Springfield Leather Company - That Time They Told Me To Get Lost.

[Tannin]

Unfortunate. Sometimes, despite best efforts/intentions, things just don't work out. At some point, somebody has to say "enough is enough" for the good of all concerned.

Yes, I use or at least try to use only solid brass hardware. I like the patina against the leather as it ages.....

Ditto. I bought Sam Brown studs recently, some shiny chrome/nickel & some shiny brass. Also some press studs: antiqued brass, chrome & gun metal. I hold them against a workpiece to see which I think works best and most often I go for brass. Also got my wife to pick for a piece recently and she chose brass, without hesitation. Often, to me, it looks best & seems most versatile. I'll happily use nickel/chrome on black leather though. I haven't used the gun metal finish on anything yet - although I notice that top Swedish craft axe maker Gransfors Bruks use matt black/gun metal studs & rivets on most of their leather axe guards.

[RavenAus]

I love how people are jumping all over the OP here - 'look to yourself', 'teenagers breaking up' etc.. If this post had been about Tandy you'd all be chiming in on how terrible they were, how you'd never shop there again, how the OP was right to be appalled...

Did any of you read the OP? One order in four actually delivered correctly. One sent to a completely different address, one sent with incorrect items and one sent with missing and unusable items. That is not the OP's fault, and neither is the bad customer service. That is down to Springfield. The owner may be a great guy but it sounds like the people he needs to fire are his staff, not his customers!

Last time I had a wrong item sent out in an online order I rang up and they sent me a replacement by return post, no charge. That was Tandy, and it was a stamp. I rarely order online but I know I'm safe with them when I do as they care about their customers. If I'd received an email like this from a supplier I'd be telling the world too! It's just about the worst press you can give yourself, Springfield.

[mlapaglia]

Before I make a decision if what they did was a good business choice I'd like to hear their side. I have fired customer from places I worked in the past. One gentleman was shocked. He never knew that his attitude was difficult to deal with. I am not saying the OP is this way but I'd like to hear both sides.

FYI "Fire your worst customer" is a good business practice. The time spent on a really bad customer along with the problems it creates internally with employees feeling bad about dealing with "that" customer makes it justified when necessary.

Again I am not saying the OP is this type of person only that there are times its the best thing for a business to do.

Michael

[chapelstone]

I rarely chime in on one of these type conversations but I had to post my experience. I use Springfield for most of my basic supplies. My high end supplies I get from custom makers. I order two or more times per month. I have never had a bad experience. On most orders where there is a back order, they will call and ask if I want to wait for the back order to come in or should they go ahead and ship. They have always communicated quickly and honestly.

I appreciate when they call and make suggestions on items of better quality or items where I can save money. They respond quickly when I have a question about products or technique. I am sure with a business of that size in addition to being mostly mail and internet orders there will be some mistakes, but I have never had an issue that they did not fix in a pleasant and professional manner.

If you can find a business that does everything perfect with no mistakes and one that can please the most had to please customers, let me know.

[BuckarooBasics]

I recently ordered some buckles and some of the bronc halter nose pieces they sell. The nose pieces arrived and I was told the buckles were back-ordered and would ship when they arrived. 2 months later, still no buckles, was told they were a Tandy item and they were waiting for them to arrive. Went to the local Tandy and they had lots of them, at a better price. Called and canceled the back order, which I had already paid for and ordered some saddle strings. They decided since it was a new order I would have to pay shipping. Not sure if I will order anything from them again.

[cody1200]

I would agree if you want better service from an American company move to America. USA USA USA

[RavenAus]

I would agree if you want better service from an American company move to America. USA USA USA

Or, you know, actually give your customers what they pay for, or don't sell outside your country! Funnily enough, not every leatherworker in the world is American, and to get ME to move there would take more than a Hollywood stars income. You like your country, fine. Don't treat the rest of the world as second class because we don't live there.

[BuckarooBasics]

I'm an American and my recent experience with Springfield Leather was terrible.

[Spinner]

For the majority of my orders SLC does pretty well. Only issue I have ever had is with their Bomber Brown leather.

They have one clear picture on the website but the lots vary so widely on the product that I had to stop ordering it.

At first I thought they had screwed up an order but after trying to get the same leather as I received the first time,

4 subsequent orders were all filled with slightly difference color/grain pattern yet the customer service said it was the same.

Can't have inconsistency like that so I source it elsewhere now but still order from them for stuff I know will be the same like 'roo lace and pre-dyed HO.

[DavidL]

Spring field is trying to increase their profit margins. They buy in huge lots (4000sq feet for one veg tan minimum order from brazil last time I emailed) from low end tanneries in developing nations for really low prices. Then they turn around and sell them at a huge markup. no surprise there. The only thing is the products he gets are so poor quality that a lot of the pieces have things like mosquito bites, holes, brands and really bad characteristics, majority low end and fewer that are okay. No high end leathers, mostly at cheap leather for beginners or the non discerning craftsman. The one I received had at least 200 mosquito bites and it was "A" quality. Anyone who checked it would have noticed immediately it was scrap.

They try to pawn off some of the bad stuff into peoples shipments knowing that there is a 25-40 percent change that the person will call to get it replaced depending on how bad the hide is and they take those odds. Bottom line they don't care about the customers and make up for the bad quality by acting like it was a mistake and they send you a new hide thats one of the good ones. In your mind you think its great customer service.

Not blaming them though, thats just how bad some of these hides from undeveloped countries tanneries are and there is no other way to get rid of them and they won't admit its garbage quality otherwise it will scare away customers. So if you call in they give you a good one and pay for shipping too.

Out of the people that bought from SLC there has to be a bunch that had to get something returned or didn't bother calling in.