Horse and Hound, Above the Law ?

gemstoneflyer13 said:
I have explained on the other thread countless times that it would be sorted, all customer complaints were dealt with etc, but it was never good enough and I always got a backlash off it for trying to sort it out. Unfortunately Im not the type of person to sit back and watch as my company is being dragged through the mud.

I have started legal proceedings with my lawyer who is advising me on the case, however I did not want it to have to get to that position, I have openly talked about every aspect of my business and laid it out for all to see, it does get to the point where you are pouring you heart out and people keep continually stabbing at you.
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I do understand how frustrating it must be if you are trying to turn your reputation around, are now fulfilling customers' orders, etc. to still see negative comments . . . but you must understand that just as good reputations take time to establish, so negative ones take double that to turn around.

Honestly, actions speak far louder than words . . . instead of starting threads on internet fora, SHOW people (by your actions) that you care about customers by making darned sure that you fulfil their orders promptly and completely - that (and only that) will see your reputation improve and your business thrive.

P
 
Far, far too literate to be anything to do with jimjams, but, Oh My Goodness!, the customer service department could be run by the same staff ;) Maybe they went on the same, "How NOT to do it" course?
 
Elsiecat said:
I wonder if horseandhound see this thread as slanderous towards themselves? People in glass houses..
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The Horse and hound forum is a big lively forum with lots of horsey customers that people can advertise to.
I am pretty sure HHO can take a few nasty comments .
The resource that HHO is guarding here is us , lots of people that advertisers can reach through the ads on the forum .
 
Can i just sing the praises of Hope Valley Saddlery here, bridle ordered, delivered within 24hrs, rug ordered, delivered in 48hrs, bloomin amazing service, i wouldnt look anywhere else if theyve got what i want, excellent sevice
 
To be quite honest, the way to loose every customer you have and any future customer is to publicly announce you are suing ex-customers because they were not happy with your service and made this known. Noone wants to bother with that kind of thing. There are many other companies that do the same thing and don't fling "legal action" in your face.

Just to point out, i still don't even know what company this is. But i tend to buy in person now, save the bother.
 
Interestingly, op has chosen a name that has really hints to a stud in Cornwall as gemstone high flyer is one of their stallions. It's been very clear to me from the start that this isn't to do with that business because there have been no threads on here relating to them, and I suspected one of two particular companies who had been very public on the forum with their defence of their companies atrocious service.

However, op, if it were me, I would personally have chosen a username that wasn't so very closely linked with someone else's business. If I owned the stud and the stallion and saw this thread, I would be a little bit ticked off that some people many recognise the name as similar to the stallion and may go away with the wrong impression, by assuming it's someone associated with the stud writing the thread.
 
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Pardon, Goldenstar? I have no doubt that HHO don't give a flying ant about this thread. What my point was is that OP is busy labelling people slanderous for having bad opinions of her business. My point was that publicly she wanted people to condemn HHO for allowing bad reviews of her company. My point was that surely, if her logic is anything to go by, then condemning HHO for allowing freedom of speech is equally 'slanderous' towards HHO.
 
gemstoneflyer13 said:
I have explained on the other thread countless times that it would be sorted, all customer complaints were dealt with etc, but it was never good enough and I always got a backlash off it for trying to sort it out. Unfortunately Im not the type of person to sit back and watch as my company is being dragged through the mud.

I have started legal proceedings with my lawyer who is advising me on the case, however I did not want it to have to get to that position, I have openly talked about every aspect of my business and laid it out for all to see, it does get to the point where you are pouring you heart out and people keep continually stabbing at you.

In reply to the person who said that I do not care about the opinions of customers... I never said that.

I also said that i could confirm that I was not one of the companies mentioned above because it was true, everyone was going on about horse pi's, which is not my company.
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If you want to be successful in business, you need to learn how to separate yourself from your company. You may well want to stand up for your business and shout from the rooftops that its name is being dragged through the mud. That however is not in the best interest of the business.

Here's a simple example of what you should post on a public forum after seeing a thread in which there are numerous complaints.

" Company Name has reviewed all of the comments made on this forum and through our other social media channels. All genuine complaints and issues have now been fully resolved and all of those customers have confirmed their renewed satisfaction in our products/customer service. Company Name will always be happy to receive any customer reviews, good or bad, that will enable us to improve our products and services as it is our mission to supply an exceptional product and offer the highest standards of customer care. Should anyone have any further issues with either our products or service, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at xxx@yyy.com and I will personally ensure your issue is dealt with professionally and swiftly. Our customers are our most valuable asset and I thank you all for your continued assistance in helping me take this company forward. Signed, the company owner."

That took me no time and no thought...a little effort and it could be made 10x better.

The point is, when you see bad reviews online, you can choose to engage in an online battle that does nothing other than create more attention on the negative reviews of your company OR...you can say nothing publicly, but privately work your ass off to resolve the complaints in a swift and polite manner, not until you think you have done enough, but until the customers are happy that you have done enough. ONLY THEN, should you post publicly on behalf of your company with the positive message that ALL complaints are resolved, all customers are happy and that you will gladly welcome any further reviews, good or bad.

The quote below is from my own website under the feedback section. Customer service is everything. Complaints are not personal...they are how we learn to improve and grow.

"If there's anything you think we can improve upon or add to our business; or if you think we need to work on anything to make it better or easier for you, our customers, please do let us know. We are dedicated to doing everything we can to make The Pit BBQ an experience you'll never forget, but if we need to improve on anything, we won't know unless you tell us, so we really do mean it when we say don't hold back. Good or bad, we'll just be grateful for your comments and suggestions and will continue to do our very best to keep improving."

Finally and very seriously, if you are working with a solicitor you need to stop posting about this publicly.
 
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Lawyers should be warning about the potential cost and stress of litigation. The cost is absolutely enormous and many people just don't break even. Then there's the stress...once people start talking 'court', it completely overwhelms every aspect of day-to-day life.
Even winning a defamation case - which is unlikely as it's so difficult to get strong enough evidence together - would not necessarily benefit the business long term. People use a company because they want good customer service and value for money, not because the company won a court case. There are better strategies for winning customers.
 
gemstoneflyer13 said:
equi said:
To be quite honest, the way to loose every customer you have and any future customer is to publicly announce you are suing ex-customers because they were not happy with your service and made this known.

Im not suing ex customers ... just thought i would point that out :)
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No, just any fora that allow their customers to comment on the quality of your service. As previously noted, on your own page you edit (remove!) any adverse comment (when you notice it that is!).
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gemstoneflyer13 said:
equi said:
To be quite honest, the way to loose every customer you have and any future customer is to publicly announce you are suing ex-customers because they were not happy with your service and made this known.

Im not suing ex customers ... just thought i would point that out :)
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So, are you trying to sue Horse and Hound? I hope you have deep pockets if that's the case.
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jemima*askin said:
OP, there are questions on your FB page from 16 April regarding delivery times and whereabouts of ordered items. Might I suggest you nip off and sort them out?
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This. Absolutely this.

I have now had a pm from the OP asking for my grievance against them to be detailed within 48 hours.

I will be replying to say that i am not a customer as they well know and that i do not plan to be

I hope no one else has had a message, would be very poor show to send demanding messages out to everyone who dares to comment! You dont have to be a customer of a company to have an opinion on things reported by its customers and this thread did invite opinions.
 
All you have really succeeded in doing op is further destroying the reputation of your own company by posting this thread. Initially, when the other thread was opened, you came across quite well in your first couple of posts. You apologised, said you were working on improving things etc. what you should have done was go away and improve on things, if you had your reputation would have actually improved, people would know that you were taking on board their worries, fixing issues, focusing on quality of service etc. instead you simply continued to argue the toss on that thread then once it was dead and burried you then decide to rebrand yourself with a different username that could be easily linked to a totally unrelated business and start this thread, showing that you are not interested in improving your own companies flaws, but on trying to gripe at HHO for being a forum that allowed the public to learn about them.
 
Seriously OP, I am a horse owner, internet shopper and generally normal person. Iam also a lawyer but as you have your own legal advisor I say this in my capacity as the first three only. Stop this now. Did you ever keep a diary or write something as a kid and then cringe when you re-read it a few years later? I suspect in a few years time you will feel the same about your posts on here. I suspect the lawyer advising you is a mate or lecturer doing it for free. If not, I hope you have engaged them on a fixed fee arrangement as unwinding and dealing with this thread alone will probably take them half a day.
 
WelshD said:
This. Absolutely this.

I have now had a pm from the OP asking for my grievance against them to be detailed within 48 hours.

I will be replying to say that i am not a customer as they well know and that i do not plan to be

I hope no one else has had a message, would be very poor show to send demanding messages out to everyone who dares to comment! You dont have to be a customer of a company to have an opinion on things reported by its customers and this thread did invite opinions.
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I think that's vaguely threatening in the context of this thread I would consider reporting them to admin .
 
<<groans>>

Can't believe this has reared its (pj clad) head again. We all have a darn good idea who it is and the same answer will suffice... OP get off the internet with your stupid threats and work to put your company right. Time spent here would be far better spent fulfilling missing orders or refunding grieved customers.
 
Marydoll said:
Can i just sing the praises of Hope Valley Saddlery here, bridle ordered, delivered within 24hrs, rug ordered, delivered in 48hrs, bloomin amazing service, i wouldnt look anywhere else if theyve got what i want, excellent sevice
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im another who praise Hope Valley saddlery's service highly and am a repeat customer because i feel valued and receive great customer service and goods arrive with impressive speed.

Customers have more power now through social media and the internet in general. Companies who treat their customers well gain many new customers through good reviews, companies who dont, lose customers through bad reviews. You happen to be in the latter category OP through your own actions.

suck it up.
 
Ladyinred said:
<<groans>>

Can't believe this has reared its (pj clad) head again. We all have a darn good idea who it is and the same answer will suffice... OP get off the internet with your stupid threats and work to put your company right. Time spent here would be far better spent fulfilling missing orders or refunding grieved customers.
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Nope not Shwmae this time, another company who have recently had comment on their poor delivery and customer service.
 
to me this thread reads that the company owner aka OP has dug a very big hole for themselves and don't seem to be stopping.

At first I thought it was another company that employ same customer services that have been mentioned numerous times on this thread but spelling is too good to be them
 
Hope Valley really are fantastic. I left my leather gloves in store whilst trying on a hat. They had posted them to my house for me within 24 hours :)
 
Very sorry - I just realised that Bespoke Equestrian and SHWMAE are different companies. It was Shwmae using the word 'bespoke' to describe their products that confused me. Baby brain really is alive and kicking for me! However, my sentiments still remain.
 
I have to say I am finding this whole thread hilarious!!!!!

Also, I had absolutely no idea of the existence of Bespoke Equestrian, but now I do, I will be steering well clear for fear of being threatened with anything the OP doesn't quite like the look/sound of.

Thanks OP, this has really given me a chuckle today.
 
I've just read the thread now about your company OP and from what I read I honestly don't think you have a leg to stand on were you to take this to court. Posters were all very concise about the dates they ordered goods from you, communication dates and dates that the orders either did finally arrive, or the date you refunded them. There is nothing libellous in stating facts. You would have been best not getting involved in the thread and let it die its own merry death, but instead you continued to fuel it. A professional company would have kept schtum and quietly gone about improving their business and customer service. Buyers are generally very forgiving when a wrong is righted and it's THAT which gains companies (even ones with dodgy starts) a good reputation in the end.
 
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