letsgetdirty Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Its not often i complain about a shop,but i do feel i should let you guys know this,3 times ive been to craddocks the first time was to see the techs out the back about an oil filter housing,i phoned up and the guy in the shop said "come over and theres bound to be an oil filter housing you can have off the salvage line up" i drove about 15 miles plus only to be told when i got there i couldnt have one,they wouldnt take it off an engine and the guy in the shop was wrong,not only this but the mechanics didnt have a clue about the differences in oil filter housings between the defender Tdis,i went home very disappointed,since then i have had many let downs until this final one, on the saturday i went in to the shop and spent a small fortune on suspension and accesorys,later that day i remembered brake lines,i went onto ebay and john craddocks were listing 4 sets of 50mm extended brake lines,i bought one set,monday morning i phoned,they had no idea what i was on about,eventually i was put through to someone who said they had found my order,i asked if it was okay for my father to collect them later that day as my defender was on axle stands,they said yes they had my order and they would be put behind the counter, i finished removing my brake lines,later that day my father rang from a phone box!! "i asked for the brake lines and they have no idea who you are or what your order is"he said i phoned them straight away and told them they had only spoke to me earlier and had confirmed everything,they had no idea what i was talking about,eventualy after being put on hold fof 8 minutes to a nationel rate number from a mobile they apologised and said send your father back in for them,my father who has terrible rheumatism and is nearly 70 years old,phoned me again,he said he went back in and stood in a queue for nearly 20 minutes,when he spoke again to them they told him they hadnt got them and they would have to order them,my father reminded them that they were advertising they had four sets in stock,IN STOCK 4 SETS OF 50MM EXTENDED BRAKE LINES" were the exact words,i phoned and said my defender was on axle stands and they assured me they were "on the van" ready to be collected in the morning,they said they would phone when it came in,the next day(tuesday)no phone call,i phoned at 1 30 pm,they had no idea who i was again! when they did they said there not in yet but the vans due in any minute,we will phone you...... no phone call...... its now wednesday the next day at 3.00pm and i had nothing so i phoned,and asked for a manager....he inturn had no idea who i was or what the order was and asked if he could phone back...........1 hour later he phoned and said that the brake lines were not on the van at all and were never going to be,they wouldnt be in for 2 to 3 weeks....i reminded him that i have spent nearly 2k with him and it was terrible service, i had no compensation and refitted my old brake lines, another set is on its way from elsewhere.im so annoyed and thought you fellas ought to know,im not telling tales,im just livid, needless to say i have since found out about Llama 4x4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 *If there is one thing I hate in the world then it is (repeated on purpose),,,, then it is LOUSY service. I must admit letsgetdirty that with such a treatment, I simply withdraw never to be seen again.... Not even my hairtip... Irritating. Why can't they talk to each other and make sure that whoever calls is assigned to one and only one person.. "Hey fellows Letsgetdirty called concerning an item.. send him over to me when he calls back again" I think from your decription this thing has really gotten into your bones.. And poor dad.. taking all his time and doing you a favor.... I will be careful not to mention names here though but I have been disappointed a couple of times when it comes to these STEALERS... I understand why in certain countries there are people who can fix such IDONOTCAREATTITUDES....I hope you get all in order LGD.. I do bear with you..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Jenkins Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I'm sure you both make valid points in there, but if I might just point out the following: It makes it really difficult to read when you don't put in any punctuation, line breaks, paragraphs etc. I know that you're annoyed and it is a stream of consciousness, but if you want us to sit up and read what you say, stick a few commas, full stops and Capital Letters in there plus hit the Return key a few times and it will give us all a chance to read it properly. Not saying it has to be an essay but do you see my point? My God I am turning into an old git and only 25... sorry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Attryde Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Blimey, your not wearing very well then Mark. . I do how ever agree with the lack of punctuation, etc making it hard to read. I have to say I have both good and bad service from Craddocks but I only buy online from them have never been to the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Jenkins Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Blimey, your not wearing very well then Mark. . I do how ever agree with the lack of punctuation, etc making it hard to read. I blame the old gits on this forum.... I only want to have a quiet read while skiving at work without getting sore eyes. I've had OK experience of Craddocks but to be honest, not used them that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Errrrm. M J I think I did manage a couple of punctuations there didn't I? Did you miss a heartbeat or lost your breath reading the first mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsgetdirty Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 I'm sure you both make valid points in there, but if I might just point out the following: It makes it really difficult to read when you don't put in any punctuation, line breaks, paragraphs etc. I know that you're annoyed and it is a stream of consciousness, but if you want us to sit up and read what you say, stick a few commas, full stops and Capital Letters in there plus hit the Return key a few times and it will give us all a chance to read it properly. Not saying it has to be an essay but do you see my point? My God I am turning into an old git and only 25... sorry... I didnt do to well at english,i myself spent 2 years in hospital and missed most of my exams with the treatment, so im sorry if the punctuation isnt up to your standard my friend, i will however make every effort to improve, although i dont really know how to use a computer properly either, i try better my friend,and for anybody else reading this who also is annoyed then its the first long one ive done on the defender forum and i really only wanted to warn you guys,hitting enter buttons and things like that i dont even know where half of them are.i will keep them shorter people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 That's pretty much standard practice for Craddocks, I'm afraid, lying about stock is just one of their tricks. And the manager chap who comes on the phone is a complete C**K . Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsgetdirty Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 That's pretty much standard practice for Craddocks, I'm afraid, lying about stock is just one of their tricks. And the manager chap who comes on the phone is a complete C**K .Mo thanks mo, Glad im not the only one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Blimey, your not wearing very well then Mark. . I do how ever agree with the lack of punctuation, etc making it hard to read. I have to say I have both good and bad service from Craddocks but I only buy online from them have never been to the shop. I will not mention names but it is a pity that people are so hanged up on punctuations, spellings and "nick pickying" on elements which are actually irrelevant to this forum. A fellow crying out his woes about a lousy service needs some cheering up. We are here to be supportive ( I am not thinking about babysitting if these fellows want to misunderstand my point) and learn from each other. I guess despite your having the pain in the neck and sore eyes, you did get what letsgetdirty meant .. Be a little considerate at times fellows!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Being able to read and understand the thread is a big help though. We do understand that some members from other countries do have a problem with typing something understandable in another language (HFH still can't do it ) Reading a long post like that ^^ is a bit mentally exhausting Taking a bit more time to type a post can be very beneficial and is likely to get a better response/sympathy. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noggy Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 i bought 4 modulars, yes 4 thats a normal amount on wheels to buy isnt it? i sent me 3 and one was so damaged it wouldn't hole a tubeless tyre, im still waiting for there courier to arrive to send them back. I am never trading with Craddocks ever again. im going to stay loyal to paddocks from now on, as they are only 5 miles away, and about 10quid cheaper on everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Yes it is frustrating to be treated like that and in this day and age NO company has any excuse for that. If I post a long thread, I'll write it out, read it through and post it. I will then read the post straight away. If it's hard to read or doesn't make sense ( more often than not) I'll edit the post till it does make sense. Don't knock the bloke for airing his woes. It has obviously got under his skin and him complaining to his wife/partner will do them no good. At least here we will understand and offer help advice of where to go to next time he has a big shopping list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need4speed Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 letsgetdirty i have deepest sympathy for you. Its inexcusable spending so much money with someone and getting that service in return, especiaially sorry for your dad. Dont worry about the punctuation, methinks people are getting a bit picky! Were not all great with grammar - its only a forum for gawds sake, not an english degree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I thought I read somehere here, that WALFY IS ALWAYS RIGHT!! Les you have a point there and I do agree perfectly well. Hitherto, I wonder how anyone will feel if they were living in China or Greece and had to express thoughts in Chineese or Latin (Which they had deligently suffered to study) on a forum like this! .. Anyway lets get it on. We (me and me and me and myself- quite many ainit? ) are all aware the Queen's Language rules.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I had a run-in with Craddocks last month, and had the pleasure of talking to the rudest man I think i've ever come across... I will NEVER trade with them again. Total shower of s**t. They lied about having what I ordered in stock, a week later sent me a totally inferior pattern part, then insisted it was the same thing, and i was in the wrong. w***ers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thanks for the warning letsgetdirty. I remember John Craddock's company in the pre internet days when they were a fairly small business who produced just a few sheets of photocopied paper as a catalogue. Sadly it does not always follow that as a company grows so does the level of customer service that every individual receives. Thanks again for relating your experience, I am sure many appreciate the time spent on the lengthy post. One tip I sometimes use is rather than typing directly into the forum I will use a word processing package such MS Word to compose the post and then copy and paste it across to the forum itself. The benefit of this is that most word processing software will have an inbuilt grammar and spell checker so does most of the work for you. Anyway, enough said about grammar etc, let's stick to the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Anyway, enough said about grammar etc, let's stick to the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I have bought from them over the internet and in person and have occasionally had ok service from them Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denviks Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 to be honest , going by what i have read across the forums i wouldnt order from them now unless i was really really desperate and my god it would need to life and death and they were the only ones selling that bits i wanted.....but not in a hurry for even though its life and death,.,,,,,, and even then i would still have to take 3 weeks to think it over sorry to hear that yet someone else has had their now legendary customer service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsgetdirty Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 People once again i apologise, i only wanted to warn you,its funny...when i had to sit my english exam in the hospital the results came back that the storys i told where spell binding but they were difficult to read, never thought ten years later it would be coming back to haunt me, a quick mention would have helped, but starting out to help warn other people has turned into a topic about my grammer, I am sorry for this, and to be honest i dont know how i will post now without thinking people have labeled me as schooling impaired. just a little thought about others feeings, i have understood yours and said sorry and i would try harder,did you guys not think how it would make me feel to be talked about over and over again? your supposed to be my landrover friends,.....just once would have been okay, i said i would try. kind regards to all tris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Attryde Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Tris, Nothing personal mate, I have to say that I personally generally don't bother to read or reply to posts that are hard to read/understand for what ever reason. I also agree that it's good to get feedback about companies when they have provided good/bad service. I am definately going to be looking for alternative suppliers to Paddocks/ Craddocks as the service and ideed the quality of parts is geting worse. On a side, note when are you up to spray the 90? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjolliffe Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Tris, Don’t worry about the grammar mate, your right, to mention it one time would have been enough cant believe people can that arsey about something so trivial! As for Craddocks - I bluntly refuse to shop from them now. Went in there the other day to get a new outrigger for my mates 110 and the guy behind the desk serving us was a complete i**t and somewhat rude! Was after some new body supports to put on the outrigger so he dug out a shabby old parts manual and I selected the correct one. Came back a few minutes later with a part that looked nothing like the one in the picture in the parts manual or the one I had just removed from the 110! All he had to say to that when I pointed it out was 'well it's got the same part number sticker on it' - quite obviously the wrong part number sticker had been put on it and despite repeated attempts to show him that the picture in the parts catalogue was quite different from the part he had bought out he simply stuck by his guns and claimed it must be the same because the part numbers matched up! What ever happened to the ‘customer is always right’? Or for that matter manners? Sorry - it's only a little thing I know but it can really wind you up. I'd sooner buy from a stealer than Craddocks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thanks chaps, as a newbie I'm always keen to hear feedback on suppliers so that I can learn from other people's experiences. Any other large online suppliers to avoid (as these are the ones I and others like me are most likely to use!)? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 In defence of those at Craddocks I live less than 10 miles from their store so over the years have been there 100s maybe a 1000 time and have spent sometimes pennies often many pounds and have NEVER had a issue with them. They are human beings so if you go in there with the wrong attitude it's very possible some of your attitude might be reflected back at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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