Problems with access to tandyleather.com

[chrisash]

Just remember the old days, no need for umpires you walked when you were out, no bouncers it was not the game, no talking yet alone sledging, a game for honest gentleman

We lost so much by being modern and allowing it to happen

Under 50 you probably don't understand what you lost 

[jcuk]

Yes i agree yes you should know how to walk but i don't believe there was no such thing as sledging and banter on the field in days gone by as for bouncers its not called test cricket for nothing. Remember the Body Line series. Yes i am north of 50.

all the best

JCUK  

Edited March 18, 2019 by jcuk

[Rockoboy]

15 hours ago, jcuk said:

Can't wait for the on field (sledging) and off field banter plenty of ammo here

I think the main consideration is the spirit in which the banter is delivered. A little bit of banter can be ok, but outright sledging to upset the opposition is, IMHO, cheating. Play the game on your ability, not inside the other guys head.

I am a few months north of 50 (about 62 months in fact), so I don't remember Bodyline, but I do remember World Series Cricket. Those were the days!

Edited March 19, 2019 by Rockoboy

[jcuk]

Yes some of the has crossed the line in recent games but just like those old days they i bet they still go for beer afterwards have a good laugh about it because test cricket is about a test of your character to, i hope to think there is still a bit of mutual respect between our two countries. 

all the best

JCUK

ps sorry may have hijacked this thread i too have trouble accessing Tandys site first page ok after that its takes an eternity to load not that i get much from but Tandy but sometimes they have the odd bargain. I used go to shop in Northampton every now and then always fairly decent in store bargains, closed the wrong shop for me given Northamptons connection to the leather trade footwear mainly and Manchester having there links to the textile industry. 

     

[Sheilajeanne]

I think I know what the problem with Tandy is. I got a notice in my inbox yesterday saying all passwords have to be upgraded to make them stronger. (My current password is letters only, so needs strengthening.)

Willing to bet if you reset your password, you'll be fine! Just say you lost your password, then reset it when they e-mail you.

[bermudahwin]

6 hours ago, jcuk said:

Manchester having there links to the textile industry

And to the fittings and bijouterie industries.

H

[jcuk]

4 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

I think I know what the problem with Tandy is. I got a notice in my inbox yesterday saying all passwords have to be upgraded to make them stronger. (My current password is letters only, so needs strengthening.)

Willing to bet if you reset your password, you'll be fine! Just say you lost your password, then reset it when they e-mail you.

Thanks got the same email today.

 

23 minutes ago, hwinbermuda said:

And to the fittings and bijouterie industries.

H

Thanks H have admit i had to google it 

 

all the best JCUK

[bermudahwin]

Manchester store online is a helpful place, I have placed phone and internet orders, but its not the same as a 2 hr drive to Northampton for in store deals.

H

[jcuk]

Yes i went sometimes when i had and nothing else to do around two hours for me too, and spend a lot more money than i should have still like to shop the old fashion way when i can, the staff were always good too i did ask them what they thought of their branch closing down they thought the same as me a bit odd with the leather history in  and around Northampton.

 

all the best 

JCUK

[ABHandmade]

Tandy on Instagram confirmed the existence of problems accessing his sites from "some countries" without giving a reason.

Thanks to everyone who kept this thread afloat.

[mikesc]

Just re-visited this thread, for the first time since my previous post..
Been busy with dealing with the French bureaucracy ( they invented the word ) they can be the worst ( most obstructive ) when they put their minds to it..
However, I did phone Tandy yesterday ( Monday ) at around 13.15 CST ( 19.15 my time )..as promised to Andrey..

Journey into the ..

Twilight zone..

I phone Tandy HQ..

It rings..Someone picks up the phone and says it is Tandy HQ..

I explain that I'm phoning from France..and that I am a member of what is probably the largest leatherworker forum on the web ( I did not name it, not my place to ) and that a member from Ukraine has been having problems accessing the Tandy websites..He keeps getting a403 ( and I explain in simple terms what is a 403 ) I ask if the Ukraine is being blocked deliberately..

The lady says ( I quote her exact words.."hold on I'll ask" ) ..and instantly I get another ring tone ( because instead of "asking" while I hold, she has transferred my call to an internal line..Problem is..the person is not in..and I get their voice mail..and no way to get back to the operator..other than hanging up and re-dialing..
( No point in me leaving a message , because I don't know if they'll ring me back trans-Altlantic, they might ring me back in the middle of my night, or while I'm eating dinner, having a shower etc )
So..I hang up and re-dial..
I get the same lady..
I explain that she had to me to hold on while she "asked" , but that in fact she had transferred me to an internal line and the person was not in..and that there was no "option" given on the voice-mail system to "return to operator"..
She apologised..said she understood..that I should hold on ..while she asked..
and then..you guessed it..she did it again..

This time to someone else's internal line..they were not in either..but their voice-mail was..and no way to get back to "her" ( operator ) except by hanging up and re-dialing..
So..I hung up..
and re-dialed..
This time when "she" ( the same women ) picked up, I asked her ( politely ) "please stop asking me to hold while you ask and then transferring me to people who are not in and whose voice-mail is..they won't ring me back trans-Atlantic" )..She said " But I'm at the front desk and I can't leave it to go ask anyone"..

I said "I'm not asking you to leave your desk..You keep saying that I should hold on while you ask"..

"Just put me on hold while you phone internally and ask, you don't have to leave your desk and I never asked you to"..

She said ..OK..hold on and I'll ask..

You guessed it..

She ( without telling me ) tried to put me through to some one else, they were not in, their voice-mail was..

I hung up..

Re-dialed..

By now she must be watching for my number showing as "incoming from France"..
(I can make it so it does not, but I left it as "showing" from when I spoke to J the previous weekend..)

So..this time she didn't even answer the call, I just got "bounced" directly to an internal line, where..the person was not in, but their voice-mail was..

I tried 3 more times..
each time the same..

She was definitely avoiding me..as was everyone else apparently ( or they take very long lunch breaks, all at the same time ) ..But everyone's voice-mail was in..

I thought I'll wait an hour and try again..( maybe I'd get someone else as "operator"..after all Tandy is a big outfit, they must- have more than one lady answering the phone )

They do have more than one..

The second ( different ) lady..listened while I explained what had happened previously, ( all of the being asked to hold while "she asked" but actually being transferred to an internal line without a human on the other end, many times, and eventually just being "bounced" directly to various people's voice-mails = she said she understood perfectly..and...

That I should "hold on while she asked"..

Go on ..you knew this was coming ...

She did exactly the same as the first lady..it was not the first lady ( neither had a Texan accent, but the second one did have a very slight Hispanic accent, and a lower voice )

Instantly I get another ring tone ( because instead of "asking" while I hold, she has transferred my call to an internal line..Problem ( again )is..the person is not in..and I get their voice mail..and no way to get back to the operator..other than hanging up and re-dialing..
( No point in me leaving a message , because I don't know if they'll ring me back trans-Altlantic, they might ring me back in the middle of my night, or while I'm eating dinner, having a shower etc )

So..I hang up and re-dial..

I get the same lady..( slight Hispanic accent )

I explain that she had to me to hold on while she "asked" , but that in fact she had transferred me to an internal line and the person was not in..and that there was no "option" given on the voice-mail system to return to operator..

She apologised..said she understood..that I should hold on ..while she asked..
and then..you guessed it..she did it again..

This time to someone else's internal line..they were not in either..but their voice-mail was..and no way to get back to "her" ( operator ) except by hanging up and re-dialing..

So..I hung up..
and re-dialed..

By now she must be watching for my number showing as "incoming from France"..
(remember..I can make it so it does not show, but I left it as "showing" from when I spoke to J the previous weekend..)

So..this time she didn't even answer the call, I just got "bounced" to another internal line, where..the person was not in, but their voice-mail was..
I tried 3 more times..
each time the same..
She was avoiding me..as was everyone else apparently ( or they take very long lunch breaks, all at the same time ) ..But everyone's voice-mail was in..

So..this time ( again ) she didn't even answer the call, I just got "bounced" to yet another internal line, where..the person was not in, but their voice-mail was..
I tried 3 more times..
each time the same..

She was avoiding me..as was everyone else apparently ( or they take very long lunch breaks, all at the same time ) ..But everyone's voice-mail was in..

So
On that last transfer to the voice-mail of someone who was not in ..

I left a message..

I explained what had happened since the beginning over an hour before, when I had began trying to get to speak to a human ( other than either of the two "operators" ), why I was calling, who I was..

I added that I had never encountered such stupidity, downright dumbness ( I did stay polite, because in reality I had just finished dealing with two ****wits ), and that I gave up..That I'd be posting back onto "the forum" within 24 hours ( it has been around 36 hours, but, I was busy dealing with their French relatives ) ( again I did not say the leatherworker.net name, not my place to..and would detail the total incompetence that I'd encountered, I added that I had never been a customer of theirs, and ( in the light of what had happened, I never would be, and that I'd warn everyone ( businesses like myself and also hobbyists ) else to avoid them )..

Apparently the person who got their voice-mail thinks that using "instagram" ( where one has to accept Facebook tracking cookies and various other scripts to be able see or read anything ) is "customer relations"..It isn't..
You don't do "customer relations" via 3rd party platforms that track any visitors..not via Facebook, nor via twitter, nor instagram, nor pinterest..

Unless your organisation is staffed by millennial ****wits..

( any business that uses ( anti) social media to communicate with their customers about "problems", instead of doing so via their own websites..does not, nor will they ever get, any of my business, nor will anyone whose business uses a gmail contact address..I was one of the first 100 ( worldwide ) people to be invited into gmail..I made over 200 gmail addresses fast, in order to prevent anyone else using any of my website names ( protect your "brand(s)" ), did the same for facebook and twitter , pinterest..and left it at that.. I run business pages on all of them, no personal pages at all, and never would I expect customers to have to go to any of them to communicate with our businesses..it would also be illegal for me to do so..due to GDPR.. because all of those ( anti) social media track everyone )

So Andrey..it was no problem for me to try and find out by phoning them if Tandy were blocking the Ukraine deliberately.. :)..I volunteered..:)

But..they obviously have ****wits answering the phones at their head office..

And "life is too short"..

My advice..

Don't buy from them ( most people here don't have much good to say about the quality of Tandy leather or tools these days )..I won't ..ever..


Edited..
BTW..Any "website" that tells anyone that "they may have trouble accessing the site, unless they "upgrade" their passwords", or something similar..that is usually a round about way of the saying they were hacked, or they think that they might have been..I've been programming and coding since 74..and building/running websites for over 20 years..

I got a notice in my inbox yesterday saying all passwords have to be upgraded to make them stronger. (My current password is letters only, so needs strengthening.

Any website that allowed anyone ( since at least 1995 ) to set up a password with only letters did not / does not take security seriously..They may as well just say the keys are under the mat..I hope that they do not have your credit card or any personal details on file anywhere..and..we won't mention PCI "compliance" audits...oops..I did..

I should add..I'm not French..I'm Irish.., with No Irish accent ( moved around a lot ) ..no accent at all..Not even so much as a "Wogan"..No "modern English" Southern vaguely Cockney accent either..clear English..so the "operators" could understand me perfectly.. I've spoken to some people on this board, ( USA and elsewhere )..No problems being understood..

Edited March 20, 2019 by mikesc

[fredk]

 sheeesh! 

[ABHandmade]

Mike, thank you so much. I am very sorry that in this way you have lost some of your precious time and nerve cells.
The last few years I have the impression that incompetence and disgusting attitude to the customer have become the norm for most companies. I thought it was only in our national business. But, apparently, this is a global problem 

According to my personal observations, as soon as the owner(s) of the company ceases to take an active part in its work, passing on all decisions to the hired management, the quality of work and friendliness of company drops sharply.

I really want to hope that in the case of Tandy this is just an excess of executor, and not a company policy.

Thank you again!

 

 

[bermudahwin]

Now that's food for thought.

I know that there are Tandy Store managers and ex managers on the forum, and others that really rate their local stores; maybe there's a counterpoint....

Hard to see where though.

Mike, pm me ref websites, about to  go into a deal for a store... you may save my sanity.

H

[Constabulary]

I would guess it is because of Geoblocking - you have an IP address from an "unwanted country". 

F.I. I have no proper access to the Harborfreight website from my regular browsers (Chrome, FF, IE)  due to my unwanted IP address I guess - the website looks scrambled and and is not usable.

Try the TOR Browser and set your Exit Node (Exit country) to US - I think that solves the problem.

However be careful what you are doing - If you don´t know the TOR Browser google what it can do and what the risk is. Sorry - I cannot explain it well enough in english so please google it.

- OR -

Try a VPN AddOn for your browser like winscribe (or similar) and set your country to US.

Both works on my end with the Harborfreight website.

The choice and risk for both options are on your side.

[ABHandmade]

2 minutes ago, Constabulary said:

I would guess it is because of Geoblocking - you have an IP address from an "unwanted country". 

F.I. I have no proper access to the Harborfreight website from my regular browsers (Chrome, FF, IE)  due to my unwanted IP address I guess - the website looks scrambled and and is not usable.

Try the TOR Browser and set your Exit Node (Exit country) to US - I think that solves the problem.

However be careful what you are doing - If you don´t know the TOR Browser google what it can do and what the risk is. Sorry - I cannot explain it well enough in english so please google it.

- OR -

Try a VPN AddOn for your browser like winscribe (or similar) and set your country to US.

Both works on my end with the Harborfreight website.

The choice and risk for both options are on your side.

Honestly, I don’t want to make online purchases using anonymous access (proxy or something similar). If the site "does not trust me," why should I trust him with my personal and billing (payment) information?

[Constabulary]

sure - I understand - I don´t want to discuss this I just wanted to show you some options. Good luck. 

Try some German dealers

https://www.ledermacher.de/

https://www.rickert-werkzeug.de/

[ABHandmade]

2 minutes ago, Constabulary said:

sure - I understand - I don´t want to discuss this I just wanted to show you some options. Good luck. 

Try some German dealers

https://www.ledermacher.de/

https://www.rickert-werkzeug.de/

Thank you!

[mikesc]

OK..( I'll be quick because I'm still caught up in the French Bureaucracy thing ) Update..

About 15.00 today..one of my fixed lines rings..the male caller asks to speak to "Mike".
Asks if I have time to "visit" ( very polite..) Introduces himself..
He is Jeff W ( he did give me his full name..but that is his to give out if he wishes, not mine )
Jeff is from Tandy HQ..calling me back..it is his voice -mail that I left my message on..
He apologises for the problems I encountered getting any kind of information when I phoned on Monday evening ..

He explained that "yes" the Ukraine is one of a group of countries that Tandy began GEO IP blocking recently..

Jeff is not from the IT section, but he knows "why" the GEO IP blocks were put into place..

They had an "intrusion"..the Ukraine was one of the countries that they were able to trace the intrusion back to..

So..for now..it ( and some other countries ) are being GEO IP blocked ..this may change..

Jeff apologises to any innocent parties in those countries being blocked..

The "intrusion" is also the reason that people have been asked to create new passwords..

Jeff assures me that no credit card data was compromised..
( he did give me some more details about what happened, but, again if he wishes to give them in a public forum, that is Jeff's decision..
Personally IME, it is never wise to discuss one's own site security in detail, or even in outline, in any public venue, admins, and sysadmins are paranoid for good reasons..Yossarian would ( in some ways ) have made a good sysad :)

Apparently you can reach Tandy via email..maybe Tandy have a system in place for dealing with orders via email..
I forgot to ask if they do..

But, I did thank Jeff sincerely for taking the trouble to phone me back ( not many companies anywhere bother ) ..
and for explaining..

He told me that he had found what he thought was the forum that I mentioned in my message on his voice-mail..

He asked if it was leatherworker.net..he has read this thread, including my last message..

I confirmed that it was indeed this forum..and also made it very clear that in no way do I / nor did I claim to be speaking for Johanna or leatherworker.net..
I'm just a member, trying to help another member, because if we can, that is what we do..

I suggested that he "join" and explain more fully if he wished..
I also suggested that it probably would not hurt Tandy to have a Tandy presence here..

Jeff said that, actually while looking to see what forum we were members of, and who was having trouble accessing Tandy, he discovered that he was already logged in here, he already has an account.. :)
He said he'd join the thread and post in it..

I said that I'd post first to let members know that he had taken the time and trouble to call me..
I'll add that Jeff seems like a nice guy, ( we talked for close to an hour ) good sense of humour..

Edited March 20, 2019 by mikesc

[ABHandmade]

Mike, many thanks you again for your active participation and help!!!
I am glad that Tandy, in the person of Mr. Jeff, has confirmed her customer focus and that the name and reputation for them is not an empty phrase.
I hope that very soon the Ukrainians will again be able to use Tandy's services and goods.

Edited March 20, 2019 by ABHandmade

[bermudahwin]

32 minutes ago, mikesc said:

Update

Thank you Mike,

That is good to know.

Harry

[neilyeag]

Access to the web site is also now blocked from Thailand.  I tried to email customer service but no response.

[mikesc]

Yes, Jeff said that Thailand was amongst the other countries that were blocked, he also said they had received email from Thailand from someone about being blocked,..But he did n't say that they had not answered the email..Surprise that he has n't stepped into this thread yet as he said he intended to to let blocked members know what ( if any ) the progress is on getting things back to normal, or arranging alternative ways to order..

 

Jeff ?

[Jeffro2058]

On 3/21/2019 at 5:47 AM, mikesc said:

Yes, Jeff said that Thailand was amongst the other countries that were blocked, he also said they had received email from Thailand from someone about being blocked,..But he did n't say that they had not answered the email..Surprise that he has n't stepped into this thread yet as he said he intended to to let blocked members know what ( if any ) the progress is on getting things back to normal, or arranging alternative ways to order..

 

Jeff ?

Hi Mike,  thank you for taking the time to share your follow-up conversation with Tandy Leather. A secure website is our main priority. It's important that none of our customers' information is compromised. We feel like we have taken the necessary steps to provide the security needed at this time. Unfortunately that means that some of our valued customers are blocked from our website at this time, depending on their country of residence. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate their patience and understanding as we work through this process. All of our customers are important to our business.