Hide House issues

[bruce johnson]

I am not a big time customer of HideHouse, but order from time to time. I don't think I have ever ordered more than a side or two until 2 days ago I ordered 3. I don't feel like small fish when I have dealt with HideHouse on those small quantities. Everything I have ordered has gone out that day lik e they say, and I have it the next. When I call they tell me that they have what I need in stock. Some of the guys I know have never complained of bad service, but I can attest that it can happen with anyone. One of the most popular referred to sellers here has lost my order, then a month later forgot to fill my order on the next run of product, and delayed it even longer. It happens.

Not to apologize for any suppliers, but often this time of year they tend to be more out of stock. If they are paying inventory taxes at year end, most will try to have the stock pared down. I normally ask them about availability and quality left when I order. Some of them have sorted past some of the skins all year they have left, and don't replace until after the first. Still no excuse to substitute something without letting you know.

[stelmackr]

...Everything I have ordered has gone out that day like they say, and I have it the next. When I call they tell me that they have what I need in stock. Some of the guys I know have never complained of bad service, but I can attest that it can happen with anyone....

This recent weather has delayed some of my leather deliveries, but those from Hide House were a little late, but exactly what I needed. As Bruce and others say -- any company can meet expectations, but fail at rare times.

Bob Stelmack

[greg gomersall]

I don't build alot of chaps but for the ones I do, I get my hides from the Hide House and always found them to maybe be more expensive than others but thier inventory was extensive and when I showed color swatches to the client the hide house would have the leather in stock. That consistantcy is worth the extra money and their service to me has always been good. Unfortuately sometimes people fall thru the cracks and it does leave a bad taste in your mouth when it happens to you. Greg

[Tina]

I must say that my experience as a very small business for HideHuse is Very nice. I always get good quallity (=what I ordered) and they show up really quickly even if they're sent from CA to MI.

I absolutly love their chap sides (3-31/2 oz) and the superb Plonge leather which I use for anything from corsets to lining when I want something beautiful yet duarble..

[Ian]

I must say that my experience as a very small business for HideHuse is Very nice. I always get good quallity (=what I ordered) and they show up really quickly even if they're sent from CA to MI.

I absolutly love their chap sides (3-31/2 oz) and the superb Plonge leather which I use for anything from corsets to lining when I want something beautiful yet duarble..

Tina, those weren't the issues I was dealing with. I have ordered leather that was some of the nicest I've ever bought (although expensive) from HH. The shipping was very fast and they sent me all the samples I asked for, and the salespeople were polite and helpful.

The issue was the fact that they substituted a leather they describe in the catalog as 'value priced' for the high end leather I ordered, even after I explained the need for a very high end look and feel for what I am doing. Now that I find myself taking orders for motorcycle apparel, I have to produce a product that will stand out from the much cheaper imported products I am competing with.

Further, coming close to denying that they had recieved my return despite the Fed Ex tracking showing that they signed for it. After all, how do I prove what was in the box I shipped when they supposedly couldn't find the box?

Also, since I am not a wealthy person, I needed the refund to re-order from another source and I had to explain this whole mess to the customer who was waiting. I recieved the refund 3 weeks after they received the returned merchandise.

Then at my final call, they magically had the letter and invoice I had included with the return on the desk in front of them.

If it was simply a matter of a warehouse person accidentaly shipping the wrong stuff, I can understand that. I think of all my suppliers, Ohio Travel Bag is the only one that has never made an error in my order, and when I had my store open, I placed various orders from different suppliers 3-4 times a week. I am no stranger to returning product that was unsatisfactory.

No, that they have the most extensive catalog of any supplier is not the issue at all.

[TomBanwell]

I have dealt with the Hide House for over 20 years, when Rob the owner was just starting out. I have never had a problem with them. I suppose any company can have problems from time to time. I think they are a very honest business and if you keep communicating it will get straightened out. Please don't write them off as a bad apple, as I just don't believe that they would screw anyone over.

[kfiretwo]

has any one ever used saddle grade shearing from hide house

[TwinOaks]

Ian,

From what I've read in the other's posts, as well as yours, this seems to be a singularly bad experience. I completely understand having your money tied up, and the frustration it can cause. As Bruce pointed out, they may be having a labor issue. If cutting the labor force was a neccesary decision, it's possible that some of the good help walked, and they're stuck with some minimum wage kids working after school, who have NO experience with which leather is which. I say fire off a letter (not an email) to the head honchos at HH, and reference this thread. You've done a pretty good job explaining what the problem was/is and why it's costing them your business, and see what they say. Again, write a letter, not an email, because the letter says "I'm ticked off enough to sit down and write this, expecting that it will be in your hands, and it's important enough that it needs to be seen by you, not somebody doing mass or automatic replies with the email accounts." 'Word of mouth' can be a great advertising method. When it's negative, it can be disasterous, and businesses know this. Imagine a new member reading only the first few posts of this thread- first impression is made. Do you think they'll even risk an order from HH? Now multiply that by several thousand hits per day (not including all of our guests). Do you think the suppliers would risk generating a bad reputation?

Give them a chance to do right by you. We've seen several instances on this board where a supplier's head honcho was made aware of a problem and things were put right. We've also seen the other side of it where there's nothing but praise for the company, and how much that has positively effected that company (Artisan to be specific).

We may not be organized as a Union, but as members of this online community we have a LOT of power as consumers. If HH's service has truly went the way of the Dodo, then others will have negative comments about it too. Lastly, thank you for sharing your experience- it let's us know where there might be some potential problems.

M

Edited January 9, 2009 by TwinOaks

[Ian]

Ian,

From what I've read in the other's posts, as well as yours, this seems to be a singularly bad experience. M

Thanks for the advice folks, I am pretty much over the situation. I think that (partly) it came at a time when I had several other issues relating to bad service from other entities, and other financial issues. It was a last straw situation. Or, maybe I was just looking for one person to say "we apologise for the screw-up".

I think you're right though. When you're dealing with many companies, the higher ups have no idea of ongoing issues, since they are dealt with by whoever is picking up the phone or monitoring emails.

Anyway, the refund made it into my checking account this morning, so I'm going to consider the issue over, and move on. Of course, it still leaves me trying to locate a suppier of high quality naked garment leather at a realistic price, but I'm crossing my fingers for Waterhouse Leather.

[mulefool]

I had an interesting experience on my first order with them a few years ago. Somebody accidently added an extra zero to my credit card invoice. When I opened up my one side of leather and looked at the bill it was $800.00!!!!!! They fixed the problem immediately, but what a jaw dropper.

One thing I try to do when ordering from a company is establish kind of a relationship with one of the sales people there. I try to always talk to the same person, I try to make sure they understand my quality requirements. By always dealing with the same person I feel they will give me better service and feel more accountable for that, because I will come right back to them if there is a problem and not get shuffled around to different people. Another thing I do is when a person at a particular company gives me really good service, and oftentimes that means they have done a good job of fixing a problem, I will write a letter to management praising them. I think that is the right thing to do, but the upside for me is that employees remember me for that and I feel it encourages them to give me even better service.

Glad you got your issue resolved. Chris