COMPLAINT: Minicraft Models

**GEEDUBBYA** · 02-08-2006

Howdy guys and gals,

A few weeks ago I sang the praises of Fujimi Model Company. I had a problem with one of their models specifically the two halves of a fuselage being warped so bad, that I softened the plastic in hot water to no avail and had also determined that no amount of filler putty could be placed on the two halves to make the model fit together.
Well, Fujimi responded by sending me everything I needed to make me a happy camper once more..... They replaced it!
Now here we are at present day, I went to the Dr's office today like I stated in another post recently and stopped by the hobby shop. I purchased a 1/72 scale model of a Vega PV1 Ventura by Minicraft and two other models.
This was not my first dealing with minicraft, several months ago I had purchased a B 24 model in 1/72 scale by them and after painting a whole lot of small parts, found out that not all of the parts were in the box.
Well, you know how it can be sometimes, your building a model and someone interrupts you and you "snap" at them..... you know, you get kinda cranky, atleast I know I am guilty of this. Anyway, I ended up throwing the B 24 in the trash while having a small "fit" or tantrum lol.
Again, back to today, I get home, begin painting the model, masking off areas, painting it with both spray cans and some detail work with small brushes. Then I realize that the kit isnt all there, there is no nose section, no clear plastic parts for windows, windscreen etc. and there were other parts that werent in the kit. (I dont rightly recall now, but I am not going in the trash to retrieve them at this hour).
So now I am about $50 (US) in the hole in my dealings with this company. Now I am writing ya'll a letter not to talk bad about minicraft, but to open a thread on How this company treats complaints.
I wrote minicraft a letter, explaining my dissatisfaction with their products and quality control process.
I thought that, even though I am not wanting to "blackball" the company, I would let ya'll in on the situation and keep you informed of the events that will follow. Again, not out of malice, but to show how this situation is handled from both ends
It could be that this company will remedy this problem to my satisfaction (although I didnt ask for any specific remedy, I just explained my experiences so far with their products). It could be that this company will "promise" to do better in the future (which would be ok, but anyone can make a promise), Or it could be that I never hear from this company ever again and therefore give me some sort of complex (not really lol).
However this situation ends, I will give ya'll the play by play as it unfurls.
I know I have a vested interest in this, but I want to document this no matter what the outcome.
I know that I am not the only person to have ever bought a model that had parts missing and I know I wont be the last. But the models companies will never know there is a problem unless you and I inform them of it.
So, lets sit back over the next few days and see how MINICRAFT rates in comparison to FUJIMI as far as customer service.

Have a good day,

Greg

PS:, Their website had a link to report and purchase replacement or missing parts (for the cost of the parts plus shipping and handling), HOWEVER, why should I purchase parts and have to pay shipping on parts that should have been in the kit to begin with? Hence the complaint letter. I have lived through complaint letters where I work, even felt ashamed at times, but its made my company a better company for it. Its called customer feedback.

**wonwinglo** · 02-08-2006

Greg,I had a decal sheet that was faulty from a Minicraft kit,the decals just disintigrated in the water,I wrote to Minicraft in the U.S.A who supplied the decals to the UK agent for forwarding to me,the outcome was that I was sent a bill for the replacement decals ! needless to say I refused to pay up.
Why should you have to pay for something that is their fault in the first place ?

**GEEDUBBYA** · 02-08-2006

Howdy Barry,

I totally agree with you, why should you have to pay when you are not at fault.
Now if I had lost one or two parts of this model, it would be different, even if there were just one or two parts missing (as if they broke off a sprue while the company was packaging the kit) then I could understand maybe paying for parts, but this wasnt just one or two parts missing, this was entire sprues of parts missing.
I could go on and on ranting about this, but, in all fairness, I will reserve my remarks until a more appropriate time. I posted this so that people could see how companies respond to customers complaints.
I demonstrated a few weeks ago how Fujimi responded to a complaint and I must say they now have one very happy customer. who doesnt mind letting others know about my experience with their customer service dept.
Now its time to see how and where minicraft rates in the customer service area.
Again, I didnt specify a remedy to this complaint, I thought I would let them determine the best response without "prompting".
When I get that response, I will be sure to post it here and let ya'll know their idea of a rememdy be it good or bad.
So, now I have given them enough rope, will they "hang themselves" or will they "tow the line"? We will all find out soon.

have a good day,

Greg

**wonwinglo** · 02-08-2006

Yes spot on Greg,there are scores of appraisals on the internet about modelling goods,some good and some bad,these days there is nowhere to hide,the customer needs to know the good and the bad guys out there,we wish you good luck and above all a completed model soon.

**GEEDUBBYA** · 03-08-2006

Howdy Guys and Gals,

Ok, I recieved a reply from Ms. Sharon Blackwell, Operations manager at minicraft, she offered to replace the missing parts from the Liberator kit only. Having read my first posting on this topic, do you see a problem here?
Thats right, the Liberator was a model I bought some six months ago and threw away! Talk about not paying attention to Feedback.
Anyway, I thought I would post the correspondance thus far between myself and minicraft. So below, you will see my original email, then her reply, and my reply to her reply. (Whew, this could be kinda' long).

************************************************** *****

My original letter to minicraft:

Dear Sirs,

I would like to take a few minutes of your time to discuss an issue that has come up twice within the last year concerning your models. The issue I am reffering to is missing parts.
I am not sure if you are aware or not, but some people take their modeling fairly seriously, painstakingly painting parts as they go along, adding weathering to not only the overall model, but to the individual pieces of the model as well. This is a process that can cause many hours to be invested in one kit.
Now imagine spending all those many hours on a B 24 Liberator model (11612) and realising that all the parts were not in the pakaging, well that happened to me about six months ago with the aforementioned model.
Now, once again, I have purchased another model by your company and once again, missing parts. This time it is the "early version Vega PV 1 Ventura, kit number
11638. In this instance, no nose cone, no clear plastic parts, no decals either. Well, last time I thru away the model in a little bit of a "fit", there is nothing like spending all those hours on something and then realizing that no matter how good the work you did was, or how much painstaking detail you put into it, it could never be completed because of missing parts.
So, here I am, somewhere about $50 (US) poorer than I was before I started buying your kits, my trashcan recently filled with yet another partial model from your company.
Now I would like to talk to you about unhappy customers. I work in an industry that also deals with injection molded plastic, however, my factory produces Power distibution transformers which provide electricity to most of the civilized world.
When my company "leaves out" a part, or doesnt include a decal (such as "HIGH VOLTAGE 18" CLEARANCE REQUIRED"), then my company may have an unhappy customer....or worse yet, my company may have a dead customer.
Fortunately, we have never had the latter of the two, but we have had our share of "unhappy" ones. But, we have always remedied the complaints to the customers satifaction, sometimes the customers would stick with us, other times, customers would leave. I know that I have been on the recieving end of an angry customer letter before and its no fun what so ever. I can tell you now, that my letter to your company is much more pleasant than letters I have recieved before at my company.
So, why am I telling you all of this? You know what? I dont really know myself. Maybe its to pass along some of the shame I felt when I was on the recieving end of an "angry customer letter", or maybe its to see how "other people" handle this type letter/problem, or maybe because I am so frustrated at being "taken" again.
In closing let me say I wish you and your company a nice day, but until such time as I am assured of your companies quality improving, I will go out of my way to steer clear of your products.
If you feel that this would be an error on my part, please, by all means let me know why.

Again, have a good day and thank you for your time,

Greg Worsham

************************************************** **************************************************

Now Ms. Blackwells reply:

Mr. Worsham,
Thank you for your letter, we are always interested in what our customers have to say. First of all, I want to apologize that you received an incomplete kit. Inspections are done at the factory but sometimes one will 'slip through'.

Minicraft's policy has always been to replace any missing or defective parts at no charge. We can be contacted thru our website or at 800-322-3692.

In regards to the parts missing from your Liberator, I will have our parts department pull them for you have them mailed to you by Friday.

Again, please accept my apologies for the missing part. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Sincerely,
Sharon Blackwell
Operations Manager

>>>>>>Note how they are always interested in what their customers have to say, but, dont pay attention to what is written, its the ventura I have, the Liberator got thrown away! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<

************************************************** **************************************************
Now My reply to her reply:

Dear Ms. Blackwell,

I appreciate your offer to replace the Liberator parts, However, the liberator was thrown away some six months ago, there was really no need in keeping 2/3rds of a model even though I had put several hours into the detailed painting. So as you see, the Liberator was a complete loss
The Ventura model, I decided to save lastnight after writing my original letter to you. It is missing the sprue with the nose of the plane as well as the clear sprue with all the windows AND the decal sheet. But it was also destined to the trashcan had I not thought about waiting for your reply to my letter.
So I am only $30 in the hole with the liberator kit.
I would have returned the models to the hobby shop where I purchased them, but, the store is some 70 miles from my home and the only reason I went to that town was for a Dr's appointment. With todays gas prices, its hardly worth driving 70 miles to return a model, much less do it two times.
Anyway, I hope to hear from you again soon,

have a nice day,

Greg Worsham

************************************************** ************************************************** *

It was a generous offer to replace the missing parts, however, what am I gonna do with parts for a model I no longer have?
I see how some things "slip thru" as Ms. Blackwell stated, It seems that it "slipped thru" that I no longer had the Liberator and was missing parts to the Ventura.
I am really kind of wondering if maybe she is the inspector for quality control.

have a good day,

Greg

**rjwood_uk** · 03-08-2006

let hope they send the right parts for you greg. to be honest with companies like this even getting a reply is a good sign!

**GEEDUBBYA** · 03-08-2006

Howdy RJ,

Well, as I mentioned above, Fujimi gained a customer (me) who will always have good things to say about their company. I still have the email correspondance between myself and them.
And in all fairness, other than getting it WRONG Minicraft appears to be atleast trying to do the right thing. We shall see how this all unfolds, I will be sure to post Ms. Blackwells reply to my reply.
You know it must really be embarrassing to attempt to correct something with yet another mistake. These arent life threatening mistakes (the leaving out of parts in a kit or offering to send the wrong replacement parts), but they do reflect back on the company.
I almost informed Ms. Blackwell that the outcome of this "situation" was to be witnessed by possibly as many as 1,300 members of this forum. However, I didnt wish to influence her response to the situation. I will however let her know that indeed up to 1,300 members of this forum will have access to how this situation unfolded once it is settled.
Please understand, I am not trying to cause problems for the employees of minicraft, or for Ms. Blackwell, but Poor Quality Control at the factory and Poor Comprehension by the customer service representitive, (especially after she had just stated that her company "is always interested in what their customers have to say"), reflects very poorly on their company in my opinion.

If any of you are interested how the complaint I had with fujimi unfolded, let me know and I can post the email correspondance between myself and that company

Anyway, have a good day, I have rambled enough for today,

Greg

**wonwinglo** · 03-08-2006

There seems to be a great reluctance to keep the customer happy,from a lot of companies in general,what has not been grasped here by the customer relations apart from the obvious mis-reading of the letter,is the inconvenience that you have been faced with.
Whether the company supplies either a single part,sprue or complete kit ( as quite rightly should have been in this case ) it is not going to cost much to put things to right ! a few cents worth of merchandise and a bit of time spent packing and sending them to the customer,I dont know whether we live on another planet to these manufacturers but it does seem to be making a big issue out of something that could be easily resolved with a replacement kit ? after all what good are the other parts to them once they remove the said missing parts ?
A few bobs worth of customer care could,and will go a long way towards the goodwill of the company,worth a lot more in fact than the stingy attitude so far shown.
Customer care should be the same everywhere whatever the product,it is not just about quality but looking after the loyality of their customers.
In the UK we have a law that clearly states the goods should be fit for the purpose,if they do not meet that criteria then the manufacturer is responsible to the distributor and the retailer,but first and foremost and more importantly ourselves the purchaser the end user.
I am sure that there must be similar laws in your own country Greg.

**GEEDUBBYA** · 03-08-2006

Howdy Guys and Gals,

Well, the saga continues, the plot thickens....(add your own cliche' here).

I just recieved an email from Ms. Blackwell, Operations manager at minicraft, in response to my letter informing her that I didnt need the parts to the liberator due to it having been thrown awa long ago, and Instead it was the PV1 Ventura which I needed parts for.

Here is what she wrote.....(all she wrote, no editing on my part):

"I am having my parts department pull these parts and will have them sent to you tomorrow.

Regards,
Sharon"

************************************************** *********************************************

Thats it, thats all. Did my message about not needing the liberator parts get through? Is she sending the liberator parts? The Ventura parts? Both sets of parts?
For answers to these and other questions, stayed tuned, dont touch that mouse!.

Seriously for a moment though, and I may be "nit picking" at this point, but, there was no, Dear Mr Worsham, Hello Mr Worsham, Howdy Dude or anything like that. Now dont get me wrong, but what happened to "greeting the customer with a smile"? What happened to corgiality?
Am I on this ladies "last nerve"? Am I keeping her from something more important than the resolution to a customers complaint?
Anyway, I have yet to respond to her letter (if you can call 19 words a Letter), but when/if I do, I will surely post my response here. I may just take the "dry tone" of this letter and not respond. Sometimes its best to qwell the urge to be sarcastic, especially when dealing with the written word. As I am sure you all are aware, you can not tell a persons intentions all of the time, there are no visual clues to tell you if it was meant "dryly" or if this is just her personality.

again, more to come as I get em' or send em'

Have a good day,

Greg

**GEEDUBBYA** · 07-08-2006

Howdy Guys and gals,

Ok, I recieved the missing parts today from minicraft. 4 Sprues (19 parts) and the decal sheet. All the parts are molded in clear.
The parts and decals came in a small 4"X4"X5" plain box addressed to me.
I looked and looked for a note....a note of any kind. No note, no apology, no packing slip, no nothing.
So I will say this, Ms. Blackwell did get the job done, she got me the parts which should have been in the model to begin with.
However........this being the second kit I have bought from them, both having missing parts, plus the fact that had I not stopped her with an email, she would have sent me the wrong parts (read above posts), and the fact that I got the feeling that I was "imposing" on Ms. Blackwell to get the parts (that should have been in the kit to start with), my personal opinion of this company is as follows:

1. The service was not real courteous, I was made to feel like I was wasting the representitives time.
2. No "thank you", no apology, no nothing as far as correspondence from the representitive included with the parts. (I must concede that there was an apology in her original email, but again, the overall experience made me feel as though I was a "bother" for even mentioning that I had two kits from them, both missing parts).
3. The companies kits (that I have bought) seem to all be missing parts, atleast 2 kits out of 2 kits were missing parts for me. (thats batting a 1000).
4. The quality control standards for this company are lacking if they allow partial kits to leave the factory. I realize Ms. Blackwell stated that "sometimes one will slip thru", but, if you have so many slip thru that you actually have to set up a section on your website named "replacement parts" to deal with missing parts, then you have a problem in your manufacturing facilities.
5. Regarding that section of the website...... this statement "You will be advised of the cost for the replacement part (including Shipping and Handling charges) via email." is something that should not be there in my opinion. If they know there may be parts which need to be replaced, they should not even think of charging anyone, the parts need to be in the kits before they leave the factory.

I would have to say that overall, I am not real impressed with this company, its mediocre at best, I am afraid that their "catchphrase" "legends in the making" is in fact a legend in the making.......if they do not tighten up their quality control, thats all the company will be...."a Legend".
Purchase from this company if you will, possibly you will have better luck with their products than I have. I got the parts I needed and now I can put the model together finally. I am $30 in the hole from the Liberator model, but thats just a cost I will "chalk up to experience".

If I had to rate this company 1 to 10, it would be a five (5), nothing outstanding. Maybe someday I will think different, but until such time as I can purchase one of their kits and not have parts missing, this is the way I will feel.

I sincerely hope that Ms. Blackwell takes this posting as constructive criticism of her company and uses it to help instill the need for quality control in the factory.....especially since 1,300 people now have access to this review.

However on the companies behalf, I dont want this thread to be totally "negative", if you have built any Minicraft models, please tell us how they rate in your opinion..1 to 10, (10 being the best).

have a good day,

Greg

ps: I will be including the link to this thread in my thank you note to Ms. Blackwell,(Yes, I send a thank you) so again, if you have built their models, lets us know what you think.
Maybe Ms. Blackwell or a company Rep. will join the forum and respond to this posting. Hopefully they will atleast realize the impact one bad kit can make....1,300 pair of eyes would probably say that this thread should never have been started, the parts should be in the kit to start with.