Anybody bought items off Bespoke Equestrian?

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Thank you everyone for your comments etc I will be taking them all on board. I do realise sometimes there is a lack of communication and will definitely be improving this from now on.

I don't want to let people down and hate seeing customers unhappy.
 
I have tried my best to answer all your questions but it didn't seem to be good or quick enough.

I can put you in contact with a lot of people who have received goods and people who have won items in our competitions.
 
All I can do is reply honesly and say that yes orders have been delayed and yes people have been refunded.

I undestand that obviously people are unhappy with the service that they have been give and the lack of communication provided. However it is not helped by hate campaigns etc.

I am taking steps to improve the service that I give.

The basis of the company is that we do not keep items in stock, all of this is explained in black and white on our website in the terms and conditions.This does not mean that the business in any way is a 'scam', as it is a widely known practice for companies to do this and I can mention a few large ones.

We do offer refunds to anyone who asks for them etc and we offer gift vouchers to people who have waited for items over the given time frame that we state. We also offer competitive prices that are gaurenteed 10% below RRP price.

At the end of the day you are all going to make your own assumptions and opinions from this, but I do insist that everyone not take what they read on the internet at face value, as i do see a couple of stories on her blown out of proportion etc

Thanks

Leigh
 
As was said on a very recent familiar themed thread, have you not heard the term "the customer is always right" ? Accusing them of blowing things out of proportion isnt really the way to go! I have friends who have commented on your pages on fb, who were thinking of becoming involved in these parties i will be advising them to read this thread before they make any decisions.
 
Bespokeequestrian said:
[...] I do insist that everyone not take what they read on the internet at face value, as i do see a couple of stories on her blown out of proportion etc
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Not heard of the company before, but from this thread and YOUR OWN contribution to it I can safely say that I will avoid your company. Keeping your customers up to date and informed through private communication is the right way to go about dealing with delays, not arguing with them about it on an online forum.
 
I do not deny that there has been problems with the above customers orders ... However everything that I have said here seems to have been dismissed and nit picked.

Seems that everyone is only interested in one view.
 
No problem everyone. Thank you for your input on all matters raised in this forum, I will be sure to put this into practice with future customer relations.

As previously said I will be improving customer contact etc.

If anyone has any problems, queries or would simply like to discuss their order in please feel free to email via info@bespokeequestrian.co.uk or you can email me on my personal email it gemstoneflyer@hotmail.co.uk.

Also feel free to message us on Facebook or even ring our number displayed on our website, which is +447854496412.

Best regards all

Leigh :)
 
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BE - I have read the thread and other than the one post that Capriole picked up on you seem to have been quite professional about it all and not making excuses, trying to offer resolutions. Could you get more help to deal with orders and better your reputation? Good luck in your venture - sounds like you are a busy bee!
 
Sorry, but people like you give me, a retailer who has a shop AND sells online, the pip. I DO hold thousands of pounds worth of stock and yet we have the ground cut from under us by irresponsible people like you who offer products at way below RRP where you cannot be making any profit and you do not have them in stock. I know for a fact that one line you offered of reputable hats at a ridiculous discount were not even in stock with the manufacturer........... I have to pay rent, rates, wages, phone, water bills and hold stock. In my opinion, you deserve all the bad publicity you get.
PS, I am off to work today too. Good job I love what I do.
 
I'm wondering how you have the chutzpah to offer t's & c's that you cannot guarantee.
How can you offer a 14 day turnaround when you are beholden to other companies sending the goods for you to send on?

Maybe if you increased your turnaround time to say 28 days, you could fulfill your orders in a timely manner.

I wouldn't order from you for 2 reasons, firstly I order goods because I want them now, not 3 months down the line. Secondly, if you don't have the goods to send, you shouldn't be taking the money from the purchasers account. That should come out at the time of dispatch.
 
Thank you Fides :) that is what I'm going to try do in the future, also hopefully setting up an office and getting someone to help.

We are in the process of setting up a shop, but i will not be changing the prices of any of my items. Yes we have made mistakes with prices, sales and deals but that does not effect the business now. At these times we also had an old website where the stock could not be updated so items may have been out of stock with the supplier, however customers were informed that there would be a delay and were happy to wait.

Don't get me wrong I would love to hold stock etc but unfortunately I do not have anywhere to store it currently.

Regarding turnaround most suppliers we deal with are very fast at delivering the products etc, so normally it is not a problem.

Regarding monies transferred, I think if we operated in the way payment was transferred when goods became available we would have a lot of surplus stock from items that people wanted but never paid for. Again something to think about for the future perhaps.

Thank you again for suggestions and feedback

Leigh
 
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Sorry leigh but not convinced the business model is ideal. If all you are doing is taking peoples money and then placing orders with the suppliers, what does your business add to the transaction? I can understand it more if you dont take the customers money until the product is ibtained as then you are adding value as you are sourcing and temporarily funding the acquisition. I understand you are just starting out and I want your business to succeed so am offering this more as an idea rather than a criticism.
 
Currently we are all about offering the most popular products in one place, instead of having to go to 10 different websites.

I realise it's not the ideal business model but we will be expanding, buying stock etc it's just currently at the moment we don't have a place to store it. We will be getting a shop in a month or so, so we will have to buy stock in then.

Thanks for the ideas :) it's all about finding the right mix and balance at the moment.
 
I'm not convinced either. I'd rather buy ten different things from ten different places that can guarantee quick delivery. I think the 'in stock' against each item is misleading, even your T&Cs says this may not be the case so it's effectively worthless

You have some lovely items for sale many of which I haven't seen elsewhere which is nice however it is essentially a limited range in a limited amount of sizes therefore to use the name 'Bespoke' is very inaccurate

You seem very nice and reasonable but blaming a problem now on a sale held last November would ring alarm bells for me and I wouldn't order (even if your 'bespoke' offerings included my ponies sizes... Which they don't)

Again though... Nice website and nice products and I hope it all works out for you
 
Thank you for your comments, we do try to stock a wide range of sizes.

I don't want to make it seem like I'm blaming the sale, but I'm being honest and saying it didn't help.

Regarding the in stock status I am trying to get it changed to show something different, but It hasn't of yet and I can understand why it could get confusing
 
Bespokeequestrian said:
Thank you for your comments, we do try to stock a wide range of sizes.

I don't want to make it seem like I'm blaming the sale, but I'm being honest and saying it didn't help.

Regarding the in stock status I am trying to get it changed to show something different, but It hasn't of yet and I can understand why it could get confusing
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Sounds like you're out of your depth. Suggest you concentrate on your university course and grow up a bit before wasting people's time.
 
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I have taken a look at your site and you advertise some really nice items that are a bit different to the norm, so I wish you luck.

However I wouldn't personally buy from a site that didn't hold the items in stock and who didn't have a land line number. It wouldn't give me confidence in the company. Also, I thought distance selling regulations meant that you couldn't take the customers money if you didn't have the stock to send?
 
I don't supply a landline number because my mobile is the best to reach me on as I'm not really ever in the house. I can supply one but would probably mean more frustration for customers due to it not being answered. But can see your point :)

I don't believe I am out of my depth there are plenty of people my age that have business's etc.. Just had a bumpy start.


Thanks again for the feedback
 
Horsemanmother thank you that's a good idea that I will look into

I am trying to adjust it and have asked the website designer to change it in the near future
 
There's a difference between setting up a small side line company making browbands for a bit of pocket money in your spare time and setting up an online company and taking hunreds of pounds of people and not providing the service you've promised.

I make handmade gifts and have a page on Facebook where i take 3 - 5 orders per week. This is enough for me to cope and my customers are always happy as they get what is promised in the time I give when they order. I would NOT dream of launching a big website with 50% off sales, bespoke items and items you don't have in stock when it's just me on my own!! Online companies have a stockroom, people working for them all day every day, not just someone dipping in and out between uni/work and working from their bedroom.

I get that you're trying to set something up here, however I think you're really out your depth - why don't you sort it out? Either scale it down or hire some staff - it's not fair on the people who have put their faith and hard earned cash into your 'company' and are being messed about.
 
I think this thread highlights a growing problem for internet shoppers. I look for a landline, an address and ease of contacting the company. Also look for bad feedback and use google maps to get a streetview of the premises. I want to know that they hold stock and what courier company they use.
A bargain isn't a bargain if they take your money before they have the item and leave you stuck waiting to see if the goods will ever arrive.
 
Not every business can have a premises, but yes I am opening a shop so will have one soon. This will mean that there is more staff etc

It's not my intention to mess people around.

Again as I have said previously I will be taking everyone's comments on board but I won't be posting on the forum again but thanks for the feedback everyone.
 
Bespokeequestrian said:
Not every business can have a premises, but yes I am opening a shop so will have one soon. This will mean that there is more staff etc

It's not my intention to mess people around.

Again as I have said previously I will be taking everyone's comments on board but I won't be posting on the forum again but thanks for the feedback everyone.
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How will you staff the shop, when you are at uni? I'd also look quite carefully into the distance selling regulations, as frankly Trading Standards could rock up any day now, given the experience some of your customers have had.

You sound as though you are going to give the concerns raised here some thought, which is good, but having watched a friend of mine set up a beautiful tack shop and fill it with stock... its not for the faint hearted, and certainly not something you could enter into whilst studying full time at university.
 
I'm sure it isn't your intention to mess everyone around but when you accept money from customers, you have a responsibility to ensure orders are fulfilled promptly. It doesn't matter that you are at uni or that you're young. These are not excuses when entering into a contract.
Companies that have premises and hold stock have invested a substantial amount of money in providing a service that you currently avoid. You need to make it clear on the website that you only purchase stock as the order and payment come in.
 
I have looked into the distance selling relations and there does not seem to be anything of concern. There is some big companies that sell on this business model, also known as drop shipping.

When the tack shop is set up I will be continuing university part time, i am fully committed to making this work.

I will be taking all comments into consideration
 
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