Dealing with X Marks Partners

[Gryphon noir]

Over the past 18 months, I have sold three kilts and have ordered three. All three have been ordered from X Marks Partners, and I have to say that USA Kilts and New House Highland have been excellent to deal with. I have now dealt with seven X Marks Partners, and have had excellent experiences. My kilt closet currently includes 2 Freedom Kilts, a Lady Chrystel Kilt, a Burnetts & Struth and a USA KIlt.

I have just received the kilt from USA Kilts, and it is truly a work of art (photos will be posted, eventually). Like New House Highland, Rocky came well-recommended by many of you, and his service and product have surpassed my expectations. In a few more weeks, I shall be taking delivery of one of Matt Newsome's creations, which I have been assured is a real treat.

Then, there's......uh, the other one. I have done business with him before, and the service was great; I like his website and through reading the Partners Dedicated Forms, I have come to think of him as a respectable member of the Kilted community. It didn't seem to be much of a stretch to buy a kilt from him--I felt confident dropping about $460.00 .

But here's what happened. I ordered in May (I think they said it would be about 8 - 10 weeks), but about 7 after ordering I was emailed, informing me that there would be a delay. I told them no problem. In mid-August, the same thing again. I was fine with that, too. No hurry. At the end of August, yet another delay. I was getting concerned, but sometimes all you can do is wait.

In mid-September I missed an email and picked it up the following morning, a couple of hours before the kilt arrived--but not in the mail, rather by FedEx. C.O.D. charges were $151.40. Deep breath. "Okay," I thought, " A really good deal is now just an average deal, but I have read that this is a quality product, so...."

I took the kilt out of the box and tried it on. ***? Cinched right up to the tightest notch on the top buckles, it was so big it could slip right over my hips. I had ordered a 38" waist and received (at least) 41"--and I had no idea what the hip measurement might have been.

Laying the new kilt on top of another kilt of identical measurements, fabric weight and pleating, it did not compare favourably. The buckles appeared about 3" out of place, as indicated by measuring the waist. I emailed the company and sent it back. Cost: $56.63.

Over a month later, there have been several email exchanges and I have told them I want a refund. They won't discuss a refund, and offered to have the kilt "professionally measured" which of course confirmed their position that I was in the wrong. They did offer to move the buckles, but added the comment that they were doing it "as a gesture of good will." I took that as being condescending and quite unacceptable, and repeated that I wanted a refund.

So far, I have spent :$460.00 (original price of the kilt)
$151.40 (customs + brokerage fees)
$ 56.63 (postage to return the kilt)
for a total of: $668.03

..............and I have nothing to show for it.

I should add that I specified shipping by mail, because I know that Canada Post's handling charges are considerably lower than FedEx, about $40.00 lower, in fact.

I have respected this particular X Marks Partner's sticky which advises people with service issues not to comment in his forum.

I have given this company every opportunity to fix this problem, but I have only received excuses and now rather inappropriate "attitude." No offers of compensation or even alternate services that they could provide at little expense to them, but of value to me. Not even a refund.

What do you think?

[rondo]

I think you should let us know who it is... pressure can be brought to bear but only if people know who it is.
Rondo

[cable scot]

You could post a comment in their sub forum.

[Steve Ashton]

At the top of every advertisers' subforum there is a notice. The last sentence of each notice says;

"Finally, this section is to give our members a specific place to post reviews of products and the services they received from Scotweb."

The sub-forums given to our advertisers are a two way street. Yes it is a place for the advertiser to post notices of sales and other good things - but it is also where honest reviews of products and service are posted by our members as the "Word Of Mouth" that is such a vital part of this forum.

Each advertiser agrees to be an active and participating member of the forum first. This is extended to an expectation to respond in an open and honest way with members who post in their sub-forums.
What you, as a member, may not know is that the owner of the company will get a personal email from the forum, instantly notifying them of any post in their own sub-forum. This is about as direct a line of communication as you can get.

Every business gets a bad review now and again. It is usually recognized that how a company responds to a bad review or problem is what makes the difference between a good company and a poor one.



All the sticky post in the sub-forum of this advertiser says is, that before going on a bashing rampage, you do your best to resolve the issue with the company first.

It appears Gryphon Noir has done that. It appears that he now feels that he needs to "Go Public" with his concerns. And that is exactly what this forum is about.

The only provision this forum makes about negative reviews is contained in our FAQ's under "Product Reviews and Endorsements". It states;

"One of the functions of X Marks is to allow open and honest reviews of kilts, kilt related products and services.

Product Reviews are the best way for new members to gain information about suppliers. We encourage our members to post Product Reviews. All reviews must be about a product purchased for the members own use. Product reviews must contain only verifiable factual information.

Negative product reviews are also encouraged as an important warning to other potential buyers, but the reviewer must be very careful not to denigrate or libel the manufacturer or supplier. Negative reviews must contain only verifiable factual information.

If member wishes to post a review, of a product purchased from one of our advertisers, it would be best if the review is posted in that advertisers section of the forum."




If Gryphon Noir asks, this thread can be moved to the specific advertisers sub-forum.

[Gryphon noir]

Thanks for your comments, Steve.

I really don't want to unload this on everyone, or cause anyone any trouble, but like many of us, I do place a high value on the opinions and reviews posted on this site. People give their honest opinions and up to this point, the advice available here has been incredibly useful.

Good products, service, and business ethics should be rewarded, and I am happy to be able to support the businesses that advertise here.

Given that others have been very happy dealing with this retailer, I sincerely hope that the scenario I described is a one-time problem, and can be resolved.

Please feel free to re-post this thread wherever it seems most appropriate.

[Steve Ashton]

Your not unloading or causing anyone any trouble. You are posting what appears to be an honest review of a product and service of an advertiser on this forum.


As an aside -
The Staff have been throwing around an idea for quite some time now. We call it "The X Marks Seal of Ethical Business Practices". Think the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for kilts.

An advertiser with a proven record of quality products supported by exemplary customer service would be awarded the Seal which they could display on their website.
The Seal would show to the world that the company has proven on this forum that they conduct business in an ethical manner and are respected for their products and service.

I envision the X Marks Seal as the standard by which all companies in the kilt world are compared to.

The only bug we have not been able to iron out is a revocation of a Seal in the case of a drop in product quality or a record of poor customer service.
Say five complaints such as this within a one year period.

I could safely say that 'almost' every company that you see around this page would qualify for the "X Marks Seal".

I will move this thread to the ScotWeb sub-forum.

[Kilted Cole]

So, this is a review for Scotweb yes? Sorry I'm really tired at the moment and the words are running together lol.

[Truitt]

Sadly, I could tell who the vendor was from the description of the customer service. I have had two very similar experiences with them. What started out as pretty good deals wound up being a bit expensive and the repeated delays were very annoying.

[BCAC]

Sadly, I could tell who the vendor was from the description of the customer service. I have had two very similar experiences with them. What started out as pretty good deals wound up being a bit expensive and the repeated delays were very annoying.

I must admit, after I had a deal go wrong (for a jacket) in similar circumstances, I won't order from this company again.

Their customer service, in my case, left a lot to be desired.

[TheOfficialBren]

I have had good customer service from Scotweb. I have only ordered smaller, ready stock items, though.