, or still selling via the website. There's still a lot of stock in the shop. Intreasting to read as if they don't have premises some of the suppliers for stock that they have/have not won't supply unlles you have a shop to make it fairer for all the dealers selling thier goods. cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted February 27, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2010 They told me last week that when they've sold out of Woodland Scenic stuff, they won't be getting any more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Huw Griffiths Posted February 27, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 27, 2010 Also saw the sign yesterday, and the bloke behind the counter said the shop will be closing. The last day of trading from the premises (as quoted) will be the 1st of May, although it's uncertain whether the business will still be attending fairs / exhibitions, or still selling via the website. There's still a lot of stock in the shop. I wonder how many of us are really surprised at this news - I'm not. I haven't been there very often - mainly because it isn't easy by public transport - so changes between visits have been noticeable. (When I have been there, it's usually been because I've been changing buses between Hereford and Gloucester - and I haven't exactly "bought the shop".) The first time was about 10 or 12 years ago - the public area of their shop went back a long way, with a wide range of stuff (including Portescap drive units and a load of exotic stuff I'd never heard of). They had lots of well stocked shelves - loads of German outline stuff in glass cases - and this enormous layout at the front of the shop. At the time, I thought: "This looks interesting." A couple of years later, they'd taken over the shop next door and blocked off the back of the shop - but they still seemed to have a decent range. After this, the rot seemed to set in. In later years, the range seemed to shrink progressively - and large gaps started appearing in the shelves. First to go were the Portescaps, followed by etched brass scenery and rolling stock kits and other interesting items. German outline models seemed to become about as visible as wild bears in the Schwarzwald. The range (and visible stock levels) of US outline seemed a bit like estimates on "Cash in the Attic" - they kept on shrinking. Even the piles of US model railroading magazine back issues went the way of the dodo. 2 years ago, I was passing through Ross on Wye, so I decided to look in. Right behind the door was a big cardboard box, full of the previous year's issues of Model Railroader, Trains and Garden Railways Magazine - with "free magazines - help yourself" (or something similar) scribbled on the box. Right next to this box were a load of Walther's catalogues being sold off dirt cheap. Staff, when they could be found, were grumpy (and not particularly user-friendly) - and, after being asked about the box of magazines, one of them muttered something about there being no market in US outline. As if the sight of "free" magazines wasn't enough to set alarm bells ringing, I then overheard something which made me shudder. Two staff were chatting - and I thought I heard one say something about hiring a skip for stock they couldn't shift. Essentially, TT seemed to have turned from a model railway shop into a box shifter - minus the boxes. Even though, by then, most of their stuff seemed to be UK RTR, there seemed to be little logic in what they stocked. I couldn't see any Hornby CCTs - yet they seemed to have dozens of the Thomas versions (bright red or weathered yellow, at knock-down prices). Although I didn't have time to study everything in their shop, there seemed to be loads more examples of this nonsense. It all seemed a bit tragic, like a protracted closing down sale - very little of the stuff many customers actively want, but loads of obscure stuff they probably don't. You might remember the fag-end days of W&H - or Harrow Models - or the old Victors - when these former Aladdin's Caves were in premises they'd been in for decades, somehow just about staying in business and waiting for the inevitable bitter end. I remember these only too well - and I was seeing all the same signs at TT. There was one simple reason why I haven't said a lot before now - I didn't want to do or say anything which might make matters worse. From the tone of this post, some people might think I've got in for TT - they'd be wrong. There weren't many model shops before some of them started succumbing. I don't enjoy seeing businesses going under - I don't like thinking of people's investments of time and money coming to nought. I certainly don't relish the prospect of workers being thrown onto the scrapheap - but I could see this coming a few years ago. The writing has definitely been on the wall for TT for ages - throw in a few hacked off staff and the hand has well and truly finished its "finger painting" routine. It's a shame it's come to this - unfortunately it's no surprise. Regards, Huw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 I got my full refund (including all postage costs) today. It happened quickly too; reporting them to Trading Standards and mentioning the magic words "County Court" must have focussed their energy. If they are closing down, that explains why it appears they no longer bother stocking Walthers kits. However, it doesn't excuse continuing to advertise them in stock and accepting orders online for them. I notice that this month's Railway Modeller has no advert from them in - usually they had a two or three page spread. Suggests that they've finally decided to finish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adams442T Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 From when they first opened they had a patronising attitude, which didn't sit well with many people I knew who had hoped for something special from this new venture. Their much vaunted 'lists' for every scale and want were usually the wrong ones when they arrived and telephone queries were a waste of time. Non arrival of orders finally led me to visiting the shop and threatening them with court action before I got a refund. I decided that anyone who allows staff to refer to customers as 'punters' in a derogatory way is not someone I would chose to give my money to anyway. Lousy service, lousy attitude, the hobby is better off without them IMHO! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWR Man Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Used them once only got 25% of order 8 phone calls later received another 50% took 3 more phone call to get balance ,never used them since . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWJ Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Also saw the sign yesterday, and the bloke behind the counter said the shop will be closing. The last day of trading from the premises (as quoted) will be the 1st of May, although it's uncertain whether the business will still be attending fairs / exhibitions, or still selling via the website. There's still a lot of stock in the shop. I popped in to the shop the other day for the first time in 2-3 years. Last day of trading confirmed as 1 May. Unsurprisingly,I thought that the stock levels were lower than my last visit - the loco display cases were starting to look a bit empty, and the range available was also starting to shrink. Plenty of RTR coaches and wagons (Bachmann and Hornby left). Not much at reduced prices either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Have tried to contact Totally trains several times to make an overseas purchase . They have never responded , not even an acknowledgment that they got my emails . I saw a cheaper price on a loco but i will certainly not buy it from them now !! I have brought from a couple of other stores in the UK via email and never had a problem at all , Hattons , trains4U and 51A models all fantastic retailers in my humble view . I'm in the 'States too. Do these suppliers mentioned subtract VAT from their prices before working out the combined price with shipping? Thanks, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold griffgriff Posted April 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 9, 2010 I popped in today... it was like the last days of Rome! I can understand that morale amongst the staff must be low as this difficult time but I heard some pretty weak customer service on the phone (which is next to the till - I didn't have to strain hear it) - I get the feeling that something is very wiffy in 'Denmark' at the moment (which is nowhere near Rome but I'm sure you get the gist!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEGair Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Hi Pete, trisonic, I'm in Australia. Have used them once and had to follow the email up with a phone call. Yes they do deduct VAT if outside UK/Europe. Sad that, as I will be going through Ross on Wye next year, but now Hereford will get more of my doe. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 but now Hereford will get more of my doe. They're a better choice, and not too deer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveyH Posted April 10, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 10, 2010 Having visited the shop personally, I am neither surprised nor disappointed that they are closing down. Won't effect me though as I would never have bought anything from them anyway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 They're a better choice, and not too deer. Staggering. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Staggering. Get thee 'hind me, Satan! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Get thee 'hind me, Satan! Have a hart! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mswjr Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I bought some o gauge loco kits from em in person about 15 years ago loads of o gauge stock and nice staff , went back last year to get some o gauge wagon kits and as im a keen motorcycleist went on my bike ,when i walked in you could hear a pin drop and the looks i got ,o k not used to bikers , then there was only 2 o gauge kits on shelf not what i wanted but very cheap so i took em to the till the bloke took an age to surve me and when he did he could not talk so i told him to shove em where the sun dont shine ,and i had no plans on ever returning so stuff em. mswjr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I think this thread is getting into a rut... Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I think this thread is getting into a rut... Dave. We can take that as red. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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