Shocking treatment by Equimins

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Haushinka

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Just wanted to inform people of the shocking treatment I have received from the feed complany, 'Equimins'.

I called them today to place an order, only to be told that my account has been flagged by the directors as 'Do not supply to this customer'. The (very nice) customer service person could not provide an explanation as to why, but was positive that they could not fulfill my order.

I was completely flabbergasted!! I have never been 'blacklisted' etc in my 30-odd years of being on this planet; I have worked in customer service in both the public and private sectors and had to deal with very irate customers and staff in the past, but I have always managed to solve any problems and put my point across in a polite, diplomatic way, without losing my temper etc.

In fact people who know me personally usually come to me for advice on how to deal with such situations, as I have the gift of keeping a cool head and being able to view situations from all perspectives.

Now, I believe the 'refusal to supply' issue can only be due to an incident that happened months ago when I ordered my first tub of a specific product from Equimins. Basically they were in the middle of changing the formulation and I had contacted one of the directors prior to ordering, to check the ingredients and suitablility.

I was assured would receive the identical product advertised on their website, that the ingredients would be the same etc. When the tub arrived, the ingredients listed were different from those advertised, and contained additives I wanted to avoid feeding (the advertised ingredients did not contain these particular additives).

On calling Equimins to query this, I was put through to one of the directors, who did not give me a straight answer to the question, 'Is this tub one of the old formulation, and could I send it back for one of the new stock?' - instead he argued that the ingredients were of no consequence and the advice I had been given from my vet (specialist with a PhD in internal medicine), about avoiding those particular ingredients was 'absolute rubbish' and became very irate, unprofessional and going off on a tangent about how he was annoyed at people calling up wanting formulations changed, certain minerals which weren't necessary (he referenced Dr Kellen here and the MetaBal formulation) etc etc.

I responded as calmly as I could that my vet was very knowledgable in his field and that I had supplemented this recommendation with my own medical journal research, and that all I wanted was the product advertised on the website. He argued that I HAD received the product advertised; when I pointed out that the ingredients list was different to that advertised, he very angrily retorted, 'Well, send it back to us and we will refund your money' and hung up.

I feel very upset at the way Equimins have dealt with this; I have been made to feel like an abusive customer, when all I wanted was what I was legally entitled to - the advertised product!

I have since read on online forums that a few other customers have felt they were treated in a similar way - I hope that by posting this, someone could reassure me that I am not losing my mind!!

I am currently looking into switching to LexveT Cool Mix, as I don't feel happy funding a company that treats its customers in such an unprofessional way -so if anyone also has any reviews of LexveT, the info will be gratefully received!

Thanks for reading my extensive rant!

Haushinka
 
Not nice behaviour , what don't these companies get that by talking to customers in that manner won't get them anywhere.

I complained to equisafety and I got the md on my home phone telling me I was being picky over a poor quality and dirty wrap around sheet. So I would never buy anything from them again.

In this situation can you find what you need else where ?
 
I'm surprised you actually wanted to order from them after your first experience!

Is there another company selling similar that you could use instead?
 
This isn't the first time that the customer service of this company has been battered on this forum. It seems the very brash manager just doesn't care about keeping his customers happy, the brand has really grown and I think attention to detail has gone out of the window!
 
I'm afraid I've not heard good things about their customer service either. OP I don't know about the feed you have posted, but Pro hoof on ebay is a good alternative to metabalance.
 
Sorry to hear you had this experience. Not like them at all

I have bought from Equimins for over 20 years and have never had a problem they have always been helpful and kind, even giving me a few free pots of supplements to try.

I will still use them as I wont use any other joint supplement
 
I must admit I am very surprised to hear this, as I regularly order from them via phone and have always had brilliant customer service.
 
It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong as we only have your side of the story but I too have 'blacklisted' customers if I feel they are more trouble than they are worth. I realise that most people think that 'the customer is always right' but, trust me, some of them are stark, staring bonkers and I always thank them politely for making their 'final purchase' from us :p
 
Oh, thank you all who have replied so promptly - that has bolstered my battered self-worth!

I didn't think I could have been the only one to have got this person on 'a bad day', especially with the reference to Dr Kellen and Metabal.

The product in question was their Advance Concentrate Complete Pellets - after leeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnggggggggtthhhhhhyyy research, this one of only two supplements that I could find that do not contain ANY cereal byproducts, such as wheatfeed, oatfeed etc, no molasses, no soya/byproducts and enough magnesium, copper and zinc to benefit my pony's barefoot regime.

My pony has just finished a 3-month GG (and eventually Ranitidine as well!!) treatment for stubborn grade 2 ulcers, and being a Connemara is also on the laminitis/IR etc high-risk list, and the feedstuffs mentioned above are all thought to be linked to one or more of these issues, so I am aiming for avoidance of them.

wallykissmas & wipeout: I am currently looking into LexveT's Cool Mix supplement as a replacement; I know it seems rather stupid of me to want to re-order after the previous experience, but I felt there weren't many options available to us, feed-wise! :(

foxy1: Thank you for you suggestion :) I have looked into the Pro Hoof (I have purchased yea-sacc from them in the past) but unfortunately it contains wheatfeed, albeit a small amount.

Leviathan: It was a shock for me, as when I had spoken to this same director prior to purchasing the Advance, he was very helpful and polite.

It does seem as though I must have caught him on a bad day, and I accept that everyone has bad days, but that does not excuse the 'black flag' placed on my account - I have not done anything to deserve it!

It's a shame for Equimins as a whole, as I did manage to get hold of the new formulation from elsewhere and have been happy with it - so much so I have been recommending it to anyone who will listen!

Needless to say it won't be on my recommendation list now!

Haushinka
 
Snowy Celandine said:
It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong as we only have your side of the story but I too have 'blacklisted' customers if I feel they are more trouble than they are worth. I realise that most people think that 'the customer is always right' but, trust me, some of them are stark, staring bonkers and I always thank them politely for making their 'final purchase' from us :p
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Thank you for your point of view, I understand when companies don't wish to deal with abusive or difficult customers, they have a right to protect themselves and their staff; I have been the recipient of such behaviour myself, as mentioned in my original post.

However, it does seem that the whole episode was triggered when I queried the ingredients discrepancy - which is a valid point of consumer law - it does make me wonder if they were trying to get rid of old stock or old labels (it was a cut-down label from a 10kg sack, stuck on a 2kg tub).

I know you only have my word, but I can assure you I am never bolshy or abusive towards anyone, even when directly threatened or provoked (yes, had experience of that at a previous yard! :( ).

I must admit I was annoyed at his suggestion that the vet was wrong, and that must have come across in my voice, but not enough to be considered abusive or awkward.

The other staff that I have dealt with at Equimins have all been very professional, polite and helpful - it is a shame that the director has spoilt what would have been a long-term customer relationship!

I still have the original tub I was sent, if anyone is vaguely interested in a photo! LOL

Haushinka
 
I am absoutely gobsmacked OP. I have bought Metabal from them for around 18 months. I have found them to be totally excellent. I would rate them as top of the list for service.

I had a batch that was faulty, I sent them a photo of it and they immediately contacted me and replaced it FOC, no questions, queries or anything.

There were difficulties a while ago when one of Dr K's students (who drew up the original formulation for metabalance) decided she wanted to change the recipe. I objected most strongly to Equimins. They were very good in dealing with several e mails back and forth. In the end they found the solution by keeping the original formula (now formula 1) and making an inproved product as well (now formula 2)
I should think whilst I was contacting them they were sick to death of Dr K, her students, me and anything to do with metabalance but still they remained polite, helpful and courteous.

I have had other queries over the years on various things. I have e mailed, often in the evening and got a reply almost instantly from David.

There are many companies where I would accept service was poor but in this particular case I think there must be more to this than meets the eye. Sorry.

Needless to say I shall be continuing to use equimins.
 
I don't rate the product anyway. My horses hooves deteriorated noticeably when I used the stuff for a few months. Then, in the interests of research, tried the ebay sellers Pro Hoof and also had lacklustre results.

Went back to Bailey's Lo cal and they returned to their previous good health.

Different things work for different horses, but was really surprised at the effect it had on my horses.
 
Cor Blimey I have had mine on Pro Hoof for a few months now and her feet are nothing short of amazing. Soles are rock hard, white line has contracted nicely. Growing very differently. Farrier has been recommending it since he noticed the big changes in her. Just shows what suits one doesn't suit another!
 
Another vote for Equimins being helpful and efficient when I've used them.

That said, I've not had reason to get into a run-in with them. OP must say I'm rather surprised you even considered going back to buy from them after what you experienced before. Once bitten, twice shy IME.
 
paddy555 said:
There were difficulties a while ago when one of Dr K's students (who drew up the original formulation for metabalance) decided she wanted to change the recipe. I objected most strongly to Equimins. They were very good in dealing with several e mails back and forth. In the end they found the solution by keeping the original formula (now formula 1) and making an inproved product as well (now formula 2)
I should think whilst I was contacting them they were sick to death of Dr K, her students, me and anything to do with metabalance but still they remained polite, helpful and courteous.
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Ahhh, that would explain the comment about Dr Kellen and MetaBal - it did perplex me, as though I had mentioned the MetaBal in my first contact with them as being the reason I became interested in the Advance (I had seen it mentioned on barefoot forums), I took the director's advice to try the original formulation first and go from there - he said if any problems with feet persisted, to call him back and he would send out MetaBal. He was very reluctant to sell the MetaBal though, without a vet diagnosing metabolic issues.

In the second phone call, he was mentioning the MetaBal and 'Dr Kellen following' as if it was the bane of his life - I am sure ow that I must have received the brunt of some argument or issue that had come about just before my call - or come to think about it, perhaps he got the wrong end of the stick when the customer service person put me through when I was querying the ingredients?

I do recall mentioning MetaBal in the 'discussion' about ingredients, I can't remember exactly what I said, but I was quoting the ingredients listed in a forum, in response to something he had said about the ingredients I originally quoted off the Equimins website were for the MetaBal, or something like that, but he did seem surprised that I had obtained the ingredients from the website (they changed the website description in-between my first phone call and the second).

Honestly, I am not withholding anything about my conduct during this phone call - I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt when I tried to re-order (I have purchased elsewhere for my in-between supply) - I still think they have acted unprofessionally and unfairly by firstly, reacting in such a manner, and secondly, marking my account with 'Do not supply to this customer' for what was my request to swap a product that has a different name, label and ingredients list to that which I saw on their website.

Interestingly, they now have a photo of their old label, but with the new ingredients and description, on their website.

Their brochure confusingly mentions both the old and new supplement names, but doesn't explain the differences etc.

I am considering speaking to Trading Standards about the advertising discrepancy - if they had treated me fairly, I would obviously not be doing so.

I did ask to speak to one of the directors after being informed of the issue with my account, but they were unavailable. I don't know whether it would be worth pursuing or not TBH - I am uncomfortable with having such a black mark on my account and would like to try and resolve the situation, but based on the reaction I got last time, I don't think it would be worth the stress.

Of course, for anyone who is happy with Equimins, I am not saying they should cease to do business with them - I am just making people aware of what might happen should they have problems and get either the 'wrong person' or 'bad day', so that if they should encounter such awful treatment, they do not have to feel it is their fault, or that they are alone, as I felt until I saw some of the replies on here!

Haushinka
 
Spyda said:
Another vote for Equimins being helpful and efficient when I've used them.

That said, I've not had reason to get into a run-in with them. OP must say I'm rather surprised you even considered going back to buy from them after what you experienced before. Once bitten, twice shy IME.
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Me too, TBH - but as I am the kind of person who always gives people the benefit of the doubt (I probably give people TOO many chances :S), and the fact that prior to that awful incident I had had nothing but 100% positive experiences from them, plus the fact that I have not yet found any other supplements bar this and LexveT, I thought I would give them another chance.

I am so upset by the whole thing that I decided to make others aware - it was really the most awful experience I have encountered as a customer. I have a long-term illness and I was shaken by the hostility for days afterward.

Haushinka
 
I've no experience with Equimins, but have been feed Lexvet cool for about 7 weeks now. My boy's coat is shinier, and he is a pretty chilled out and happy dude all in all. Really pleased, as he has never had a shiny coat before! It is also reasonable cost-wise IMO, and I like knowing that he is getting everything he needs.
 
I tried to buy copper off them and they were brusque to the point of rudeness in answering my email and told me that thay would not supply me even though I explained that I am a long term user of it, and I know that they sell it to other people.
 
I have heard mixed reports about them but my experience (always by phone, never by email (I was warned off email!)) in buying straight minerals is one of pleasant, friendly staff, free P&P and extremely fast delivery :)
 
Quote~Today | 08:12 PM
The_Snow_Queen
Quote de Xmas_Derpette
Bloody pigs, I won't buy anything off them and they can kiss my big, fat Welsh @$$

GRRRRRRRRRR

Coffee-Keyboard moment!

what she said... although inserts English not Welsh ~quote

Sorry, I was feeling 'tired & emotional' my language leaves a lot to be desired when I'm like that lol

Apologies :p
 
Xmas_Derpette said:
Quote~Today | 08:12 PM
The_Snow_Queen
Quote de Xmas_Derpette
Bloody pigs, I won't buy anything off them and they can kiss my big, fat Welsh @$$

GRRRRRRRRRR

Coffee-Keyboard moment!

what she said... although inserts English not Welsh ~quote

Sorry, I was feeling 'tired & emotional' my language leaves a lot to be desired when I'm like that lol

Apologies :p
Click to expand...

No need to apologise, it both of your comments cheered me up! :D
 
fjordhorsefan said:
I've no experience with Equimins, but have been feed Lexvet cool for about 7 weeks now. My boy's coat is shinier, and he is a pretty chilled out and happy dude all in all. Really pleased, as he has never had a shiny coat before! It is also reasonable cost-wise IMO, and I like knowing that he is getting everything he needs.
Click to expand...

That's great feedback, thanks fjordhorsefan!

I've asked ****** to add both Lexvet mixes to their feed database, they emailed and it has been done already, so I can compare with the Equimins before calling Lexvet for further advice :D

Exceptional service from ******!
 
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