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I've started a hobby supply store, I'm not spruiking it here because it is irrelevant to the vast majority of you good people, but it did bring up an interesting question.

My competitors offer free shipping, they do this by building in larger profit margins to cover it - the shipping, therefore, is not free at all. My shipping is expensive, but overall, my prices are much lower.

Free shipping is still attractive to some people(!)

It got me thinking about GW, they have brilliant after sales support, but is that not built into the price? Is that not what we are paying for with the high price for GW? Does customer service not include prices and availability (notoriously bad trade terms, for example) - this is ultimately part of the service for the customer?

So that's the question, do you think that GW has good customer service?

Yes. Customer service tends to get limited to people having a good experience with a faulty product, when the manufacturer makes a good impression with returns. GW, for example, tend to just send you the whole kit again, giving you essentially a free kit if you can actually fix the faulty part, like a miscast.

However, customer service also covers service before and during purchase. This includes GW's trade terms which can limit your methods of actually purchasing the product (as it's affecting the customer) as well as their staff when they're unavailable during time off because of their 1 man store policy or hounding you you make a purchase and being rude when you don't.

What people should be saying is GW have a good returns policy. Their overall customer service is fairly abysmal.

I'd agree with that; they are good when it comes to replacing dodgy kits (though that was still awful with finecast). One guy tried to sell me liquid green stuff instead of replacing a miscast.

But in the same vein, I've had no problems with replacement parts from most other companies, though with a longer response time.

Where GW's customer service really suffers is in stores, where the pressure selling is awkward and through 3rd parties, who have a hard time of it.

So GW are good at doing what is legally required (replacing faulty goods) but not any better than anyone else in any other way.

GW CS sucks. CS is so much more than just replacing something when it breaks or is factory defective.

There are way too many products of theirs that you can't just walk into a store to buy. That was their plan with B&M stores wasn't it? Instead, you can only get their most popular items in store, and the rest you have to order from them and either pay crazy shipping or pick it up "for free" at their own stores. For me, that means paying to get across a bridge. You can get your LFGS (Non-GW) stores to order certain things, but it can take a couple of weeks to get. Once again, why even bother having B&M shops if half their stuff is only available online.

Customer Service is about access. Access to GW stuff is atrocious. Both for the consumer and for the non-GW stores.

The other issue is cost. I don't play the game,so I don't care about how powerful a piece is in a given army. I just want to paint and collect. One Tactical SM is about $3. An Exalted Deathbringer is $28. I understand one is more detailed, but collecting and painting wise...WTF?

It must be working for them because they make piles of money, but damn...

As far as GW complaints go, that is probably one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read.

You don’t live near a GW store. This is clearly inconvenient for you but it certainly isn’t their problem, nor anything to do with their customer services.

You expect them to have EVERYTHING they sell, in a store. Where else, other than perhaps an Apple store, would you expect to have instant access to a retailers full back catalogue? Bear in mind GW are releasing stuff weekly.

You make out that them allowing you to order online and collect at their store is a bad thing. Delivering ‘free’ to their stores is a nice touch. They have weekly deliveries anyway, so they throw your item/s on at no extra charge. Your complaints about crazy shipping most likely lie with the postal/courier service, not GW. We’ve been spoilt by amazon and their delicious free delivery honey trap!

Ordering through a third party retailer takes a while, granted. I believe this is because GW has a delivery dispatch day so if you (or the FLGS) miss that, you have to wait another week. Same with ordering in a GW. I’ve had FLGS orders posted to me within a week of ordering. Maybe just good timing on my part, though!

Pricing is offensive to some and not a problem to others though I would agree that it could certainly be more stable.

In order to buy pack of 40mm bases, which cost $5, I either have to pay $10 for shipping (WTF?), wait two weeks for my LFGS to get them, or go to a GW store which for me, costs me $5 to get across a bridge and the fuel. Btw, it is GW that says shipping is $10. Not the Post Office. Ripping off the consumer much?

I would think that that would be something easily stocked, but GW does not allow it. They have online exclusive items that can't be in any store regardless of demand. That just sucks for the consumer. So yeah, their CS sucks.

You can order 40mm bases from many other manufacturers. Try them.

Seems to me if your choice is driving+fuel+bridge+your time charges or $10 delivery service; then the $10 delivery service looks like an attractive option. (note the delivery service has to inc,ude all of these things to get the package to you as well)

Of course that has sweet FA to do with customer service.

GW has very low production costs this makes the ability to replace a broken piece with a whole new kit easy and has helped no end in their CS reputation. Further they have to operate to British Standards and consumer standards and this has been extended worldwide further enhancing their rep in places where Consumer rights standards are lower.

A much smaller company may not have such low production costs so will struggle to compete on this issue or increase the burden of proof for the customer diminishing the experience for them.

 notprop wrote:


Of course that has sweet FA to do with customer service.

In your mind, what is customer service?

In mine, it means a company does everything it can to make sure getting a working product into a consumer's hands is as easy and painless as possible. In my eyes, GW fails at that on many levels, FOR ME. This is a general question after all. It is how the individual feels about the experience.

Maybe we should define what customer service is first.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 notprop wrote:
You can order 40mm bases from many other manufacturers. Try them.

LOL, that's not the point here is it? The fact that it's so difficult to get something so simple from GW makes their customer service suck.

I can get a pack of 40mm bases from a competitor for less money, shipped for very little and get it much faster delivered to my door. A big company like GW should be able to do the same or better. They CHOOSE not to. Hence their customer service sucks.

I did 15 years in retail, the last 7 months of which was for gw. The customer services department is fantastic, they are the ones who send you a new kit because of a small problem. That is very different from the customer service you get in stores, which is inconsistent and dependent upon the staff (although it shouldn't be). Gw are a good 15 years behind in terms of retailing, which is reflected in the inconsistencies in store polices that often get cited here.

There's a distinction to be made between "customer service" and "after sales service."

The former has a much broader definition than the latter. It is GW's after sales service that is usually picked out as being decent, but there may be more scope for criticism if one looks at the broader sense.

Essentially, most things that aren't either financial or quality related could be termed "customer service" but there's a lot of ambiguity, and you'd probably find most people and companies would define it slightly differently.

I think GW has the absolute best customer service.

They've been 100%, spot-on with every single issue I've ever had and everyone I know has ever had.

Sure some of GW's salesmen my be a little pushy, but that's how sales are when you need to make a quota. I believe that the gamer community is just a lot more sensitive to it.

I've always had positive experiences both over the phone and in the stores. The old battle bunker staff used to give lots of free stuff, lessons and perks just for treating them like human beings. I don't know how it is or was elsewhere, but the sales tactics were pretty standard for a retail store, and not at all onerous.

My last direct purchase from GW was during the finecast release. Their customer service was terrible, I certainly did not receive the "replacement no questions asked" everyone raves about, instead I was made to feel like I was an incredible inconvenience for calling them about a problem, told I would have to ship the defective miniatures back to them, and that if they deemed the miniatures to be defective I would receive replacements in a few weeks.
The fething things were missing huge chunks!
Prior to this I had always bought direct from GW, never had a problem.
The service and attitude I recieved was that bad I never bought from them direct again.

Joyboozer wrote:
My last direct purchase from GW was during the finecast release. Their customer service was terrible, I certainly did not receive the "replacement no questions asked" everyone raves about, instead I was made to feel like I was an incredible inconvenience for calling them about a problem, told I would have to ship the defective miniatures back to them, and that if they deemed the miniatures to be defective I would receive replacements in a few weeks.
The fething things were missing huge chunks!
Prior to this I had always bought direct from GW, never had a problem.
The service and attitude I recieved was that bad I never bought from them direct again.

Wow. GW really hates you antipodeans. That really is terrible.

That's almost the exact opposite to my finecast experience, where I complained about one bubble on Calgar's little eagle symbol, and they forced me to take the entire new box instead of just replacing the one bit.

I'm new to all this but...... I have found the GW store staff helpful, sometimes a little pushy, but no worse than any other high street shop.... I can accept this as it is their job to sell you something before you leave. After all, me buying something will keep the shop open for next time I want to call in.

What I dislike the most is shipping costs from web store for anything faster than standard delivery. Especially on larger orders. If I spend over £80 I should be able to get next day delivery for a decent price (or free!). If small web retailers can ship next day for very reasonable prices with discounts on larger orders, I don't see why GW can't offer the same.

As it would be very difficult to stock every item from every range in store, the online shipping should be cheaper and better. Not just another way for GW to overcharge.

-

My experiences with GW customer service (a few times, but last one was 2-3 years ago) was absolutely outstanding. Last time a super helpful guy on the phone walked me through getting the missing pieces I needed, and threw in a White Dwarf for me. I had five (!) eldar grav tanks that I'd gotten from a game flea market ($25, not too shabby!), none of which had the clear glass canopies for the crew, and one was missing the huge under-hull piece(s) that make up the bottom of the tank. No questions, just made sure I had the right pieces, mailed 'em to me, and viola, five complete grav tanks!

Absolutely outstanding.

1. GW Distribution Channels - Maybe not the best with some items being online only

2. In Store Service - Varies depending on store. Some one man stores are superb, some aren't

3. After Sales Support - Generally good when it comes to replacing stuff

4. Tournament Support - Next to none

5. Social Media - Starting up again

6. Getting & Acting on Customer Feedback - Starting up again

7. Expos like Warhammer Fest - Generally good but limited locale

8. Prices / Value - Debatable

9. Updates / FAQs - Used to be bad but may improve

10. Accessibility of Rules - Hard / complicated with rules spread over numerous Codexes, editions, supplements, etc. - all of which cost

 KiloFiX wrote:
1. GW Distribution Channels - Maybe not the best with some items being online only

Their distribution channel is terrible, whether it's intentional or not. The reports of them channelling stock intended for preorder recipients at independent stores back to their own stores for various reasons shows the sort of attitude they have.

Yeah I've not heard great things about GW's distribution channels locally. Going back to the late 90's my FLGS owner said they had good relations with GW distribution right up until a GW store opened nearby (maybe 5 minutes drive away) and then they became much more difficult to work with. Less flexible with orders and frequent delays. It seems that trend continued up until a few years ago when I bought my last lot of GW stuff from the FLGS and it took over a month to get in after being told "next week" over and over.

I'd add in...

11. Quality assurance: terrible

Though that's mainly finecast being a problem. It's great that they replace stuff promptly, but the fact they have to replace things frequently is a problem in the first place, and really, they are just obeying the law replacing faulty goods and since the production costs are small it's cheaper for them to send you a new item than receive the old ones back to inspect and put back through the distribution chain.

So the prompt replacement is less "They are awesome" and more "Well at least they aren't dicks".

Bandwagon wrote:
I'm new to all this but...... I have found the GW store staff helpful, sometimes a little pushy

"Hello there, what are you in for today?"

"Oh hello. Nothing really I'm ju - "

"Do you need glue?"

"-st looking - er, no no I'm good for gl - "

"Paints? Brushes?"

"-ue. Er, no I'm sorted thanks"

Bandwagon wrote:
What I dislike the most is shipping costs from web store for anything faster than standard delivery. Especially on larger orders. If I spend over £80 I should be able to get next day delivery for a decent price (or free!)

This I can agree with. I rarely buy from GW Direct, and if I do I'd have it delivered to either of the stores I live or work near but of course this isn't viable for everyone. You may not have a local store, not drive, whatever.

GW's are one of the few stores I avoid unless I really want something from it. Purely because the hard sell approach makes me feel guilty about just browsing. So I don't go in just to see what's new (though even that has lost it's value since I can see the box art online, anyway).

Conversely, I love browsing through the racks of blisters (mostly Reaper) at my FLGS, and more often than not end up buying something.

 JamesY wrote:
I did 15 years in retail, the last 7 months of which was for gw. The customer services department is fantastic, they are the ones who send you a new kit because of a small problem. That is very different from the customer service you get in stores, which is inconsistent and dependent upon the staff (although it shouldn't be). Gw are a good 15 years behind in terms of retailing, which is reflected in the inconsistencies in store polices that often get cited here.

It's also the same department that sent me a figure missing a face, twice, despite opening them up to quality check.

Sure, they are good at replacing parts, but they don't seem to be much use at anything else.

They are pretty fast at responding, fast at acting and very polite. I got a refund from a White Dwarf subscription with no fuss and I think only a couple of days.

I think their customer service is fab. I lost a piece from a Wave Serpent - sent them a nice note and they sent me a new one. Had a tiny bubble on a forgeworld devourer pair and got a new one.

Some of their staff give you stuff for free. Some of their staff try and sell you things. That's hardly so terrible - customer service does, after all, assume you're a customer.

We got to dark Sphere because better gaming nights, I've quizzed them several times about whether GW undersupply in-demand stuff and (with the obvious exception of direct-only) the answer has always been "no".

Their customer service is widely inconsistent, ranging from utterly incompetent to wonderfully fabulous service.
I have experienced either side and while everyone can say its good or bad, I believe that there are simply inconsistent with customer service and that you can have varying experiences each time.

Had a part missing from a GW model sprue called the 1800 number and the part missing was at my house within a week or so. The person I talked to was polite and very professional on the phone. Of course I was also polite to the person because sugar catches more flies than vinegar.

I've had quite a good experience with my local GW. I live 20 minutes walk away and every time I go in the guy who works there lets me peruse the shelves for a few minutes before coming over and having a chat with me about what I'm painting at the moment. He doesn't try to force me into buying something nor does he make me feel bad if I don't buy something. He recommends things to me like any other retail worker would (or should) based on what I'm working on and what he thinks would improve my painting/modelling etc. He lets me know of any events that are coming up in case I may be interested and asks if I need any glue or paints which I find quite handy because I usually forget that I've run out of a particular paint.

However, when I went into a different GW in another town, the guy working there was slightly too pushy with the sales thing. Luckily for him I had gone in there with the intention of buying something anyway and he helped me decide what I wanted by letting me look at the Kauyon book to see what I needed for my white scars formations.

Corporately? I think its great. Anytime I've had a broken part (which, I think the last one was 3 years ago as I don't buy their stuff much anymore) they've sent me a replacement (or more) really quickly.

In store? No. Actually, Hell no. I hate stepping into those pits of fakery and hard sell. I'd rather buy something online and have it shipped to me than have to listen to some tired and overworked kid try and hard upsell me to a new army box after I come in for a bottle of paint. I really dislike going into their stores.

 Chute82 wrote:
Had a part missing from a GW model sprue called the 1800 number and the part missing was at my house within a week or so. The person I talked to was polite and very professional on the phone. Of course I was also polite to the person because sugar catches more flies than vinegar.

If you're suggesting the reason people who recieved poor service from GW was because they weren't polite, I can tell you I was extremely polite and friendly, the person I was speaking to was only polite to the point they found out there was a problem and then became quite rude. At no point did I reply in kind, I stayed polite for the entire conversation, but recieved no flies.

GW has great service, on the few occasions that I called them about missing or damaged products, they replaced them promptly with verification.

FW however is the opposite in my experience, the experience was so bad I refuse to spend any money on their products, buying 3rd party recasts instead.

 Big Mac wrote:
GW has great service, on the few occasions that I called them about missing or damaged products, they replaced them promptly with verification.

FW however is the opposite in my experience, the experience was so bad I refuse to spend any money on their products, buying 3rd party recasts instead.

Out of personal curiosity what was the issue you ran into with ForgeWorld?

They have been outstanding every time I've had an issue or questions. Including replacements, paint questions, and other help.